Is Trader Joe's that much better than anything else Canada has to offer?
Everything at Trader Joe's is delicious, plus they have $3 wine that actually tastes good.
I'm in the Bay Area so decent wine in general is relatively cheap
Pirate Joe’s, Maverick Distributor of Trader Joe’s Products, Shuts Down
101–110 of 283 posts
Re: Pirate Joe’s, Maverick Distributor of Trader Joe’s Products, Shuts Down
#102Earlier quoted context omitted.
Aldi Nord (owner of TJ) has done such an incredibly poor job of expanding the Trader Joe's brand outside of the USA. For example, all you get in their German stores are some random crappy products with the TJ label. It makes so little sense to go after this tiny company when you're not even competing in Canada. Which they probably should! I'm sure there's demand in cities like Toronto for the actual unique products t…
There is demand in Toronto. I am sitting in Toronto, and I still crave a lot of the good stuff I bought there when I lived in Seattle. I can't believe they opened stores in Germany, but never bothered to open one in Vancouver, where there was proven demand for their products.
There are no Trader Joe's stores in Germany. It was bought in 1979 by the German family that owns the Aldi Nord chain of discount stores[0]. That German chain uses the Trader Joe's brand for some American-themed fast food ingredients, nuts, and sweet ice tea.
[0]: Which is different from the Aldi Süd chain of discount stores which runs stores under the "Aldi" brand in the US.
Re: Pirate Joe’s, Maverick Distributor of Trader Joe’s Products, Shuts Down
#103Relevant episode of "Reply All" podcast: https://gimletmedia.com/episode/pirate-needs-pirate-season-3...
Re: Pirate Joe’s, Maverick Distributor of Trader Joe’s Products, Shuts Down
#104Earlier quoted context omitted.
A lot of people are using the "I bought chips at Costco and resold them at a concession stand example". This is at least a little different. Say you owned Captainmuon Grocery and only sold private label Captainmuon Chips. Although demand is so high you could distribute your Chips to other groceries and retailers, you see greater value in driving traffic to your store through the exclusive distribution. Don't you have…
Nope. You don't have any of those legal rights. The courts agreed, but Trader Joes had bigger pockets and was able to kill Pirate Joes with just legal fees alone. They didn't have to win, they just had to keep him in court until he was broke. This is a pretty common tactic when big corporations are in lawsuits with individuals. Or in the case of healthcare suits they just wait until the plaintiff is dead of whatever…
It sounded like they weren't actually suing him over selling their products, but over the name "Pirate Joe's"
Hey may still have won that one, but it's at least somewhat plausible that consumers might actually be confused by the name.
Re: Pirate Joe’s, Maverick Distributor of Trader Joe’s Products, Shuts Down
#105Earlier quoted context omitted.
Yeah, I don't really understand the difference between Pirate Joe's and every snack stand that resells candy and soda they bought from somewhere else like Costco.
I think the difference is the focus on the specific products and their brand. If someone named their candy stand "Silly Wonka" and only sold Nerds and Runts, I am sure they would have Nestle come after them too.
Was Pirate Joe's selling counterfeits or knock offs? I thought they were reselling TJ's products.
Re: Pirate Joe’s, Maverick Distributor of Trader Joe’s Products, Shuts Down
#106There's protecting your brand, and then there's whatever the heck it is Trader Joe's did here, which seems senseless and malevolent.
Aldi Nord (owner of TJ) has done such an incredibly poor job of expanding the Trader Joe's brand outside of the USA. For example, all you get in their German stores are some random crappy products with the TJ label. It makes so little sense to go after this tiny company when you're not even competing in Canada. Which they probably should! I'm sure there's demand in cities like Toronto for the actual unique products t…
When I lived in Germany I always despised Aldi Nord. Aldi Süd was always cleaner and seemed to just be better in every aspect. It always annoyed me that there for obvious reason was no competition between the two because I would have loved for Süd to drive Nord out.
Re: Pirate Joe’s, Maverick Distributor of Trader Joe’s Products, Shuts Down
#107Earlier quoted context omitted.
No, the seller does not have any of those rights. It's called the first-sale doctrine.
Just so we are on the same page first-sale doctrine applies to works with copyright (i.e. You buy my book you have a right to resell or display it) it does not apply to consumable goods/food stuffs. Almost any reasonable person can understand practical limits of resale rights: think reselling your prescription opiates claiming first-sale doctrine. And no just because Trader Joe's products have TJ trademarks does not…
First-sale doctrine is not limited to works of copyright. That's just what's most in the news.
Patented inventions for example can be resold or even incorporated into other devices which are then sold and you don't get to control such things.
Re: Pirate Joe’s, Maverick Distributor of Trader Joe’s Products, Shuts Down
#108That's really too bad. Pirate Joe's fit nicely into our cultural tradition of thumbing our noses at the Americans.
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Re: Pirate Joe’s, Maverick Distributor of Trader Joe’s Products, Shuts Down
#109Well, that's one way to deal with a guy who has spent the money proving the market for your product line. I think a better move would have been to take a page from Dave Thomas' (Wendy's) play book and open a Trader Joe's down the street.
Re: Pirate Joe’s, Maverick Distributor of Trader Joe’s Products, Shuts Down
#110I don't understand with what right trader Joe's can prohibit somebody from reselling their products. If he clearly states where he bought them from, and that he is not affiliated, and doesn't misuse their trademarks (impersonate them), it should be absolutely legal. A side remark, people often say how great the US / north America is for entrepreneurs, compared to (continental) Europe where there is a lot of red tape…
A lot of people are using the "I bought chips at Costco and resold them at a concession stand example". This is at least a little different. Say you owned Captainmuon Grocery and only sold private label Captainmuon Chips. Although demand is so high you could distribute your Chips to other groceries and retailers, you see greater value in driving traffic to your store through the exclusive distribution. Don't you have…
This is the intent of the big stores. Sams club has a limit to 10,000 packs of cigarettes. And rules on resellers, etc.