30-40% pay cut

[NicheNest]

I have asked similar question before, but no response….

Was the plan for the Ambassador program for Designers to generally take a 30-40% pay cut?

There have been changes to the treatment of ‘none’ and third party sales and increases in marketing fees which reduced royalty income by 30-40% overnight. 

Was this Zazzle’s underlying plan? 
Was the plan to shift royalty income from designers back to zazzle?

Can we expect our share to increase if things get better?

[Deb1]

Shame on Zazzle

[Deb1]

Shame on Zazzle for taking so much profit the percent is too much no fair to us. They already profit from us just adding more to their pocket.

[Deb1]

Shame, shame, shame

[Connie]

You could increase your royalties to make up for what you are losing. I doubt advertising costs will ever DECREASE, so I think the changes are here to stay.

[NicheNest]

That’s probably true about the marketing fees staying the same... Think I’ll probably just keep royalties the same for the moment as don’t want to lower store rank and/or position in the marketplace as that may have the opposite effect long term. Would like to know if anyone has raised their royalty over 15% to make up the difference without it impacting sales volumes?

Use to be able to an earn a full-time income on Zazzle, so was able to put my full-time focus on zazzle, but that’s not possible anymore. Had a good run though so can’t complain 

I’m sure many designers are in the same position. They will have no choice but to turn their attention to other sources of income, whether it be employment, other businesses etc. This will lower the volume (and quality) of designs posted on zazzle as designers are forced to go divide their attention.

[NicheNest]

I’m luckily in a position to be able take on other work etc if/when require so I don’t feel worried about speaking up.

However many others are not in a position to be able to find other sources of income and essentially are at the mercy of Zazzle, so we need to speak up for those people.

 Zazzle may have have needed to cut designers income’s to survive…. It’s obvious their intention was to reduce designers royalty income.

[Martin]

Sad to hear that even at your level, the drop has been harsh.

[kimmpossible]

Same here. This was my full time job for a couple years and I was making enough income for it to be worth it. Now I have to shift my time and energy elsewhere. Bummer, but I can’t afford to spend time creating designs here and lose out on more money on other platforms. 

[Zizzago]

We did increase our royalties to 25% to make up for the marketing fees and all the other fees, and our zazzle rank went down instantly, and our earnings are tanked we are making as much as in 2009 as we started in 2008 in zazzle, and if we put our % at 10% we will be making much less that what we are making now, but I suppose everyone is different in their approach, we did try 10% and it was awful, now it is still awful but we make more that with 10% 😊

[MadjackGG]

I went to 24% and sales tanked. Reduced my default royalty to 10% and sales continued to tank, but with what sales I did make giving pennies on the dollar. Have gone to 18% which gives similar returns to what I was making prior to the new TOS.

Some signs of life sales wise, but still much reduced from even a couple of months previous.

[Deb1]

Pinterest if free

[Jadendreamer13]

So far, I have kept my royalty rate at 10%, and my sales have also tanked. I think that’s more the result of ongoing inflation, economic instability and uncertainty, and federal job cuts than raising royalty rates. I’m no economist, but since my sales have also tanked and I have kept my royalty fee at a steady 10%, that signals to me that other outside forces are causing the persistent sales slump. Of course, that’s just a guess on my part.

[BKMuir]

Sales always drop from March through October. We won't really be able to see what the new changes really mean until Holiday sales begin (October?)

[CrazyMermaid]

I disagree with that. There are many niches on Zazzle that flourish during those times. 

[wpl]

Oh my sales are dead I am now having just 1 order a day I don't remeber it being so bad when every time zazzle says they are doing the changes for us, so we could benefit? But I am yet to see any benefit of all these changes they started since changing volume bonus program

It's disheartening 

[Deb1]

I'm really disappointed in Zazzle right now. Zazzle should do better for us. Zazzle would not be Zazzle without all the Artist and Designers who spend many hours creating and posting on Zazzle you think they would pay us a proper fee instead of taking advantage of us. Just so disappointed in Zazzle. Do not like how the new Ambassador program is working what happen to Authorship, copyright infringement of artist and designers who create the art or design. The Ambassador program is letting someone else to profit from my work does that violate Authorship or copyright. They are making more money than me. 

[Deb1]

I love Zazzle and the products just wish Zazzle policies were in the artist and designer's side.

[Heather · Accepted solution]

Hi @NicheNest - Thank you for your thoughtful messages (attaching your first post).

Your questions reflect the genuine concern of someone who has built their creative business alongside Zazzle, and we appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective. We understand that adjustments bring uncertainty and recognize that many of you are partners in building this marketplace. While we can't share specific projections, we can share our reality: The digital commerce landscape has become significantly more competitive and expensive over the past few years. Rising advertising costs, changing consumer behaviors, and increased competition have necessitated an evaluation of how we allocate resources for long-term viability. The Ambassador Program was designed with the goal of supporting Creators who actively drive traffic and sales while also helping us manage our overall cost structure. The previous structure had become unsustainable, and this new approach aims to encourage greater engagement by bringing targeted traffic to Zazzle, and ultimately increasing Royalties for Creators. We recognize this represents a shift and we understand it impacts how you plan your creative business. While we continue to evaluate and refine our programs based on performance data and Creator feedback, we want to be upfront that the current structure represents our path forward for the foreseeable future. We are committed to supporting Creators who want to grow with us through these changes; your success is important to us. 

[NicheNest]

Thank you Heather for your detailed response and insight into the business, it is much appreciated.

[wpl]

@Heather it would also help if you can guide creators ways to bring in traffic to zazzle, as right now we all want to do that and earn more

Thank You

[LJ]

The Ambassador Program was designed with the goal of supporting Creators who actively drive traffic and sales

---

If this was true, you wouldn’t try to hijack our self referrals in every imaginabe (and non-imaginable) way. Most obviously the landing page, but there are several others, like None sales turning to 3rd party in a breeze. Pretty sure Zazzle is the “3rd” party in the vast majority of cases, although there’s no third in this equation, just your business and mine. I have yet to see anyone excluding Zazzle to benefit from these “new opportunities”. That’s not the purpose.

[MasterpieceCafe]

And taking our referral money from digital download self referrals and only paying us 50% on the royalty instead of the listed royalty. There is now zero reason for us to self refer digital products. Which completely contradicts "supporting creators who actively drive sales"

[Martin]

As I see it. In any other business I need to "Sell myself" and Zazzle has basically taken that approach plus others can sell for me. Now the benefit to somebody else selling for me is that I get a sale I probably would not have had.

A further bonus is that if I sell myself I get a very nice cut of the profit. 

And there is more! If I sell somebody else I get a cut of their profit.

Granted the sales aren't what they were, but every man, woman, child, cat and dog has a POD site now. Plus the economy for the US and some other areas has collapsed. So I guess it's dig in, breathe in and hang on for the foreseeable future.

It isn't going to be easy, but after over 3 decades of working for myself I just shrug and roll with it.

Back to the question. Was it Zazzle's intention to cut our earnings? Well in reality based on the events mentioned above probably not, but it has happened. Then of course it's possible that they did do it on purpose to push profits up, get rich, float on the stock market and get even richer. It all depends on how cynical a view point an individual has. 

Feel free to ignore my views / ideas I am just an idiot on the internet who doesn't listen to his own advice half the time.😆

[Will]

“Then of course it's possible that they did do it on purpose to push profits up, get rich, float on the stock market and get even richer. It all depends on how cynical a view point an individual has”

Spot on Martin

[MasterpieceCafe]

A boost to the bottom line helps for a higher IPO.

[SimplyDesigned]

IPO means Initial Public Offering. Zazzle is not a publicly traded company, so there is no IPO. Back in 2022 it was reported Zazzle was in talks with banks to arrange something, but it never came to fruition, so Zazzle is still private. I know tensions are high but let's strive towards posting factual statements.