I am having serious problems with this interpretation of the Lanham
Act set forth in this thread. I did not get in on the beginning so
if some of this is out of context, please excuse me. Some more
on the act may be found at www.bitlaw.com. This act
deals with trademark protection including the usage and/or
infringement of trademarks and website names and links. I did not
find any mention of not being able to sell at wholesale prices to the
retail market or for selling to both if that is how you wish to
conduct your business. If it does there is a bunch of us in a heap
of trouble which would call for an intense public outcry. I have not
heard a word from the thousands of business’ via the news media that
do just this and aside from the fact that the jails in Texas are
already full.
This is still the ‘good ole USA’ where marketing of goods and
services still has a “buyer beware” attitude. The use of “wholesale
to the public” or “at or below wholesale” is a slogan and not a
trademark or trade name that is registered with the federal
government and is not allowed to be used by another entity. The only
restraints concerning sales tactics placed on trade are more for
public health and safety and not for making the best deal.
I have spent the last several days looking for glass beads by the
kilo at wholesale prices on the net and have found many companies
selling to both retail and wholesale. As an aside, if anyone has a
good source, I would appreciate the info. Besides, when you use the
wording or see the wording “below wholesale” in advertising, ask
yourself what does that mean? Below whose wholesale prices? What
wholesale price? Is there some sort of wholesale price index? There
is no established pricing system, only competition. In my glass bead
search, I have been getting everything from 10% off list with a
minimum order/quantity to not disclosing prices until I furnish
documentation that I am an actual business.
The Lanham Act is meant to protect patented/trademarked US goods
from being copied overseas and then marketed either physically in the
US or over the internet through utilization of a website or trademark
that so closely resembles that of the patent or registration holder,
the average consumer does not know the difference. US
manufactures/business cannot compete nor are they rewarded for their
research and development unless they are afforded this protection for
a limited time on patents and copyrights and an indefinite time on
trademarks.
Here in Houston, Harwin Street gets raided by the police on a
regular basis for selling all kinds of items that are presented as
the genuine thing, but are copies made in unacceptable sweat shops
and/or with child labor in third world countries. These vendors are
actively advertising “below wholesale prices”. The vendors are not
shut down because they advertise or sell below wholesale but because
they infringed upon the copywrite/trademark laws. Do local people
know this when they purchase from these merchants? Of course they
do. Does this stop them from shopping on Harwin Street? Of course
not. If there was not a market for the counterfeit items these
business’ would go under and the problem would resolve itself.
Now as to the second part of this thread-- the treatment of
gemstones and the disclosure of such treatment, we get into another
sticky situation. This one is called ethics. I regularly buy blue
topaz for some of my designs. The color suits my designs and the
price is right. Does blue (or green for that matter) topaz occur
naturally? I don’t think so. Has anyone ever, either here in the
states or overseas, disclosed this to me? No! Let the “buyer
beware” which in my case means that I have studied, searched, and
developed contacts that I trust along with developing my
questionable artistic talents. I do not find any laws that say they
must disclose unless I ask. Now if they tell me blue topaz is an all
natural stone it indeed is, but if they say the color is natural to
the stone, they have stepped over the line. The heat does not change
the fact that this is a natural stone, it only changes the color.
Federal Trade Commission Guidelines are just that, guides and
nothing more. They do not carry the weight of law. I do not believe
(and I may stand corrected on this) they do not carry any penalty for
failure to comply. I again attempted to find the exact law where a
seller had to disclose this on gemstones and was unable.
There are accepted grading standards of gemstones from private
sources, but none that is law with exacting penalties.
There are laws governing statements that something is something when
it is not. In other words, if I tell you my pale yellow glass bead
is genuine Imperial topaz, then I come under the deceptive trade
practices portion of the law. But if I refer to this bead as topaz
(meaning color) I do not. Topaz becomes a generic term. How many
times have I seen the term for November’s birthstone “genuine stone”
referring to the bright yellow stone in the pendent or ring? It is a
genuine stone with most people assuming that, if the stone is yellow
and it says November on the box, it must be a topaz stone. This is
indeed deceptive but not illegal. The manufacturer never said it was
a “genuine topaz stone”.
When considering the wholesale vs. retail pricing, if I tell you
that I will give you 10% off of the going wholesale price, that means
10% of nothing since the going wholesale price is what I say it is.
Last, and then I will shut-up, is the first part of this thread
concerning someone’s business going down prompting them to try
reducing their prices by using lower quality stones (I think). When
you aim for a lower market, you begin placing yourself in competition
with factory made, mass produced items. Can you work for wages paid
to third world factory workers? It will take you longer to produce
something by hand than something mass produced so you will need to
reduce your hourly rate below that of the third world to compete thus
reducing your standard of living to below theirs. And now consider
the sting of mass merchandisers who are always looking for a better
buy even if it is of lesser quality. This lower price market is
usually unaware of quality, artisanship, or design and only wants
something that is in vogue at this moment in time. They do not want
something that will be coveted or valued by their grandchildren.
My way of handling the many discrepancies about quality vs. pricing
is to always look for the best stone that fits the piece I have
designed, thus maximizing the look of the piece. Sometimes less
expensive is more esthetically pleasing due to color, shape, etc. I
always disclose what stone(s) I have used including common and
technical names, the weight of the stone(s), the country where the
stone(s) originated along with some ancient history on the stone(s)
and art design. I have never had anyone ask if the stone was
treated, but if I know I reveal as in blue topaz by stating that “the
blue color is obtained by heat treatment” in the stones description.
All of this goes onto a tag of hand made paper and attached with
each piece.
It is always my hope that some great, great grandchild will receive
the box with the and be very proud to own it, after all,
it does represent me. All of this adds to the price because it
involves time and research. But–If I feel that someone really
appreciates the beauty/quality of the piece but just can’t afford it,
I make a judgment call and reduce my price to 10% below wholesale.