Attestation for the sale of branded and trademarked products

[SentimentalSc]

Hi Community, 

I've been trying to get through to Shopify but no luck. I have received an email pointing out that I am selling branded products. When I opened, I had already spoken with Shopify about my products and no one said anything. I have been open since January now, selling real fragrance products from reputable suppliers based in the UK. I've been given days to sort this and make my decision to tick the correct boxes or they may proceed to take my website offline. I am so shocked by this as I have been paying for months and wasn't asked this sooner. 

The options are given to me to tick (multiple or those that apply):

Certify that previously not a repeat infringer or been to court relating to this. TICK

Certify that the business on Shopify has not previously been terminated. TICK 

Confirm that I own the rights to have products on my store. CONFIRM

I am an authorised reseller of the branded products. CONFIRM

Confirm that the branded products are authentic. CONFIRM

Removal of all branded or trademarked products from my Shopify store which does not meet the above. (Non-Applicable)

I was just a bit set back by this email and I am a worrier on the best of days even doing nothing wrong. Is this

a normal email Shopify send out to branded product sellers? Am I just worrying over nothing.

What further support do I need to supply?

I don't want to be taken offline after working so hard on getting my suppliers and setting up my website which I've been super proud of. I would like to speak with a Shopify customer service but I can't get through to them.

Please can someone advise if they have also had this.

Many Thanks! 

[RedLeafCandy]

I did not make any posts about Shopify on the web outside this topic here. I wanted to but I had to focus on saving my business and the time and money Shopify basically stole from me. They shuttered my candy store during the Halloween buying season and what they hit me for.  They allowed others to continue operating their candy stores. 

Even some of the companies I reached to for approval said no we do not allow our products to be sold outside our own online store or sorry our products are not for sale in Canada.  I removed these items while others did not have too.  I feel you on the emails too sir, they give you 7 or 14 days to comply but take almost that time to respond to anything. 

I don't tell people not to use Shopify when I get asked about it, I just let them know my experience in Private because what didn't work for me here they may get a different customer service person and have a great experience.  

All I can suggest is find another platform and spend your energy rebuilding your store there.  The time you spend dwelling on Shopify's less than stellar support and and writing bad reviews is time your taking away from rebuilding with some other platform.

Good Luck on your future endeavors ByeShop-ify.  I will be turning off notifications for this platform.  Your post brought me back here when I seen the email.

[Phil1980]

What platform did you choose?

[dyeheart]

Hi,

my business deal in customisation. Sometimes I do rework on apparels or footwear like Nike, converse, etc. Does removing the name on the title solve the issue? Does editing the Product URL link solve the issue?

and which box should I be checking? I have seek advice from everywhere but none is able to assist me including emailing back the email. All I got is to seek my own legal counsel for guidance 🤦🏻‍♂️🤷🏻‍♂️.

could someone please help me out. 

[Cadut]

Is there an email that you can contact them directly to find out what triggers this email in order to address it on the site?

[ThriftOn]

I have also a vintage webshop and got the same email 2 days ago. I am stressed out and don't know what to do. I see that you can select the option "I sell used authentic products", maybe is that an option for the vintage sellers? Please let me know if anyone has an idea..

[LimeandBean]

Hey Shay I was trying to figure out what I needed to do. It says I need to remove all "copyright" images from my website. However, it is not letting me do anything on my website at all. I am blocked to even be allowed to remove them from my website. Could you please advise how I would remove these? Thank you.

[DP_Development]

This is the point. You confirm something you either wont have done, because you have no access to the dashboard, or you sign something what you would usually discuss with your lawyer before signing it. 

The annoying thing is: I mean what if I would have been on holidays for two weeks? Would have come back and see that my store is deleted? Growing a business for years on a specific site like Shopify is a thing about trust. To me, shopify lost a big portion of trust yesterday. I know you have always dependencies, if you dont have a 100% self provided service (your own servers, shopsystems etc), but this is really not the way how salesmens should treat each other...

[1cedkicks]

@Shay Could you please explain the 4 points that I have to tick I am scared I tick the wrong one 

I confirm that (select any of the following that apply):

I own the rights to the products available on my Shopify store.

I am an authorized reseller of, or have the right to resell, the branded or trademarked products available on my Shopify store.

The branded or trademarked products available on my Shopify store are authentic used products.

I have removed all branded or trademarked products from my Shopify store which do not meet one of the choices above.

Thanks 

[Joeburwell]

Hi Shay,

In the same vain as the previous emails here, I received an email from Shopify telling me I needed to be an authorized reseller to sell USED shoes and clothing.  Most if not all of my sales so far have come via ebay although I have ebay connected to my shopify site.  It would be virtually impossible to get in as a reseller for used items from the multiple brands I sell (nike, adidas, jordan, etc etc).  But shopify advertises the ability to setup a store to sell sneakers (https://www.shopify.com/sell/sneakers ) none of this makes sense to me.  Any help you can give me I would appreciate.  I love the shopify front end but If I have to I will close the account and go to ebay only instead.

Joe Burwell

[ByeShop-ify]

Good luck. ☠️
I supplied Shopify with the permissions they asked for, as I am a licensed reseller.  
they sent me an email saying all good and allowed me back into my admin portal.  I loved the fact they were still charging for something they had locked us out of, without permission.. not..

fadt forward a few months.  Shopify take my store completely offline. And then  Ignore all communication for months.  
after reading them the riot act, they admitted they made a mistake and would allow me back online, I demanded compensation of some sort for the 3 months loss of sales.  
Shopify in its amazing ability at a company offered simply a 3 month credit of their fees.  Not the many thousands (tens of thousands) I lost during their illegal shutdown.  
I was simply told to have my lawyer contact them if I wish to take it further.  And told quite rudely as well.  
I have not bothered reinstating a website with such a ruthless and heartless company that has shady practices such as this and also charging their shop owners fees on fraudulent transactions that you stop and refuse the payment for.  
so yeah.  Good luck.   

[Shay]

Hi @Joeburwell 

You are correct that Shopify does promote and also allows the resale of sneakers and similar products. 

Reselling licensed/trademarked goods and promoting the products using the trademark specifically, is a very fine line to follow. I am not trained in the legal side of things, so I can't speak to the legal requirements but can definitely offer some suggestions and best next steps in these situations. 

If you are located in the USA you will want to visit your state's website to view what licenses may (or may not) be required. Even businesses that sell used goods usually require a specific type of reseller license as provided by your state. 

It is the duty of the business owner to know what, if any, legal requirements there are for their business based on where they are located and where they are selling to. Shopify is not able to assume your legal requirements or make guesses or suggestions on the legal documents you need. If you are unsure what legal documents you are required to have to sell used licensed good we strongly encourage you to connect with a legal professional to help you with that. 

Once you have that information available you can share that with our team handling the review, along with copies of any licenses you have for your business. 

[ByeShop-ify]

But never fear, once you have provided all of that and proven you are legally allowed to sell said trademarked items......  Shopify will still close your store with nil warming or consultation.   And when you request compensation for the months they took your store offline... Yep.. Heres our legal teams details, have your lawyer contact us..  Scammy unethical and downright dodgy practices. 

[TimothyFV]

We sell preowned designer jewelry that are purchased from estates, auctions, and other jewelry dealers. Why is my site being targeted by Shopify? Of the 4 options in the second section:

1. Confirm that I own the rights to have products on my store. (NO) I take it this is as in if I made my own product and owned the branding rights to my items. This is a NO. 

2. I am an authorised reseller of the branded products. NO. I take this as if I'm a licensed seller that has express permission to work with said brands. This is a NO. 

3. Confirm that the used branded products on the shopify store are authentic used products. YES. This sounds most like what we do. We have branded USED PRE-OWNED items, we guarantee authenticity and have the reputation to back that up. YES.

4. Removal of all branded or trademarked products from my Shopify store which does not meet the above. (Non-Applicable). This is a NO. 

Am I correct in interpretting these 4 options? Am I going to be harassed by Shopify anymore or can I continue my business in peace like I have for many many years and on multiple venues onine?

We are vintage estate buyers and sellers, we sell vintage and used items. That's it. We don't need any permission from brands or trademarks. These are all used pieces! 

-T

[ByeShop-ify]

Likely as a lot of us have found out that unethical nil customer service Shopify will simply lock you out of your own store without warning, or close it down without warning. Been there done that, My experience was as an authorised seller of said trademarked goods and had provided the attestation details " to shopify, they still locked me out multiple times, and closed my store with NIL warning.  They refuse to participate in solving the matter, and have literally said, "Go see a lawyer"!     Shopify only cares about taking your money basically, they don't care about you or your shopfront at all.    Best of luck!

[Piero1990]

hi! im selling funk pops and vinyl statues and today shopify said this "it appears to be selling branded or trademarked products. Specifically, your store has been flagged for selling products using Netflix trademarks." i dont think im actually violating anything but to be sure do you think i need to take them off? thanks

[ZackT]

Same here with Netflix issue, I have some products with Netflix Logo, which I completely removed after receiving the Email, and submitted the attestation, but this doesn't feel right, please update me, I'll update you on any new

[Piero1990]

frome what i understand, they just want to avoid legal problems with licesing. What they are asking is your selling official netflix gear and if you have permission to do so. nothing more. the module you signed is a way to say, we asked he says hes ok its hes problem not ours. its honest form my point of view.

[hattington]

hello, do you have google shopping linked?

[ZackT]

Hello there

Yes I do have, though it was suspended year ago due to the using of multiple languages in the online store, do you think they are related?

[ByeShop-ify]

Don't worry; even if you are compliant, Shopify will still likely lock you out of your store admin console and take it offline without warning and breach their own rules and what they say.  Your first mistake is trusting anything Shopify says; there is also plenty of their little workers masquerading on these forums to report your comments if you dare speak against them, even though they are unethical with their actions too. 

[ol13]

Hi, our store received the same email, how can we identify which products are they? We are reselling furniture and home decor.

[JessicaWen]

Hi Shay,

I have received such emails from Shopify legal recently. But I missed the first email and now the second email came in a week after and my shopify admin access got locked. We sell blank purse frame supplies and there are open channel/close channel purse frames. But we made a typo and listed open/close chanel purse frames for some products. It has something to do with the limited English level. It can easily be sloved by logging into our account and correcting the spelling mistakes. But we can't access the admin at the moment as we missed the first warning email from shopify legal.  

I've emailed shopify legal 3-4 times over the past 4 days but nobody replied. They asked me to sumbit an attestation form before Nov.14th. Or, our website will be disabled completely. But the last option in attestation form isn't applicable as we can't access the admin to correct the spelling mistakes. 

I've tried to chat with shopify support each day but of no avail.  Is that possible you can reach the shopify legal team for this? Here I attached the emails sent so far.

Ticket ID: 938dde81-a744-4947-bf26-16d4b025d6c8

Thanks,

Jessica

[dallymouse89]

So I just off an hour long phone call with a Shopify Advisor who communicated to the Risk team.  What got me flagged was having the Brand Name in my title for a tank top, a Nike Racerback Tank top.  This will also apply to any new products I upload in the future, and applies to any products that I bought on wholesale from Faire or Dropship in.  I can't have the Brand's name anywhere in the title. Even though I'm a legit business with a brick and mortar store, with full rights to resell in my state.

According to her I still need to email the risk team as I have more questions. Like the following:

1) If I change the Title for all of my products, can I still include the Brand's name in the product tags and in the description, or will that get me flagged

2) Do I need to edit the URL too as it will have the original title in it, even after I change the title

3)The advisor says they need proof or documentation that proves that I'm a legit reseller, but didn't have access to the form they accept.  The 1 form my state has, Oregon is not a full certificate as we don't have sales tax, and the form even says not everyone will accept it. When asked if the advisor could send me the form they are looking for/accept she didn't have access and I have to ask the Risk team.  So onward to the next step in this side quest for today.

[GoodWatch]

The problem is at the end: "they need proof or documentation that proves that I'm a legit reseller."

Ask your distributor or the brand to give you an authorization letter as proof that you are an authorized reseller. Or you can simply point them to their site if you are listed as an authorized reseller/retailer.

Honestly, I agree with all this. Why? Because counterfeit and grey market is thru the roof and this is one way to stop it. A small headache but it's worth it.

[dcarte03]

Resellers/consultants have IDs that can be confirmed.

[Zakcreationz]

hi I am new to this and received the same thing with my custom clothing. I wanted to know how can I sell them without going threw this process. Shopify has yet to respond to my messages 

[DP_Development]

@Zakcreationz You should check the licences of your fabrics first. Licenced fabrics mostly are not allowed to be sewed for commercial purposes. Because by doing so, you create actually licenced merchendise, which in most cases isnt allowed.

[metroretro]

I am in the same situation.  I sell vintage and antique items only, and received the letter, thinking it was a phishing scam the first time, due to the embedded link and lack of a separate URL option.

I've contacted Shopify by phone and was advised to either fill in the form or reply to the letter.  I've done both, however, the "Submit" button on the form does not work and am unable to provide the requested information.

I'm currently locked out of my Admin and was told by a rep that it can take 72 hours or so, for someone to address the issue.  He also confirmed that I would not be able to fulfill any orders during that time, although shoppers could still place them.

72 hours is a very long time for resolution, especially over a matter that does not apply to vintage and antique sellers, since we are protected under the First Sale Doctrine -- in addition to a faulty form with non-working "Submit" button.

There does not appear any way to resolve this issue in a timely matter.

[Hellwood_Outfit]

I'd be interested to know if Shopify are going to accept responsibility for any charge backs that may be received by businesses that can't see let alone process orders due to being locked out of their admin that they have paid good money for. 

[Hellwood_Outfit]

Without access to the dashboard I can't even warn customers of any potential delays, or stop products from being available for sale. Talk about being held to ransom and paying for the privilege. 

[metroretro]

If anyone else is having a problem submitting the form (as I did), try using a different browser.  This is what finally worked for me.

[ThriftOn]

I have also a vintage webshop and got the same email 2 days ago. I am stressed out and don't know what to do. I see that you can select the option "I sell used authentic products", is that a good option? Please let me know if anyone has an idea..

[bsfs]

I also have the same problem! I've put years of work into my Shopify and they go and do this?

All my products are authentic and I've never done anything Illegal, I can't understand why they didn't do this one month into my business instead of wasting my time like this.

[ThriftOn]

@bsfs Do you also have a vintage shop? I contacted a few people who study law.. Because it's triggy to just fill in forms like that and give statements to big businesses as these.. Please send me a DM or something so we can talk quicker.. maybe we can help each other further in this case.. Please anyone who is in the same position as me send me a DM : Lunareneeofficial 

Maybe we can help each other quicker.

[sproutedpaperco]

I received this same email today. I need to remove a few products from my shop in order to truthfully submit the form, however my shop front is disabled and I can't access my listings.

Does anyone know if the shop front reactivates right away after submitting the form? Is it better to wait for a rep to contact back or should I submit the form first and then delete the products in question after the fact?

@DP_Development: When you signed your attestation form, were you able to immediately access your store front again?

@Shay: Insight to this would be appreciated.

[metroretro]

@sproutedpaperco - My Admin was made accessible after submitting the form.

[lexaterrestrial]

yeah this is weird. I literally own the Trademark to my name and have been making things for years.
I do buy hats, skii masks off of hat manufacturers. But they can't copyright fabric or a style.
And then if have a couple different manufacturers (especially if they are overseas) there is nothing they can do. Even if you are a vendor. That'd require a lot of unnecessary steps. And i feel like you should be ok.