Trading standards have seized my jewelry

[jimmy1969]

the trading standards recently seized my jewelry at a car boot sale under the trademarks act, they said it is counterfeit ? , i didnt know this , i purchased the jewelry off ebay wholesale so i was buying it pritty cheap e.g. £3.99 for a bracelet and i was selling it for £5.99, i didnt think about checking the jewelery to see if it was fake cos as a guy i dont really know about jewelry i just thought i was buying it cheap wholesale so i sold it cheap, i never had any complaints, i have only been selling it for a few months, with not working i just started to make my own beaded jewelry with my partner and sell it on car boot but we saw this other jewelry cheap so we started to sell some of this jewelry on the stall, the trading standards and police showed up and seized some of the jewelry and watches betty boop/kitty etc didnt arrest me , gave me a form which states what they have seized and advised me not to sell again , and ssaid they would be inb touch that was 3 weeks ago , i am really worried about this as i have never been in trouble for selling counterfeit goods before, and i dint even know they were counterfeit , i know i should of checked everything out first before selling them and realised they were cheap etc but i didnt, i am wondering what will happen to me now? please does anyone have any knowledge of what will happen
thanks

[Nibble]

As with all online auction sites, the normal rule is "caveat emptor" - as you were the original buyer of the goods, and didn't notice the conditions of the site, then unfortunately you are responsible for the act of buying. Also, as you have now continued to "own" the goods, and now to sell on the goods, then trading standards are within their rights, and fulfilling their statutary duty in investigating your "goods", which as you've stated are dubious in origin, and pricing, then IMO you have only to wait and see what happens. But, at this time --- It doesn't look good!

[1eyedjack]

As mentioned before, the purchaser has an obligation to take reasonable steps to validate the authenticity of purchase, particularly where puchased with the intent of onward sale. That said ...

If you register as a seller on ebay, one of the conditions to which you the seller sign up is an undertaking not to sell counterfeit goods. That condition is of course for the protection of ebay, not for the protection of its customers, and it does not comprise an undertaken provided by the seller to the customer. Nevertheless it is POSSIBLE (no promises) that if you state to the court that you placed reliance on that clause to provide confidence that the goods were kosher, this might be considered by the court as a mitigating factor. It may not get you off the hook, but might still be worthwhile in reducing penalties. I have no particular experience in this field and the above should not be considered as legal advice.
With kind regards

[JimmyCooper]

This is what will happen:

Trading standards will fine you and you will usually get 6 months to pay

You wont get any items back obviously

They may give you a trading standards caution (bit like a police caution) but after a couple of years it disappears and it doesnt show on any CRB check

The police will not get involved


Just put it down to experience

[JimmyCooper]

Plus don't listen to people oh here who have never experienced this.

I would be amazed if it went to court, the Police on back up TS to save them getting assaulted, the Police really could't give a toss.

[hc4361]

People who sell counterfeit goods can face fines of up to £5,000 or jail if they have been convicted of selling counterfeit goods before.

If you buy fake goods from abroad online, customs may confiscate them when they arrive in the UK. You will lose the goods and you may lose the money you have paid for them.

http://www.direct.gov...andservices/DG_194549

[jimmy1969]

thanks for all your answers, me and my partner are worried sick whats going to happen, i hqave no job, large mortgage, my mrs is working 2 part time jobs to try make ends meet, i wish i never did it now , i have only been selling them for about 4 weekends and havent made much just enough to pay car boot fees and our dinner really

[JimmyCooper]

HC - get a grip

Unless you are shifting serious quantities - into the hundreds of thousands of pounds worth the police for a first time offence will take no action.

When I was interviewed by the police the copper was yawning and looking at his watch.

If you have no record you will probably not even get fined as TS would have been in touch by now. Don't worry what others say on here

[ojread2]

Good to see this happening actually
The police I mean - you cant sell branded items unless you have permission
The same way as you can;t download CD's and sell them
Ignorance is no defence

And I am certain you realise that if you buy cheap form China you are buying fake

[ojread2]

" i wish it was a scam"

It was a scam and you are the middle man

[grffindoor2011]

''Unfortunately for you ignorance is no defence''.

My hated piece of law. This needs to be stopped. Ignorance is every defence. If you don't know you should not be held accountable. If anyone on here was walking down a village street and you were arrested because doing so was illegal, I can bet you would be shouting from the rooftops if someone told you 'ignorance is no defence'.

Nonsense of the highest order.

[jimmy1969]

Update 23/04/2012. had a phone call from T.S today and the officer was really nice, he said he is in process of sending the jewelery off to various companies to have them tested then he will be in contact to arrange a formal interview, he said i might get a warning, or simple caution or worst case scenario could be prosecuted?? i still am really worried about this, is it sounding good for me or not?

[grasscarp]

first offence I would imagine would be a caution. A friend of mine had a similar experience and was scared witless but was not prosecuted.

[EDDIE51]

You will probably get away with the stuff just being confiscated. were you selling it as a brand name item ? If you had sold it as something like 'goldtone braclets ' you would possibly have got away with it.

[jimmy1969]

there were pandora /links/thomas sabo/shambala/tiffany jewelery but i never told anybody they were real ones and i just advertised the jewelery as bracelets or sets or necklaces never advertised them as named jewelery

[jimmy1969]

i wish i could just sign a disclaimer form and be rid of it all and get on with my life

[jimmy1969]

update, i have spoken to trading standards and they have asked me to go in for a formal interview he said there will be questions like where di i buy the items, and what checks did i do before buying the items??? i got them off ebay and i just checked the feedback they got from other customers and most of them were power sellers so you dont think they are going to sell fakes and to be honest i didnt do anymore checks as i dont really know what is expensive jewlery or not i just sold some what am can i tell them to help my case about what checks i made?? any help would be appreciated also i didnt know they were fake honestly so what can i expect from interview and what questions and does anybody have any advice what to say etc
thanks

[Sir_Knightish]

Hi, what happened in the end?

[johndouglas10]

China made items are cheap. If a product carries a brand name and is from that country then you must expect that they aren't real ones because of the cheap price. I think you'll be paying a fine because you are selling branded but not authentic products.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Handmade_jewelry
http://www.baltinesterjewelry.com/