Can I make an item, and sell it without licenses etc?

kinger8938 · 28 Oct 2019 at 09:36

Basically I made a modification item for a gaming system, showed it off on reddit and loads of people are asking if I can make more/ or sell them down the line. This wasn't my intention, but I would like to if I can.

I don't want to set up a business or anything but just maybe produce a handful of these items and sell them on. Is this allowed? Probably a silly question tbh.

I looked at Etsy for example and apparently many need licenses to trade legally on there, pay taxes on earnings and so on.

Just a thought, appreciate any advice. Probably not worth it really but just wondering

Matt

Dunks · 28 Oct 2019 at 09:40

kinger8938 said:
Basically I made a modification item for a gaming system, showed it off on reddit and loads of people are asking if I can make more/ or sell them down the line. This wasn't my intention, but I would like to if I can.

I don't want to set up a business or anything but just maybe produce a handful of these items and sell them on. Is this allowed? Probably a silly question tbh.

I looked at Etsy for example and apparently many need licenses to trade legally on there, pay taxes on earnings and so on.

Just a thought, appreciate any advice. Probably not worth it really but just wondering

Matt

Depends what it is! Might not be worth the hassle if it's something that's covered under regulation such as electrical items or pressure systems etc etc.

If something goes wrong and injures or kills someone and you've built them, then it opens up a can of worms.

kinger8938 · 28 Oct 2019 at 09:43

Dunks said:
Depends what it is! Might not be worth the hassle if it's something that's covered under regulation such as electrical items or pressure systems etc etc.

If something goes wrong and injures or kills someone and you've built them, then it opens up a can of worms.

Oh no nothing like that. It's an aluminium item for aesthetic purposes only. Sits in a recess on top of the plastic case. Replaces an original plastic part just made one to have a mess about and people seem to like the look.

D.P. · 28 Oct 2019 at 09:48

kinger8938 said:
Oh no nothing like that. It's an aluminium item for aesthetic purposes only. Sits in a recess on top of the plastic case. Replaces an original plastic part just made one to have a mess about and people seem to like the look.

Wont need a license but you will need to pay taxes. You wont need to set up a bussiness, just declare the income on your tax form.

Nasher · 28 Oct 2019 at 10:05

Supposed to, but no one does

MissChief · 28 Oct 2019 at 10:08

There are people who sell hundreds if not thousands of items a year on eBay and make thousands in profit who've never paid a penny in tax or VAT and aren't registered as a business. Go for it. If you're only selling a few dozen I wouldn't worry.

Kenai · 28 Oct 2019 at 10:08

Looking at reddit and what you're producing, you could get in hot water because of the imagery / logos you're using.

Whether you'd make enough of a wave to get noticed is another matter. I can't imagine Nintendo are closely monitoring the Gamecube scene these days.

MissChief · 28 Oct 2019 at 10:10

Kenai said:
Looking at reddit and what you're producing, you could get in hot water because of the imagery / logos you're using.

Have you seen ebay recently? Phone cases, wraps for consoles with copyrighted imagery all over the place.

Deleted member 77746 · 28 Oct 2019 at 10:22

Well you can't post something like this and not show it off. What you hiding come on show us.

kinger8938 · 28 Oct 2019 at 10:34

Kenai said:
Looking at reddit and what you're producing, you could get in hot water because of the imagery / logos you're using.

Whether you'd make enough of a wave to get noticed is another matter. I can't imagine Nintendo are closely monitoring the Gamecube scene these days.

Yes this is another issue and the main reason I'm not really too keen on doing it! A custom Logo would be fine, and the Zelda logo gets a pass as it's actually not owned by Nintendo as it's a symbol for something else (can't remember off the top of my head)

Either way, the ones I made were in my own time. To make more I would need to get work involved and probably at least pay for my time spent etc. Or take some holiday and come in and make them on my own time

But yeah we are talking a handful in terms of quantity. Still, I do want to do it right if we do

touch · 28 Oct 2019 at 10:38

You're missing a trick here. Stop wasting your machining time making items that people actually want to buy and start making unofficial branded collector coins! Literally worth £££ in a few years.

kinger8938 · 28 Oct 2019 at 10:40

Examples

Also pass as coasters

builder22 · 28 Oct 2019 at 10:47

Deleted member 77746 · 28 Oct 2019 at 11:09

you do know you copying game logos?

kinger8938 · 28 Oct 2019 at 11:20

mrbell1984 said:
you do know you copying game logos?

Yeah that's the main issue

like above the "triangle one" is ok, wouldnt be able to sell the actual GC logo though

Puzzled · 28 Oct 2019 at 11:33

I'm guessing you are using a CNC at work? I'd have thought the time / materials would make these rather expensive?

Look nice though but copyrighted material is always a risk, at best you'll just get a warning to take your products down or Etsy will close your shop after a few reports but you might go unnoticed. It's annoying as loads of people now have the tools and skill to make awesome fan art but they can't sell it.

kinger8938 · 28 Oct 2019 at 11:37

Puzzled said:
I'm guessing you are using a CNC at work? I'd have thought the time / materials would make these rather expensive?

Look nice though but copyrighted material is always a risk, at best you'll just get a warning to take your products down or Etsy will close your shop after a few reports but you might go unnoticed. It's annoying as loads of people now have the tools and skill to make awesome fan art but they can't sell it.

Yeah tbh it's not really worth it in the long run, was just curious tbh as I ran a few spares more as a trial incase they went wrong. Will probably just give them away.

Cnc yeah. For these I used scrap material/off cuts from another job I was doing, and lunch break time instead of just sitting on my phone ha!

And yeah I agree. People want items like this and the only reason I wanted to do more was because of the attention they got on the community reddit. But to do more it would cost me and I cant justify it for free. I gave one or 2 away before and even covered postage just to get them out to those interested but for a bigger batch that isnt possible

Puzzled · 28 Oct 2019 at 11:53

If it's just a few then you could sell through reddit via Paypal gift or similar to those interested for a bit of extra cash and a way to improve your skills / use your break time.

I always enjoy looking at makers forums or the laser reddit groups and some of the stuff people make that has been inspired by games / films is stunning but to do it legally you'd need permission from the copyright holder and they just aren't interested. There is some grey area with fan inspired art but it dubious at best and copyright law is different here to the US where a lot of it is made.

That said it's unlikely you'd get in to any trouble for selling a few bits here and there and you'll get warnings from Etsy etc before anything happens. A quick search on these marketplaces shows that plenty of people ignore the law, some through ignorance others just accept the risk but bigger sellers will get noticed.

kinger8938 · 28 Oct 2019 at 11:58

Puzzled said:
If it's just a few then you could sell through reddit via Paypal gift or similar to those interested for a bit of extra cash and a way to improve your skills / use your break time.

I always enjoy looking at makers forums or the laser reddit groups and some of the stuff people make that has been inspired by games / films is stunning but to do it legally you'd need permission from the copyright holder and they just aren't interested. There is some grey area with fan inspired art but it dubious at best and copyright law is different here to the US where a lot of it is made.

That said it's unlikely you'd get in to any trouble for selling a few bits here and there and you'll get warnings from Etsy etc before anything happens. A quick search on these marketplaces shows that plenty of people ignore the law, some through ignorance others just accept the risk but bigger sellers will get noticed.

Thanks

I think this pretty much sums it up and answers my questions.

Thanks all!

MissChief · 28 Oct 2019 at 12:02

Generally speaking if you can show you're not profiting from your work then it's difficult to stop stuff like this. Fan made films happen all the time but as soon as there's even a sniff of potential profit lawyers get involved. If you only charged postage and materials then I'd imagine most companies won't have an issue but Nintendo have been shown to be very protective, even to the point of claiming monetisation on YouTube content creators playing Nintendo games.