New Embroidered Hats Conversion Fee

[epicdesigns]

I just attempted to create my first embroidered hat. Am I understanding correctly that to list my product in the marketplace I have to pay $8 to get this converted?

[Jadendreamer13]

I don’t know. But if that’s correct, I certainly won’t be creating any of those type of hats.

[MOM]

@epicdesigns @jophb @Jadendreamer13 @Fantabuloustef I have designed a couple of hats recently but didn’t push them through yet because of the risk involved, I first need to sit down and study the (excellent) color guide by Zazzle more in detail and have enough faith into a new design of mine I will publish.

I published one hat last year (

https://www.zazzle.com/harris_walz_2024_campaign_kamala_harris_tim_walz_embroidered_baseball_cap-256...) and I sold it three times (for a total intake of $11.15) but I still lost money on it because of the conversion fee which was $17.24 (that’s in total meaning a one time fee, not per hat).

So I‘m positive I will create more designs with embroidery but I will just not be quite as trigger happy like with other designs I post.

But I‘m very thankful for this conversation here because now I have learned that just text doesn’t cause this additional fee and that’s something I wasn’t aware of until now so thank you!! 😊 

[Fantabuloustef]

Yes, I’d love to create some too, but I am a little hesitant because of the cost.
Yours was a very good idea, but difficult to sell after the end of the electoral campaign. 
Evergreen may allow selling over a longer period with the hope to cover the initial fees over the time, but you need a very good idea to avoid too much competition and that’s not so easy to find ! 

[MOM]

Exactly. You so nailed it!!

[jophb]

Yes, it appears there is. I just added a random image to a hat just to see, and if gave me this warning.  It appears the price varies by design. It does mention that using just text, there will not be a fee. 

[Jadendreamer13]

So, is the conversion fee added onto the cost of the product? Do designers pay this fee, or do customers pay this fee? That’s not clear in the warning/description.

[Fantabuloustef]

Yes, it’s up to the designers to pay the fee.
It’s the cost of the service to transform it into stitch files compatible with industrial embroidery machines. It’s the same on other pod platforms I sell my designs on, but it seems Zazzle is less expensive for this conversion than them.

I have also already ordered embroidered polo shirts on a very well known Website ( a Zazzle competitor) where they have an automatic converter which shows you how your file will look like in embroidery. Then, their teams check it and if needed make modifications, send you the reviewed picture in less than five days and if you agree they create the product. It blew me away, because the resulting product was of a very good quality for a very reasonable price. It would be really great to have this kind of tool on Zazzle. ( probably a lot of software development though)

[idraw]

If you have Inkscape, there is an app called inkstitch you can add, so that you can convert your own files, read about it,  for mac, pc,linux:

<https://inkstitch.org/docs/install/>

<https://inkstitch.org/docs/install-macos/>

File Export
Supported File Formats
<https://inkstitch.org/docs/file-formats/>
Export and Import Files
<https://inkstitch.org/docs/import-export/>
Threadlist
<https://inkstitch.org/docs/threadlist/>
Troubleshooting
<https://inkstitch.org/docs/faq/>

[MOM]

@idraw I have Inkscape - thank you so very much!! Oh boy, I'm learning every day something new. Cool beans!! 🙂

[Zorinda]

I’ve never created any embroidery products but I’m curious.  Does converting an image via the Inkstitch Inkscape app remove Zazzle’s conversion requirement step?  Do you no longer have to pay the fee?  What output files do you provide to Zazzle if you’ve done your own conversion? Zazzle instructions look like they require EPS, PDF, PNG, or JPEG but the Inkstitch output looks like there are specialized files by machine (and a zip file for a bunch of different formats).

[MOM]

@Zorinda @idraw Yes. I‘m wondering about this too. I mean it could be that Zazzle does review the item design in any case and converts the file(s) for us if needed.

[CLC]

I don't think they would allow it as creating an embroidery stitch file is an art in itself and the stitch file must be perfect. If there is an error in the file created from the inkstitch inkscape app the product will be ruined, which happens with these embroidery apps. If there was an error in the Inkstitch file they would have no way to correct it. Most times after a stitch file is created a test stitch out is done on muslin fabric to make sure it stitches out correctly, the fee is for creating a stitch file and a test stitch out. You may upload the image as an eps, png etc, but embroidery machines require specific file formats like dst. There is always a fee for creating a stitch file when you order embroidery (unless it's a repeat order), just not sure why the designer is paying for it and not the customer.

[MOM]

@CLC  That makes total sense, thanks so much for your input!! 👍🏽

[BKMuir]

Yes, there has always been a conversion fee, except for text only. That is why you see mostly text on the embroidered items.

If you have access to embroidery files (I forget the file format) and load them directly to Zazzle, there is no conversion fee.

[MOM]

@BKMuir Thanks, I will try that route. 👍🏽

Edit: Actually after reading CLCs reply I better reconsider. But thank you all for your wisdom!! 😘

[Jadendreamer13]

The $8.00 conversion fee seems risky for new products that lack a proven sales history. I probably won’t be adding embroidered products to my product category. Bummer.

[MOM]

@Jadendreamer13 The fee was $17.24 for me so it depends on the design and colors I believe. Just saying.

[Jadendreamer13]

That’s outrageous. 

[PenguinPower]

Be careful.. don't spend extra $$ on a conversion program if don't already have it, because I'm pretty sure Z doesn't allow upload of embroidery formats. You have to rely on them to convert and pay their fee. 

[MOM]

@PenguinPower Yes and that makes total sense to me (now).