Shein stole my design AGAIN. And I have more tea.

I’m sitting present shaking due to the fact that I’m truthful upset astatine myself. I fto myself get emotionally manipulated, I fto my defender down, and it happened again.

You know, there’s the benignant of wounded that happens erstwhile a institution does unethical things to you, and past there’s the benignant of guttural stroke that sucks the aerial retired of your lungs erstwhile a quality you forgave, betrays you again.

After the archetypal clip SHEIN copied my Pirouette Skort plan backmost successful Jan 2023, I was reached retired to by their squad aft each of you guys went brainsick connected them. For weeks, they kept asking maine if I could get connected a telephone due to the fact that their US President, George Chiao, wanted to personally speech to me.

First, let’s dissect this message:

Eventually, erstwhile they agreed to the docket I wanted to talk on, I hopped connected a Zoom telephone with George connected Feb 22, 2023. He came disconnected precise personable, precise friendly, and adjacent though helium didn’t apologize for what SHEIN did, helium told maine a communicative astir however his girl was a Blogilates instrumentality and however she came rushing into his country erstwhile the 1st usurpation happened, screaming “WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO CASSEY???” I ever person a brushed spot for fans. He did specified a bully occupation of calming maine down that I walked retired of that speech having large respect for the mode helium eloquently handled this PR crisis. As a result, I decided to chill it connected my SHEIN posts.

He got precisely what helium wanted.

Looking backmost with clarity now, I americium truthful disappointed successful myself. George did a large occupation of playing to my sensitivity and helium made maine consciousness atrocious for him. I fell for the girl communicative and erstwhile helium said it wounded him erstwhile radical made mean comments astir his company, I weirdly softened and fto my defender down. In a twisted way, I chose NOT to stock the speech beneath with you guys due to the fact that of the mode helium made maine consciousness similar HE was the victim.

But present that a 2nd usurpation has happened, THERE IS NO HOLDING BACK.

THE VIOLATIONS:

THE CONVERSATION:

Here’s precisely what we talked about:

1️⃣ George said SHEIN didn’t bargain my design. He said implicit and implicit again that SHEIN is conscionable similar Amazon and that they person nary thought if their sellers are selling stolen designs. He said SHEIN is conscionable a marketplace.

2️⃣ When asked however I could forestall SHEIN from stealing my designs again, helium said successful the aboriginal each I person to bash is taxable my plan to SHEIN BEFORE it goes unrecorded connected POPFLEX and past my plan volition participate a database of “DO NOT COPY.” From determination his buyers volition cognize not to acquisition thing that looks similar my design. (Umm what??  Why would I EVER bash this??).

3️⃣ In the aforesaid convo helium said “You cognize that what we’re doing isn’t amerciable right?,” making it dependable similar SHEIN’s actions were ethical and that helium was doing maine a coagulated by taking down my skort plan from their website.

4️⃣ When I asked him what happened to the units that weren’t sold, helium said “They were astir apt donated oregon destroyed.”

Probably? Shouldn’t helium know? Or were they conscionable sold connected a antithetic country’s SHEIN website?

5️⃣  When I asked him however galore skorts were sold, helium said “Not that many.” He said that SHEIN is simply a genuinely sustainable institution due to the fact that they trial debased units of caller designs, and lone if they merchantability well, volition they manufacture successful larger quantities. In a follow-up email, I asked him for the nonstop quantity sold and helium said 28, successful which helium tried to wage maine for the income and I did not accept.

IS THERE ANY TRUTH TO THIS?

I americium precise wary of this debased fig due to the fact that if 28 was genuinely the fig of my copycat skorts ever sold, wherefore would they manufacture this again? From the latest lawsuit against SHEIN (3 graphic designers are suing for copyright infringement and besides claiming a RICO violation), I work the 52-page case. I found this excerpt written by SHEIN themselves astir however they usage algorithms to find lawsuit interest:

So, archetypal off, the 100-200 units happening checks disconnected with what George told me.

Secondly, let’s speech astir the 2nd paragraph. Clearly, my skort wouldn’t person been reproduced if the archetypal tiny tally wasn’t successful. I bash not deliberation they lone sold 28 units of my skort. I bash not deliberation those skort units were ever donated oregon destroyed, and were sold connected a antithetic country’s SHEIN website to find their popularity.

What alarms maine is that if determination was already a archetypal usurpation connected my design, shouldn’t it person been added to the “DO NOT COPY” database? If they truly had this database, I wouldn’t beryllium present penning this post!

Additionally, I deliberation if idiosyncratic forgot to enactment my skort plan successful the database, the algorithm picked up my viral video AGAIN and this each happened AGAIN

GASLIGHTING:

The gaslighting.

The ignorant, uneducated, confidence.

I cannot.

Do not propulsion astir words similar “patent”, “trademark”, and “copyright” erstwhile you are NOT an IP lawyer and erstwhile you person zero thought what you are talking about, and past proceed to blasted maine for being a victim.

For the record, I person spent countless hours speechmaking manner law, talking to respective lawyers to get antithetic perspectives, portion besides strategizing with my ineligible squad to spot what tin beryllium done successful my existent concern and what tin beryllium done to forestall Shein and different shady concern from stealing POPFLEX designs successful the future. Lawyers aren’t inexpensive and this concern has acceptable maine backmost tens of thousands of dollars successful getting copyrights, cease and desist letters, and conscionable wrapping my caput astir the full situation.

I saw immoderate comments saying that Blogilates is simply a “big brand” and talking to maine arsenic if SHEIN and I are the same…I would conscionable similar to punctual everyone that SHEIN is valued astatine $66 BILLION, and I americium implicit present with a tiny 20-person team. Like, acknowledgment for reasoning I’m large (???) but the information is, I americium inactive a tiny concern nary substance what you deliberation of me. And immoderate BILLION dollar concern taking vantage of a tiny concern is simply a TRASH COMPANY.

WHAT DO WE DO?

Sorry for each the complaining. When I americium upset, I person to constitute everything retired due to the fact that it helps maine process my feelings. I privation to convey everyone who has commented connected my IG. It has been healing to perceive your enactment and to spot your re-stories arsenic I woody with this concern for the 2nd time.

Here are immoderate actionable steps you tin take:

1️⃣ Share this post. The much radical we tin marque alert of the problem, the better.

2️⃣ Please halt buying from SHEIN. Choosing to walk your dollars elsewhere is the champion mode to instrumentality a stand. For those who accidental they can’t spend thing else…you person galore options. I grew up with Vietnamese migrant parents who taught maine however to prevention wealth by buying the CLEARANCE conception of Ross, Marshalls, TJ MAXX etc. I besides shopped swap meets, illustration sales, and ne'er bought thing afloat price.

3️⃣ Hold influencers accountable! Comment connected influencers’ posts – you know, the ones that are doing SHEIN Hauls oregon the ones being paid to speech astir SHEIN! Be nice, don’t berate, conscionable amended them. If we tin halt 1 of them, that means we are redeeming hundreds of thousands of followers from buying from SHEIN.

PS: For those of you asking erstwhile the Pirouette Skort volition restock, it’s brainsick timing, but it’s really THIS WEEK. Some colors person already trickled backmost in. Here’s the link. The skort goes from XXS-3X and the shorts nether are anti-cameltoe!