Solved: How do you all deal with "custom" requests in the ... - Page 2

wheresthekarma · ‎02-27-2025

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.

Cat · ‎02-27-2025

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!

____________________
Cat @ ZB Designs

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sharonrheafords · ‎03-03-2025

I've never seen it; yet, I just figure some people think it's simple to change it to accomodate their needs .... when it isn't.

Sharon Rhea Ford

DancingPelican · ‎03-03-2025

I have seen many designers on Zazzle put the "contact me for design requests" in their store's "about me" section where they describe their store.

sharonrheafords · ‎03-03-2025

I've seen that also. I figure, as my Dad once said (but I don't have the time unless they want to work with me after midnight) that planning weddings might be the best moneymaker, and that would take a lot of good communication.

Sharon Rhea Ford

almdrs · ‎03-03-2025

Sometimes customers contact me and I usually customize the products for them. Things like adding text or changing the color of something. I never had to create a new design from scratch.

sharonrheafords · ‎03-03-2025

That makes sense. On the other hand, if they only realized or accepted that they can customize the text themselves ....

Sharon Rhea Ford

Barbara · ‎03-03-2025

Given that "template" is an in-house term, it's possible some customers don't even know what "Personalize this template" means, and then there's the fact that it's demoted from the larger blue "Edit this design," which if they click it, they end up in the design area--it can even confuse us designers periodically. So, they run from it and ask the designer for help.

I've known both writers and artists earning a living on what they created, and a common eyebrow-raiser for them was when a person asked some version of when they thought they might get a job. The arts are often seen by people not in the know as mere hobbies someone does in their spare time. Many here on Zazzle have an outside job, but working on Zazzle is still a job. So, if we're playing games here, we have the time and willingness to drop what we're doing and serve up a favor to a stranger, right?

Is there any single entity to blame? We might consider our tendency to be nice to others but not always to ourselves, to say yes when what we really want to say in no.

@BevStuff, deciding to have a notice that you don't do custom work sounds good to me.

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sharonrheafords · ‎03-03-2025

True; yet, my take on it is that being nice to others always IF the situation is too time consuming / expensive for us has to be rationally weighed. It can't always be the case regarding time for customization if it is a situation they could easily do which is why they have the customization option. I am too nice to others at my expense in 13 ongoing extremely unbelievable tragic years (after a beautiful life), and I have designed on Zazzle since the beginning. I enjoy it. I enjoy the customers who are appreciative with the customization most of the time and those without, Zazzle staff, and peers. I actually have close friends met as Zazzle customers. It is also a beautiful escape. It is difficult to say no; yet, due to personal circumstances, I'll probably have to figure a way for a while to help them without hurting myself.

Most of my life has been spent in the arts from degrees to corporate art (Ziggy - fun!) to later teaching, and due to a severe spine injury, I had to leave teaching which actually paid well with a 10k yearly bonus even in my state due to being Nationally Board Certified on top of the masters and doctorate. Money was great when I had that as well as when Zazzle had the bonus .... and my parents were alive. All gone now - into deeeeeep debt now due to dealing with hurricanes, etc. with the spine injury all alone, so ... I need to sell one or both houses to rise above again; however, it's difficult getting either ready 13 hrs apart .... and being nice, I catch myself working for days to customize a $5.00 purchase IF they don't disappear. Once I sell a house or two, I can enjoy that again, but to be in - again - DEEEEEEP (laughing - not funny) debt sitting on expensive property ignoring what needs to be done in order to help someone else which I do .... I can hear memories of Daddy saying, "Get off that !@#! computer" and save your life - what's left of it .... : )

Sharon Rhea Ford

Barbara · ‎03-03-2025

Your life seems to have been a fast downhill run. You've had more than enough, and it can't--has no right to--last.

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sharonrheafords · ‎03-03-2025

Tears .... thanks! I'm trying my best which used to be THE BEST, but not now, so thank you Barbara. You wouldn't believe my rotten luck these years. I NEVER ask WHAT NEXT!!! I like your Zazzle store.

Sharon Rhea Ford

Barbara · ‎03-03-2025

No, don't EVER ask what's next, not unless you're imagining good things. I've this notion, maybe just superstition, that if I worry about bad stuff, it's bad stuff that I get as if I've attracted it, but good stuff happens if I'm looking for that instead.

Good thoughts!

Colorwash's Home

Andrea · ‎03-06-2025

@sharonrheafords so sad for you. And I know how addictive Zazzle can be, also coupled with trauma and an impulse to please - you were really stuck bad. I was fine too when I started Zazzle 8-9 years ago. Life has twists and turns and I do hope things get better for you. I am sending you big hugs from Devon.

Laura-LiseWong · ‎03-06-2025

I direct people to message me through email with a copy/paste of "Please note this messaging system will not reach me. The preferred method of contact is to email any questions or requests to -insertmyemailhere- with the specific needs of your request and I will get back to you within 24 hours. There will be no direct response from within this chat. Thanks". Because I do a ton of custom work but I set that part up outside of Zazzle. I charge the client via Paypal for the custom work I provide. Then the shipping and printing through Zazzle is obviously an additional cost. This explains my process a little better here: Bespoke Stationery Process — IYHTVDesigns

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