More Scammy Online Vendors Using Other Companies' Photographs.

[creagdhubh]

Thank you so very, very much for posting this. I was (regretably) considering buying from Robertsonco. No longer even a thought. Again thank you for stopping me from making a huge mistake!

Good on ya!

[English Bloke]

Glengarry hats getting ripped off again as well, despite the clear copyright notice


Glengarry hats "airbourne maroon"


Robertson "airbourne maroon"

Apparently, if you take a copyrighted image, cut it out from its background, reverse it (note feather hackle on opposite side), paste it onto a darker background and then blaze your name across the middle, it makes it yours... Or so you'd think.

I'll not be shopping there either!!

[Kilted Cole]

And the response I received


11:05am
Haroon Rasheed
ok as you wish friend, but you should take decision after seen quality. How did you say, we did take permission or not for updating these pictures?
Anyway. have a great day.
thanks

[Kilted Cole]

Has nothing to do with quality, Has everything to do with Honor and Integrity. This guy obviously has neither.

[Kilted Cole]

Okay, so, new personal rule for me. Only buy from companies I know and trust. American and European.

[Carlo]

Question:
would it be possible to have some threads sorted by continent or so, about trustworthy vendors?
I think many of us would love to have an easy to get to list where one could check for the white sheep out there.
Since I don't like buying stuff on the net, such a list would make life much easier and my feet would thank you .

Edit:
Positiv reviews are much more helpfull than negativ ones I think.
Maybe a star system or so for:
Service-
Quality-
Price-

[AJBryant]

I have seen these guys before. They are as you suggested from Pakistan or vicinity.

And "Robertson" is such a common Pakistani name, it would be hard to track them down. ;)

[adempsey10]

I had an experience on Ebay once where the seller had several pictures of the 'same' kilt. Each picture, however, clearly showed a different kilt, albeit the same tartan. I emailed the seller asking which was the actual kilt for sale as their pictures were clearly not of the kilt being sold. After some back and forth and misunderstanding (he clearly was not a native english speaker), he finally sent me pictures of the actual kilt with his own camera. I was slightly impressed by his willingness to do this, but I couldnt figure out why the hell he wouldnt just do that in the first place. I didnt end up buying anything from him, the whole thing gave me a bad vibe.

[TheOfficialBren]

As one of many intellectual property owners on the forum this thread is of interest to me. It was developed, some years back, the technology to embed copy-protection protocols into audio files. The idea was that once a song was ripped from a disc (or online merchant-i.e. iTunes) it would then have a limited number of times that it could be copied (a reasonably generous number, too--about 10 times). You could burn to disc or transfer to a digital media device (iPod, smartphine, tablet, other computers)but after that your limit was reached and then you had to re-purchase the media. It was set to curb piracy.

It was all on track until one fatal flaw was discovered: if one simply re-recorded the audio (like with a stero cable into an interface) then this brilliant copy-protection software was rendered moot.

The moral of the story is thatpiracy should be taken seriously for what it is: THEFT!!!

It should be prosecuted and punished to the fullest extent of the law to deter it and curb it. I shall use myself as an example (not to boast but to illustrate a point, I apologise in advance if I am misinterpreted):

I work DAMN hard making awesome music that has earned me the admiration of industry peers and some awards. I invest countless hours and dollars to produce a product of very high quality in the single-most competitive and cut-throat industry on the planet. There is no more difficult way to make an honest living in the civilised world than what I do. I challenge anyone to disprove that.

At the end of the day, it is often (though not always) for proverbial peanuts that I am compensated from LEGITIMATE revenue streams...now, how do you suppose piracy affects me? It sure as hell hurts MY business more than it hurts Metallica's or Coldplay's businesses, I tell ya what!

Just like any other small business, including many of the artisans here on XMTS, piracy hurts business and commerce by misrepresenting products, outright stealing merchandise, undermining consumer confidence, and devaluing the works and labours the artisans and (legitimate) vendors.



Okay...I'm finished ranting. Others may have the podium now.

[RockyR]

Question:
would it be possible to have some threads sorted by continent or so, about trustworthy vendors?
I think many of us would love to have an easy to get to list where one could check for the white sheep out there.
Since I don't like buying stuff on the net, such a list would make life much easier and my feet would thank you .

Edit:
Positiv reviews are much more helpfull than negativ ones I think.
Maybe a star system or so for:
Service-
Quality-
Price-

Agreed, but wouldn't it be easier to buy from the sponsors that were already vetted and shown to have a good track record? Please note, I'm saying this as a forum MEMBER and not as a sponsor. Yes, I have an obvious bias, but in all honesty, I'd feel the same way (and likely be MUCH more vocal about it) if I wasn't a sponsor.

I've personally bought items from Freedom Kilts, R Kilts, Tartans Museum and others. I've become friendly with Jerry at SWK and Jeannie at Altkilt. I like to buy (and refer people) to companies I know and trust.