MY STORY WITH Z:
2018: Due to an unfortunate family illness, I barely had time.
2019: The same.
2020: We all know what happened this year, I worked a lot behind the scenes…
2021: OMG! This is starting to work 
2022: OMG!!!
2023: But, what is happening?
2024: Everything is going down the drain.
What’s your story with Z?
Interestingly, my story is pretty much the same, including illness. Then I broke my wrist last September and couldn’t work at the computer at all. Now things are better, but not so much with Zazzle. Demoralized.
@Mariholly
Been here since July 2008, sales have definitely been in a severe and unexplainable decline, and at least in the forums unresponsive to any queries (by Z).
Consumers go through spells because of the economy and the chatter about the economy. However, they can’t help themselves. They eventually go back to their usual spending habits.
Been here since 2005. My 2024 is the same as yours. Not sure what has happened to Z.
Restaurants and retailers are filing for bankruptcy. It’s an issue everywhere.
@Barbara Oh, I’m really sorry about your wrist! I feel exactly the same, demoralized! 
@idraw I feel like the demands are increasing every time: covers, videos, collections… But the response isn’t proportional.
@ElizabethR I hope so!
@JerryLambert I’m really frustrated!
Heads up, we are in recession, the whole world is financially precarious, not sure what you have been told in the US, but seems like recession all over to me… I am still making sales though, small increments, but at least every 10 days or more often, that’s ok, I am not living off the earnings, just a nice little amount I can spend on hobby items. 
I don’t see anyone who can spend up large where I live, unless they win lotto…
PS I am still creating new items, I am trying to make the appeal more wide, and doing text or design variations, and covers when I feel like it. (I quite enjoy the process)
Nothing lasts forever. Not recessions, drops in sales, or frustration. I plan to take this time to create new products, improve my shop, and learn new skills.
Hmmm… well here goes.
August 2017: I had a waning website with thousands of graphics, and I wanted to see if I could resurrect it by using Zazzle to make print versions of my web graphics. Pretty quickly discovered that it wouldn’t work because my stuff was all optimized for web use (like web use back in the day when bandwidth was at a premium) so it wasn’t high enough resolution. I played around on the site for an hour or so, made a product or 2, and promptly forgot that Zazzle existed.
November 2018: Got an email from some company called Zazzle saying that I’d sold something. I thought it was spam and promptly deleted it.
2 weeks later: Got another email, this time telling me I’d made 2 more sales. Suddenly remembered what Zazzle was and discovered that the sales were for real. Hmmm…
2019: Decided to try designing. Mostly made housewares, funny t-shirts, bumper stickers, etc. Got a few sales. Then Zazzle had a wedding contest. I decided what the heck & made a few wedding designs. I actually sold some wedding stuff and decided perhaps weddings would sell better than funny t-shirts. Decided to go all in on weddings and sales started to pick up.
2020: Pandemic hits. OY! Perhaps this wasn’t the best time to go all in on weddings! BUT, I managed to hit a few home runs with 2-3 successful pandemic related designs and I started to see some success.
2021: Found a few micro-niches in wedding land and things got better.
2022: Had one wedding invitation that got featured and sales took off like crazy!
2023: My wedding invitation got un-featured and sales tanked. I realized that I couldn’t rely on hitting “home runs” and getting a wildly successful product now and then, so I got serious about diversifying, cranking out stuff, and promoting.
2024: No more “home run” successes, but steady sales of lots, and lots, and lots of different products. BEST YEAR EVER!!!
This very moment: Hoping I didn’t just jinx myself by writing this!
I probably choose the wrong year to start, 2023, currently have worked more than a year full time on Zazzle, with 2800+ products in various categories, cover photos, videos, social media, etc. But the return in money has been so low and disappointing for me. Hopefully things will get better soon, since I love to design here and continue in the future.
@Cat Congratulations! I think you are the first person I’ve read saying that 2024 isn’t a terrible year and that your sales have increased and you feel happy. I’m happy for you! I used to make sales worth $40-60 each day; yesterday I made $5 and that was a good day! I’m looking for a micro-niche, but I can’t seem to find it…
@Pixelan :flexed_biceps:
I’m so sorry that you’re feeling discouraged. Believe me, I can relate. Even before Zazzle, I made my living through online businesses (since 2007) and I’ve lived through lots of ups and downs - I’ve built entire businesses that just went down the drain because the winds of fate blew the wrong direction. But each time I learned valuable skills - one of which is to not let myself get too comfortable thinking that I’ve got it all figured out, because if there’s one constant in having an online business, it’s change!
My current Zazzle strategy is just to throw a lot of (ahem) “stuff” at the wall and see what sticks. Every time something sells, I make more like it - different products with the same artwork, different artwork on that product, same design with different colors, different fonts/wordings/styles etc. Now that covers are a thing, I also try to make covers for anything that sells, and whenever a customer requests something, I try to make a version of that request using all of the different artwork/color schemes that I use.
Then I look for patterns - which is the tricky part because (home runs notwithstanding) the patterns are usually pretty subtle. But any product that gets a sale I consider to be a success, and I try to build on it in one way or another - and if you do that long enough, the patterns will start to emerge.
One thing I don’t do much of is looking at the marketplace. I do it occasionally if I’m bored or just sick of looking at my own stuff and feel in need of inspiration, but generally I find that it just distracts me from whittling away at my endless “to do” list and makes me feel overwhelmed by where I don’t show up, and by the quantity and quality of the competition!
Anyhow, sorry to blather, but I hope things pick up for you soon!
No, you’re not talking nonsense, not at all. In fact, I feel very identified with you. It seems we have a very similar working style. I also do those things… I even think the type of designs we do are very similar. Right now, I’m exploring AI and making my own covers, even designs that I touch up, but for now, sales are very slow… And my year 2023 was difficult too. It’s not such a serious illness now, but my father requires a lot of my attention and I’m a bit behind with covers, collections, and now videos… That has also had an impact, I’m sure. Thank you for your support!
I’m so sorry about your father. I lost my dad a few months ago and I know how hard it is. Hang in there! 💕