How do you all deal with "custom" requests in the chat?

[wheresthekarma]

I am feeling kinda frustrated right now. Again and again I am getting custom requests through the chat.  Each time is it back and forth for the day, making many different graphics, nobody is ever satisfied or tells you exactly what they want from the start and it's hours wasted and they don't end up buying anything or they do and you make ten cents. 

I wish Zazzle had a "custom art" fee. I don't know how that would work but something that makes it worth our time. I'm trying to work on Mother's Day cards, then got a chat message asking me to change what product a design is on. They wanted a gift tag, so i literally moved the design to all differnet gifts tags, because I know nobody is ever happy with the first attempt.

Then after that they wanted all the colors changed. So did. Then they wanted different shades of the color. I did. Then i asked them to send me exactly the shades that they wanted. They did. Then they decided the design needed to be changed again. I explained i had to hand draw all of this. It's a hand drawn design and now they are asking for me to redo it all again back to the original design with slightly different shades. OMG.

This is what happens every single time I get a "custom request." Does anyone else go through this?

I'm not good at saying no. How do you all deal with this but in a kind way. I don't want to hurt people's feelings or make Zazzle look bad, but at the same time, I don't have time to go back and forth all day again and again. 

[Jadendreamer13]

I don’t accept custom orders for all the reasons you described. You can add a disclosure about custom orders to your About section on your Zazzle shop or in your product descriptions. Then you can respond, “as detailed in my About section, I don’t accept custom orders.”

[VivianD117]

My biggest order ever was a custom order -- and I've done several others and not ever been burned. since we know their names on the email or chat, I try doing a little homework to see if I can figure out who they are -- that gives me a better sense of confidence.  

[wheresthekarma]

My biggest order was also a custom request through the messaging, from the Tic Tac company. And that took about a year of going back and forth but was definitely worth it in the end. But it's one thing if it's a really big sale, and another if you are working for hours or days to make twenty cents on something. And sometimes you just don't know until they do the actual order. 

[sharonrheafords]

I tend to cringe when I see the button turn red even though I've dealt with some beautiful people. I'd sort of like to ignore it as they ignore my comment on it that I AM AWAY. As many have I'm sure, I spent TIME TIME TIME and MONEY creating an entire line for someone once - not one single item purchased. NO MORE! Not doing it.

[wheresthekarma]

Ughhh that is awful and I know sooo time consuming! Sorry that happened to you too! I had a customer who wanted me to change a dog on a baby shower design I had a "photo" of. So I explained i had to hand draw a new dog, as this was all before ai which has made it a little easier now, but I hand drew out the two dogs she wanted. Took me forever as I'm not super great at drawing them, but I did and she approved it and told me all the products she wanted the design on which I did. Then... no sales. I swore I'd never do that again, but I have, again and again lol. Anyways, sorry that happened to you too!

[sharonrheafords]

The woman asked for 13 designs from business cards to posters to more pertaining to her business supposedly .... and numerous revisions on each. I even purchased art to suit her needs. As all have, I spent countless hours I cannot afford in my upside down life. She purchased NOTHING! I wonder when I showed her the progress on each, if she had the capability to copy it free maybe.

[Barbara]

"Regular" artists are able to charge fees up front, which is something we can't do on this platform, and even then when doing outside work, the artist can end up being stiffed. It's amazing how utterly self-involved people can be, caring not at all what they're doing to another person.

The last time I did custom work was when working on my own and when the back-and-forth was done in person. I think I'll leave it that way after reading some of the tales here on the forum.

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[ColsCreations]

That is awful. This is a POD not a graphic design firm. In the real world a business would need to hire a graphic designer and there would be a contract spelling out, this is what you'll pay me, this is how many revisions you get, this is the level of detail/work those revisions can include, and whether you are totally happy with the final work or not my fee is non-refundable - you hired me based on my portfolio, this is the contract, the end. They are paying you for creating an individual custom work to their specs that they can then do whatever they want with. But requests thru a POD platform, they are getting the artwork on actual specific physical products, which means more of your time designing and publishing for each. And then even if they do buy and you get your royalty (which probably doesn't come close to matching what a graphic-designer-for-hire would earn), they can still cancel. They may have LOVED your final design, but if they weren't happy with the product/print quality that you have nothing to do with or shipping issues  - sale lost and zero earnings for all your time.

There's the old saying that people can only take advantage of you if you let them. So don't let them. If they want more than a simple tweak to an existing product design, send them a link to your contract terms for custom work as a freelance graphic designer outside of the POD realm. There is no cookie-cutter approach here as each situation is different and each designer will have their own level of feeling what is and is not worth the possible sale to them, but again, even if they do go thru with ordering, your royalty can be revoked if they cancel for reasons beyond your control.

I just don't think POD platforms are intended to be an avenue for custom work. It seems to go hand-and-hand but the POD platform doesn't have any provisions or protection for the designer agreeing to such via the platform. A designer needs to go outside the POD platform to ensure they are adequately compensated for custom work and I don't think most are prepared for that scenario. 

[Cat]

You nailed it!

[sharonrheafords]

YES!!! AGREED!!!

[tiffjamaica]

How frustrating! After a similar experience, I said - no more.  I will not create custom artwork UNLESS it will serve me and my shop in the future. If I can take the artwork and repurpose it, I will do it (and as Cat said, their requests can be a great indicator of what people are looking for).  And although I am a watercolor artist, I will ONLY use digital (Procreate) art for custom requests because of all the changes they will inevitable want.  I agree 100% that Zazzle needs a separate compensation system for those of us who don't use AI or clip art, because as you said - it makes them look bad for us to ignore requests, but it's almost always not worth our time to indulge them either.   (Also if I do anything custom I set my royalty no lower than 14.9% and sometimes much higher.)

[sharonrheafords]

Also, we are too polite for this, but I always remember a comment on an international designers page - not Zazzle, but art work, that said (and I think this is funny): I do not do custom requests. Do not bother me. 

[wheresthekarma]

That made me laugh Sharon! Sometimes I wish I wasn't too kind lololol.. cuz that cracked me up. 

[Marcia]

Sometimes I do it, other times I do say "no". I evaluate each case separately. Have they made a purchase from me? Is it something that I should have in my store & I can resell to someone else? Is it something that will take 5 min for me to do? Is it something I even want to make? I have been burned but on the other hand, the majority of people do come through & purchase. But every time they don't purchase & end up ghosting me, I do feel the kick & blame myself for failing to say"no". 

[wheresthekarma]

Yea, it's very frustrating. I just worked with this lady for a couple hours and she's still not happy. How many shades of blue and green can there be??? Ughhh I just sent her one last design and said I had to go back to work now. I have made over ten designs for her now at this point and she just doesn't like the shades even though I matched them to exactly the colors she sent me. Just a frustrating day I guess. 

[Flobaby]

I paste this, "Hi ___, thanks so much for asking, but I don't do custom stuff. Sorry! Cheers, Flo"

Works a charm. 🙂

[sharonrheafords]

I LIKE THAT! My I AM AWAY message is ignored.

[Cat · Accepted solution]

OY! I hear you! I also suck at saying "no" so dealing with this sort of thing has been a real "personal growth" challenge for me. I tend to handle it on a case by case basis depending on the situation. But I always try to keep ROI (return on investment) at the forefront of my mind.

I'll often respond with something like: "I don't do custom design work, but I'm happy to assist you with small tweaks to one of my existing designs."

These are the things I consider:

1) Are they requesting something that I can design as a template and recoup my cost/time by putting it in the marketplace? 
2) Are they likely to give me useful insights as to what customers are looking for which I could replicate across other products?
3) Are they likely to purchase multiple items, or do they want hours of work for something that will net me 25 cents?

In general, when I do agree, I NEVER leave it open ended, and I offer them a few limited options. I DON'T do custom artwork unless I can use the artwork on other products in the marketplace, but depending on the request I'll sometimes agree to make something a different color - and when I do, I put the new color in the marketplace too. If they press the issue I explain that I only make a few pennies per card (or whatever the royalty is for a given product) so I have to sell xyz number of copies in order to break even on my time.

For simple requests, I generally just give them a simple response with a link to a new template - but I make sure that the link is either to a public product in the marketplace, OR to a share link for one of my existing products and NOT to a private product. That way if they do buy it, it counts as a sale on a product that's in the marketplace, rather than a one-off purchase on a private product which won't help me in terms of future purchases.

It's a work in progress, but I'm getting better at setting limits and trying to use the system to my advantage rather than letting it take advantage of me!

[wheresthekarma]

Excellent advice. Thank you Cat! That was very helpful. 

Thank you everyone who answered. I ended up just telling her I had to get back to work, offered her one more design and she ended up buying one of the original designs that I already had on Zazzle. But at least it was something.

But then followed up with the question, "I used a filter on it, so can you go in and look and see if it's blue enough." lol.. Oh boy, I explained again, that we don't manufacture or ship products so we can't see what she designed or what it will look like. 

I know people just don't understand how print on demand works, but I wish they did! lol

[Cat]

Right? I try to remember that they don't have a clue, and they probably assume that I'm making a nice salary from Zazzle or something.

But, if I've agreed to work with someone, I find it really helpful to use "share links" so I can actually see what they're working on. 

I usually say something like this:

Thanks so much for your interest in my design! I'd be delighted to help you, but this system does not let me see your work unless you send me a special link to give me access.

To find the link click on the arrow symbol in the upper corner of the preview image (it might look different on different devices, but on a PC it's just to the left of the price.) When the dialog box opens, choose "copy link" and paste it into a message here. That will allow me to access your work and make the changes for you. See attached screen shots for further explanation.

Then I attach this image:

There are a few drawbacks - like people don't understand that the link is just a snapshot - and that I can't see changes that they make to their existing design - so I often have to explain more, but in general it works well, and it does tend to weed out people who can't be bothered to read a few sentences and/or follow the instructions!

 

[wheresthekarma]

I have never thought about doing this. This would be so very helpful. Thank you Cat!

[lena77678]

Zazzle should offer an additional 35% on top of our base royalty when we create custom designs for customers. To streamline this process, there should be a separate product visibility option under the “Additional Information” section—alongside Public, Hidden, and Direct-Only, there should be a new option: CUSTOM.

The 35% incentive aligns with the commission Zazzle already provides for self-referrals, making it a fair and motivating structure. Custom work varies in complexity—sometimes it's just a simple color change, but other times, I spend days refining a design to ensure my customer is satisfied, yet the financial return is minimal. An additional 35% compensation would help cover the extra effort, allowing designers to continue offering customization without needing to charge an upfront fee that could deter customers.

Currently, I receive 5–10 custom requests every day, which is extremely time-consuming without proper incentive. By implementing this custom pricing structure, Zazzle can empower designers to better serve customers while ensuring our time and skills are fairly compensated.

[BevStuff]

I agree. I know tons of Zazzlers do a lot of custom and deserve this for the trouble they go thru.
Though Zazzle should do more to make it clear that their designs are created by INDEPENDENT artists!
And I also believe they should do more to CELEBRATE their independent artists on their website!

[Barbara]

Am I correct in assuming most of the problems come from wedding suite products? If so, I'm so glad I'm not at all good at designing them, recognized this, and wiped out the few I had. But again, if it's the suites that cause the most headaches, it's likely the bride-from-hell syndrome. They're notorious and come in many flavors. I would think that, because there are so many products involved in a suite, the first alteration might be free but every additional one would involve a fee, which of course, Zazzle would have to institute somehow.

At one point, I had someone request a custom design for a specific clock. She gave me just enough information that I was able to design an entirely new clock, she loved it, she bought it, and I've sold that particular clock repeatedly ever since. Which goes to what @Cat tries to do in placing the alteration as a new, separate product in the marketplace.

Short of all the above, I think @Flobaby has the prime solution!

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[DancingPelican]

I recently went around and around communicating with a mother who was planning a baby shower for her daughter. She requested custom designs for about a dozen different party products. I learned early in our communication that she was not being specific enough about what she wanted and I needed to give her guidance in how to ask for what she wanted (colors, style, fonts, etc.) I ended up giving her instructions on how to go into the "edit using design template" so she could go into the designs and move things around and make changes herself! I would do the more difficult changes and leave her to handle the easy ones. This went on for about 2 weeks, but she did order everything I created for her, once she settled in on what she wanted. So it's not just weddings where this type of issue occurs, although weddings is probably where one would experience this routinely.

[Barbara]

Long ago and far away, the internet didn't exist. When getting married, we went to a printer who showed various templates from which we chose one. The stationery was printed and that was that. Simpler times.

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[wheresthekarma]

Amen!

[wheresthekarma]

I notice that is a big part of the problem too. (The customer not being specific enough.) They wait til you make the design to say, oh and i need this and that. I guess I gotta figure out a way to ask them specifically what they want ahead of time. 

[sharonrheafords]

SO TRUE. I'm asked to change the hair color, cut the hair, put the image in a different setting on a dozen products .... and I'm thinking, "This person simply chose the wrong product!".

[rebeccaheartsny]

I've stopped doing custom work except for repeat customers. I do hand illustration (pen and ink/marker) and a complicated drawing can easily take a full day, not to mention time spent scanning and cleaning up the digital file, uploading it to Zazzle, etc.

More often than not the person just disappears and never returns to complete the purchase. It's incredibly frustrating. And as you say, even if they do purchase the design, I only make a couple of dollars for 8-10+ hours of work. It's not worth it.

[Cat]

Omigosh... I would NEVER do custom artwork like that! Can you make other products using that artwork to recoup your time? 

On the few occasions that I have agreed to doing something with custom artwork, I'm upfront with the customer that the only way I'd do it was to use AI, because painting it by hand (I do watercolor) would cost them several hundred dollars per hour.

[rebeccaheartsny]

I still acccept custom work via Etsy, Instagram, and other places, because I can charge a decent rate, or take a deposit before doing any work. As someone else said, there should be an option here to charge accordingly for custom work. Even charging a much higher than normal royalty doesn't come close to what I'd typically earn, nor is there a way to take a deposit to make sure that you're still earning something even if the customer never follows through with the purchase.

I think the ghosting is the biggest issue. I don't even customize text/colors for people anymore (just send a message directing them to the "customize it" button), because they almost never purchase. In years past, I did custom work that ended up being fairly lucrative, because the orders were placed by businesses, or someone ordered a large number of products with one custom design. But these days people just request the work and then vanish. It's maddening.

In the past I have repurposed things and listed them in my shop, but sales here are so dismal compared to what they were 5-8 years ago (at least for me) so even repurposing doesn't mean much to recoup time lost.

[BevStuff]

I almost never get asked to do custom work. Last time I did, the lady wanted a foil print postcard grad card turned into a 5 x 7. ( It was a simple photo/text design I'd made on the Zazzle design board.) When I said yes, suddenly she wanted this 5 x 7 to have a bunch of gold design text and border ON BACK too and suddenly it stopped being a simple size adjustment. I explained how gold print works as only front. I then did the design on black & white on back with text setup as she had described with a border and posted the link in chat. No response. After a day, I inquired about her decision as to buy it or not, since I felt I needed to know. Would you believe she replied, "Oh, I decided Zazzle quality isn't good enough, so I'm not going buy."  Wow. If I had to do it again, I'd tell that person that I would only do the size enlargement of the design as seen on the foil print postcard front as a 5 x 7 foil print like it and that was it. I think I lost her the minute I couldn't do all she imagined she wanted regardless.

[Cat]

In these situations, my response is to just do the simple thing they're asking for, put it in the marketplace as a public product, and send them a link. No gathering info on what exactly they want (that gives them the idea that they can ask for more and more), just give them the simple thing in a way that benefits you (by creating a new public product that you can sell) and don't offer anything beyond that.

Here's a sample of a chat from the other day with a request very similar to yours.

The message I received: 

Hi creator, I have a question about your product: 

https://www.zazzle.com/rustic_purple_floral_save_the_date_calendar_magnet-256605881736637262

Hi, I was wondering if you could edit this design in rose gold??? Thank you!!!

My response:

Thanks so much for your interest in my design! The magnetic cards aren't available with foil printing, the only foil cards Zazzle offers are either the postcards: 
https://www.zazzle.com/purple_roses_wedding_save_the_date_rose_gold_foil_invitation_postcard-2560964...

or standard 5x7 inch cards: 
https://www.zazzle.com/purple_roses_elegant_save_the_date_rose_gold_foil_invitation-2568239955571176...

I haven't heard back from them, and nobody has bought anything - but it only took me about 15 minutes to transfer the designs and who knows, maybe somebody else will buy them at some point. If they come back with more requests, I'll consider it at that point but I really try to avoid giving the impression that they can just ask for anything.

[BevStuff]

Thank you for your supportive answer. I decided to put a notice that "I don't do custom work" in my store About page, so I can reference that in the future when I decline a custom request. 

[sharonrheafords]

WHOA. How rude of that woman!

[Cat]

Wow. I sorta can't believe the things that people are asking for! There's a HUGE difference between asking someone to tweak a design for you and asking for custom artwork for free! I suppose giving people the benefit of the doubt we can just assume that they're ignorant, but sheesh! I think it's BEYOND appropriate to do a little bit of education in these circumstances to explain the reality of what they're asking for. I suppose you could simply say that you don't do commissioned artwork without a $250 deposit or something like that - I'm sure that would scare most of them off!

[sharonrheafords]

I love your post!

[Barbara]

I've done a cursory search to see if Zazzle says anywhere that the designers will do custom work, but if they do, it's not obvious. Do any of you know where customers are seeing this? If it's there, perhaps it needs to be toned down with a number of caveats because it's putting a burden on the designer that's not necessarily wanted or paid for.

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