Hello my friends and fishes, welcome back! Today we are going to be discussing the concept of wholesaling and what this has to do with knock-off mermaid tails within the mermaid community.
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• What is a wholesaling?
  • “Wholesaling is the act of selling products in bulk to another retailer, usually at a discount, who then sells the product to its customers at a higher price.”
    • This is not typically the business model used within our industry.
    • Even our most iconic tail makers generally make their mermaid tails in-house.
      • For example, my mermaid tails are designed by me, printed by a local printing company, then sewn by me. I am not relying on a third party to purchase mermaid tails in bulk. This is why my shop updates are typically very small and my prices reflect this as well.
  • Companies that use this business model will go onto websites like AliExpress or Alibaba to look for mermaid tails that they can order in bulk and sell. This also includes things like monofins and other related swimming gear.
  • While some of these production houses produce original designs, many hire artists to look at what is popular within our community and duplicate it either exactly from a photo or use it heavily for “inspiration” to create their own version (which very often is an obvious copy).
    
    
• Is wholesaling bad?
  • Generally no. If you find a reputable company to work with, have done your research, and have tested the product you plan to sell before launching it in your shop, then you are fine to use a wholesaler. This is generally how a lot of businesses actually work, even outside the mermaid community.
  • When it comes to mermaid tails however, there are companies out there who are definitely taking advantage of our community.
    • Mermaid tails have recently gained a lot of popularity and do sell quite well which means that random people out there on the internet wanting to make a buck will slap together an online shop and market themselves as a small local tail maker, but the fact is that they aren’t actually producing the tails you see on their website and the whole thing is actually a lie.
      
      
• This brings us to some of the “fake news” currently circulating within our community...
  • This happens when one company claims to have been ripped-off by another company in order to generate sympathy when in fact they are simply using the same supplier.
    • Now I do wish to asterisks this and say that some wholesalers will violate contracts and share designs with other companies. This is another common way that knock-offs happen not only within our community but within many other industries as well.
  • What is the point of this “fake news?”
    • Mermaid tail selling companies (and I say “selling” not “making” on purpose here) are using this as a strategy to gain sympathy and to align themselves with the companies who are above-board and producing their tails in-house.
    • It gives the community the impression that they are trust-worthy if they are coming forward to let people know they’ve been ripped-off, even though they haven’t in most cases.
      
      
• Please be sure to watch the full video to learn more about the catalogue of designs as I show specific examples of designs that have been clearly stolen and/or copied.​

• These knock-offs can have a variety of issues including dangerous “monofins” which are sometimes just two flippers with a piece of plastic stapled or glued together. I plan to make a video talking about these poorly made “monofins” soon…These companies are in it for the profit and sometimes have little to no experience when it comes to mermaid tails and how they are actually used.
  • The fabric might also be of a poor quality or worse still might be the wrong kind of material entirely and absorb way more water than it should and therefore put you at increased risk of serious injury.
  • They may also be ill-fitting and/or the design may be a poor print quality or nothing as shown on the website from which it was purchased.
    
    
• This video was not made to shame anyone who already has a knock-off mermaid tail. Maybe you bought it before you knew what was what, or maybe it was a gift. So what do you do if you already have a knock-off tail?
  • First, did it come with a monofin? Is it legit? Check it for defects and make sure it is safe to use. If it is not, it will need to be replaced.
  • What kind of fabric are you dealing with?
    • Check all of your seams to make sure the tail will hold up while swimming. Does it need drainage holes? Some larger flukes with vinyl inserts will benefit from drainage holes. Throw the tail in your sink and see how much water it absorbs and how heavy it feels so you aren’t surprised when you hit the pool for your first swim.
  • Now that you are sure your tail is safe for use, use it and have fun.
    • It is wasteful to throw something away that could be safely used and I wouldn’t want you to feel bad if it was a gift from someone who truly meant well.
    • What you can do is make a note for your next purchase and kindly let others know the benefits of purchasing from an established, local, and/or smaller maker.
      • And this goes for people leaving hateful, hurtful comments on people’s content about how their tail is a knock-off. If you feel like you need to get your nose into someone else’s business, do so privately and kindly. Don’t make assumptions because you could really hurt someone’s feelings and you have no idea whether or not they themselves are even aware.
        
        
• How to spot a knock-off.
  • Let’s quickly touch on what to look for when you are shopping for your next mermaid tail, so that you know what to avoid.
    • Does the website show designs you’ve seen before on other sites?
    • Is the print on the mermaid tail grainy or blurry?
    • Is the fabric too thin or shiny?
    • Is the price too good to be true?
      
      

​Lastly, on behalf of all mermaid tail makers I want to thank those of you out there who do support makers within our community. You are the reason we do what we do. Seeing mermaids swim in my mermaid tails has been one of the highlights of my life and I am so grateful your generosity and support towards me and my business.

I hope you found this video informative and helpful, if you did be sure to give it a big thumbs up and don’t forget to subscribe to join the pod and hit the bell so you never miss an upload!

Thank you again for watching and happy swimming!
​💚💙

Hello my fishes Courtney mermaid here and welcome back to another blog/video post!

We all know why we are here. You're here to discuss the latest fin folk mermaid tail ripoff. So if you don't know what happened, let me let you in… Mermaid Lucia recently released an almost an exact duplicate of Finfolk’s new LED silicone mermaid tail, which recently blew up over on Instagram and TikTok.

I’m going to include my two previous videos in this post as well since it’s important for all the information to be accessible.

So a brief history… Back in 2020 Finfolk worked incredibly hard as a team to bring to life, this incredible mermaid tail. A truly one-of-a-kind design, something that nobody has seen before.
The influences for this tale included a want to create something new with LED lights, the light of Elendil from the Lord of the Rings, deep sea fish, like the angler fish, as well as a variety of prehistoric fish.

So when we compare these two tails, you can very plainly see that one was extremely heavily influenced by the other.

Now let's talk about why I have such a problem with this. I mean, you literally took Finfolk’s unique, one-of-a-kind idea and duplicated it!

You, you haven't innovated anything here. Nothing in nature exists that looks like this, that you could have referenced to create something this close to being similar.

Obviously these are my opinions. I am not affiliated with any of these companies. I do not represent either of these companies. These are all my personal opinions, but this is how this looks to a professional tail maker.
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Be sure to watch the full video to hear the rest of my thoughts on this situation…

This has become a real issue within our community and something that I plan to continue to cover on my channel. That said, these videos will help get you started and give you an overview as to what the issues are and why this hurts us as a community.

As always I would love to hear from you on this respectfully in the comments!

Thank you for reading/watching and happy swimming!
​Courtney Mermaid

I've made two videos in response to some of the more recent drama and I hope you will find them informative and helpful.

There is a difference between plagiarism, copying, and inspiration. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of understanding the difference, especially when you decide to take matters into your own fins...

If you only watch one of the videos, I recommend the "Copy VS Inpso" since I also touch on what you can do to help your favourite creators when their work gets stolen and how to know when it is appropriate to get involved.

Thank you so much to all you beautiful fishes who love my work enough that you choose to stand up for me when you see I'm being taken advantage of. I love and appreciate you all so much!

Happy Swimming!
​Courtney Mermaid