RE: ZAZZLE COLLECTIONS (SETTING COLLECTIONS TO PRIVATE versus PUBLIC)

[TAngelone]

If I set a collection to PRIVATE can anyone besides me see the individual products which are set to PUBLIC contained within a collection?

How can I create Zazzle collections for only me to see while I am in the process of building my online Zazzle store.

I know that in order to add products to a Zazzle collection I need to make the individual products public (for everyone to see).

If my store is set to private can others besides me still see the individual products which are set to public? 

The reason why I want to set my collections to PRIVATE is because I am still building out my Zazzle store (*WHICH IS SET TO PRIVATE) with categories and collections and I DO NOT want them to show up in search results on Zazzle or elsewhere. 

I am also concerned about other people copying my art and designs while I am in the process of creating collections with in my Zazzle store. Theft of intellectual property is rampant. If people can see my products there is a good chance someone might try to copy my work and pass it off as their own.

Is it possible for me to set the products to public and then once they are added to COLLECTIONS set the individual products back to PRIVATE until I am ready to open for business?

Or can I just set COLLECTIONS to private and then make COLLECTIONS public once I am ready to open.

Thanks in advance for any input or suggestions regarding Zazzle collections.

This topic is NOT covered on YOUTUBE, ZAZZLE or anywhere else. 

[idraw · Accepted solution]

Settings>advanced settings>hidden sections

that is where your collections should stay until you are ready to move them to visible (same path)

if I am understanding what you are trying to do.

I can see your test collection 1, so go to the above path and change to hidden. See if that hides it.

[TAngelone]

idraw - Thanks for your response to my post. So I can set collections to private and still add individual products to collections. My store is set to private. Thank you. I have since set the collection to private. I really the reply and have clicked to give you a KUDO and I accepted this as a solution. Cheers. 

[idraw]

Glad to see that you were able to locate the setting and hide your collection.
Appreciate the kudo, but shows no solution accepted for  my posted answer.
Please try again to choose the solution. That way others know that it worked for you, when they are having the same issue.
Hope you are able to make progress with your collection.

[TAngelone]

Idraw - I have another question. If my collection is set to private can I still add products which are set to public to a collection? I am told that individual products must be set to public before they can be added to a collection. Only PUBLIC PRODUCTS can be added to collections I am told. Should I set individual products which are set to public to add to a collection back to private once they are added to a collection. In other words say I have a t- shirt, a pair of leggings and a bag, I would need to set all individual products to public to add to a collection. Should I set all of the individual products back to private after they have been added to a collection? Or can I just set the collection to private to prevent individual products from being seen before my store is ready to open. Thanks again for your responses. 

[TAngelone]

idraw  Just successfully accepted your post a solution. However I had another question which I posted after the fact.

 If my collection is set to private can I still add products which are set to public to a collection? Only PUBLIC PRODUCTS can be added to collections I am told. Should I set individual products which are set to PUBLIC to add to a collection back to PRIVATE once they are added to a collection?

In other words say I have a t- shirt, a pair of leggings and a bag, I would need to set all individual products to public to add to a collection. Should I set all of the individual products back to private after they have been added to a collection? Or can I just set the collection to private to prevent individual products from being seen before my store is ready to open. Thanks again for your responses. 

[Windy]

It seems as though you have the impression that once you publish products, suddenly lots of shoppers will be looking at them. This is not likely. It takes a long time for searches to work with regard to products, weeks, months. Some products will be lucky to have three views after a year.

[TAngelone]

Windy - You misunderstood my question. I asked about product collections. I needed to know whether or not I can set my collections to private while my store is still in development. Also I have serious concerns about my art and designs being made public before I open because there are individuals who peruse Zazzle and other print on demand sites to see what art and designs they can steal and pass off as their own. I did NOT say anything about shoppers. I said search engines and on Zazzle. I also have my own external website where I will be promoting my brand, product lines and store. Finally I needed to know whether or NOT individual products contained within collections that are set to public can be seen if a collection is set to private. Thanks for your response. 

[Windy]

Yes, you can set your collection to private while your store is still in development. Collections are never ever going to be searchable by Google because Zazzle does has disabled search for collection.

QUOTE

Q:  Are collections found in web searches?

 A:  For SEO purposes, we don’t allow Google to index collection pages so they won’t be found in web searches. END QUOTE

If you want to make your collections private, then you certainly may.

Yes, individual products set to public can be seen even if they are part of a private collection. If you want to test this, someone in the forum will tell you whether they can see a public product you have linked to after you have placed that public product in a private collection.

Thieves do browse Zazzle for material to steal. Thieves tend to capture the most popular products on Zazzle, so once you have very popular products with a lot of views and sales, you might find your designs being stolen. 

[ColsCreations]

I know that in order to add products to a Zazzle collection I need to make the individual products public (for everyone to see).

Not sure where you got that info but it is incorrect. You can assign Hidden products to a Collection. You as the signed-in designer will see the Hidden products in the Collection when you view it but the public will not. I just tested this out to be sure.

Here is my Collections list:
https://www.zazzle.com/mbr/238499276722080691/collections

Look for the "About My Dog" Collection. (It will probably be on page 2 but irritatingly enough, the order of Collections is always randomly shifted when I view from other browsers as a guest.) This is a Public Collection I have placed a Hidden product in. I can see the Collection listed in all three browsers I tried from as a guest. So this shows that including a Hidden item(s) in a Collection will not cause the Collection itself to be hidden from public view.

Now if you open the Collection
https://www.zazzle.com/collections/about_my_dog-119836176189454073
you'll see 15 products. I as the designer see 16 because I also see the one product that is Hidden that I just stuck in there for this test.

If I were you, I would set up all your Collections, write your descriptions for them, make your banners, etc. Have the framework for your shop set-up, organized how you want and ready to go. Leave them set to Public. Set your products to Hidden as you publish them and then add them to the desired Collection. Organize the items inside the Collection as you wish. Even if someone stumbles on one of your Collections they won't see anything in them because it's all Hidden to anyone but you. Then when you are ready to launch, all you need to do is use bulk-select --> Actions to change all your products from Hidden to Public. Easy-peasy. No back & forth with changing products from Public to Hidden to Public and Collections from Private to Public or whatever. And the less changing you do, the less likely of having indexing confusion.

I know you said you have your own audience and platforms you are going to launch to and that is fantastic. But I think what @Windy was getting at was that if you also want organic sales, that doesn't happen overnight so the sooner you get your work into the Marketplace, the sooner it's likely to get found, viewed, bought and acquiring some "rank" in the MP.

@TAngelone 

[ColsCreations]

Wanted to add:
Collections (and Stores themselves actually) are really just virtual organizers when it comes down to it. You can set a Store to Private but the products within it can still be searched up in the MP. Likewise with Collections. The public may not be able to find/see the Collection/Store but they can find/see the products within it elsewhere. The only way to ensure products (and not just the thing you virtually organized them into) remain private and un-findable by the public is to set the products themselves to Hidden.

[TAngelone]

ColsCreations Let me preface this reply by stating how grateful I am for your responses to my questions regarding Zazzle Collections. I wish there was a way for me to accept this as a solution. I did except idraw's reply as a solution. The time you took to post your response which was extremely thorough is needed,  valued and appreciated. I did give you a kudo. Once I am open I intend to follow you and others on Zazzle. If  there is a way to accept your reply as a solution then I most certainly will. Thanks again. 

*PLEASE NOTE TO ANYONE READING THIS ZAZZLE THREAD and POST. 

ColsCreations reply to my questions regarding Zazzle collections should be counted as a SOLUTION.