Upcoming Changes To Zazzle’s Terms of Use

[Heather]

Hello Creators,

We’re making updates to Zazzle's Terms of Use, including the Creator License Agreement, and introducing our new Ambassador Program Agreement, which replaces our Associates Program Agreement. While the onsite experience will not be updated until April 1st, you can preview the updated Terms of Use here. 

We understand you might have additional questions or feedback. Please use this form to share them directly with us. While we may not be able to respond individually at this stage, we’ll review all submissions and address frequently asked questions after the Terms of Use go into effect.

To keep the conversation organized, all community discussions on this topic will be redirected to this thread.

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us make Zazzle a thriving community for all Creators!

Best,

The Zazzle Team

UPDATE 3/24/25: 

Hi Creators - Thank you all so much for your valuable feedback and for taking the time to submit your questions through our form. We truly appreciate your engagement and insights. Rest assured, we are carefully reviewing each question and will address the most commonly asked ones soon.

Timely Update Regarding Royalty Rates: We understand your concerns about adjusting royalty rates, and to support you through this transition, we will be processing royalty rate changes daily from now through April 15th, allowing creators time to make any necessary adjustments. Please note that updates may take 24–48 hours to appear. After April 15th, we’ll return to our regular schedule, with royalty updates processed on the 20th of each month. 

*To clarify: Setting your royalty to 10% exactly will not trigger the Excess Royalty Fee. Royalties above 10%, will trigger the Excess Royalty Fee when changes go into effect 4/1. 

UPDATE 4/7/25

This forum post is now closed for new replies. Please see our most recent update for information about the Terms of Use Changes and information about the new Ambassador Program. Thank you!

[Amanda23]

^^^ This! This right here! ^^^
Everyone read @tiffjamaica ‘s note above. 

[Anne]

"It looks like the 50% marketing fee is being applied to self referrals too" 
Just awful. 
I am still trying to figure out how I got to a 4% self referral. (with RF).
I was never in the promoter program because I rarely get referrals.
And now I received an email from Zazzle that I am now automatically in the Ambassador program.
Considering to opt out giving my cumbersome referral history and the mess with links.
Edit: never mind, unenrolled.

[ClareS]

It turns out we've always been charged a marketing fee for self referals - it used to be 20% now it's whatever rate relates to the dept. Ranges from 35% to 50%.

You don't need to opt out of the ambassador program. You can still add the rf link to your own posts when sharing them like you used to - you just had to add the rf code to the end of the link yourself.

Here's the silver lining of being in the program - let's say I am a random Zazzle customer who is not a designer or an ambassador and I go and look at your store and I see something my friend would love and I send her the link - that's a "clean link" for the ambassador program which means if the friend goes to your store via that link to buy the thing then you get the referral commission even though you didn't promote it. 

[EM007]

Then what is the point of self referrals? I'm still not sure how it's all calculated.

I got my first sale after the new policy took effect. It was a 3rd party referral. My royalty rate was set at 5% and the royalty I received was 3% of the item price. I looked at another sale I had before the new rates and the royalty I used to get was 4% when it was set at 5%.

Sales dropped suddenly on April 1 (maybe because of the tariffs) so its hard to tell how this affects earnings. But I'm turning my attention to CafePress again. I started out there and it looks like a safer option right now.

[Amanda23]

So my confusion with this: THEY ARE taking a fee when we self promote as well. Isn’t this info incorrect?!

[tiffjamaica]

I wish I could delete my comment saying I'm assuming their not applying the MF to self referrals! They most definitely are.  Also I posted a question on the new thread for the FAQ, but I'll post here as well.... in the Ambassador FAQ, bottom of page 8, there's an example of a referred sale calculation. I'm hoping it's just a misprint, the but Excessive Royalty fee is taken out twice - once when calculating the royalty and then again when calculating the referral.  Again, hoping it's a misprint.... 

[SheaPrints]

I've just visited the Ambassador Center, and it's a relief to see our 'Associate ID' hasn't changed!

The ambassador program will automatically include the correct link depending on whether it's your product or another designer's. So I guess if we want our own product to have a cross-promotional link, we have to change it manually.

The reason I'm wondering about this, is because I recently came across an old post (that frustratingly I can't locate again), that discussed using the associate '2.0 program' link. It said that if a customer clicks on your 2.0 link first, then that cookie is attached (for 45 days). If they later buy a different product with your cross-promotional 15% referral, you won't receive any referral. It said that this could pose an issue on platforms like Pinterest where numerous cross-promotional referrals occur. Will this be the same for the new Ambassador program?

[SheaPrints]

So, for designers (especially those who were not part of the '2.0 associate program'), if we want our existing manually-created Pinterest links to have the self-promotional link, we need to revise our pin by deleting the ?rf= and our ambassador ID. The rest that were pinned directly from the Zazzle product page will be cross-promotional links, unless we decide to delete and re-pin them. Is that correct?

[Julia_Frank]

I was in the ‘2.0 associate program’ and when I created manual pins to promote my products, I never added the ?rf= and my ambassador ID into self-promotional links, so I either received 35% referral (for my product, if I was lucky,) or did not receive referrals at all.

When I pinned my own products directly from the Zazzle product page, links also did not include the ?rf= and my ambassador ID. Maybe, if I pinned other designers' products, that ambassador ID could be attached automatically, but as far as I remember, for me, it didn’t work (the ID was not attached when I pinned directly). That’s why I seldom promoted other designers items (I had to make them manually to have the link with 'the attached ?rf= and my ambassador ID).

You can check a few of your Pinterest pins – manual and direct – to see how it is in your case.
Manual pins are easy to check – just click on the edit pin button (looks like a pen) and there is the link. See how this link looks at the end – does it have the ?rf with ID or not.
For directly created links, you can use this process to check:
- Click on the pin so it opens in a new tab,
- On the image, move a mouse to the bottom left corner - you should see the 'Visit site' button.
- Do not click on it, just hover above.
- When you hover above, you will see the link URL at the bottom of the browser page.

In my case you can see, that the RF with ID isn’t attached. This pin was pinned directly.

button and how to see the URL

[SheaPrints]

Thanks Julia_Frank 😊. I just wonder if it is the same with the new Ambassador program. I'm concerned about all our existing manual pins. If we revise them in Pinterest (by deleting the ?rf= and our ambassador ID), will this successfully convert them to a self-promotional link? I hope Zazzle will confirm this soon!

[ClareS]

A clean link would open you up to the higher royalty - but the existing link would still convert at 15% as that is an ambassador cross referral link. I wouldn't go and mass edit your pinterest URLs as you might get your account flagged for spam!

[SheaPrints]

Oh no, really? I was just about to start revising my manual links. Do you think it's okay to do about 10-20 each day? Thanks for your advice 😊

[ClareS]

I don't think that many is safe. I wouldn't do more than 1-2 a day and I wouldn't do them over a consistent period either. You're playing with fire. Also - do you know that those pins are definitely sending traffic and converting to sales? Because if they are then you are doing something amazing - if they are not you're pretty much wasting your time. If they do make sales with an RF ID you're going to earn a 15% commission anyway so why spend the time removing the links in the hope you'll make 10-25% more (the new ambassador percentages are for commission + royalty combined, not royalty plus that percentage). I would argue your time is better spent making new pins, or making new products to promote. Just my two cents. 

[SheaPrints]

Thank you for your advice, as my referral history could use some improvement! My initial plan was to update my top pins, but now I'm reconsidering. I'm also unsure about how Zazzle detects a self-promotion link (from Pinterest, website/blog etc.) as originating from the creator's marketing efforts. I've raised this question in another thread, so I'll wait for some clarification!

[Julia_Frank]

I would not touch top pins. As some people say, if something works, don't touch it.
If you really want to do something using your statistics from top pins, it might be better to create an additional (new) pin with another image and a new link (with or without ?rf ID). It can be pinned to another board or to the same because, most likely, your top pins were created a long time ago.

[RjFxx-Creations]

Hi everyone,

Can we have a clear explanation on what the Excess Royalty Fee is, and how it's applied please. I can't see it anywhere,

thanks

[AngieW]

I am with you there.  I don't understand where this is referenced.

[elle]

Same here. I've searched the T&C document thoroughly and don't see anything with a clear outline of rates, how excess royalty is charged. It would also be helpful to know if there are different charges based on specific tiers or brackets of royalties we set on products.

[Sara_H]

@elle  @RjFxx-Creations 

Currently when your royalty is above 15 %, you see in edit details of your product, the amount of excess royalty charged

(includes $0.0whatever transaction fee)

I presume the new system will be similar

https://www.zazzle.com/mk/policy/ambassadors_agreement

It's normally just based on the royalty that you've set (excess is 5% of royalty eg in the screenshot above - 5% of $0.82  is $0.04) but until April 1st rolls around, we all find out the exact terms and conditions we're signing up for

[elle]

Yes, the transaction fee on the current percentages is clear when setting royalties now. I think what’s trying to be established is what the new transaction fees structure will be so that a sound decision can be made as to whether or not setting products to the new (10%) minimum to avoid being charged a transaction fee makes sense or if keeping royalty percentages at the current settings (if above the 10%) is worth it. Knowing the exact updated pricing structure ahead of time would give shop owners the ability to make sound business decisions before the new implementation strikes on April 1st, hitting ill informed designers like a horrible April fools prank. 

[RjFxx-Creations]

Hi everyone, Can we have a clear explanation on what the Excess Royalty Fee is,  I can't see it anywhere, thanks

[elle]

@Sara_H gave a great explanation above so, if the excess royalty pricing structure isn't changing, anything above 10% will garner a 5% fee of the dollar amount of the product. For example, if you opt for 15% royalties and that sets the price of an item to $10.00, there will be a transaction fee of 50¢ (if I'm understanding it correctly).

[LJ]

The fee will be calculated from your Gross royalty, not the product price.

“Excess Royalty Fee: Zazzle will retain an excess Royalty fee of five percent (5%) of your Gross Royalty for sales of Products for which you select a Royalty rate that is greater than ten percent (10%) (“Excess Royalty Fee”), in order to cover expenses such as payment processing.”

[Wildart]

Pyment processing, yeah right! It all happens automatically so is it really a storage/computer processing... Maybe it's time to LEAVE Zazzle!!!

[MadjackGG]

Welcome to the labyrinth that is Zazzle's fees structure. Many a brave designer has perished in its twisting hallways, unable to find their way out before exhaustion claims them. Eager to find mythical treasure, they stumble on even as the light from their last sale flickers and goes out, leaving them groping in the darkness...

[Laura]

Please allow us to change our default royalty in each of Zazzle's departments as defined in the referral commissions table by department. This would save so much time rather than updating each department page by page.

[tsikona]

I think the questions we have will be answered by sales, for example for a digital download I have earned $5 instead of $8.32 (reffered by 3rd party with the default royalty 92.9%) 

[Westerngirl2]

Yes, from the few sales I've made today (all 3rd party, of course), it's the referral carve out that is making a huge difference in earnings.

[tsikona]

I see some creators raised royalty on a digital products e.g. invitation price is about 24$ I think it is too expensive. I am thinking about this, what % to set for my digital downloads. Yes, most of my sales are 3rd party also. 

[Westerngirl2]

I think I should have said "marketing fees" instead of referral....but it's all so confusing.

[jophb]

ugh, that's going to hurt

[tsikona]

• Full Transparency - When Zazzle's marketing drives a sale, a department-specific Marketing Royalty Fee applies—but when YOU drive the sale, you keep that portion! - this email is form the zazzle.   Can anyone explain why self referrals are charged? - today I got low % in self referral and royalty. 🙄 (like 3rd party sold my product) I really don't understand how system calculates our income. My royalty is above 10%

[tiffjamaica]

Yep, the Marketing Fee is coming out of all 3rd party and self referrals.  The language being used in various places (the royalty calculator, the Ambassador page, and the FAQ pages) to explain the new updates is misleading.  

[tsikona]

Conclusion: We have to accept our decreasing income. 

[Anne]

@tsikona That would probably require an independent audit.

[tsikona]

Yes, classic arithmetic is not working here. )

[tsikona]

So after reading FAQs everything is clear. Only thing I need to know why my z rank went down after updating royalty % . 

[Anne]

I'm so confused by the whole thing. I can't even find back all those numbers anywhere in the new "contract".
Do I understand it correctly that if you are not in the referral program (now "Ambassador program"), you can still use the rf code?

[jophb]

they just sent out an e-mail with an FAQ. It seems like the 'new' is basically the same as the 'Promoter 2.0' program. So basically if you use your normal link (no RF) you only get paid for your own products selling, and not for if someone buys something else (which is still not cool... since you DID get Zazzle the sale). And can only get 15% if you use an RF code for anything that sells (self or anyone's products).