I’d like to raise a concern about how Zazzle's 50% marketing fee on gross royalties unfairly penalizes creators who adjust their pricing just to offset increasing platform fees. Right now, the more you charge for your design (by increasing your royalty), the more Zazzle takes in marketing — even if Zazzle's actual marketing effort remains the same. Here's a real-world comparison for a 3rd-party envelope sale (250 units): Set Royalty Sale Price Gross Royalty Excess Royalty Fee (5%) Marketing Fee (50%) Net Earnings Net Royalty % 10% $212.50 $21.25 $0.00 $10.63 $10.63 5.0% 18% $235.00 $42.30 $2.12 $21.15 $19.04 8.1% 22% $245.00 $53.90 $2.70 $26.95 $24.25 9.9% 🧾 As you can see: Raising the royalty from 10% to 22% increases the creator’s earnings by ~$13.62… …but it also increases Zazzle’s marketing take by over $16 — simply because the royalty is higher. The marketing fee is not based on performance, actual advertising costs, or conversions. It’s a flat 50% of your gross royalty — no matter what. 🔍Why should a creator who raises prices only to survive platform fee changes end up being penalized by those same fees? This structure discourages fair pricing, forces creators into low-margin work, and erodes the financial viability of maintaining a Zazzle store. 💡Suggestion: Make marketing fees performance-based or capped Provide per-sale transparency Stop penalizing creators who are adjusting just to stay afloat Zazzle’s marketing strategy should empower creators — not punish them for trying to earn a livable income. ... View more

Since the new Terms of Use Agreement, I did not change my royalty rate in April and experienced a 30% decline in royalty revenue. This month (MaY)  I changed my royalty rate to reflect a net royalty that would equate to my revenue prior to April 1.  Zazzle immediately downgraded my zrank from an 8 to a 7 with the uptick in my royalty rate.   So basically it feels like I'm being punished for trying to make the money I was making prior to April 1. Anyone else have this happen? ... View more

I want to globally change my royalty amount so that I will actually receive a 10% royalty after third party sellers and Zazzle take their share of my profit. Math was never my best subject. So what should I set my royalty at to achieve my goal? Thanks so much! ... View more

If someone is not logged into Zazzle and they click on a product listing link from elsewhere on the web they arrive on a landing page like this one - where they are presented with 5 "other designs you might like" and have to scroll to see the one we linked them to.  This happens for RF and non-RF referrals. For RF referrals it doesn't really matter if they pick one of those other designs because we'd still get the 15%. But for designers who are promoting their own designs via a non-RF link we would be paid nothing for our marketing efforts if the potential customer chose one of those other designs instead.  I understand from a Zazzle marketing stance it makes good business sense to give potential customers other options so they buy something rather than nothing but could those other results be moved down the page? Personally I would love to see the product first - with the add to cart button (not the interstitial page that also sometimes appears where they need to click again to see the actual listing) then related items from the collection (for cross-selling/upselling within the store) and then related items from other sellers if we didn't manage to convert them by the time they scrolled that far. ... 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

I am concerned about the current advertisement fees that range from 35 to 50% of royalties.  I feel that these fees significantly impact earnings and from what I have read I know that many designers would agree.  I’d like to propose a more flexible advertising model that could benefit both Zazzle and the designers.  Please consider the tiered advertisement packages.  The 3-ad packages would allow designers the ability to choose an option that aligns with their budgets and goals. Here’s an outline of how this advertisement option would work: Basic Level: Free or low-cost option with minimal promotion, catering to designers with lower earnings/budgets or those who prefer organic reach. Mid-Level: A moderately priced package offering targeted advertising Premium Level: A higher investment option providing widespread exposure through channels like featured listings and social media ads, tailored for designers seeking maximum visibility. The advertisement packages would allow designers to make decisions based on their individual needs.  Designers would choose the package that would be best for them while also allowing Zazzle to recoup advertising costs.   There would be a fee for each advertisement package with premium level being the highest cost.  Please consider this proposal. ... View more

As I have made a meager few referral sales on Zazzle  since all these years that I have been on Zazzle, I request Zazzle to make some educational videos on affiliate marketing and referral sale generation exclusively for Zazzle algorithm. This will help us to grow along with the changes in Zazzle policy. We will feel happier working with the company as all of will grow together. Now, however much I use Pinterest, facebook pages, twitter, I never seem to be able to earn a referral for myself. Zazzle please help and guide designers like me who will appreciate it a lot and do a better job at promoting Zazzle products. Videos specifically designed for Zazzle and works when we implement them. Thanks ... View more

Hello, all.  I’m attempting to understand  the logic: if the idea is to reward creators for advertising their creations, why am I being charged a marketing fee? I do the work, but I’m charged a fee? But if no one does the work (“none”), there is no fee? I will submit a question via the form as well. I do not understand why there’s a marketing fee when I market my own products. I already pay for quite a few tools for this purpose, and I know some people pay for ads. ... 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

Earnings are drastically reduced by the new changes by Zazzle , but our efforts as designers are the same if not more. Shouldn't more efforts result in better results?? How does this work? I put in greater effort but make way less ??? Inspite of promoting my products on social media I never make any referral sale. I just don't understand how this can be....Are the management at Zazzle listening to our pain. How are they justifying taking away almost 50% of our royalties. If affiliates are working hard to promote Zazzle products, we designers are also working equally hard to make quality unique designs. Why are we designers being penalized ? Here's an example of how my Zazzle earnings look nowadays 😞    ... View more

Hi Everyone, We’ve published an updated set of FAQs reflecting the latest questions about the Ambassador Program.  If you’re looking for answers or want to be sure you’re up‑to‑date, please take a moment to read the updated FAQ document HERE.  By way of additional updates, we are taking action on requests for further clarity within the backend. Specifically, we’re working on updates to the backend earnings section of your account to make it easier to understand how Royalty and Referral Commissions are calculated. More to come on that end once it’s ready, so stay tuned.  As always, we appreciate your feedback and will keep refining these resources. Feel free to post a follow‑up question HERE. Thank you for being a part of the community and for sharing your feedback.  The Zazzle Team ... View more

I just want to know from Zazzle if we can please get some sort of response as to what is the plan/end game is with royalty changes / ambassador program for designers? ... What was the reasoning for the change? .... Was the plan for designers to generally earn less (30-40%) with the ambassador program (if they continue to operate as normal and not change to a more aggressive advertising strategy) in order to increase Zazzle's underlying net profit and/or make Zazzle a more sustainable business? Alternatively, is Zazzle expecting gross sales volumes to dramatically increase from Zazzle's increased advertising spend... and a therefore designers' sales volumes will increase (to make up for the loss of royalties)? What are the internal projections? I understand we do not have an ownership stake in Zazzle, but as others have mentioned we are essentially partners. If Zazzle needs designers to take a pay cut to ensure it survives long term it would be better to know this so we can work together. The reason I ask is designers also need to plan their finances. If what we are experiencing since April 1 is the new norm it would be handy to know... Some need to take on additional work etc. from external sources, restructure finances etc etc. Zazzle has been amazing to work with. It just would be nice to have a more transparent relationship moving forward.  ... View more