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?     ... View more

I’ve noticed a significant challenge that many Zazzlers—including myself—are facing when it comes to earning referral and from the Ambassador program: the issue of third-party sales overwriting our ambassador, referral and direct links. I spend an average of 6  hours each day sharing Zazzle products across social media, blogs, and emails, hoping to gain a potential customers to click and buy from my ambassador and referral  links. Despite this effort, I consistently see my sales categorized as third-party, meaning I lose out on the expected royalty. From what I understand, the issue stems from how Zazzle tracks referral clicks—favoring the last-click attribution model. I appreciate the exposure Zazzle’s advertising brings, but this system makes it almost impossible for ambassadors to receive the full benefit of their promotional efforts. Since online shoppers frequently browse multiple sites before making a purchase, many of them unintentionally pick up other referral cookies—even though my link originally led them to Zazzle. Unfortunately, there’s no realistic way for me to ask customers to clear their browser cookies before clicking my links. I genuinely believe that Zazzle values its ambassadors, and I would like to see a fairer tracking system that gives us a stronger chance of earning from for the traffic we bring. Here are some possible solutions: Extending Cookie Duration – Ensuring the ambassador’s original referral holds weight, even if the customer clicks another link afterward. First-Click Attribution – Prioritizing the initial referral that brought a customer to Zazzle, rather than the last one they clicked. I think that with small improvements, ambassadors could continue driving valuable traffic to Zazzle while being fairly compensated for their efforts ... View more

How discouraging and disappointing that with this new Ambassador Program I have gone back to my earned royalties being lower than when I first started with Zazzle years ago.  I have always had my commission at 10% so that’s not the issue.  It is unconscionable to me that with all the work with designing, listing and maintaining our stores we are down to earning pennies for our efforts.  It is my opinion that a company (Zazzle) who used to care about its creators has moved on to just treating us as pawns in how their company can make the most profits with no consideration about the people who help them achieve that goal.  Beladora Designs ... View more

Has anyone opted out of ambassador program? Did you make more than being in the program? May is dead for me and I am seriously considering opting out of the program Will that help? Any ideas...? Thanks in Advance  ... View more

Hello Zazzle Team, Since the transition to the new Ambassador Program, I’ve noticed that the referral rate for the zazzle_flatpapersheet product is calculating as either 15% or 18% + 5% royalty. This is noticeably lower than any of the products listed on the referral rate table provided with the program update. I submitted an issue request about this over three weeks ago with 4 follow ups but have only received confirmation that the matter is being looked into — with no further update since. Could you please clarify why this particular product is not aligning with the referral percentages outlined in the official table? Thank you, ... View more

I just made another third-party sale. I want to know who is taking 50% of my royalties. Was it an affiliate sale? Another Ambassador listing my products on Pinterest? Was it a sale from a Zazzle email, promotion, or other marketing tactic? We designers need to know who or what is grabbing half of our royalties, so we can plan our next steps. We can’t develop a sales strategy without this data. We need transparency—not just a notation that a sale was a third-party sale.     ... View more

I have been promoting other designer's products on Pinterest via pins and boards for years, but have not received a single cross referral sale till date. Am I just marketing another's product for free? Is it possible that in some way Zazzle is able to convert my referral sale and themselves become the third party? Am I wasting my time ? Am I being a fool by advertising and marketing for Zazzle and being cheated of all referrals, even though the customer may have come through my Pinterest link? How is it possible that all my marketing efforts never bring me a cross referral? I am confused on what to do. Any advice is appreciated. ... View more

Hi Creators, First and foremost, we want to express our sincere gratitude for your valuable feedback and insights. We truly appreciate the time you’ve taken to submit your questions and feedback through our form regarding the updates to our Terms of Use, which are effective today, April 1st. We’ve carefully reviewed each of your questions and, based on your feedback, have put together a comprehensive Creator FAQ and Ambassador FAQ to help clarify the changes and provide more detail.  As we all know, the world around us is constantly evolving. Marketing costs are rising, and competition for Customer attention is higher than ever. In order to keep up with these changes and continue thriving together, we too must adapt and grow. We understand that change can be challenging, but it's essential for us to stay dynamic and align with the ever-evolving landscape. For almost 20 years, we’ve been proud to be a marketplace where Creators from all walks of life can sell their Content, and many have even built a sustainable income doing what they love. Creators are the heart and soul of our platform, and we truly appreciate the partnership we’ve built with all of you.  With the launch of our new Ambassador Program, we want to ensure that Creators who actively promote their Products and drive traffic are properly rewarded. The new program simplifies the Earnings model, ensures a fairer fee distribution, and aligns financial incentives with Creators’ success. Whether you’re actively promoting your Content or allowing us to handle it, we’re here to support your growth.  We’re hopeful about the new opportunities this opens up for you as a Creator. This update means you’ll have the chance to earn what we would pay those “other guys”—and we hope you see it as a way to grow your Earnings in meaningful ways.  To keep the discussion and questions for us organized, please reply below and we ask you to continue to submit your questions to the form. We also opened an “Ambassador Program” board for Creators to discuss specific topics together.  Once again, thank you for your continued contributions to our community. We can’t wait to see what the future holds as we continue to evolve together in our marketplace. Warmly, The Zazzle Team   UPDATE - 4/2/25 Hi Creators, We’ve heard some common questions that we’d like to address and clarify. We've added these questions to our FAQ and will be addressing more questions soon.  Why does it seem like the Excess Royalty is taken out twice for the Self-Promotion? Why am I being charged a Marketing Royalty Fee for Self-Promotion Sales? Why in some cases did I make more money in the Promoter 2.0 Program?  Q: Why does it seem like the Excess Royalty is taken out twice for the Self-Promotion example below?  Example 1: Self-Promotion Link (own Product) in Clothing & Shoes with Your Royalty Rate set at 12%  Product Price (= Net Referral Sales for this example): $100 Your Royalty Rate: 12% → $12 Gross Royalty Excess Royalty Fee: → 5% of $12 = $0.60 (applies because Your Royalty Rate is above 10%. The fee is 5% of your Gross Royalty)  Marketing Royalty Fee: → 35% of $12 = $4.20 (applies to all Referred Sales. For Clothing & Shoes, it's 35% of your Gross Royalty)  Royalty: → $7.20 (after deduction of Royalty Fees) Referral Commission for a Referred Sale via a Self-Promotion Link Department Rate: → 35% of Net Referral Sales (Clothing & Shoes) Self-Promotion Earnings Goal: → 35% of $100 is a $35 Goal. (from this $35 goal, you’ve already earned $7.20 in Net Royalties and the $0.60 Excess Royalty Fee applies) Referral Commission from Self-Promotion Link: → $35 - $7.20 - $0.60 = $27.20 Your Earnings = $34.40 ($7.20 paid via Royalty, $27.20 paid via Referral Commission). Note: Because Your Royalty Rate was above 10%, the Excess Royalty Fee slightly reduced the total Earnings you could have received from the Referred Sale via a Self-Promotion Link. A: If you look at Example 1, the Self-Promotion Earnings Goal is $35, and the Excess Royalty Fee is $0.60. Your Earnings are $34.40 ($35 - $0.60). So while we need to deduct the Excess Royalty Fee from the Gross Royalties to help calculate the Royalty - which we then use to calculate the Referral Commission by deducting it from the Self-Promotion Earnings Goal - it is more to do the math to figure out the amounts you’ve earned rather than actually being taken out twice. Q: Why am I being charged a Marketing Royalty Fee for Self-Promotion Sales? A: The Marketing Royalty Fee applies whenever a sale is referred, whether by you, another Ambassador, or Zazzle. This structure helps our systems run smoothly across all types of Referrals.  So in order to make sure your Earnings hit the Self-Promotion Earnings Goal (which is based on the Department Rate), we calculate your Referral Commission to make up the difference between the Self-Promotion Earnings Goal and your Royalty.  The math can be a little bit complicated, but the end result is the same - your Earnings for that sale do not change. Q: Why in some cases did I make more money in the Promoter 2.0 Program?  A: Promoter 2.0 was originally a "beta" program, and we're now expanding it to all Creators. The Ambassador Program is designed to serve a wider population of Creators, while reflecting current marketing costs, so while there were situations where former Promoters benefitted more, this new program is designed to benefit the whole Ambassador community more overall. ... View more

So here I am again—in the exact same unfair scenario that I complained about last week. Once again, today I sold 50 pens at a sale price of $245.00. Once again, it was a third-party sale (that’s all I get now). So, instead of receiving my 10% royalty of $24.00, I received $13.00 and some change. That’s nearly 50% of my royalty given to a third-party, leaving me with a ridiculous 5% royalty. This has got to stop. 🛑 Something is drastically wrong and out of balance with this scenario. If I set my royalty at 10%, I want 10%, not 5%. So, in order to receive a 10% royalty, do I have to raise my royalty to 15%? And will the third-party receive half of that, leaving me with 7% instead of 10%? What will it take for me to earn the 10% royalty that I want and deserve?   ... View more

Since Zazzle encourages us to feature other designers’ products in our own stores, does that increase the risk of losing future self-referrals by sending customers to other shops? Has anyone actually seen referral success from promoting others in their store? ... View more

? percent Do not understand the break down on the money not sure about this. Is this because of the 3rd party or maybe it sold on Pinterest? I love Zazzle and enjoy making sales here but not too sure I will if my profit is cut. Is it something I'm doing wrong. Appreciate any advice. Thank you. I also jointed the ambassador program and cancelled it because I find it to confusing.  I had the same thing happen to me in February before I even join it so not sure what this is or means. Thank you for any clarification.  Qty Subtotal Rate Royalty Royalty (USD)   3rd Party   5/15/2025 11:12:36 AM 1 $21.80 $1.15 14.9% 5.0% $1.82 USD $1.82       ... View more

I think these changes are going to have a negative impact on Zazzle itself, despite their short-term gains by taking so much in Marketing fees. Creators are already increasing their royalty percentages to offset the new excessive fees, and will continue to do so, making products all across the site more expensive for consumers. Eventually, Zazzle will get priced out of the market, especially as we have been suffering from runaway inflation for a couple years now, and the cost of living continues to increase, meaning consumer spending continues to drop. It will especially impact the Digital Downloads market, which in economic downturns usually thrives. Creators will either remove the digital option altogether, or increase the royalty to the max. either way, customers lose out, and Zazzle does, too. ... View more