PetaPixel | DL Cade |Oct 21, 2016

Remember the StikBox? The creative smartphone case selfie stick raised over $40K on Kickstarter for a product that would eventually cost about $47. But before the Kickstarter was even over, China was selling a perfect copy for as little as 8 bucks.

It’s part horror story, part PSA: if you’re planning to create a mass market product and release it over Kickstarter, be ready to deal with the lightning-quick copycats in China.

Isreali entrepreneur and creator of the StikBox, Yekutiel Sherman, was not ready. He did things the right way: put together prototypes, raised money from relatives to launch a professional crowdfunding campaign, and was prepared to deliver a fun, useful product.

See:  Accessing capital in China and solutions for crowdfunded companies

But just one week after launching his successful Kickstarter, exact replicas started popping up online:

When his backers started finding the copycats, many of which were selling for less than half the discount price they paid on Kickstarter, the backlash was swift and unforgiving:

Are you kidding me? We need the product now. You’re going to have your own lawsuit on your hands if you don’t start producing the products we’ve all paid for. Stop worrying about other companies and distribute your product. You’re company’s barely into its first year and you’re already running it into the ground.

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