ok guys, 3 years ago i was selling replica products such as jordans, nike air force ones, womens handbags and more on my website and was using a domestic merchant provider. I just signed up and found out a week later my funds were frozen and will be returned to me after 180 days and that was that. No chargebacks, no reason why this happend, they just did it. Well I was discouraged and never looked back at doing this business again.
3 years later, I did more research and found out my kind of business is considered “high risk” and no domestic merchant would dare do business with me so now Im looking at these offshore merchants. They cater to high risk businesses such as myself however there setup fees are ridiculous like $499 to join and I get paid weekly. Then there are some scams as to if they hold your funds they might not return a single penny since I am dealing with a business out of US jurisdiction. I need help from someone whos experienced in this business and have an offshore merchant, who there with? How is it going so far? The payouts? and more. Please any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys :sick:
Madchedda - using the word “replica” is often just a nice way of saying “counterfeit”, and it is illegal to sell counterfeit merchandise that violates a trademark or patent.
Companies like Nike, Gucci, Coach, etc (even perfume companies) contract with private investigators to discover websites and brick/mortar shops selling items that violate their trademark & shut them down by contacting the credit card companies, sending cease & desist letters, filing civil lawsuits, & even in some cases seeking criminal prosecution. This is probably why your credit card processor refused to continue to service your type of business.
Some companies have their design trademarked - for example you may not see the word “Coach” on a Coach purse, but it is the design itself that is trademarked. If you produce or sell a design that is “confusingly similar” to the trademarked design you are illegally counterfeiting, and it matters not, under the law, that you tell the customers upfront that the items are “replica”. These companies have active programs to shut people down who are importing or domestically distributing their merchandise counterfeited and will use a variety of means, one of which is to notify your credit card processor.