The End of Yeti Knockoffs?

[Scott Shepherd]

RTIC settled out of court with Yeti and agreed to change their stainless tumblers. Walmart has discontinued the Ozark cups due to a lawsuit from Yeti. That's two knock offs down. We had seen an increase in sales from cups, but I see that slowing way down when the less expensive alternatives are gone. We saw that small businesses didn't mind buying a couple cases of knock offs and bringing them to us, but it looks like not as many are interested in spending $40 a pop for them to give away to employees and good customers.

I see HOGG is out there, but I suspect they'll be gone soon, since RTIC and Ozark have fallen.

Any other alternatives out there?

[Mike Null]

Steve

There are dozens of others. I think it'll take a long time. I have done Orca, also not cheap, Leeds, Ariel, none of which are knock offs.

There are still a lot of knock-offs out there and unless they can stop the Chinese I thinkYeti will have a hard time controlling it.

[Jeff Body]

RTIC settled out of court with Yeti and agreed to change their stainless tumblers. Walmart has discontinued the Ozark cups due to a lawsuit from Yeti. That's two knock offs down. We had seen an increase in sales from cups, but I see that slowing way down when the less expensive alternatives are gone. We saw that small businesses didn't mind buying a couple cases of knock offs and bringing them to us, but it looks like not as many are interested in spending $40 a pop for them to give away to employees and good customers.

I see HOGG is out there, but I suspect they'll be gone soon, since RTIC and Ozark have fallen.

Any other alternatives out there?

Where did you see that Walmart is discontinuing the ozark cups? Is there an article?
I haven't seen that yet.
If it's true I can't believe Walmart gave in so easily.

[Adam Herman]

i still don't understand how they can sue everyone like this and win, when they were not the first either, they just have a superior marking scheme. vacuum insulated cups and mugs have been around for 50 years? I have noticed a few of the off brands have changed the shape a slight bit. my cup is branded "Colorado Canteen" the white cermark is all rubbing off though. haha. Cost less than 20 bucks.

[Mike Null]

I also heard that Yeti went after Walmart and Sam's.

[Kev Williams]

What about Costco's Member's Mark version...?

Personally, I'm not so sure this wasn't a marketing ploy conjured up by a bunch of recent college grads. Aside from different logos (inserts are POC to make), all of these cups are virtually identical, and I'd bet a buck they were all made in the same building in China. Think about it-- who's getting sued for damags? No one! "Change the cup"... reeeeallly?? Anyone else would have sued their pants off. But wait, if a group of buddies own all these companies, it's basically suing yourself, not much fun or profit in that (taxes on the windfall would cost more than the taxes saved by the losses on the other end)...

So lets see, Yeti comes out, and it's a hit because they work. After a year or so, suddenly half price Yeti's with a different name start popping up like whack-a-moles. It wouldn't surprise me if sales of the clones outpaced the originals by 5 to 1 or so. Clone sales start to slow, alert the media to the fact a lawsuit may be looming... Everyone stocks up, the market is saturated, let the lawsuits begin...

and the owners are probably sipping champagne on a 100 meter yacht off the coast of Dubai as I type this.... And it all perfectly fits the New Millennial's business model: Make millions as fast as you can. And regardless of who owns what, millions were definitely made...

Conspiracy theory, absolutely :D And I have a psychic prediction: Within 1 year, Yeti will be sold to someone else... ;)

[Tim Bateson]

"The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office issued Yeti a design patent for the Rambler Colster beverage holder on March 29 2016, but Yeti claimed that it owns trade dress rights, referring to the visual appearance of a product and its packaging. Trade dress is protected under federal law if it is distinctive, and if an imitation is likely to be confusing or misleading to customers."

"On the same day it filed the lawsuit against Wal-Mart, Yeti also filed lawsuits against Zhejiang Zhuosheng Industry & Trade Co., a Chinese stainless steel drinkware manufacturer; and Waukesha, Wisconsin-based restaurant outfitter The Boelter Companies. Both lawsuits were trade dress infringement claims relating to Yeti’s 20 and 30 oz. stainless steel tumblers. These claims did not include patent infringement, however."

[Mike Null]

Tim

You are correct.

[Tim Bateson]

https://www.plainsite.org/dockets/300ibuvb5/texas-western-district-court/yeti-coolers-llc-v-walmart-stores-inc/
Looks like Walmart settled back in May, but I haven't found what was settled? I know they still sell Ozark, because a bought a few just last night.

[Scott Shepherd]

https://www.plainsite.org/dockets/300ibuvb5/texas-western-district-court/yeti-coolers-llc-v-walmart-stores-inc/
Looks like Walmart settled back in May, but I haven't found what was settled? I know they still sell Ozark, because a bought a few just last night.

I went to Walmart to pick a couple up for personal projects and all I could find was the 20oz. I went online and the 30oz were very limited, then I found the articles about it. I believe they are selling them until they are gone.

The 30 oz stainless are $6.00 on Walmarts website right now. That tells me that they are dumping them.

The "Trade Dress" is what they seem to be winning on.

[Tim Bateson]

Really dumb to allow it. That's like Ford suing Chevy because Chevy placed a script Camaro name emblem on the side of it's car & Ford had already done the same with Mustang. I can read Ozark or Yeti, I'm not fooled.

[Kev Williams]

you guys and your facts are no fun at all.... ;)

so the only patent Yeti holds is for the can cooler? That explains a lot...

Many years ago the owner/inventor of "Chums" brought me a mold to engrave, he explained he was suing several copycats. Not because they copied the Chums themselves, it was because they copied the "adjuster bead", the egg shaped plastic sleeve. He explained the 'trade dress' thing and all he could expect was an order to 'change the bead'. So he decided it would be cheaper in the long run just change is own bead...

[Tim Bateson]

you guys and your facts are no fun at all.... ;)

so the only patent Yeti holds is for the can cooler? That explains a lot...

Still not sure how they got that. I've been using a Thermos can cooler for at least 10 years. Now it doesn't have that crappy screw on top that Yeti uses. I have one of those too & will use my Thermos can cooler instead. Hate that damn screw on top!

[John Lifer]

Get your guys facts straight. :-) Trade Dress means the Physical SHAPE of the cup, what is 'looks' like! Nothing More! Not the actual 'design' of the insulated cup, or how it works.
So WalMart changed the shape of their cup. RTIC is supposedly changing the shape of the cup. (has rollout 'summer' 2017 on site. were due in May so they are way late) This includes a new 40oz. I'm buying from JDS, unmarked that look close to the Yeti, They have added about 6 colors lately. Walmart had Plenty on the shelves here in NWA. And are adding a number of colors. It all depends on where you are located when you go to walmart. If they don't sell, they stop carrying them. I think if you have a design that looks like Yeti, then you might be in trouble.
Market is pretty saturated. Yeti even has sales now. Several local sellers are offering $5 off. (big deal right?)

[Tim Bateson]

You may be partially right John, but I don't think that's the full issue here. "...Yeti claimed that it owns trade dress rights, referring to the visual appearance of a product and its packaging..." That is beyond just a simple shape/design of the mugs. The only thing I would think is happening is they have hired the slickest lawyers money can buy and have bamboozled & bullied these companies into submission.

[Jacob John]

I agree with you. The king was RTIC and they got smashed by Yeti, so I think the wave is over.

[Jacob John]

What about Costco's Member's Mark version...?

Personally, I'm not so sure this wasn't a marketing ploy conjured up by a bunch of recent college grads. Aside from different logos (inserts are POC to make), all of these cups are virtually identical, and I'd bet a buck they were all made in the same building in China. Think about it-- who's getting sued for damags? No one! "Change the cup"... reeeeallly?? Anyone else would have sued their pants off. But wait, if a group of buddies own all these companies, it's basically suing yourself, not much fun or profit in that (taxes on the windfall would cost more than the taxes saved by the losses on the other end)...

So lets see, Yeti comes out, and it's a hit because they work. After a year or so, suddenly half price Yeti's with a different name start popping up like whack-a-moles. It wouldn't surprise me if sales of the clones outpaced the originals by 5 to 1 or so. Clone sales start to slow, alert the media to the fact a lawsuit may be looming... Everyone stocks up, the market is saturated, let the lawsuits begin...

and the owners are probably sipping champagne on a 100 meter yacht off the coast of Dubai as I type this.... And it all perfectly fits the New Millennial's business model: Make millions as fast as you can. And regardless of who owns what, millions were definitely made...

Conspiracy theory, absolutely :D And I have a psychic prediction: Within 1 year, Yeti will be sold to someone else... ;)

Not sure that it's a full conspiracy as my understanding of RTIC's very existence is tied to a personal relationship (friends, family, something) between YETI and RTIC owners, management, something.

[John Lifer]

You may be partially right John, but I don't think that's the full issue here. "...Yeti claimed that it owns trade dress rights, referring to the visual appearance of a product and its packaging..." That is beyond just a simple shape/design of the mugs. The only thing I would think is happening is they have hired the slickest lawyers money can buy and have bamboozled & bullied these companies into submission.
K, I totally agree with the bamboozle. I think Rtic agreed to change thinking it would take a couple of months and it's been 3. Now I think Rtic business model as a bit flawed and a lot of folks that were buying got upset with them not really wholesaling them and posting discount prices on line. So they may be hurting a bit. But I look at JDS now offering many colors along with Walmart. Market is getting saturated. Just how many do you need?

[Tim Bateson]

I personally don't care what it says on the side of the mug. Function wise they are all the same (except for that stupid top on Yeti can coolies). I only sell a few on request, mostly the Ozark. What-ever brand a customer brings me pays the same.

[Matt McCoy]

The Coca-Cola bottle shape is the common example of Trade Dress (trademark) infringement. If you remove the markings, the knock-off products would look identical to the Yeti, which is the problem.

[Mike Null]

Matt
Excellent example.

[Bob WrightNC]

A quick google of chinese yeti cup takes you to a selection of vendors that sell knockoffs from China. On DHGate, you can buy a 20 ounce with Yeti labels and at least identical looking to the yeti cup for $8.34 US on quantities of 50+(even has the raised YETI on the stainless). Free shipping to the US. Estimated arrival time, less than a week.

And there is not just one vendor - many very highly rated.

Think they can stop that?

[John Lifer]

And that is their problem. I've seen advertised on a guys webpage yetis (marked yeti!) Engraved for $25. You can't buy the yeti for that! Chinese knockoffs "Wish" Is the other big Chinese site, kind of an eBay. Way humteen many distributors on there selling Yetis!!! Can't fight an octopus!

[Scott Shepherd]

We don't normally supply the cups for anyone. That's why I believe it's going to slow this market down. Consumers aren't going to order cases from China and bring them to us, and I'm not going to carry Chinese cups with the Yeti name on them, so I suspect this market will fade out unless RTIC and Ozark come out with new designs that appear to be improvements over the Yeti design.

[Kev Williams]

We don't normally supply the cups for anyone. That's why I believe it's going to slow this market down. Consumers aren't going to order cases from China and bring them to us, and I'm not going to carry Chinese cups with the Yeti name on them, so I suspect this market will fade out unless RTIC and Ozark come out with new designs that appear to be improvements over the Yeti design.

Consumers, no, but businesses might- I've always got some form of beverage cup in this house to engrave (just finished 40 Hydroflasks last night), but not once has 'the public' brought me a cup to engrave. Last year an online acquaintance who runs some business shipped me dozens of Ozarks, to be used as biz gifts. The Hydroflasks come from a lady who runs a yoga/wellness spa, I put her logo on, she sells them to her customers at the rate of about 1 per day. A few of my local customers also use the knockoffs (but never the Yeti's) as biz giveaways. Those who like the Yeti style may jump at the chance at getting even cheaper knockoffs...?

I've been getting a few of these"SIC" cups lately, the look very much like Yeti's, but the size and shape are noticeably different. Someone was thinking ahead :)363848

[Mike Null]

I have chosen not to stock and sell the insulated cups as they are so readily available at prices similar to my costs. I do mostly commercial work and most of my customers are popping for the Yeti brand.

I turn down onesie business on these as even my $25 minimum is not worth converting my machine. Unlike what I am reading, I see this as another banner year for insulated cups.

[Matt McCoy]

Most, if not all, U.S. marketplaces (e.g., Ebay, Etsy, Amazon, etc.) will comply with IP infringement takedown notices pretty quickly, because of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If they don't, they can be held liable. It's tougher for items on Chinese marketplaces, like DHGate and AliExpress, but leverage is put on them by U.S. payment processors and internet service providers, if they want access to American businesses and consumers. They have DMCA protocols too, but it's time consuming and costly. Probably not an issue for Yeti, since they filed on Wal-Mart.

The Yeti is really about brand recognition and status, which will fade when the next cool thing (sorry!) catches the attention of consumers.

[Doug Fisher]

>>I've seen advertised on a guys webpage yetis (marked yeti!) Engraved for $25. You can't buy the yeti for that!.... Way humteen many distributors on there selling Yetis!!! Can't fight an octopus!<<

So true. "But I see Yeti's on Esty for $19.99 with monograms included." I feel like I am wasting my breath if I even try to point out fake Yetis, applied graphics versus laser etching, actual final shipping charges, the extra charge you can expect when you ask Etsy guy to do a logo versus a standardized monogram, the benefit of proofs plus fast delivery when buying local, etc., etc. They are fixated on that $19.99.

[Bob WrightNC]

Unlike what I am reading, I see this as another banner year for insulated cups.

I thought Corkcicles would slow down too Mike but they keep on rolling.