How many Zazzle creators would like an increase (restoration) of our royalties?

Discussion Forums General Zazzle Discussion
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I know I sure would! Can I get an Amen? 

I have worked very hard for years to design and create here at zazzle. I wasn’t earning a living wage before the royalty cuts, but now I am earning even less. With the cost of living going up, up, up, our earnings should be increased, not decreased. 

Prior to the royalty cuts (up to 50 percent) Zazzle owners were already making the majority of the money on products, and creators only a very small portion. Then the small portion of earnings on products was cut into an even smaller portion. (up to 50 percent less)

Designing products takes not only time - lots of - but computer work also takes a toll on our hands and wrists. Anyone ever hear of carpel tunnel? If not, it’s just a matter of time until you will know about it if you do much computer work/graphic design. 

So, for all of our hard work and dedication, can we please get an increase in royalties? Perhaps our full royalties restored in spring or summer of 2026? 

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My earnings have slumped alarmingly compared to how it used to be. So much so that I can’t be bothered to check how much I’m making each day. I won’t be the only one losing interest in creating for Zazzle any more.

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I agree, Nigel. My sales have slumped drastically, too.

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That would be awesome to have the old royalty back but I don’t believe it will ever happen. It sure was fun and rewarding. 

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@NigelSutherland  Indeed Nigel. The combination of a drastic cut in earnings, zero visibility because of broken search algorithms AND a dysfunctional “design tool” make it practically impossible to continue. Also the lack of care about product quality and no environment friendly options (and I could name a few more), are not helping. Gone from a profitable business to an expensive and time consuming hobby. Extremely sad.

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It’s this, the new design function that forces you to click 10x more, and the tissue paper recent problem that has caused sales to stop.  Instead of trying to find another tissue paper supplier, Zazzle decided to increase the minimum purchase to 6 sheets which customers don’t want.  The negative effect was immediate.  It’s inexplicable and very sad.

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I think most of us agree that the fees feel excessive, and the royalty cuts have made it harder to earn a meaningful income here. I’ve been here long enough to see how much work goes into designing, uploading, and maintaining a shop, and I’m just as frustrated about the reduced royalties as everyone else.

But the reality is that we’re not employees and we’re not partners we’re independent contractors supplying content to a privately owned platform. Because of that, Zazzle can set or change fees at any time, and historically they haven’t reversed fee increases once they’re in place. April 1st, 2025 was essentially the point where all of us had to either accept the new structure / there was no opt out, since the updated Terms applied to every product going forward.

I would love to see royalties restored too, but I’m  sure that’s something Zazzle isn’t going to do. The only real control any of us have is over our own shops and whether we choose to stay on the platform. I wish it were different, but that’s the reality of working within a marketplace we don’t own.

The only practical way I see to offset the fees is to raise royalties. For many products, setting royalties around 21% tends to average out to roughly 10% after all the deductions. It’s not ideal, but it’s one of the few things we actually control.

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The sad thing is, I don’t think Zazzle realizes what’s happening… or maybe they do, and it just doesn’t matter to them the way it matters to us. I used to sit down with music on and create for hours. I’d build a design from scratch, then spend just as much time finding the right greeting for my cards. It was slow, thoughtful work, and I loved every minute of it.

Now I’m lucky if I make three products in a week. The motivation is gone, and the joy has slipped away with it. I’ve earned about $450 for all of 2026 so far  something that used to be a single month for me and it feels like watching a ship slowly sink.

And it’s not just me. I have a lot of followers, and I used to see their new products in my notifications every day. Lately I might see three new items once or twice a week. That tells me my followers aren’t creating either. The whole place feels quieter, like a community where the lights are on but nobody is home.  Creators are stepping away from their stores due to lack of motivation, lack of respect, and lack of earnings.  It seems we work really hard but all sales are 3rd parties that come with earning far less than before.

Now if Zazzle cared they would know that Happy creators could save a sinking ship.  But right now it feels like the wind has been taken out of all our sails, and the platform doesn’t seem to notice the way the rest of us do.

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I don’t work on tissue paper at all anymore.  It’s useless.  Since Zazzle implemented the 6-sheet minimum, sales have ended completely.  It has surprised me how fast and final the backlash has been.  All that time wasted is very disconcerting.  

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Susan, I appreciate and agree with your first paragraph. That excessive fees and royalty cuts make it even harder to earn a meaningful income. Agree 100 percent.

As to the rest of your points, we already knew that zazzle owners have the right to cut royalties - and they did - up to 50 percent. No one is questioning their right to do so. That goes without saying. That was not insinuated in any way in my post. The purpose of post was to get feedback from creators as to what they would like to happen with royalties, going forward. How they feel about the earnings reductions. As creators, and zazzle store owners, we have voices, and this is the forum to express concerns. 

“Historically they never reversed fees once in place” , you said. Exactly right, and this is why it was a shock and disheartening to longtme zazzle creators. No one ever expected it or seen it coming. If anything, we’d expect an increase in royalties to match the cost of living, as is often the case, even with independent contractor work.

As far as raising your own royalty fees, I agree, and I’ve always done that, even before the earnings cuts. 10 percent is way to low. 

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Just to clarify, I wasn’t explaining Zazzle’s rights to you. My point was that all of us who stayed past April 1st accepted the new Terms before we fully understood the consequences.

Many long‑time creators expected referrals and Ambassador earnings to continue as before. I used to earn referral bonuses every month; now I’m lucky to get one, and every sale is 3rd‑party despite the same level of promoting. That shift  and the plummeting earnings that followed  wasn’t something most of us anticipated.

The sad reality is that Zazzle’s decisions are driven by margins, not creator welfare. They know that if long‑time designers slow down or leave, hundreds of new creators will sign up and be content earning pennies.

I’m adding context to the broader situation we’re all dealing with, not disagreeing with your feelings about it.

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My tissue paper sales have actually increased since the 6‑sheet minimum went into effect. For me, the 6 sheets make my pricepoint worth it.   I’ve had 2 tissue paper sales already this month, so customers are still buying it.

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I don’t see better earnings for designers here anytime in the future unless we jack up our royalty a lot. The thing with that is, we might make some extra pennies (and so will Zazzle) but the increased cost of the product could well decrease sales, but I don’t get enough sales here anymore for it to actually matter.

Check out the “sales” prices on products these days, which mean designers make even fewer pennies. It makes me wish we could opt out of having our designs ‘on sale’. 

Meanwhile, I’m pretty much done with trying to promote Z products. I feel there isn’t enough transparency about some things, for example, which “3rd party” sales are attributed to Z and again I ask why not. It’s a valid question/request and it’s certainly not an unreasonable one especially in light of posts in the forums commenting about the lack/decrease of “none” sales since “the changes.” All the hoops - I tried to jump thru them but sales still tanked.

Z does offer a better variety of products to design on and they have personalization (which the other pods I am on don’t) but I’m still making more sales/money on those pods than I do here these days. Unlike using a search engine for my Z store name, the other store names turn up a decent amount of my designs/products. A search for my Z store name? I’m pretty much invisible.

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Thanks for clarifying.  We are in agreeance.

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I would just like for Zazzle to fix what needs to be fixed as well. I posted about it to day in the general discussion but now one has responded yet…

So I will post it here as well…thank you for addressing the royalties. 

I’m posting again because the combination of platform issues over the past several weeks has now reached a point where it is directly affecting my business, my customers, and my ability to work. I have tried to remain patient and professional, but the impact is becoming too significant to ignore.

1. Minimum Order Increase The sudden change in minimum quantities has reduced customer conversions and created confusion. This was implemented without notice, and it has had a measurable effect on sales.

2. New Upload Tool Problems The updated upload tool continues to cause major issues with my 18×24 designs. Files that were previously correct are now misaligned, cropped, or showing white edges. These problems began only after the new tool was introduced.

3. Customers Receiving Error Messages When Opening Links Customers are telling me they cannot open the product links I send them. They receive an error message instead of the listing. This has already resulted in a complete drop in sales today — something that has never happened in my shop since the day I opened.

I don’t play this card often, but I need to be transparent: I am currently in treatment for stage IV lung cancer , and I took on this business because it brings me joy, purpose, and connection. I work with a team of doctors, and I am literally fighting for my life. The stress of these ongoing platform issues — on top of everything else — is something I truly do not need.

I love creating. I love this community. I love the Zazzle platform when it works. But right now, it feels like the “little guy” is being left behind while major changes roll out without stability or support.

I am asking for:

  • Acknowledgment that these issues are being reviewed

  • Clarification on whether they are platform-wide

  • A timeline for resolution

This is not just an inconvenience — it is affecting my income, my customers, and my ability to keep doing the work I love.

Thank you for your time. I look forward to an up

I posted on my facebook and there are MANY having these issues of the links not working. We get no sales from the minimum being upped to 6 and then if they do think they want to buy something the links aren’t working. OH SWEET JESUS this is getting old. 

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I came here as well to see if there was anyone who might help out on the BIG Z TEAM but nothing here either. 

Nothing to fix the broken links, nothing to fix the 18x24 designs and no we care about the 3 minimum.