I have an Etsy shop where I sell personalized 3d printed items for a niche community. Ive managed to make a good start and am hoping to move this into a full-time business. I have over a 1000 sales and hundreds of 5-star reviews.
I know my product would be very easy to replicate. After a year, I finally had it happen. I’m based in the US and the saving grace is they’re in the UK. Now, the larger market is in the US, but I sell plenty in the UK. He copied pretty much everything he could, down to slightly changing the description of the listing.
I’ve tried to differentiate a bit with my creativity, design and networking. I am trying to use this as motivation to innovate and drive, but I feel a creeping panic that I am trying to fight off.
Someone help me with a good pep talk and advice before I break down!
If he is selling on Etsy too and copied your designs closely you can report a copyright infringement via the Etsy reporting tool. In my experience to listings get taken down pretty quickly.