Hello All,

I'm starting an online e-boutique and I'm trying to figure out what purchasing my product will look like for the time being. Before deciding to start my own website, I sold items on eBay, no with an eBay store, but just with a personal eBay account. With eBay, you don't have to worry about getting permission from larger companies like Levis, Gucci, Marc Jacobs, etc. to sell. I'm wondering, with my new website, will I have to ask permission, or get certified as an authorized seller before I can sell their products? I'm thinking for now I'll just shop the sales, and list at higher price points until I can build enough capital to buy wholesale. Thoughts?

Thank you so much in advance,

-Zack

Zack - You have every right to buy items and resell them online. If you buy a Chevrolet pickup you do not need to get permission from GM to sell it. If that were the case there would not be any used car lots, consignment shops or even ebay.

That aside, you can be certain if the lawyers from Levis see you selling the product they may harrass you and even possibly bring legal action.

Everyone wants to protect their brand and trademarks. So you will need to be very careful about how you represent what you are doing. Do not use their brands to promote, avoid using logos and make it clear that you are not an authorized retailer.

You can set it up to look like a consignment shop and mark the inventory as new or unused and that way there is no confusion about what you are doing.

It is really about how you present your store that would be an issue for the brands. Do it corretly and you will not have a problem.