AIBU or have I just been extremely naive?

[ClittyClittyGangBang]

I have NC'd for this, think I might get flamed.

I sell handmade crafts and soaps, vintage bits and pieces and the odd piece of retro furniture. There are some shabby chic in there as well. I also sell chalk paint. At the moment I am based out of my garage and my kitchen and had been looking at a property for a while.

Moving into a shop will also mean my sister can have an outlet for her dressmaking and haberdashery bits that she sells.

Anyhow, a retail shop close to us became vacant months ago but no one was interested as it had been a really dodgy takeaway. We viewed and worked out that we could afford the rent between the two of us. The only problem was the refitting of the shop, so I approached a builder who I know personally for a quote for a strip out of the kitchen and counter and obligatory fish tank.

Anyhow, he was quite taken up with what we wanted to do. He listened to what we wanted and then gave us a quote which was a little higher than we had expected. We then approached the letting agent, imagine our surprise from being the only person interested to the shop had suddenly been rented out earlier that day. A change of usage notice was posted on the door, so I guessed it was going to be a shop of some kind.

Roll on a few months, and guess who is starting up a business in there selling all of the above? The builder's wife. Guess what she is selling? Exactly the same stock as we were going to have, she is on FB posting about all of her "vintage stock". Guess how they have done the decor? Exactly to our specification.

Am I right to be devastated or AIBU and this is just how people do "business"?

Yep, do share your revamped page. We'll give it plenty of love!

(Also consider doing small easy to post give-away prizes, like once a month or something. A friend of mine was swamped with dedicated competition enterer's when she gave away a £2.99 cake on her page!)

I've been watching this thread but haven't commented until now.

Your new plan sounds great, and more likely to succeed than the original premises you looked at. I really hope she is green with envy.

Good luck with it all.

huchblue they stole your work and then tried to sue you???

The mind boggles. What is wrong with these people??

Yanbu - he's a prick.

However shops are a money pit and that shop will close down within a year - I guarantee it.

Set yourself up an online shop.

I'm in online marketing specialising in SEO so have a lot of experience dealing with this and I am just about to set up my own business online. Loads cheaper.

Here for advice if you need.

Yes, please update us with your Facebook when you are ready.

How are things today OP?

If you need any serious help with copyright I am more than happy to help out (I have been through something similar).

Just wanted to update the thread, it is not really very good news.

In the last three weeks I have been "bumped" from three local craft fairs, guess who has my place instead of me? At. Every. Bloody. Event. I have bookings at another six between now and Xmas, four are at local schools and am now worried that she will gazump me from those as well.

I actually helped to organise one of the fairs and have an estate agency board advertising it outside my house. I am struggling to stop myself from ripping the board down...

I just cannot believe it, I actually feel more annoyed about it now then I did three weeks ago.

How absolutely vile.

How can she enjoy any milestone or success she achieves knowing none of it means anything?

So sorry OP, you must be crushed and surely a little bit tempted to share her page with us

have you asked why they've bumped you? has she offered them more money than you?

what a fucking bitch.

How is that possible? Did you pay for your spot? How did they let you know. All the craft shows I've know have had things tied up way in advance

take the sign down they can hardly whine when they have replaced you

Op, email the people who've dropped you from their events & ask them why, so that you'll know for future reference. Ask them if there have been any changes to the brief of the event & what has changed from their original requirements.
You see, I'm thinking that if you have in writing anywhere that you were booked & now they've changed their minds, then you had entered a business agreement & they've breached it. You'll have spent capital preparing stock to resource those events.
If your town is a no-go because of the popular builder's wife, could you do the events at other towns not too far away?
Also, you need somebody on-side to be able to find out what is being said & why events are dropping you. Are you being incorrectly slighted? Have you got the builder's quote for your specifications in writing? Keep his requests for your photos. It will all help you to build a case. Just keep a file going. As individual incidents, they might be difficult to make a case of, but keep them together, add to them & you might just have something.

Don't give up & GOOD LUCK!

Another reason I find this latest development so odd is that most craft fairs make the exhibitors pay to attend. It just seems most peculiar that they could cancel your spot.

I can't think of a single local craft fair where you don't pay. Even the school summer fair type places require payment.

How can she do craft fairs and run a shop ?
The only time a shop is busy is is a weekends ?

Oh my God...I have just read this through with my heart sinking for you OP.

I have no advice to offer, as I am completely ignorant of the ins and outs of such a business, but I wanted you to know that I am genuinely feeling your pain.

I am absolutely astounded at them! The callousness (I guess that's business but still), the audacity, the picture stealing, the refusal to acknowledge what they have done...all of it.
What a pair of pricks. A pox upon them....a POX!

How could that happen? I would ask each venue for a reason. It can't be a coincidence.

Have you demanded to know why you've lost your stall at each fayre?

What were the explanations that they gave you?

She has clearly been bad mouthing you to them.

I organised a Christmas fair, and I would never have bumped you to take on someone else with the same products.

I got to your recent update and was going to say I have three friends who did the same to me, they'd spend hours on the phone discussing suppliers pricing etc.
Only ones doing it still three years on. It absolutely ate me up for a while really bashed my self esteem.

This latest update, Jesus what is wrong with the woman?! I loved the idea of your shop with the clothes, even more so if there was tea and coffee involved!!!! Would a chat with the organisers find out why? I'd do nothing on FB pages it will only make you look bad.

Please please take the sign down. If you are no longer attending then why promote it? You could well end up sending people to it who may think that the business stealer is you and buying from them. If anyone asks why it’s been taken down then tell them the truth.

If you haven’t already i think it’s time to see a solicitor, there is such a thing as intellectual property rights (which has been mentioned on here already). The business stealers aren’t going to be happy until you’re beaten. I know it must be upsetting and energy sapping (i feel it for you) but stand up and fight, the moral high ground gives you a lovely view but quite frankly it gets you no where when others don’t play by the same rules.

Go public with what’s happened, use fb to your advantage, put established in x date on your public company profiles and a warning not to be fooled by imitations etc, look on registered GHD retailer sites for how they warn about fakes / fraud.
Don’t put too much info public about your business that the business stealers can copy i.e. which event you will be next too far in advance. Use your customer data to set up a private newsletter and keep people up to date that way. Go back to the other event organisers you are down to attend and lock them in.

To have to steal someone else’s business and even to have to go so far as to use their pictures mean the business is likely to go under in a year but don’t let them take you down with them.

Just been thinking about this, I'd certainly be looking at community centres / warehouses to do the classes, and maybe see if you can do a free 'show' (can't think of the right phrase!) at the fayre where you can show people how to decoupage / paint a picture frame (or whatever) at home. Let's face it if the classes take off her customer base will be limited as people will be doing it themselves.

OH WOW - you really have encountered a super super nasty bitch here.

Take the sign down and shove it up her arse?
I can imagine how utterly demoralising this is for you OP.

OMG I can't believe the cheek of the woman. Surely organisers of fetes etc have a set price for a stall and once they have sold all their pitches, they would not take on someone else instead? It's no skin off their nose to have similar stalls selling similar things (though I do think to be fair they ought to let the stallholder know that someone else is attending with a similar range)

Garden centres is another good place to sell / have classes.
Still thinking
totally aware you've probably thought all this through

Big paint your own pot place? Might like to utilise evening courses??