How to politely answer a customer's question.

[Baylee]

A customer asked me today if I can please make an image downloadable because they'd like to order it from Kinkos. I'm at a loss for words. All the words that come to mind are definitely not polite.

[waterart]

Just say "sorry but no" They might however be willing to license the image, if you are comfortable with that you can suggest it to the customer

[Cat · Accepted solution]

"Thanks so much for your interest in my design! I don't offer downloads of my original artwork but you're welcome to purchase the printed version from Zazzle."

Or you could simply set the percentage high enough on the download so that you'd make the same amount as you would if they'd bought the physical product - well, I'd set it high enough so I'd be happy with half of the promised royalty since chances are you'll get dinged with a marketing fee. If they complain about the price just say that as an independent artist you simply cannot afford to sell your work for less.

[Baylee]

Good advice @Cat thanks! That's much more civilized than what I wanted to say and involves far fewer cuss words...lol. 

[Cat]

Ha! I often find myself biting my tongue to keep from saying the things I'm really thinking when people ask for ridiculously insulting things, but it seems to work a lot better when I try to channel the energy of my good friend from Texas. She'd just put on a big smile, a sweet voice, and a thick accent, and say something like, "So you like my work so much that you want me to give it to you for free? Why, bless your heart!"

[Baylee]

Lol...love it.😄  

[ColsCreations]

Honestly though, that's exactly what anyone offering digital downloads is voluntarily allowing and encouraging - for people to cheaply get high-quality art/designs/templates they are by terms free to reproduce in print any way they want as much as they want as long as it's non-commercial use.

I get that in this case you weren't offering it as a digital, but given the prevalence of cheap downloadable art & templates everywhere even before AI, I'm really not surprised by a shopper asking something like this. It's the expectation now and the artist community helped dig their own hole. You all can send all the hate mail to my chat LOL, but I don't think Zazzle should ever have introduced downloads on their platform. A company whose business model and reputation is/was staked on printing stationery [mostly] products is cutting off their own leg by offering digitals while expecting the Designers to sell-out and think $5-$15 is reasonable for their work which can be reproduced any way any much as the buyer wants. 

[Cat]

I think that whether digital is a good idea or not depends heavily on the product. If you're selling fine art prints then I'd say no, it's not something you probably want to offer. However, for invitations, seating charts, and the like, I generally make as much or more on a download as I would on a printed order. I'm sure there probably is some fraud going on, but there's also a LOT of fraud with people stealing screen shots or ordering one invitation in order to make hundreds of copies of it.

I think that most people (not all, but most) will pay for a digital copy if you give them that option. And as long as I'm getting compensated, I really don't have a problem with someone printing the things themselves or taking it somewhere local to print it. Sometimes that's all people can afford, and sometimes (especially with events-focused merchandise) there are real-life time constraints that make it difficult or impossible for the customer to wait for the item to be shipped to them. So I'd rather make $5-10 on a digital download than 5-10 cents on a single invitation sale, or nothing at all on a stolen screenshot or a sale lost to another platform.

But that's just my opinion and it's just what seems reasonable to me given the types of merchandise that I typically sell. I'm sure that different folks selling different types of merchandise in different situations will see it differently, and I think that's just fine - that's why it's an option and not a requirement. 

[Susang6]

Oh wow I never heard of that one…and the reply calls for a professional but firm boundary.   How about this reply?  Might be too firm …

Thank you for your interest! My product images aren’t available as instant downloads for outside printing. They’re created to be ordered directly through this platform, which ensures the quality, licensing, and integrity of the product. I would also think that taking a file elsewhere for reproduction would violate digital copyright, so I can’t provide files for third‑party printing. I appreciate your understanding and support!

[dbvisualarts]

sorry see post below.. my computer is wonky tonight

[dbvisualarts]

I do not know why it posted the comment so large....sorry.
I recently posted this on instagram with the comment "

Buying one card to sample, see if it fits your plans is fine. It is a good thing to do.
Maybe you only need one sympathy or one birthday card - that is great.
But if you need 20 party invites or announcements of some kind, please buy 20 from the artist.
Please do not plan to make copies or scan, or take photos to share, rather than purchase a few more cards that you need."