Comparison royalty (income) before and after the change of the system

[Bailamor]

A small overview of the actual income of various products compared before and after the introduction of the new system.
I haven't done the exact math, but on average it's 40% less now. In other words, IF sales stay the same, I get 40% less per month. That's really a lot (for all the work I put in).

I'm just leaving it open for discussion and more tips...

And did I understand correctly that all self-made promotion links from last year (that have the rf code) are now disadvantageous (i didn't read all discussions, and i also don't expect you to repeat everything :))?

[Barbara]

What I wonder is, if a person sold an item at 14.9% at a specific price now and then sold precisely the same item at the same price now but at 10%, what would the difference be?. Just the bottom line that might give all of us clear insight to the difference. ColsCreations has done and shown a lot of the calculations, but I got halfway through and my brain fizzled out.

I'm still waiting to sell something--anything--in April. I flatlined as of April 1, and now I'm wondering if more than just our royalties has changed.

Colorwash's Home

[tiffjamaica]

Let's use the first example in the original question to compare... 

A mug sold at 14.9% for a sale $19.55 = 2.33 royalty before. 
Now (assuming it's the 40% home & living bracket?) the same exact sale would earn 1.60. 
That's a 31% decrease. 

For those that like seeing the math:

19.55x.149 =2.91 Royalty
19.55x.05= .15 ER fee
19.55 x .40= 1.17 MF fee
2.91 - (.15+1.17) = 1.60

[Bailamor]

Yes, but it seems to me that they have (permanently?) lowered the actual prices of the products overall (see $10 vs $19,  I see it on other products as well regardless of the sales being offered), resulting in even less actual income for us.

I just wanted to offer some real data here because you can still change the royalty rates for a few days and it might help others...

I don't make much here every month, but the fact that it's now 30% less still makes a difference.

So far I've only increased the royalty rate on some postcards and such. I'll think again about what the best strategy is (lower royalties don't make sense, but if you raise them too much you're not competitive with others who sell for less)...

[Barbara]

I think it was last month that I noticed the lower prices, and I think it was on mugs, which though it led to lower earnings for us, it might also lead to more customers for mugs. I can't say at this point, given that my sales have tanked and so I've no data at all.

I just now brought up the blanks, checked mugs, and for sure, the price is lower. I think I remember something along the lines of their being $15, but now their base price for an 11 oz. mug is $11.50. That's $4.50 we won't earn royalties on. It seems they're trying to be more competitive, which is a good thing, but where the heck did all the customers go?!

And thank you, @tiffjamaica, for your bare-bones analysis. It's precisely what I needed.

Colorwash's Home

[tiffjamaica]

You're welcome 🙂 I've been doing more math in the last week than I have for a decade! haha

[tiffjamaica]

Yes, 30% absolutely makes a huge difference. I've raised my royalties to compensate for things I sell the most (including paper goods, digital downloads, stamps, business cards just to name a few) and since doing so am still making sales. I wish I could tell you the rate to raise to, but I calculated mine based on what I was making pre-changes vs. now. 

[Mariholly]

I'm not sure there are many creators who can lower their royalties; the numbers simply show it's not viable. Even if you don't rely on Z financially, you can't earn such a tiny amount—it's absurd to dedicate your whole day to earn mere cents. I suppose more expensive products can be sustained with a 10% royalty, but I think most can't. Personally, I'm making changes in small batches, and it's possible that some products will be sold before their royalties have been updated, which means a loss of money—well, I'll accept that. The best-selling ones have already been changed, and I want to be consistent with the rest by deciding based on the type of product.

[Barbara]

When I first arrived here in 1014, I started at 12% and quickly realized this was too little, in particular since I'd previously been earning commissions of 20% on my handmade pottery. So I raised it to 14.9%. I didn't sell less and definitely earned more. Every year, Zazzle would ask everyone to lower their rates for the holiday season, and one year I thought being contrary was a far better idea, so I raised my rate to 20% instead of lowering it. My popular products remained popular. I'm still at 20%, but at this point, and assuming I continue here (now in question), I'll raise it further.

I'm not happy.

Colorwash's Home

[Mariholly]

Exactly, I agree with you—I’m not going to lower the royalties. No, I’ve actually raised them and will continue to do so progressively. I’m not sure if it’ll be before or after the 15th, but they will go up, and I believe most creators will make the same decision. We’ve all experimented with lowering them at some point, and it didn’t lead to more sales. I never lowered my royalties during the holiday season.

I hope you don’t leave—hang in there!!

💪💪💪

[Barbara]

My current holding pattern involves having gone back to the more hands-on crafts that have always made me happiest, which includes learning new things along the way. My current little obsession is bookbinding with the parallel craft of creating Kindle Paperwhite covers. When the possibility of making money is subtracted, the joy returns, and I end up with far more journals and Kindle covers than any person should have.

Colorwash's Home