Christian-made Pocket Pentacles! Updated.

Well, WoodenTreasures is at it again, this time an even more blatant direct rip-off! He's decided to copy my Pocket Pentacles, albeit, not very well! I had this particular copycat incident pointed out to me, simply because the title of the listing was so similar to mine. These people must think I make a fortune if they imagine it's worthwhile actually trying to trick the buying public into thinking they're buying one of my items rather than an inferior copy! I'd like to be charitable and say that obviously it's just a coincidence and that this Etsy ideas thief has come up with these pentacle talismans all on their own, but I think calling them "Pocket Pentacles" is a bit of a give-away! :-)

Maybe this seller thinks I'm new to all this and doesn't realise how long I've been selling online on eBay (just for the record, I sold my first Pocket Pentacle on eBay in October 2007) or maybe they think it's OK to steal someone's ideas as long as they're foreign, or a woman, or a non-christian. Because the oddest thing of all, something that doesn't even make me angry but just confuses the hell out of me, is that WoodenTreasures is a "proud member" of the Etsy Christian Artists' Street Team. What the hell is someone who's a member of a christian group doing making pentacles in the first place? And why do they make a point of saying in the listing for these pentacles that they should be carried to bring luck and power and that the seller actually keeps one in the car and another on his boat? And if he really does carry pagan talismans for their magical properties, what's he doing calling himself a christian? The only conclusion that I've been able to come to is that this person is not only a thief, but also a liar. Either he's a christian and has no idea of pagan values and it's all just a ruse to cash in on the whole "pagan lifestyle" fashion in the hope of making a few dollars, (and he wouldn't be the first) or he is a pagan, which means he's a member of a christian Etsy team under false pretenses. Either way, he's a liar.

And there's just one more thing, that suggests that either he doesn't actually care about the welfare of his customers or he's remarkably ignorant of the origin of his materials. He finishes all the items in his Etsy shop with tung oil. That's not so unusual... tung oil gives a water resistant, glossy finish which is easy to apply. However, the oil is processed from the tung nut and there's not a word of warning to anyone who may suffer from nut allergies. A nut allergy isn't at all trivial, it's a serious, extremely rapid, potentially life threatening condition, that can however be avoided by simply avoiding any contact with nuts or nut products. In my opinion, a warning from the seller would be thoughtful, even if it's not legally required.

It's been pointed out to me that this seller no longer publicises his christianity. Maybe he's had a crisis of faith or maybe he's decided to come out of the broom closet, but at least he appears to be more honest about his beliefs now which is good. Faith is all about honesty. And if he really has joined the growing number of pagans in the world then I bid him welcome.