Isn’t it nice when things turn out well? From the Seibei blog:
So, it is with a happy heart that I tell you this: Hot Topic will not be reordering the shirt. They’re going to sell off the remaining units (it was in “test marketsâ€, so there are probably more Sandwich Dinosaurs in the world than Awesome Monsters), and then end it there, which is fine by me. With the number of stores they have, it would be hell of expensive to get all the shirts back and then just toss ‘em, so I can’t expect them to break their backs. All I ever wanted was for it to stop, and now it looks like it will.
He also went on to say that the guys at Hot Topic were great about the whole situation, and Goodie Two Sleeves too (I hope those of you calling them names feel appropriately embarrassed!). It is possible that the design could be picked up by another vendor after it is done at Hot Topic, but I guess that David (and what seems like a small army of internet-followers) will have to deal with that situation if it arises in the future, but hopefully for the moment David can stick to the important business of training his new feline interns.
*PANIC OVER, ALL PARTIES WORKED THINGS OUT AMICABLY, EVERYONE’S HAPPY,
SEE*
Let’s get this clear from the outset: I like David (Mr. Seibei). He’s a good guy, we bounce e-mails back and forth on a variety of issues, and he’s sent me stuff in the mail before. For that reason I feel as if I’d be on dubious moral ground shouting accusations about what the comparison picture above suggests. That said, when I saw the tee on the right, I immediately thought “dude’s been ripped,” and whilst the two items are fairly different, the similarities are undeniable.Here’s the back story: Seibei first put the tee on the left of the picture on sale in the summer of 2005 and it has gone on to be one of their best sellers. I’ve always thought of the dinosaur as being the unofficial mascot of Seibei, especially as it has also popped up on the Ice Wizard hoodie (late 2006? early 2007?) and Dino checkerboard tee (I have no idea of the date, sorry). In January of this year Hot Topic started selling the the tee on the right, which is by a brand called Goodie Two Sleeves, who I know nothing of, though my research suggests they’re pretty big and are suppliers to chain and department stores across America. So there’s about a two and a half year gap between the two tees going on sale.
David’s hope is that G2S stop producing and selling the “Awesome Monster Tee,” and has contacted them to that effect. In reply they have stated that any resemblance of their design to “Sandwich Dinosaur” is completely unintentional. Offers were made to David (I am broadly aware of what the offers were, but I don’t think it is appropriate to share them), stopping selling the “Awesome Monster” was not one of those offers, so David declined what they put on the table.
I think that gets us up to speed. David seems fairly resigned that there is little he can do about this. We’re looking at a David vs. Goliath situation (in this case the David is actually called David, which helps the metaphor) and his one-man-brand can’t really compete with G2S and HT on a legal battlefield. I guess the only way he can console himself is that he’s not the only person that this has happened to, which I would presume isn’t much consolation at all.
Links:
Sandwich Dinosaur tee: here
Awesome Monster tee @ Hot Topic: here
Seibei: here
Goodie Two Sleeves: here [warning: Fash site with some sound]
Original post on the Seibei blog: here
Fantastic Bonanza’s take: here [note: slightly less restrained than mine]
