Check out this cool Rand merchandise site!

I was browsing the internet today and found a site that sells all kinds of Rand merchandise like t-shirts, hats, playing cards, key-chains, shot glasses, coffee mugs, mouse pads, license plates, etc. As far as I know, it's the only site with such a wide variety of Rand inspired stuff.

http://www.johngaltgifts.com

-E

Post 1

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 7:15pm

Yeah, and strangely enough, if you look on their FAQ page you'll find the following contact info: sales@floridacustomvinyl.com

And when you look at the FLorida Custom Vinyl website you'll find a page full of pro-Christian, anti-abortion lunacy...

http://www.floridacustomvinyl.com/FCV/products.php?cat=17

Post 2

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 7:37pm

Hah - bedfellows, ain't they the dickens?

Post 3

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 7:33pm

Interesting. The other site looks like it caters to a much broader audience and I'm sure the Christian stuff sells well given how many religious people exist. Can't fault them for making money off that crowd. :-)

Post 4

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 7:41pm

It's also entirely possible that they militantly support such Christian idiocy, while making money off of the Objectivist crowd...

Post 5

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 7:47pm

I doubt it. If you look at the rest of the site, there are some pretty crude decals such as under the "offensive" and "funny" categories, which suggests that they aren't militant Christians. Don't be such a pessimist. :-)
(Edited by Wolf Larson on 8/10, 8:02pm)

(Edited by Wolf Larson on 8/10, 8:03pm)

Post 6

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 8:04pm

Most of their products are un-original, even copies of other's products with Objectivist words replacing the normal words.

Post 7

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 8:20pm

I heard Peikoff once sent some lawyers after a small-time rock band that named themselves Atlas Shrugged. I'm suprised he's not all over this outfit like flies on a rib roast.

Post 8

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 8:21pm

Regarding the ideological leanings of this company, I would say they are merely opportunists.

Post 9

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 10:06pm

Pete wrote: "Regarding the ideological leanings of this company, I would say they are merely opportunists."

Pardon me, Pete, while I direct some unearned scorn and derision your way for a faux pas.

MERELY OPPORTUNISTS?
MERELY OPPORTUNISTS?
MERELY OPPORTUNISTS?

So, you think that opportunism is mere but have you ever stopped to discover the origin of opportunism? The opportunist is the man who does not ask others to buy what he has to sell, but who sells what other people want to buy. Is this what you consider evil? Do not say that men are not good enough for your goods and services from another plane of existence. Your goods and services must meet the needs of men who have money to buy them at the price they are willing to pay. You claim that a man who sees a need and meets it for a profit is an opportunist while a man who peddles a solution in search of a problem is an idealist. What is idealism but the denial of physical reality?

(You have a little piece of collectivism stuck there in the back of your mind, Pete. You might to use a little mental floss or something.)

Post 10

Wednesday, August 10, 2005 - 11:33pm

If I had to guess, it is just a marketing ploy. Theoretically, if I owned a sticker shop I would do the same thing. Cover the whole gamut of bumper-sticker philosophy to make a buck, be it Jesus, Calvin, or Objectivism.

Post 11

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 5:11am

"I heard Peikoff once sent some lawyers after a small-time rock band that named themselves Atlas Shrugged. I'm suprised he's not all over this outfit like flies on a rib roast. "

Give him time, Pete, give him time....

Peikoff got his dogs after me about a year or so after I opened my little line of Objectivist material (hats, tees, polos, sweats, etc.) I programmed fun embroidered logos with an overt Objectivist flavor and sold them to the public, and judging from the mail I got, hard and soft core Rand fans ate them up.

The individual who cuts the vinyl on the site mentioned also sells his stuff on Ebay. His logos are extremely clever (I particularly love the "Enjoy Capitalism" one). I give the guy credit for marketing to the culture at large. I just didn't have the guts to make money from Christianity...dumb me!

Teresa

Post 12

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 9:11am

Peikoff got his dogs after me about a year or so after I opened my little line of Objectivist material (hats, tees, polos, sweats, etc.)

So what was the result?

Post 13

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 9:31am

I took the site down and replaced it with a link to his threat/demand letter here www.graphicneedle.com . It's been down a couple of months now.

Basically, I'm not prepared to fight with the guy, so I won't. And I'm not much of a gambler, so I won't put anymore chips in, either.

I've been thinking of ways to use this to my advantage, like "Peikoff is an unimaginative prick," kind of logo. But I've been swamped at work, so I'll save it for later. ;D

Post 14

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 5:21am

From the U.S. copyright web site-

"Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. In some cases, these things may be protected as trademarks."

I'm curious Teresa, under what law did Peikoff threaten you? What happened exactly?

Post 15

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 10:21am

Peikoff may not be the only one. At least one of the graphics in the ad is copied from www.atlassociety.org, a TOC affiliate.

Peter

Post 16

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 10:30am

I wonder if I might get one of those letters someday. My holding company might be teetering on the border ;)
I do believe my small homage is far enough removed to not be in violation, I guess time will tell.

http://taggartenterprises.com/

Post 17

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 3:11pm

Wolf:
"From the U.S. copyright web site-

"Copyright does not protect names, titles, slogans, or short phrases. In some cases, these things may be protected as trademarks."

I'm curious Teresa, under what law did Peikoff threaten you? What happened exactly?"

Copyright enfringment, even though I pretty sure I wasn't trampling on anyone's "property," unless he wants to claim any and all idea's springing from Rand's work as an "enfringment." If that's the case, we're _all_ doomed!

Exactly what happened is this: I got up one day, checked my email, and this thing was in my box with the letter as a .pdf attachment. I also received a hard copy of the letter at my home. Came out of the blue.
I've uploaded a group of images that represent my best sellers. See for yourself:
www.graphicneedle.com/group.jpg

Of course I had little blips in there about Rand, how we were celebrating her 100th birthday, etc. etc., as well as a page devoted to links pointing to Objectivist organizations (TOC, SOLO, The Atlas Sphere, etc., ARI even!). I offered a discount for group orders, like for clubs and such. I'm still a little bewildered as to why he decided to target me, however. I did contact a lawyer, but I just didn't want to shell out hundreds of dollars for something I wasn't making a living on. And no, I didn't give them any of the information they asked for, nor did I "destroy" any of the programs I made. They can kiss my ass first.

I can't put my finger on it, I wish I could, but I have a gut sense that if my site (which sold other stuff too) were _not_ in admiration of Rand or held affirmation of her ideas, it would have been perfectly fine with him. If I made stuff like "RAND WAS A NUT JOB!" or "ATLAS SHRUGGED SUCKS!" or "DAGNY WAS A HO!" he would have totally left me alone. I'm serious.

ARI then had the unbelievable nerve to put me on their emailing list, so I started getting uninvited "announcements" regarding ARI's various activities. I wrote the guy sending them and told him to please take me off of the Peikoffian Intifada announcement list. Thanks.

Shrug

Teresa

Post 18

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 1:16pm

By the way, I posted a thought provoking passage from Stephen Kinsella a few weeks ago questioning the legitimacy of intellectual property-

http://solohq.com/Forum/ArticleDiscussions/1309.shtml

Post 19

Thursday, August 11, 2005 - 4:46pm