Order For One Invitation

[BadLands]

I'm newer to Zazzle, so apologies if this is a common question or has been milked to death.  I've been fortunate enough to sell a few of my graduation invitations, but today had someone order just one (printed not digital download).  I suppose this could have been as a sample, but I am assuming this is something some people do, customize and order one invitation then print it at home (or elsewhere) on a copier?

Is this a common invitation problem?  I imagine it would be more common with birthday and grad invites than something formal like a wedding.

I'll take the one sale rather than zero, but it seems shady.

[Cat · Accepted solution]

It was probably a sample.

Designers complain about this all the time, but now that digital downloads are available it seems like a non-issue to me. If they're buying it to print locally or something, I can't imagine why someone would pay for one invite, plus shipping and handling and then have to go to the trouble of scanning it etc. It would probably be cheaper to just buy the download. 

Think of it this way - buying one copy still counts as a sale in terms of the Zazzle algorithm, so even though you didn't make much money on this sale, you still get a bump in the search results!

[BadLands]

Oh absolutely agreed. I’d rather have that additional sale for any benefits of furthering the store. It just struck me as odd.

Thanks for the reply!

[Deb]

yes it is common and has been for years .. I truly wish zazzle would allow single copy orders to have sample written across only .. I get tons of these .. and recently have toyed with the idea of putting this caveot in my description (NOTE: Ordering just one invitation for the purpose of printing locally is unethical, and in some cases unlawful. Please order pre-printed invitations or Choose the digital option Only . Thank You. )

[MasterpieceCafe]

I assume that sometimes people are buying one of several different invitations to see them in person and then choose one to order more of.

[DancingPelican]

Adding to this discussion, I sometimes buy a single sample of my own invitations to see how the design looks printed on the particular card stock and card shapes I chose to publish them on. I keep a portfolio of some of my invitation designs. I also wanted to see how the gold foil actually printed on the invitations that have that feature.