Somehow Zazzle should be compensating designers for custom work. I’m not sure what that would look like, but custom work by designers certainly increases sales, but most of the time short changes the designer.
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100% Zazzle should compensate custom designs with a commission. At the bare minimum designers should be paid their posted commission rate. My rate is 10% and I only got paid 5%. Just not fair…
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I’m still catching up after travelling and recovering from a bug, so I’m grateful for all the insights in this discussion. I’m also disheartened.
On a personal level, it feels like there’s little or no hope of ever growing my shops to the point of predictable viability. It doesn’t matter how many covers, videos, social media posts, carefully constructed and timed pins, etc. I create, sales are too unpredictable and paltry after fees are deducted.
I’m also sad about the impact on the collective design community. As much as I appreciate the opportunity to be a Zazzle creator, it’s hard to reconcile Zazzle’s lack of transparency and radio silence, especially given the dire financial impact on designers. It doen’t align at all with their “Empowered by People” tagline.
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You will never get a self referral through chat as those customers are considered Zazzle’s customers since they contacted you through their platform.
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I don’t think Z believes anyone is fine with the changes. But I do believe Z is. This was a well thought out business decision that benefits the company. I do not believe any discussion of Z’s business strategy and how it’s affecting their designers is going to make any difference in how Z is handeling their business. I have realized loss of money from purchases and overall sales. I’m not at all happy and I feel just as ripped off as everyone else. I do agree with @NigelSutherland that some peop.e here may not want to post on this subject for fear of being penalized is some fashion. I haven’t said much because it’s not going to change anything most likely…Not unlike working for any other company that cuts off benefits, wages, workers over time while adding to the workload of their employees. I think talking to our co workers is most beneficial. But in the brick and mortar workplaces, when these types of things occur, a good majority of the workers will say nothing for the reasons I’ve stated above. Fear and knowing this is the new situation. And there will always be more change to come. One can adapt and accept or get another job.
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My income here is down to around a third or even less what it used to be and has, to my mind, turned insignificant. So I recently wiped out all my products and images, set my store to hidden, and am waiting for the final payout. The bottom line for me is self-respect.
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I am saddened to read this, Barbara. You have been here through thick and thin ever since I started on Zazzle. It was exciting to be in the building phase where we learned what sold and grew our stores to something we were proud of. It’s a different landscape now. I will miss you. - Susan 😢
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I don’t blame you. I know a few other talented designers who have recently decided to move on from Zazzle. I figured this would happen after all of the unpopular changes Zazzle made. It’s just not the same place as it used to be. I’m sure there will be more designers who leave if things don’t improve soon.
I wish you well!
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I’m sad, but not surprised. You’ve been such an asset on the forums, we’ll miss you greatly.
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@DancingPelican @jessletterman
@Cat
Thank you for all your kind words. I have to say that, once my decision was made, I was a whole lot happier and much more productive. I’ve been painting whatever floats my boat, and if nothing floats, I do other stuff I’ve been wanting to do. For instance, I’m learning the ins and outs of bookbinding and already have three handmade sketchbooks to fill. I’m eighty and feel like twelve.
At least take a little break, guys. It’s good for the soul.
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Oh, Barbara, I am so sorry to see you go… You and Shellibean (Aside: Whatever happened to Shellibean?) were two of the Zazzlers who helped me out most with answers to questions when I was a newbie. I have always enjoyed and appreciated your posts. You will be sorely missed. here.
I earnestly hope you will at least maintain a presence on Benable.
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I’m so glad that you’ve found a way to turn it around and make it a net positive! I’m not throwing in the towel yet, but I’ve definitely rearranged my priorities where Zazzle is concerned.
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Ah, yes, Shelli, a straight talker who straight-talked her way into being banned from the forums for life. Several of us were banned at about the same time, but only for a month. We were never told why, and we couldn’t figure it out for ourselves, but someone at Zazzle got mad at all of us. We took it in stride and showed up again, all but Shelli.
For sure, I’m sticking with Benable where I’m earning mostly from Amazon and have set it up to be paid in credits rather like gift certificates to spend there. I already have another place that pays me this way, and It’s a little extra change to offset a bit of my addiction to art supplies.
Do all of you remember the “Everything Else” forum we had on the old setup, the place where we could get into long, interesting, and often funny conversations that were totally off-topic? Jerry Lambert talked about home-brewing, someone else gave out a recipe for pickles, we had a funny thread about banned words, finding ways to say them anyway, and there was the time I was bedridden for months with a bad back, and I asked for book recommendations. People came out of the woodwork to clue me into some great books that kept me happy and sane.
It’s the people who’ve made this a fun place to be.
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I do! I do…remember the “Everything Else” forum on the old setup. I even remember your bad back posts. “Those were the days…” (For the record, I STILL don’t find this forum structure as much fun, as user-friendly or, more importantly, as useful as the old one, but no one cares what I think. 
Ha! )
Glad I’ll still run into you on Benable. Like Cat, I’m not quite ready to quit yet, but I’m glad you’re happy with your choice to do so. You go, girl! Sounds like you’ve got a grip on things.
Best Wishes,
Saints-Aplenty
P.S. As for Shelli… it was as I feared.
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I, too, will miss seeing your posts. And I totally understand what you are saying. I reached Gold status late last year, but these changes have totally destroyed it all. I have no choice but to look for other avenues.
I wonder how many of us who have been here for years and years will do the same? Is that what the goal was?
I don’t know. But I sure wish you all the best, Barbara.
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I am so sorry to read that Barbara, but I do understand because I’ve thought about it on more than one occasion lately. I hope whatever you do going forwards is a great success for you.
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@Saints_Aplenty I’ve got a grip on things now that I realized what was making my unhappy. They say we have only one go-round in life, and if this is true (who even knows?), the world would be a much better place if we all remembered to make ourselves happy.
@Westerngirl2 I’m not sure it’s been Z’s goal, but I’m pretty sure a lot of people are thinking very seriously about moving on. We could all start a Z Veteran’s group and talk about the silly stuff in life. Perhaps the biggest question for all of us is whether we actually need to do what we’re doing.
@Ricaso Thank you. As for success, it’s a matter of unloading obligations. What a relief!
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I completely agree with you and I wish they’d go back to the old ways. Who’s benefitting in all this, the “third party”?? Maybe the third party was always there, but now Zazzle wants us to pay them out of our royalty. So in reality we are no longer able to make the “10%” and we’re getting 5%
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It’s worth remembering that many international designers are part of this community but absent from forums due to language barriers.
What concerns me most is the time-to-compensation ratio. Hours are lost to site performance issues, delayed features, and technical problems. When I calculate the time invested in creating hand-drawn, digitized designs with multiple layers optimized for different sizes – often to sell once or twice – the math doesn’t add up. Meanwhile, automated printing processes and affiliate link placement require minimal effort yet receive disproportionate compensation.
As a designer on Zazzle’s German site, I’m also frustrated by inadequate translations (both legal and product descriptions) and the lack of communication about platform changes. Many of us have formal design education – when you compare that to the actual hourly rate here, it raises questions about fair value distribution.
I believe there’s room for a more balanced compensation model that better reflects the creative investment required for quality original work.
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That’s really unfair. I hope Zazzle is hearing about some of these complaints of ours.
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