Let's Talk: The Royalty Problem Behind Deep Discounts

Discussion Forums General Zazzle Discussion
1

Lately, I’ve been wondering whether creators are still viewed as partners in Zazzle’s success or simply as another expense to be managed.

Between royalty fees, marketing fees, shrinking margins, and deep discounts, it often feels like the value of creative work is steadily being diminished.

Recently, I read a discussion started by Jadendreamer13 that brought those feelings back to the surface.

“I just sold 20 copies of the same ornament. It should have been a decent royalty. The ornament is on sale today for $18.07, yet this customer only paid $5.32 per ornament. My royalty rate is 20%, yet I only made $0.53 per ornament. That’s about $11 for 20 ornaments. I feel like I’ve been robbed.”

When I read that, my first thought was simple:

How is that possible?

I understand why Zazzle offers promotions and employee perks. Discounts drive sales, and employees deserve benefits.

I understand that discounts, bulk pricing, and fees all affect royalties. What I struggle with is that creators seem to be asked to give more at every turn. Before the holidays, we’re often encouraged to lower our royalty rates to make products more attractive to shoppers. Then there are royalty fees, marketing fees, and deep discounts that can reduce earnings even further. It starts to feel like creators are earning less from every direction

Creators provide the artwork. We design, write, research, promote, and help bring customers to the platform. Yet when the discounts get deeper, creator earnings seem to shrink right along with them. I think most of us want Zazzle to succeed. What many of us question is why the burden so often falls on creators.

To be honest, I’m getting tired. One fee. One discount. One reduction at a time may not seem like much, but eventually it changes how the partnership feels.

Maybe that’s not the intention. But perception matters. Sometimes I wish the people making these decisions could trade places with creators for a while. Perhaps then they would understand what it feels like to put in the work, celebrate a large sale, and then discover the royalty was far less than expected. I’m sure there is a better and fairer way. Maybe one option would be a shared Staff & Creator Discount Day with the same discount for everyone, capped at 50% and not combined with other promotions.

I don’t know if that’s the answer, but there has to be a better balance than deep discounts, excessive fees and ridiculously low royalties.

2

Very well written! I agree 100% - somewhere along the line it feels like something has shifted. You’re right. It definitely doesn’t feel like we’re valued as creators like it did way back. I suspect if the people making the decisions were also creators (and some likely could be), they would have access to all of the search info, placement strategies etc. tho.

It is a ton of effort for very little in return in comparison to other earning avenues we could take with our creations. The 2 things they have going for them is that it’s easy to use and that they handle everything so we can still earn something even while stepping back for awhile. But I’m just not sure that a 5% profit margin (or less in many cases with discounts) is worth the huge amount of effort, research, marketing, etc. I suppose when you think of it as a “set it up and forget it” thing, it can be worth it in the long term. Just not in the short term in comparison to other avenues.

3

There’s definitely something to what you’re saying, and I agree with you 100% :slight_smile:

Unfortunately, I haven’t had much time to spend on the forum lately. With sales being so slow, I’ve had to focus more on my other business. And I also had to clarify that first-page issue, since I somehow found myself in the middle of it completely by accident :wink:

I also have to admit that my motivation lately has been pretty much in line with my royalties, haha! But let’s just blame it on the autumn weather instead :))

But getting back to the topic, I completely agree with the concerns about royalties, discounts, and fees. And I think there’s another side to this issue: when earnings are already disappointing, even small gestures of appreciation can make a real difference in how creators feel about their relationship with Zazzle.

Despite all the great things about Zazzle, I do feel that one area where the platform falls short is how it treats and communicates with creators. I genuinely don’t think it comes from bad intentions, though. My impression is that it may simply come down to limited time, staffing resources, and perhaps the way the organization itself is structured.

I remember reaching the Bronze milestone, receiving the congratulations email, and thinking, “Oh, that’s it?” Haha. :slight_smile: It made me think how lovely it would be if creators received a voucher for a product of their choice when reaching certain milestones.

I appreciate the business cards Zazzle offers, but personally, they’re completely useless to me, haha! I would absolutely LOVE to order a planner with my own cover design, or maybe a sweatshirt. Having something physical that I designed myself would mean so much more to me.

The thing is, Zazzle products can be quite expensive depending on where you live. Here in Poland, I can buy a similar planner for about a quarter of the price, and shipping makes it even less affordable. So even though having my own Zazzle planner is one of my little creator dreams, financially it just doesn’t make much sense.

Maybe milestone rewards could grow with each level, Bronze, Silver, Gold, etc., with bigger discounts or even recurring vouchers? Okay, now I’m dreaming, haha! :wink:

I was also thinking that if I were running a company like this, I’d probably send creators a little gift when they reached one of the bigger milestones. Nothing extravagant, perhaps a branded keychain, a pen, or a notebook, along with a personal note saying something like, “Congratulations on reaching this milestone! Your contribution means so much to us, and we’re truly happy to have you as part of our community.”

Considering how long it usually takes to reach these milestones, I imagine such gestures wouldn’t be a huge expense for the company. But for a creator, that little package could mean a lot. It’s a small thing from a company’s perspective, yet it can make someone genuinely feel like they’re part of something bigger, rather than just another account generating sales.

Of course, none of this would solve the issue of shrinking royalties or excessive discounts, and I absolutely agree that those things deserve attention. But I think feeling appreciated matters too, especially when creators are already frustrated with their earnings :slight_smile:

4

I have set my royalty to 20%, but my last two sales yielded me royalties of less than 5% when you add up Zazzle kick-backs such as marketing fees and excess royalty fees, and now offering up my designs at a 75% discount. A little Zazzle gesture of a keychain or a congratulations email is not good enough for me. Show me that you value my contributions to Zazzle’s success by giving me a fair share of the profits. Five percent is no where near a fair share of the profits.

Allow me the option of saying “no” to any potential sale of over 30% off. Allow me to opt out of any sale where my design work is not valued. Don’t showcase and sell my design work at 75% off without my permission. That’s how you show me and other designers that our work is integral to Zazzle’s success.

And for goodness sakes, show designers that you value their contributions by communicating with us.

5

Did they ever reply to you about the huge discount?

6

I agree with you. What I find frustrating is that creators are routinely encouraged to lower their royalty rates during the holidays to attract shoppers. Lowering royalties means we earn less on every sale, yet we are still expected to absorb deep discounts, marketing fees, and other deductions.

If Zazzle wants to offer discounts of 50%, 60%, or 75%, creators should have the option to opt in or opt out. That is not an unreasonable request. Our artwork is the product being sold, and we should have a voice in how heavily it is discounted.

To me, this is really about respect for creators . Giving creators a choice would go a long way toward showing that our contributions are valued.

7

No, not a word. (And I’m posting these extra words because forum posts must be 20 characters long—which is silly.)

8

Ughhh speaking of what @Susang6 just said, I wonder what your royalty would have been on that sale if you’d had it set at 10% - I should have upped mine before the cut off, but I really don’t have too many holiday items.

9

The majority of items sold during Q4 are not specifically holiday-themed products, so don’t short change yourself. :slight_smile:

10

I just noticed that 10% royalty is not 10% anymore… It’s less. It’s something like 6% (and not even that… It’s 5.75%).

What’s happening?

What kind of math is that? How 10% becomes 5.75%?

11

I think the end is near… My sales are ridiculously low for this time of year (and I’ve weathered quite a few different “storms” having been on Zazzle since 2009.) The royalties and lack of referrals vs what I have consistently gotten during the Holiday season for years, is beyond depressing. (And mine is set at 10% across the board, which is what it has been for years).

12

I have similar feelings, unfortunately. Something tells me that after the holidays, we’ll only be coming here to socialize rather than talk about sales.

One of my products was accidentally featured on the first page for 2–3 days, and even that didn’t help. One day I earned just $5.

I have no idea what’s going on behind the scenes, but things really don’t look good.

13

I think the low sales are a combination of factors, and Zazzle may have shot itself in the foot with some of the recent changes. The new $3.99 return protection option is one example. Adding another decision at checkout, especially during the holiday season when shoppers are already thinking about returns and exchanges, can create uncertainty right before they complete a purchase.

At the same time, creators are being hit with deep discounts, constant promotions, algorithm changes, reduced royalties,the confusing “Swap This Design” feature and the last ditch to get the customer to drop your template and choose another in the design tool…the constant trying to divert the customer to another creators template thing is killing our conversion rate.. In my opinion all that doesn’t make the buying process easier, it creates confusion, too much noise on our product landing page and the swap the template in the design tool encourages second-guessing at the exact moment customers should feel confident clicking “Personalize” or “Buy.”

So yes, sales seem to be off this year for everyone, but I don’t think it’s because creators suddenly forgot how to create good products or set the right royalty. When purchasing becomes complicated instead of easy, customer bounce.

14

Please correct me if I’m wrong.
5.75% is the percentage I’m getting when I sell something these days. While my royalties are set to 10%.

To make $200, I have to sell $3,478.26.

And yes… I’m complaining about it.

15

Some designers seem to be grateful for any sale, and that devalues designers’ work. I personally won’t accept breadcrumbs.

16

So many creators tell me they need to take more classes or that they must be doing something wrong. I have creators sending me messages asking me to look at their stores because they think they’ve somehow missed the secret to success.

The thing is, I don’t think most creators are doing anything wrong. The elephant in the room is Zazzle itself. At some point, you have to look at what is causing customers to bounce before they complete a purchase. In my opinion the buying process seems more confusing than it used to be, it feels like Zazzle is making it harder to convert shoppers into buyers.

The unfortunate part is that these decisions don’t just affect customers. They affect creators too. Every time a customer leaves without buying, creators lose a sale, Zazzle loses a sale, and nobody wins.

And I think creators are viewed as another way to generate more revenue rather than as business partners. Yet without creators bringing new designs and products to the marketplace, there wouldn’t be much to sell in the first place. In the long run, anything that hurts customers and creators ultimately hurts Zazzle as well.

17

Mine was set at 10% for years and years too. I raised them to 15% in July, and my checks did bump up. August was really nice, but then a big drop in referrals. They fell off of a cliff in October