Commission Rate Calculation Seems Off

[epcollections]

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

10

$403.40

8.0%

$25.80 USD

$25.80

Thanks!

[ColsCreations]

[epcollections]

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. 

[ColsCreations]

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