New Faux Foil/Glitter Disclosure Messages Causing Customer Confusion

[GabrielaG]

I’ve recently noticed that Zazzle appears to be testing different disclosure messages on products containing faux foil and faux glitter artwork. After receiving a customer question that revealed some confusion, I compared several products and found that some products have two different new versions currently being displayed, while others still have the usual message.

New version A

New version A

New Version B

and the usual message, which, in my experience, this wording has worked very well. It clearly informs customers that the foil or glitter appearance is printed and not a specialty material, while still reassuring them that the design itself will print exactly as shown.

Usual message:

I recently received a message from a customer who was confused by the wording from “New Version A” and asked whether the rose gold and glitter leaves would actually be removed from the printed product. After reading the message myself, I could understand her concern. The wording appears to suggest that the decorative elements themselves will not be included, rather than simply explaining that they are printed representations of glitter or foil.

The original wording focused on the production method (“No actual foil or glitter will be used”), whereas the new wording appears to focus on the design elements themselves (“These elements will not be used”), which can easily be interpreted differently by customers.

“New Version B” presents other issues. While I understand the intention behind promoting real foil products, I believe this may unintentionally reduce conversions for both Zazzle and designers.

As an example, the invitation showing this new version is part of a collection that offers both standard printed versions and matching real foil versions. The same invitation is already available in real foil within the collection. When a customer clicks the “Browse real foil products” link, they are taken to a general Zazzle foil invitation page rather than to the matching real foil version of the design they were already considering.

This creates several potential issues:

• Customers leave the product they were interested in.
• They may never discover the matching real foil version available within the same collection.
• They are presented with thousands of unrelated products from other collections.
• Designers lose the benefit of the curated collection experience they have built.
• Both designers and Zazzle risk losing sales when customers are redirected away from products they had already shown interest in purchasing.

I fully support clear disclosures regarding simulated foil and glitter effects. However, I believe the original wording was more effective because it informed customers about the production method without creating uncertainty about the artwork itself.

Has anyone else noticed these new disclosure messages or received customer questions about them?

I would appreciate it if the Zazzle team could review the wording and consider whether a clearer, more consistent approach would better serve both customers and designers. Additionally, it may be worth considering whether customers interested in real foil products could be directed to matching foil versions within the same collection whenever available, rather than being taken to a general foil marketplace page. This would help preserve the collection experience while making it easier for customers to find the exact foil version of a design they already like.

If needed, here are the links to the product with version A, and the link to the product with version B 

Thank you

[Cat_Ritchie]

Your first example is not new. That is the message you get if you have used more than one word that triggers the warning. In your case you’ve used both “glitter” and “rose gold.” I agree the message is confusing though and I think it should be worded more like the message you get when only one trigger word is present. Like instead of using a catch-all phrase “these elements” in the final sentence (which seems to be the cause of the confusion) they should spell out that no glitter or rose gold will be used. 

It also really bugs me that they refer to the designer as “the Creator” - especially with the letter “C” capitalized. Maybe it’s just me, when I see that, my mind goes… wait, what, God simulated the elements? 

[Cat_Ritchie]

p.s. To avoid the confusing message, I generally reword the title, tags, and description so that there’s only one trigger word. 

[GabrielaG]

Thank you, Cat, for letting me know!  I appreciate the explanation as well as the tip!  Definitely, the wording could still be improved.

My larger concern is actually Version B and the “Browse real foil products” link. In my case, many of my faux foil invitations are part of collections that already offer matching real foil versions of the exact same design. When customers click that link, they are taken to a general foil invitation page rather than to the corresponding foil version within the collection they were already viewing.

Not every customer is looking for or can accommodate the added cost of real foil, and for those who are interested in upgrading, it seems more helpful to keep them within the collection so they can easily compare the standard printed version with the matching foil options. Otherwise, customers are being redirected away from a design they already liked and into a large marketplace of unrelated products.

I’m curious whether other designers have noticed this behavior as well, especially those who offer both standard and real foil versions within the same collection.

[Cat_Ritchie]

Agreed. The only thing I’ve tried there is to put the foil invitations up front in the collection so they show first in the previews under “other styles.” But that only works if you only have a few of them. If it’s a large collection with dozens of invitations then it doesn’t help much. I agree it would be fantastic if they could somehow link the products so customers could easily find the real foil versions of the same invite!

[Mark]

Hey @GabrielaG ,

Thank you for your feedback. I have passed it along to our team. 

[jadendreamer13]

Directing customers away from our products that they have already clicked on is an ongoing issue for designers. I hope this issue is finally being addressed.

[GabrielaG]

Thank you, Mark. I appreciate you passing the feedback along to the team and taking the time to look into it.

Thanks again for your help.