A customer contacted me through the Zazzle Messaging service. They wanted a large Edible Wedding Band for their cake. Since Zazzle don’t do that product, they wanted a digital file to hand to their Cake Maker.
I also told them that I can help with creating their wedding suite.
I found a wide poster and created a NEW product (Wall Art & Décor>Posters & Prints) and applied the design. I then sent them a private - “Direct link” using the CLEAN link created through the share button.
I think the customer may have come in through a Zazzle advertisement previously, because a cookie overrode the link I gave in the messaging service - even though my link was the last click. The sales table showed as 3rd party. Zazzle took 40% of my royalties and didn’t pay a referral commission.
The royalty rate as a download was the default 92.89% so I was also charged an Excess Royalty Fee.
I just can’t tell up-front, whether an overriding cookie is killing my earnings before I start giving a personalised service for customers.
Does anyone know how I could have improved the outcome?
Does anyone know what happened to my link that it didn’t result in a referral?
I’ve been there! By the time someone messages you through Zazzle, they already got to Zazzle somehow and have already been referred. You’ll never get a referral from chats here. And as of the new changes, there was nothing you could do to improve your outcome. Your link didn’t earn you a referral because they were already tracked under someone else’s (likely Zazzle’s) referral tracker. (As I understand it - referral tracking lasts 14 days and can’t be overridden. Then, if the customer doesn’t click ANY other link, you can earn the referral up to 45 days (if they do click a link, the referral gets reset). After 45 days, you lose the referral tracker/cookie/whatever it is).
One of the consequences of the April terms and referral changes is that it makes doing any custom work for customers pointless. There is zero reward for your time (other than the drastically reduced royalty you’ll normally get from a 3rd party sale). Some will tell you to ask for side payment (like through paypal or something), and that’s certainly doable for bigger custom jobs. BUT, the easy quick items that people ask for through chat really isn’t worth it to work on now. I recently had a customer wanting a business card turned into a shirt. It was a bit of back and forth on getting it right. And after the marketing fee, I earned less than 10 bucks. Business-wise, that just doesn’t make sense to do anymore. I think it’s shortsighted on Zazzle’s end, because being able to work with designers to create your products should be a great feature of this site!
I know that some designers think that the terms of Zazzle’s new Ambassador program are set in stone, but I believe there is room for improvement and negotiation - as these changes will affect Zazzle’s bottom line as designers are already shying away from taking custom requests and designing in the wedding niche. Both of these situations will likely reduce Zazzle’s bottom line. And because of that, I have hope for changes in this policy, which is so unfair to designers.
If we just accept this situation as unchangeable, then nothing will change.
If they messaged you through Zazzle then chances are they already had a cookie, yes. But you also cannot send direct links through the chat expecting to get a referral from it. Its working exactly as intended.
If this person had reached out to you through e-mail, and you had sent the direct link through e-mail, its not a guaranteed referral but its the best chance. They could e-mail you back and forth but also end up browsing designs on Zazzle to help them decide what they would like, if they browse, chances are they picked up a Zazzle cookie or another designer’s cookie.
Also, as far as I know, digital downloads don’t net referrals either because everyone has them set for 90%+ royalty. I offhand cannot remember a single person in forums mentioning they got download referrals, but I could be wrong.
Custom work isn’t pointless, you can tell the customer they are free to purchase already done designs but custom work will require a deposit on their part that they can pay to your PayPal. That ensures you are getting a cut for YOUR time, gets rid of people that aren’t serious, and oftentimes the deposit for custom work can be just as much if not more than what you make for a royalty.
“Custom work isn’t pointless, you can tell the customer they are free to purchase already done designs but custom work will require a deposit on their part that they can pay to your PayPal. That ensures you are getting a cut for YOUR time, gets rid of people that aren’t serious, and oftentimes the deposit for custom work can be just as much if not more than what you make for a royalty.”
This is the only way (even before the AP fees kicked in) to ensure you are fairly compensated for your extra work. If the customer doesn’t want to pay your fee… let them go. Don’t sell yourself short and charge them a tiny amount. Charge a set fee for the first hour (at your desecration) and extra for extra hours you put into it.
When you give your time to create a design to their specifications, people should have the decency to know you’ll not do it for free.
I like this idea. If a designer does a custom job for a customer, maybe there could at least be a “say thanks to the designer with a tip” option, similar to how to get that opportunity when booking a taxi via an app, following the ride.
I’ve been looking at the “buy me a coffee website”. maybe that would be good for collecting tips. But, I am not sure if sending customers off the zazzle site is within the rules.
Some people might feel like the Ambassador program changes are final and there’s no use speaking up, but I don’t believe that’s true. Zazzle has grown in the past by listening to its community, and the feedback right now is pretty clear. These new terms are making designers less willing to take on custom work and, in many cases, less motivated to keep working on their shops at all when the royalties and referrals have dropped so low.
That hurts all of us, but it also hurts Zazzle. When creative designers start pulling back, the whole platform loses momentum. I really believe there’s still room to make this program better, especially if enough of us speak up and share how these changes are affecting our work and what we’re willing to offer.
If we stay quiet and just accept it, we’re basically saying we’re fine with being undervalued. But if we come together and speak out, we might actually help shape a solution that works for everyone. We’re not asking for anything extreme, just a fair system that supports the kind of creative work Zazzle was always meant to encourage.
Other than charging an up front fee outside of Zazzle I don’t think there is a sure way to improve the outcome. It is a cr*p shoot. As a result, unless a request is a very quick adjustment resulting in another salable design, I will no longer do custom work. I simply decline and place the blame squarely on Zazzle where it belongs:
“Recently Zazzle made changes to their royalty structure which dramatically negatively impacted their independent designers, of which I am one. Given how much time it will take to create the design you have requested, it no longer makes economic sense for me to do custom work. Sorry”
I also now refuse to lift a finger to redirect a customer service question meant for Zazzle. Not my job, not worth my time.
Don’t forget to include a “kill fee.” That’s a minimum charge for design work completed that the customer ultimately chooses not to buy. Artists should never work for free. Without the use of a kill fee, they will frequently create artwork without receiving fair compensation.
I wish I had your optimism. The people who made this untenable decision must have known how horrendous it was and how horrendously it would be received. They still did it so I don’t have much hope.
As said here, I’ve said in forum before and I agree. This place is not set up for true custom work. I have helped people who have wasted my time and in the end stole my concept anyway without any compensation. We are set up here to scams and abuse if we choose to answer the chat.
I really like your idea of a “kill fee” that is as you said, basically a minimum charge that ensures the artist is compensated for their time, even if the client decides not to follow through with the purchase.
Of course, I wouldn’t use that exact term with customers, since it sounds a little harsh. Instead, calling it a non-refundable design deposit or a custom design service fee feels more approachable. But the principle is the same…we deserve fair compensation for the work we do, even when the customer changes their mind.
One way Zazzle could support this is by giving designers a way to set a required upfront design fee for custom requests, even before the customer places a product order. This could be built into the custom messaging process or offered as a standalone product type labeled for “design services” only. Even just the ability to clearly label a product as a design consultation or deposit would help communicate that our time has value.
Thanks again for bringing this up. I think more of us should be talking about it.
Zazzle could really support this by giving us a built-in option for quoting and collecting custom design deposits…whether through a separate product type or a dedicated custom design feature in our storefronts. Until then, using PayPal or Venmo directly seems like the only workable option.
We pour a lot into these designs. It’s time we treat custom requests like the professional work they are.
These are all great ideas. A payment system through Zazzle would be great - with enough flexibility for designers to choose how to use it. But honestly, I’d be satisfied if they just paid all orders of direct only products as self-referrals.
I and others spoke up plenty back in late March when this was all going down. Crickets… I don’t think the financial folks really care how we feel when they’re making SO much more per sale. Short of all of us closing our shops at once, I don’t feel like there’s anything meaningful we can do to impact their decisions on their bottom line. But I do hope you guys are right and Z proves me wrong for sure!!
