Sweet Spot or Sales Slump? Navigating Royalties in the Age of Marketing Fees

[Susang6]

With the introduction of Zazzle’s marketing fees in April, many of us began reevaluating what our creative work is truly worth. I tried to offset those costs by raising my royalty rate hoping it would balance the equation without disrupting sales.

Instead, my sales plummeted.

I assumed shoppers were passing over my now higher-priced products in favor of similar designs at lower price points.  Longtime gift shop buyers who used to stock my cards and tissue paper disappeared. Then in June I lowered the royalty on my most popular items, and soon after, the orders returned.

Did I discover my “sweet spot”? Not quite. What I found was my long-lost repeat customers and while selling to them again brings joy, earning significantly less for the work I’ve poured my heart into remains discouraging.

So now I’m curious:
Have you adjusted your royalty rate to accommodate the marketing fees?
Did it affect your visibility or sales?
How do you strike that balance between pricing with integrity and staying competitive?

Let’s talk about what’s working, what’s not.

[Jadendreamer13]

I’ve raised my royalty from 10% to 15%, and my views and sales seem to be unaffected by the increase (though I don’t sell in the invitation niche). However, raising my royalty to 15% still does not result in me earning 10% of the sale.

I’m going to let this new rate ride for a while, and then I’m going to raise it again. I don’t know why Zazzle didn’t just raise their prices  instead of taking money out of our pockets. It’s not like designers were making much money from each sale to begin with.

[Susang6]

I agree with you, Jadendreamer13. Zazzle pulling more from sellers through marketing fees feels off especially when there’s a simpler alternative. Raising base product prices (even modestly) could help absorb those costs across the platform, instead of leaving sellers to raise royalties just to keep up. That shift is what’s driving Zazzle’s prices higher not greed, just survival.

It’s frustrating, especially when so many of us are trying to maintain ethical pricing and still earn enough to justify the time and creative energy we put in.

[Van]

My views and sales went down well before "the change" of April 1st. They seem to have begun the spiral around the same time Z asked us to create unique backgrounds for our products and do more to market them. Most of my sales were 3rd party or none. I don't think I've seen a 'none' since April 1st, almost everything seem to be 3rd party. Searching for a sweet spot is made, imo, more difficult by not easily being able to spot if the sale was a regular affiliate or Z.

Before the April 1st change, most of my royalties were set to 14.9, some higher priced items less. I could make zero sense of lowering royalty to 10% as Z suggested when potential marketing fees and higher excess royalty fees were going to cut into what I earn anyway so I raised that to 16.9% to try and get a few extra pennies back. As an experiment I have put a few t-shirts at 20% and was surprised to sell a couple. From what I can tell, even at 20%. I make less than pre-April 1st at 14.9. I cannot see intentionally giving myself a 'pay cut' by lowering royalty to 10% and then potentially having a chunk of that royalty taken back as marketing fees.

I did just make a 'self' sale which is extremely rare for me (I stink at trying to market.) When I tallied the royalty with the referral amount I ended up right at the 35%. My royalty was set at 16.9% and was $1.69 on $16.62 ( which according to my rough math is around 10%...) I'll never be able to wrap my old head around how they are calculating all this.

I'd like to hear more from fellow designers about their experiences with 'none' and 3rd party since I don't have the volume to crunch things. Have all 'none' sales flipped to 3rd party?

I'm with Jadendreamer13 on letting things ride for now to see how it goes. I do wish Z would clearly show if it was a z sale or regular affiliate sale and I also wish we were allowed to change our royalty rates more than once a month in order to feel out the market. 

Susang6, glad to hear your gift shop buyers are back! I thought there was a discount for volume buying but I never even thought about gift shops! (Imagine having a 'private' store with prices specifically for resellers and being able to set one's self up with a good many resellers....)

[Susang6]

You've made some excellent points, especially about the difficulty in tracking where our sales are really coming from. The shift from “none” to 3rd party has been baffling on my end too I wish Z would add clearer attribution so we could actually analyze what’s working. I’ve also been experimenting with royalty adjustments and marketing tweaks, and I relate to that feeling of chasing pennies just to stay afloat.

That self-sale + referral combo is actually fascinating like a glimpse into the math that rarely makes sense up front. I agree, the whole structure seems like it’s shifting beneath our feet while we try to stay balanced. And yes to more flexibility with royalties! One change per month feels rigid when the environment is evolving so unpredictably.

I hadn’t considered the reseller angle either, but that gift shop insight got my wheels turning. It would be incredible to have a way to set volume pricing or nurture reseller relationships more deliberately. Maybe Z will move in that direction someday, especially if more of us share ideas like that.

I was fortunate a few years back when a local gift shop owner featured my work in their store on a Saturday it really reminded me how important it is to market your artwork even after you sign out online. That personal outreach, handing out business cards, chatting with people about your creative journey... communities are often eager to support local artists, and it's a side of marketing that shouldn’t be overlooked.

If it fits here, I’d love to share a photo of my products on display from that day it’s a nice reminder that connection can happen in so many different spaces.

[NigelSutherland]

I'm intrigued to hear that gift shop buyers buy from this site. That's a whole new market that Zazzle could aim for, perhaps with some kind of trade incentive.

[Jadendreamer13]

If you follow what’s happening on Etsy, becoming known as THE place to buy gifts is their goal. So, it makes sense that Zazzle will also head in that direction….

[Barbara]

I never changed my royalty, keeping the 20% I've always had, so that isn't the reason my sales dropped off. Additionally, it seems maybe some products have been reduced in price. I noticed mugs in particular, so I assume there are other products with reduced prices too. Hasn't made a difference in my sales.

I don't know that our royalties make a huge difference. I think Zazzle itself is in a slump, and, of course, summer is a horrid time to judge sales since it's always been a bad season.

With my morale being currently squashed, I'm not designing for Zazzle at all, anything new being only an afterthought while pursuing my painting hobby as in, "Oh, this might look good on a few products." Not that new designs sell all that often.

I feel sorry for those who have relied on the income from Zazzle.

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[Susang6]

Hi Barbara, I know this season has been discouraging for many of us, and I absolutely respect your creative shift toward painting when inspiration feels distant.

That said, I think we also need to look beyond “summer slump” as the core reason behind low sales. Having run my own business before, I learned quickly that every season offers opportunities if we’re willing to adapt. When things slowed, I’d tweak pricing, run time-specific promotions, or work with community leaders to boost visibility. Sitting back and hoping autumn turns things around wasn’t viable then, and I don’t think it works here either.

Zazzle’s fee structure and reduced sitewide promotions feel like more direct contributors. For example, even with a 20% royalty rate, earnings break down like this on a $25 item after a 15% discount:

Royalty Rate	Customer Pays	Gross Royalty	Marketing Fee (≈50%)	Excess Royalty Fee	Net Earnings
20%	$21.25	$4.25	–$2.13	–$0.21	≈ $1.91
10%	$21.25	$2.13	–$1.06	$0.00	≈ $1.07

So even at 20%, the difference isn’t as dramatic as it seems once fees and discounts are factored in  and that’s assuming the customer is still willing to pay the higher price. If pricing is a barrier, we may be losing both sales volume and revenue.

That’s why I’ve been floating the idea of a “First Monday” deep discount day 40% off sitewide to reinvigorate shopper interest. But I believe it shouldn't stop there. Weekly discounts should remain active and consistent throughout the month to keep customers engaged. Predictable promotions would give buyers incentive to return regularly and help us, as designers, build marketing rhythms that reinforce visibility. (its just an idea have no idea if Zazzle would like it)

In my experience I have found that strategic momentum matters more than seasonality. We all deserve a platform that meets us halfway with tools that empower rather than obscure. Thanks again for sharing, and I hope we can continue pushing these kinds of practical ideas forward.

[Jadendreamer13]

I have a theory that the threat of tariffs may have caused a drop in Zazzle sales, and talks about tariffs seemed to coincide with the announcement of the Ambassador program. So we won’t be able to pinpoint the cause of the drop in Zazzle sales. Keep in mind that I have no expertise in politics or economics, and this is just my theory.

[Susang6]

There’s been a lot of speculation around the root causes of Zazzle’s sales slump, but I believe the clearest factor is pricing. Many designers raised their royalties to offset the marketing fee, which unintentionally pushed prices higher. Combined with the Excess Royalty Fee for anything above 10%, it’s become harder to offer competitive value especially with fewer deep discounts than we used to see.

Like you I would like to point fingers at external factors like political policy or tariffs, but I think that distracts from what we can actually influence. Zazzle’s past success relied heavily on customer value perception, and right now that perception has shifted.

One idea I’d love to float: what if Zazzle introduced a predictable discount rhythm say, the first Monday of each month, 40% off everything sitewide? It would give customers something to look forward to and allow designers to plan, promote or other marketing efforts around it. A consistent cycle like that could help rebuild trust and reinvigorate traffic and repeat customers.

I know the platform is still evolving, and there are promising signs for POD growth overall. But price transparency and promotional strategy are key levers we can and should talk about openly.