topic Re: Commission Rate Calculation Seems Off in Ask a Question

Commission Rate Calculation Seems Off

epcollections — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 05:58:52 GMT

Hi, can anyone help me figure out why my commission seems to be off on almost every sale? I do understand that not all products have a direct % calculation, but when I go back to check most of them the royalty calculator says I should be making the % that I've set.

I'm reading in an older community post that Zazzle cuts from the creator when the sale is referred. I didn't realize that. But given that some of my products sold are pretty new, I think the referral source would be Google vs an affiliate. Does Zazzle also take a cut from Google referrals? That wouldn't make sense unless it's a paid Google ad. I think Zazzle was advertising a few of my products over the holidays, but I don't think any of what's sold recently is being advertised. I'm also seeing the same issues on some products sold with no referral source.

My commissions are set from 6% - 15% depending on the product and design, but most are 10%. Here's one example where commission seems to be off by $6.44, but the royalty calculator says I should be getting an even 8% and this product doesn't have any 'upgrade' options.

3rd Party

$403.40

8.0%

$25.80 USD

$25.80

Thanks!

Re: Commission Rate Calculation Seems Off

ColsCreations — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 18:59:11 GMT

Re: Commission Rate Calculation Seems Off

epcollections — Mon, 12 Feb 2024 20:33:12 GMT

Ok. Thank you. I realized this morning that 'third party' doesn't necessarily mean that somebody referred my product directly, but simply referred Zazzle overall.

Re: Commission Rate Calculation Seems Off

ColsCreations — Tue, 13 Feb 2024 05:25:24 GMT

As far as earnings go, what matters is if an order is noted as None, 3rd Party, or Self under the "Referred?" column. If it's 3rd Party or Self, 20% of the gross royalty is deducted for what is known as the referral "carve-out". It doesn't matter who is getting credit as the Referrer or how they got it, it's a 20% carve-out.

This post should be helpful for you:

Earnings Calculator - No Math Required 🙂