Does the "no actual ___ will be used in the product" message confuse your customers?

[Cat]

Just wondering what everyone's take is on using terms like faux foil, lace, leather, etc, in descriptions. I got another customer who was confused by the message today. She (like others before her) thought it meant that those portions of the design would just be blank. (insert face palm here!)

I dunno... I think it's pretty clear.

I do try to refrain from using two of the words that trigger the message because I do think that one is a bit confusing (and don't EVEN get me started on the "the Creator" part!)

But when it's just one element, I think the message is pretty clear - and for faux foil, at least, I do think it's a good idea to clarify that it's not real foil, especially since real foil is now offered on some products, it would be easy for folks to get confused.

Just wondering how you approach this topic. Do you avoid using those terms all together? Do you think the message does more good than harm? It seems like it's a real "lesser of two evils" sort of situation. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

[Barbara]

I think it began with "glitter," which could certainly be confusing to customers. However, I have gemstones pictured on a product where the message says there aren't any rhinestones. There sure aren't. Lace is definitely silly when warned about on a poster.

In any case, it's the message itself that's flawed by its own ambiguity. "This is only an image of lace, not actual lace" might be less confusing, though it's hardly needed at all. And artwork by the Creator himself? I knew there was a reason I didn't like changing us from designers to creators.

It all seems a good idea carried a bit too far.

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[Cat]

Totally agree that the message could be worded better. "This is an image of foil, not actual foil" is much better than "and the Lord said let there be faux foil, and there was faux foil..." but I digress. 😉

[Mariholly]

I believe the messages are clear enough. Anyway, I always include phrases like faux gold or lace effect or other similar ones in the descriptions. I know they are usually not read and also on the mobile version they appear almost at the end of the page, but I think it's more than enough. When you buy something online, you should carefully read everything related to the product you're purchasing. The time will come when we also have to warn that cover models are only illustrative and that decorative elements are not sent... 🤦🏼‍♀️

[Cat]

Hahahaha! "Woman not included..."

Seriously though... it's a good point that people should be required to take at least a little bit of responsibility and read the description!

[Mariholly]

Hahahahaha!!!!!!😂🤣

[Barbara]

My problem with the messages is that they often show up in odd places like where I have images of cabochons, and the message says there are no rhinestones, or the business card with a representation of gold, silver, and copper replete with a warning, while another business card with a gold coin doesn't warn about the gold or the money at all. Customers are surely smart enough to know that no metal was glued to a card. The warnings are a bit overly zealous.

(Creator with an uppercase 'C' has probably elicited a number of double takes in customers.)

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[Cat]

I think that the messages are triggered by specific words in the title, tags, and description. The ones I've uncovered so far are: foil, glitter, rose gold, rhinestone, jewels, metallic, holographic, burlap, & lace. I thought leather, fur & wood would trigger it too, but they don't seem to - at least not on the products I checked. It would be great if we could come up with a comprehensive list.

Had to go look up "cabochons" to see what it meant! I'm guessing this is the card that you're referring to? Classy and Sophisticated Bejeweled Save the Date Announcement Postcard | Zazzle I'm thinking it was the word "jewels" that triggered the warning in that case. 

[ColsCreations]

"Neon" is a trigger. I get it on some of my stuff where I've used "neon green" or like in the tags to descibe the bright colors. The warning says "no neon ink will actually be used…". So I guess neon ink is a thing.

[CrazyMermaid]

I have never had a comment from a customer about that warning. Again, is the total number of confused customers 5 or 50 or 500. That matters a lot. You can't design for the bottom 10 percent. This is how we get warnings telling us coffee is hot. 

[Cat]

Good point! I'd say I've had around a dozen confused customers. My favorite was a guy who was using one of my backgrounds to design his own business cards. The background in question was a photo of some sheet metal, and he somehow thought that using that background would make his business cards be printed on metal. I was like "sooo... did you think that choosing a floral background would make your business cards be printed on flowers?" It's times like this that I'm really glad we work online so I didn't have to attempt to keep a straight face! 😂

[Mariholly]

😳😲😲

[Connie]

OK, that one takes the cake! I think you must attract the most confused customers on the planet, LOL!

[Barbara]

@Cat 

Nope. I'd even forgotten I had that card, which shows just how popular it is. Regardless, the little algorithm animal seems to not know the difference between diamonds and glass.

Anyway, I've found pretty much the same as you have with the triggering words, burlap and metal being my worst pests because I love both of them. For a while, I had a problem with wood, but it seems to have disappeared. If I use metalwork or metalsmith, I'm good to go, though sometimes metal sets it off and sometimes it doesn't. I've used gold all by itself without a problem, so I wonder why rose gold is a triggering mechanism. I haven't used any cloth other than burlap, so I wonder what it would do with tweed or silk.

Yes, a list of "hot" words would be good.

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[BKMuir]

I have a photo of a cat with black fur and get -- "The fur details are simulated in the artwork. No actual fur will be used in the making of this product"

[Cat]

Ha! That's hilarious!

[Connie]

😂🤣😂I think someone at Zazzle has a wacky sense of humor!

[Barbara]

Fur on a cat? Oh, for goodness' sake!

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[Badeesie]

I've gotten it for "diamonds".

[chefcateringbiz]

I'm of the opinion that no matter how you word it, some people are always going to be confused, but "Creator" with a capital C has always been good for a laugh. Could just say "the wood and lace isn't real, it's a simulated design" and leave it at that.

[Connie]

I think I've only had one customer that was confused by the message, and asked me what it meant. It was probably more a case of knowing that the rose gold was simulated, so she was confused why Zazzle would add that!

I did get a bad review once for a desk name plate- the customer complained because it was made out of plastic instead of agate! Apparently some people don't know that "acrylic" is basically plastic, or maybe he didn't read the description at all. So maybe Zazzle should put a warning on agate designs? (they already had the warning on that design for the gold glitter!)

[Cat]

Hmmm... I'm wondering if the warning is triggered differently for different types of products, or if it should be! It's hard to see how someone would think that a card was made out of agate or metal, but they could certainly think that for products like a nameplate! 

[Barbara]

Things that shine can certainly be confusing because gangs of people have come across metallic paint and so could be easily confused by a design that only appears to be metallic. Burlap is also a good idea, lace not so much, and fur not at all. Zazzle couldn't have done this with automation, so the only way to clean it up would be to drop certain triggers from that automation along with making the messages even more simple and direct. I also wish they'd go back to calling us designers. At least don't capitalize us.

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[ColsCreations]

In an unrelated venture today I happened on a recent customer review (June 2024) of a paper product. They only gave it two stars so I'd call that a negative review. The complaint was that while it seemed thick and of good quality, it was not metallic at all, was "flatter" than then cardboard it was shipped in. Remembering this thread I clicked to view the product and it gave me the warning that glitter and foil elements are just simulated. The product used 'metallic' in the title and tags, as well as glitter, faux foil, shiny, and metal in the tags. The problem is that the design image was none of that so the tags were totally inappropriate. So despite the warnings that may or may not be over-kill, in this case, the designer did themselves in by misleading the customer with inappropriately describing the design.

I know that describing a design is really subjective, but I'm thinking, 'when in doubt, leave it out' especially when it comes to trigger-tags that prompt these warnings that further re-enforce the notion that the design will have a certain visual effect even though faux. Use of such tags may get you into more search results, but not worth it if it results in bad reviews because the buyer was misled.