"We're competing with people who are stealing our brand, stealing our pictures and stealing our intellectual property," Lopreiato said in an interview last week from his 20,000-square foot warehouse in Baldwin Park, about 20 miles east of Los Angeles.Īmazon's growing dominance in commerce brings with it plenty of collateral damage. Meanwhile, Lopreiato bears the costs of workers' compensation, product quality control, commercial insurance, mortgage payments and patent management fees all so counterfeiters can act as freeloaders. But nothing has come close to replicating the success of his flagship Forearm Forklift. Lopreiato has diversified his product line, adding a harness for the shoulders, a strap that goes over a single shoulder and straps for carrying boxes. Retailers stopped placing orders because they were finding what appeared to be the same thing online for much cheaper. Annual revenue in 2008 topped $4 million and has since plunged 30 percent. The company is down to 21 full-time employees from 52 at its peak and recorded less than $500 in profit last year. "It's almost like winning the lottery if they choose our item."įorearm Forklift is hanging on by a thread. "It just keeps funneling business to the knockoffs," said Lopreiato, 48, whose wife Sophia also works at the company and traveled with him to New York. When "Good Morning America" viewers go online to buy a set, which retails between $20 and $25, odds are they'll be purchasing someone else's product. Personal Loans for 670 Credit Score or Lower Personal Loans for 580 Credit Score or Lower Best Debt Consolidation Loans for Bad Credit
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