Can a Zazzle designer sell completely blank products?

[LMGildersleeve]

I've just come across someone who has completely blank products. Frankly, the look just like Zazzle's blank products. They have no customization, no "add your logo here" type template... nothing.

They create the same product in each insitu available.

I've never seen anything like it.

[PenguinPower]

So far as I recall Z cracked down on that practice a while ago.. A product has to have at least a minimum of a design on it..  And yes, there is a loophole that lets you make completely blank products and post them for sale, but I'm not going to publicly out it.. 

[CrazyMermaid]

Yes, I keep running across loophole stores and find it so demoralizing. I have never seen what Lyn-Marie is describing. 

[LMGildersleeve]

I would never publicly post their store.

[PenguinPower]

I didn’t mean the store, but how you can create and post for sale a blank product… it’s possible, but I’m not going to tell people how to do it.

[Jadendreamer13]

Can you report the design?

[ColsCreations]

Creator License Agreement - General section

Zazzle also reserves the right to remove from the Site Products that are functionally similar to Products offered in the Zazzle Templates store (https://www.zazzle.com/store/zazzle_templates), including but not limited to (i) Content with text and/or imagery featuring "Your Design Here," "Your Image Here," or the like, and (ii) Products that employ titles and descriptions that either closely simulate or can be misrepresented as a Product offered in the Zazzle Templates Store.

The template store is a bit archaic now but the principle remains - mimicking Zazzle templates/blanks to trick shoppers (and thus Zazzle themselves) into paying a designer royalty is not kosher. And even if they aren't getting sales, it's just more needless clutter mucking up the MP and search.

[MOM]

There are plenty such sellers out there. Most are Pro but one is even Bronze with a lion part of blank designs.

[LMGildersleeve]

I think I'll send their store link to Zazzle directly. After seeing Col's post I think they are breaking the user agreement. But I'll let them decide.

Thanks everyone for chiming in.

[Barbara]

Those who try to scam others for personal benefit are the epitome of that old cliche: the dregs of society.

(Odd. The general Reply button is locked, though it works if it's clicked as a reply to a specific post.)

Colorwash's Home

[tamirazdesigns]

@LMGildersleeve 

Yes, I agree and it's very disheartening and demotivating seeing all those types of stores for sure!  Been going on for sometime, as other's have mentioned now, and in the past also.  Saw maybe same store as you.  Noticed over two handfuls of stores by looks like variations in their name, but from the same country location, with nothing but tons of blank white items in each store, and to boot majority of these stores already reached Bronze level it says!!  And maybe other store's are doing similar, or your logo only type store's with nothing else added to it, and have reached Bronze or higher selling levels.  But how can this happen?  Thought it wasn't allowed?  Sadly, a lot of designer's are here for many more years than even person's many stores mentioned of having only white blank items, but are still not reaching Bronze level, nevermind higher levels, and who are selling their original artwork designs, photography, etc.; unlike those stores!   Don't understand this.  

[CrazyMermaid]

I just created a purple floral banner with text and graphics. When I published it, a completely black banner was shown below in the "Other Designs You Might Like." There were four dots below in black, white, purple and red. So it is in many color ways. This from a Bronze Seller. I have never seen this type of product featured so prominently before. Very upsetting that Zazzle told us years ago this wasn't allowed and now is promoting it prominently and this seller has been amassing earnings  doing this. Hopefully we will get some clarification of new policies that do allow this. (And yes I reported the products.)

[ColsCreations]

Just encountered another store (Bronze level as well) with a dedicated collection of totally blank 'create your own' products. Each one has a transparent png added to it to fool the system into thinking they added an element so it can be published. And that's what ticks me off as it clearly shows they are intentionally cheating the system. Can't say you didn't know any better when you've gone out of your way to fool the system.

These type blanks and solid-color products pop up frequently and then more and more show up in the "other designs you might like scroll" and on your personalized home page so shouldn't be that hard for Z to start wiping such from the MP.

[tamirazdesigns]

If what you're referring to is from the same store I just looked up for a banner under newest (and a Bronze store), no surprise it's from the same country, as all the blank white items I reported from all those other stores!

This banner, etc. from this other store is something.  Clicking edit on the limited amount of patterns they offer on certain products doesn't make sense, and there's a multitude of uploaded patterns per design on front/back of same thing, and the ones that have templates on patterns they're not visible, and it's all just slapped together looks like.  The descriptions don't match the design or item posted.  At bottom is some sold products by that store and a simple flower item that doesn't make sense either when looking in design tool.  Looks like it's gaming the system.  Very sad.

[tamirazdesigns]

I never reported products or stores before, but yes I also reported them because this is ridiculous, and not right!  And it wasn't hard to find or see all these stores (which aren't that old even) and all from the same country, and 8 out of 13 stores I found from them are all Bronze level!!  Selling nothing but complete white blank products in every category of items!  How can that be?  How is this allowed?  No original artwork, no real creativity, no hard work designing, their blank white items are not part of a collection theme where a white or solid color would go to compliment the other designs, no templates, no nothing!  And seeing so many of those types of stores reached Bronze level, or who knows even higher!  And a lot of us designer artists have been on here for many more years than them and still struggle to reach those levels of Bronze or higher!  I emailed them all a couple of days ago to Zazzle to look into, and noted there's probably even more stores like this that should be looked into!  Very deflating to all the other hardworking artists and designers on here.  Hoping Zazzle looks into it all.  

[LMGildersleeve]

I have counted four different "designers" from the same country doing this kind of thing. It's almost like either they are the same person but trying to look like different people. Or, it's as if the people from this country are all getting bad advice on how to make money on Zazzle.
I'm not going to spend any more time on this. I'll send the other stores/profiles I've found to Z. If they care, they'll do something about it. If not, wouldn't surprise me in the least.

[tamirazdesigns]

I counted 13 different designer stores as mentioned (and was shocked to see 8 of those stores are Bronze level, all selling nothing but blank white products).  I emailed Zazzle all the stores a couple of days ago, and told them I don't have the time to look any further, but that it's not hard to find these types of stores!  And asked them if this is allowed.  And that it seems like they're the same person with variations in their name, per different store accounts, and switching up the town on some (if they call it towns, I don't know), but they're all from the same country, and that there's probably more stores like this that they too can find easily.  Can just hope that Zazzle employees look into these types of stores, and handles it!