Going Back to 2019

[Mariholly]

In 2019 I told one of my best friends: I’ve sold one thing on Z. Two or three days later, I sold something else. Well, then it became many things every day, and it was very comforting to see that my work, my effort, and my consistency were being recognized.

Now I have to say it again: I’ve sold one thing on Z, and I’ll have to wait another two or three days for the next one.

It’s been 7 full days without a single sale. And total sales of around 20 or 30 dollars.

How is it going for you?

[Jadendreamer13]

The same. 😞

[tsikona]

Same here - my zazzle sales have been slower than usual this month. I hope it's temporary. 

[Zizzago]

A sinking ship here 😥

[kashmier]

I thought I wrote this. It sure sounds like me. I made a whopping $.80 cents this week,  Down from approx. $30 a day to about $1.00 - that is average - I am getting sick over this and would like to opt out.

[Bluebird]

Sales have been very slow for me, and I've noticed that my sales figures have reverted back to levels from 2021. I find that I have to spend an excessive amount of time promoting my products, which leaves me with less time to focus on designing. Additionally, I've observed that there are fewer coupons available on Zazzle, which may also be contributing to the decline in sales.

[Mariholly]

And, indeed, three days later I sold something!!! To third parties, my royalty: 30 cents!! 

[MadjackGG]

Dropped my royalty rate to the recommended 10% a few days ago, after getting next to no sales at 24%

Z-rank went up and have started getting a few sales, but it's hard to be enthused about it when, for example, I sell a mug for $12.90USD, but only make 77 cents on the deal. And that's before a further 5% US tax is levied on payout and PayPal fees incurred.

[LJ]

Ok, now I'm officially confused.

I lowered my royalty to the suggested 10% earlier. My Z-rank stayed the same, but orders almost stopped, earnings decreased by 70%. So I figured out lower priced items in the marketplace may be suspicious for customers, they might think it's lower quality. Raised royalties back up, and I started getting sales again in the last couple of days.

I know a Gold designer, who told me she raised her royalties right when the new Terms arrived from 14.9 to 23 something. Z-rank hasn't changed. She also has very fluctuating days, but her overall sales decreased very slightly, earnings are about the same. Both of our sales are almost exclusively 3rd party.

Wow, you really only pay 5% tax in the US? We pay 30% withholding and 30-50% tax (the less you earn, the more you pay), and then VAT. I guess it's too late to want to move there.

[MadjackGG]

---

@LJ wrote:

Wow, you really only pay 5% tax in the US? We pay 30% withholding and 30-50% tax (the less you earn, the more you pay), and then VAT. I guess it's too late to want to move there.

---

I'm in New Zealand, which has a tax treaty with the US meaning that as long as I have a W8 BEN form lodged, Zazzle takes 5% US tax from my revenue when paying out (rather than 30%).

[MadjackGG]

---

@LJ wrote:

I know a Gold designer, who told me she raised her royalties right when the new Terms arrived from 14.9 to 23 something. Z-rank hasn't changed. She also has very fluctuating days, but her overall sales decreased very slightly, earnings are about the same.  

---

Sounds like her brand / customer loyalty is strong enough such that she can go to the higher rate without issue. As a Gold rank seller, Zazzle may not throttle back on the promotion of her shops as much as we lesser mortals, and she may also drive a lot of traffic to her shops herself.

I'll keep my rate at 10% for a month just to confirm that sales have picked up, then increase by a few points.

[MadjackGG]

I'll keep my rate at 10% for a month just to confirm that sales have picked up, then increase by a few points.

---

Looks like I spoke too soon; sales have not come back even though I dropped my rate to 10%.

What is going on? Obviously the economy is a factor, but this is something else. 

[Andrea]

I sold a pair of leggings and got $2.88. It will be harder to make it through the grades now. 

[Mariholly]

I sold some stickers to third parties and earned $0.93.

[Deb1]

Does Zazzle collect and pay the sales taxes when someone makes a purchase? Does Zazzle send us a 1099 form for income taxes. Thank you appreciate the information. 

[Mariholly]

My country has a zero-rate agreement, so we only pay the applicable taxes here. I don’t know how Z acts if the agreement is different. Every year, they send the corresponding document for tax purposes.

[Mariholly]

I sold something else to third parties for $0.21.

[Mariholly]

Update: Yesterday I had two sales. One of them will likely be canceled since there's another identical order from the same person. Both are third-party orders.
Today I had a sale of my own, very satisfying. How nice to have good news for a change.