etzee

Can I sell a replica if I say it is a replica?

No. Being honest about it changes the conversation, not the rule.

The Metzee team15 Oct 20262 min read

No. Counterfeit items are on the not-allowed list, and labelling one honestly does not take it off that list.

This is worth stating plainly because the question is usually asked in good faith. A seller who writes replica in the title is not trying to deceive anybody — and the answer is still no, because the problem is not only the deception.

Why honesty does not fix it

The rights holder is the injured party, not the buyer. A trademark is infringed by the copy existing and being sold, regardless of whether the buyer knew. A clear description protects your buyer. It does not protect you.

It is not Metzee’s rule to waive. No marketplace can consent on a brand’s behalf.

What is allowed

Plenty, and the line is clearer than people expect:

Unbranded items. Earrings in a style, a bag in a shape, a shirt in a cut — with no logo, no brand name, and no claim to be from a brand. Entirely fine, and a large part of what sells well.

Inspired-by, described honestly, without the name. "A gold-tone chain in a classic link" sells. "Dupe of [brand]" does not, because it trades on the name.

Genuine second-hand branded items. A real bag you own and are reselling is fine, and the brand name belongs in the title. Can I sell second-hand things?

Genuine items you bought to resell. Also fine. Can I buy things to resell on Metzee?

The words that get a listing taken down

replica, first copy, master copy, dupe of, inspired by a brand name, AAA quality, mirror image, OG quality — and a brand name on something that is not that brand.

If one of those is in your draft, the listing is going to come down with a reason attached, and a pattern of them is a problem for your account rather than just for the listing. Why was my item taken down?

Where it leaves you if that was your stock

An honest answer rather than a comfortable one: that stock cannot be sold here.

What can be sold is the same item with the branding removed from the listing — if, and only if, the item itself carries no logo or brand mark. An actual logo on the object cannot be described around.

Why Metzee is strict about this

Because a marketplace that tolerates it becomes known for it, and every honest seller on it pays for that. A buyer who cannot tell whether a store is genuine does not buy from the genuine one — they stop buying.

So the rule protects the sellers doing it properly, which is most of them. Metzee’s position on counterfeits

More: what you cannot sell, using someone else’s brand, photos or words, how to describe condition.

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