Upcoming Changes To Zazzle’s Terms of Use

[Heather]

Hello Creators,

We’re making updates to Zazzle's Terms of Use, including the Creator License Agreement, and introducing our new Ambassador Program Agreement, which replaces our Associates Program Agreement. While the onsite experience will not be updated until April 1st, you can preview the updated Terms of Use here. 

We understand you might have additional questions or feedback. Please use this form to share them directly with us. While we may not be able to respond individually at this stage, we’ll review all submissions and address frequently asked questions after the Terms of Use go into effect.

To keep the conversation organized, all community discussions on this topic will be redirected to this thread.

Thank you for your understanding and for helping us make Zazzle a thriving community for all Creators!

Best,

The Zazzle Team

UPDATE 3/24/25: 

Hi Creators - Thank you all so much for your valuable feedback and for taking the time to submit your questions through our form. We truly appreciate your engagement and insights. Rest assured, we are carefully reviewing each question and will address the most commonly asked ones soon.

Timely Update Regarding Royalty Rates: We understand your concerns about adjusting royalty rates, and to support you through this transition, we will be processing royalty rate changes daily from now through April 15th, allowing creators time to make any necessary adjustments. Please note that updates may take 24–48 hours to appear. After April 15th, we’ll return to our regular schedule, with royalty updates processed on the 20th of each month. 

*To clarify: Setting your royalty to 10% exactly will not trigger the Excess Royalty Fee. Royalties above 10%, will trigger the Excess Royalty Fee when changes go into effect 4/1. 

UPDATE 4/7/25

This forum post is now closed for new replies. Please see our most recent update for information about the Terms of Use Changes and information about the new Ambassador Program. Thank you!

[LMGildersleeve]

Right, people are spreading misinformation about that.

[SandyMDesigns]

I do know that if I set my royalty now at 15%, there is a fee unless I go to 14.9%. Maybe this one means 10%. We will have to see.

[jophb]

The terms say 'Greater Than 10%', so it would have to be 10.1% for it to kick in. 

[Jadendreamer13]

It was not a good idea for Zazzle to drop their new Terms and Agreement on a Friday evening and then be offline all weekend, leaving folks to speculate, stew, worry, and get all worked up while no one from Zazzle is available to answer questions. News about changes like this needs to happen on a Monday to allow designers plenty of time to absorb the changes and ask plenty of questions.

[idraw]

@Jadendreamer13 

 
Actually, from a stats and psychological viewpoint, doing it on a Friday, then leaving for the weekend, gives Z plenty of time to not reply to any posts, gather input from creators, test the waters as to how angry and stressed this will make everyone etc.  As of 9:30 pm Sat night EST, 2041+ views, 58 posts, and rising.
Then, once Monday (cue Mommas/Poppas Monday Monday song.." Oh Monday morning, you gave me no warning of what was to be... go read the rest of the lyrics if you are interested) comes and they have their (probably) staff meeting to review the input, they are able to take the time to pick and choose how and what to say to whom. We are subcontractors, not really entitled or privileged be involved in Z meetings, to make changes. All we can do is vent here on the forum(at least we have that), and hope that what we say makes some type of impact. Or, if their new policies and carve outs are not going to work for us, we do have the option of what has already been suggested by one poster,and delete our products, and/or do what alot of us old timers did, and find another more amenable POD....Been here since 2008, hoped I would not have to possibly face down the dragon again...🐲 Waiting to hear the detailed and fully encompassing explanations forthcoming from Z, esp about carve outs and royalties. Looks like I might have to remove thousands of links from my website and repoint them elsewhere, have tried to remain a valued subcontractor over the years, so would rather not have to do that. That is not meant to be a threat, just a possible future path concerning how to weigh the extreme amount of work involved as opposed to the adjusted royalties and carve outs.

@tiffjamaica  posted this very clear request:"I really hope they give some actual earnings examples for us soon." which bears repeating.

One positive note: Z can't possibly think that alot of us/we have not read the terms and conditions....:) 

Would be interesting to know how many views/posts can crash the forum/server? Lol

One suggestion, no matter when and/or where you post, save a copy, so that if yours gets deleted, you will still have it.

[Mariholly]

@idraw 

Obviously, their company, their rules. And businesses exist to make money, of course. I always said it—I found it to be a good place for designers, friendly and receptive. No one is going to pay me for doing nothing, that’s clear. But this significant drop in our royalties, given the enormous amount of work we’ve taken on lately, compared to the few sales happening, seems unsustainable for any creator.

[PrintablePretty]

I agree I cannot keep putting the hours into this that I do with what they are about to do to us. I have worked 16 hour days 7 days a week for the last several months trying like hell to get some more traction here. Spending money I cannot afford to spend on building a website to promote them, mockups, Pinterest trainings, skill classes to refine my design skills, as well as other various tools etc. All to make myself better for this Zazzle business.

It is getting me nowhere and starting to impact my mental health. I have lost count of how many nights I have spent crying on my husband or crying myself to sleep over this place and my inability to truly get to where I feel I could go with it. Working harder is OBVIOUSLY not the solution and I have NO idea what is. 

I've uploaded over 51,000+ mockup images in the last several months. I am constantly promoting, pinning, working on my website, etc and I honestly have seen NO return for the hours that I have been putting into it. 

I have been on here since 2013, I have 13,000 designs up. Many of which I feel are quite good and I only have 70 some odd editors picks and rarely get featured or promoted. They have a set select few in that club with thousands of promoted and pushed editors picks and I am NOT in it lol.

I believe I read that ONE account literally has thousands of editors picks, representing about 14% of all the editors picks on the site. Their designs are gorgeous and cream of the crop so NO hate, but I do find it incredibly unfair to the rest of us who work hard too. Systematic favoritism no matter how you cut it. Most of us aren't in the club and never will be. We'll be the ones to suffer the most because of it too and stay stuck in the back of the line as usual.

With being forced to now go to 9.9% royalty rate, already dismal sales, and now my pockets being dug into even deeper at the tune of 40 to 50% with that marketing fee I will have NO choice but to focus my efforts elsewhere so I can keep my bills paid and keep my sanity. I have been let down a lot by Zazzle but this new TOU takes the CAKE! 

[Mariholly]

@PrintablePretty 

I feel exactly the same! I haven’t been as productive as you, but I’ve created over 3,000 cover photos, paid for AI, paid for fonts, paid for domains to host a website, and spent hundreds of hours here trying to gain visibility—yet nothing seems to work.

An example: I think almost 100% of the designs I created at the end of 2023 for the Christmas campaign need to be reviewed. They weren’t visited, they weren’t shown even once?? Did I do EVERYTHING wrong that year?? It’s pretty incomprehensible.

[PrintablePretty]

Yes the only conclusion I can come to is that if you are not in that systematic favoritism group of designers getting the featured search results and algorithm boosts and are not a marketing genius in your own right who can PUSH your own sales then you are up a creek here. Especially after the new TOU kicks in. 

[LMGildersleeve]

You should also remember those "select few" also will take a hit. Even greater than you would. Most likely their products are promoted by Zazzle in greater quantities. They'll lose more money from Zazzle taking more from their Royalties.

[PrintablePretty]

The impact isn't just about the raw dollar amounts - it's about SURVIVAL. When you're making 10 to 20k a month or more, losing even 50% still leaves you with a substantial income. When you're struggling with minimal sales, losing nearly half of your already small earnings can be the difference between continuing or quitting entirely! Those top creators built their following during better royalty days and have the visibility advantage of CONSTANT promotion. They have momentum and platform support that MOST of us don't. They can weather this storm while growing their following. Meanwhile, smaller creators are trying to break through while having our earnings slashed and still being invisible in search results. 

This isn't about who loses more dollars, it is about who can afford to keep going when their royalty rate gets cut to less than 10% of each sale and then another 50% cut to that! For many of us, this TOU change isn't just disappointing it is BUSINESS ENDING. Period. 

[ClareS]

Losing 50% of any amount is brutal - please don't think that only smaller designers are affected by that - the more you make the more you lose. And just because you're a higher earning designer it doesn't mean you have a following, many of those designers rely on the marketplace and Zazzle promotion as much as the next person. This change will hurt everyone.

[PrintablePretty]

I understand math (my former teachers might argue that lol) - yes, 50% of a larger number is more dollars lost. But that's missing the critical point about sustainability. When you're making substantial money, even after a 50% cut, you can STILL pay your bills. When you're making minimal sales, and your entire income comes from Zazzle, or you are on a fixed income and RELY on Zazzle that same percentage cut can push you from barely worth it to not viable at all. 

This is not about raw dollars lost it is about threshold effects. There's a minimum amount needed to justify the time investment. Top designers have built momentum and visibility advantages that help them maintain higher volume to offset the rate cut. Meanwhile, smaller designers who are already struggling with visibility and earning just enough to keep going may find themselves below that viability threshold after these cuts. Yes, everyone loses money with this change. But some lose their ability to continue at all and that is the difference. Why is my point being missed here? 

[ClareS]

Your point is not being missed. You are assuming that people on a larger income can continue to pay their bills when their income is halved, and I'm just pointing out that a larger income often comes with larger bills, because we live within our means. You are sharing your experience and concerns and I am simply saying please do not dismiss mine, just because I earn a good income from Zazzle right now doesn't mean I can afford to lose half of it overnight, and I am having the same anxieties as you.

[PrintablePretty]

I completely understand your point and I'm not dismissing your concerns. Financial stress affects everyone regardless of income level. I recognize that higher earners have higher expenses and commitments too. 

My perspective comes from people being at the lower end where math simply doesn't work anymore. When someone earning a few hundred dollars monthly loses 50%, they might drop below the threshold where continuing makes any business sense at all. That's the distinction I was trying to make. I know larger earners taking a hit is valid too and I am sure they have just as much anxiety over all this as well. 

We're all in this together facing the same policy changes, just with different starting points and different breaking points. I appreciate you sharing your perspective too. This change is causing anxiety across the board, and I hope Zazzle recognizes the impact it is having on creators at ALL levels. 

[idraw]

I, for one,got your point, and it is truly valid. There is a tipping point at which the work involved is more than the resulting reward financially. Thank you for sharing, I appreciate your post.

[LMGildersleeve]

Attacking me, isn't going to raise your Zazzle income. All I was trying to say is you are not alone. This is affecting everyone.

[PrintablePretty]

I apologize if you saw it that way. I was having a conversation and not attacking anyone. Please show me where I personally attacked you. 

I was simply explaining how percentage cuts affect different earning levels differently, and sharing my perspective for someone in the lower earning bracket. This is a discussion forum where we're all trying to understand the impact of these changes. 

I fully agree this affects everyone. I noted in my original post that the top designers work is gorgeous and cream of the crop and said no hate toward them. My concern is about sustainability for smaller creators, not attacking anyone.

[idraw]

@PrintablePretty l read what everyone else read in your post. You were basically stating what you are experiencing, has nothing to do with a personal response to any specific creator here, as far as I am concerned. What you said probably sums up what a lot here are feeling.

[PrintablePretty]

According to Jim from Snuggle Hamster I am in the top 1% of earners on the site myself. Despite struggling with visibility and promotion as I mentioned earlier. Even with that top earner status I made a solid lower middle class income last year. I am deeply concerned about surviving these changes. If I am worried about my sustainability on the platform, my heart truly breaks for everyone else who depends on this income. These changes will affect all creators, but they'll be devastating for those with smaller sales volumes who are already struggling to gain traction. It all just makes me so sad and here I go again with that sensitivity factor lol. 

[PrintablePretty]

Thank you. I am guessing she is a top creator with a lot of features on the site and maybe interpreted from my post I was attacking them or angry with them? But absolutely not. That is the only thing I can conclude until she replies to let me know. I truly meant no offense at all.

I am in the top 1% myself according to Snuggle Hamster as mentioned earlier. I personally have zero control of how many promotions or picks I get and I know no one else does either. The issue is with Zazzle and the way they go about it and distribute them. We are a COMMUNITY and it sure doesn't feel like that when clear favoritism is plastered all over the place.

Like okay this shop over here has 2000 editors picks can we PLEASE feature some other community members and lay off this one a bit? I think she's fine for now, everyone knows this shop is here and it is great. Boost some others now. I know I am not alone in feeling like it is a bit unfair how they do things. Lots of work on equalizing that out a bit needs to be done for the sake of everyone on the platform. 

[idraw]

You said…Spending money I cannot afford to spend on building a website to promote them, mockups, Pinterest trainings, skill classes to refine my design skills, as well as other various tools etc. All to make myself better…

Regarding your mental health, another way to look at your efforts…finish the sentence “all to make myself better…to use the skill sets and knowledge I gained to better my own business no matter where I choose to give it a home/base of operations . You can choose, it may be lots of extra unnecessary work (ask those of us who chose to leave cp and rebuild here and at other pods in 08.) That is what I meant in one of my other posts about possibly having to face the dragon again. Chin up, shields up, the mind is an invaluable asset, far too precious to jeopardize. I hope, and it is unlikely,that the mods read your post and comprehend just how impactful their actions are. They are dealing with with creatives and most creatives are build with a sensitive factor installed at the factory.

[PrintablePretty]

Thank you for your thoughtful response and perspective 😊 You make a good point about the transferable skills I've developed. They are valuable regardless of where I ultimately apply them. I appreciate the reminder about protecting my mental health I am working on it. I think I need to step away from all of this for a bit and just take a breather. Creatives come with that sensitive factor and so do women 😂 I for sure fit that criteria. I think it is part of what makes us good at what we do yet makes navigating business changes like this particularly challenging. 

Yes sometimes we do have to face these POD dragons and rebuild, but I am tired.. 😅 I am just going to try and figure out where it would be best to put my energy. I'm sad it might not be here anymore. 

Thank you for the encouragement and understanding. 🙂 

[LMGildersleeve]

Hi Sonya, sorry I didn't respond right away. I'm spending my time using the knowledge I have about these changes thinking of strategies for my business going forward. I personally am going to wait until Z responds to the questions asked of these massive changes before panicking.

Let's let the water flow under the bridge with my first reaction to your initial post. I knew you were a Platinum Pro and actually do have Z's eye on you (all of your EP's far outnumber many thousands of us who don't have them) so I can sympathize with your concern for those who are also depending on their Zazzle income to pay some bills, for food etc. 

If there is one thing I have learned since 2009 here on Z, it's the fact that the Zazzle business model is not my own. Although I've done quite well here, I've never taken it for granted.

As iDraw has eluded to, focus on the things in your control. Once Z chimes in we'll all know the facts to be able to decide how we're to proceed.

You have such a talent, I'm sure you can apply your knowledge and creativity to something to supplement your current income.

💐

[PrintablePretty]

Thank you so much for your kind response and again I truly apologize if my other post made you feel personally attacked. Not my intention at all. Being here since 2009 makes your experience and insight very valuable. You have ridden this wave way longer than a lot of us. 

Waiting for their response really is the sensible approach. I WISH I could be more sensible about this. I truly live Zazzle paycheck to paycheck and these changes are too scary for my mind to go anywhere else but straight to panic! lol 😂  My anxiety is good at getting the better of me. This platform is not just a big part of my life it is my life. It is what gets me out of bed in the morning. My kids are grown and one near grown and my shop is my baby now and these changes feel personal despite them not. Hard to explain. 

Thank you for the encouragement. It is hard to see my own talents clearly in the middle of uncertainty. I am absolutely thinking of ways to diversify so I can be more in the drivers seat of my brand. I want to take printablepretty.co and possibly turn it into a digital boutique of sorts. I have a TON of PSD smart object mockups for Zazzle I have made for my shop and I am tinkering with selling those to others, maybe some of my designs in printable format on the site, clip art, patterns etc. I used to have a big clip art and pattern shop on Etsy and a website. I sold all of the designs and rights to Design Bundles many moons ago to focus on Zazzle. I think I should incorporate that know how into the website. 

Thank you for the reminder to focus on what's in my control. That's exactly what I need to hear right now and I am sure many others here do too. idraw, you, Jim from SHD, Barbara, and many others have really lifted me up today and I appreciate it so much 💗 I am in a far better headspace than I was with my earlier post. Wishing you all the best! 

[Connie]

You can keep your royalty at 10%, because they said anything OVER 10% will be charged the fee, so 10% is safe.

[northernmaple]

Hi, I'm so confused about these rates. Currently, I have my rate set at 14,.9%. If I leave it as is and they take an extra 5% fee, I'll be at 9.9%, right? So, is it better for me to just change it to 10%? Or am I missing something here?

[ClareS]

No - it would be a good idea to go and look at Col's maths post. But the quick and dirty is this.

Say you sell a product for $100.

If you have your royalty set at 10% you will receive 10% of $100 which is $10.

If you have your royalty set at 14.9% you will receive $14.90 and out of that $14.90 Zazzle will then charge you a 5% processing fee which is 5% of the $14.90 ie 75c.

So at 10% you would earn $10 on a $100 sale and at 14.9% you would earn $14.15 (ie 14.90-75c).

You would still be better off having your royalty set at 14.9%. 

The processing fee is negligible and it comes out of your royalty - it is not charged against the product price.

The same is true of the marketing fee, it comes out of your royalty not the order value. The percentages are percentages of percentages, you can't add them altogether and deduct them from the total.

[Deb]

I came here years ago 2007, as a result of the cafepress debacle when they put the screws to the designers there.. with the promise.. paraphrasing here .. “we’ll never do that to you here at zazzle .. come on board.. we’ll treat you right “  yet years later here we are.. after even a few other zlaps in the face .. it is what it is.. and it will crush most of us , sadly.. looking at 70, 695 sales recorded which should have been much higher and I know isnt nearly as high as many of you.. but it shows blood sweat and tears .. this last few months sales already have slowed .  I cannot imagine how much worse it will get.. Seems the harder you work.. the Lesser you succeed .. IDK.. 

[idraw]

I was on the boat with you headed for Z, and I distinctly remember the promises that Z made to me, saying that I would not be treated the same way as at CP. There is much truth in your post. And, yes, I have seen that my sales records for all these years are way off, way lower than they should be.

[CrazyMermaid]

I remember that email too!

[Mariholly]

@Jadendreamer13 

I'm not sure if they'll respond now. They want to review the forms, and after the new terms take effect, they'll answer the frequently asked questions.

[Deb]

LOL.  Are you new here? ( saying this tongue in cheek) .. they ALWAYS drop bad news on a Friday or just before the holiday forum read only.. nothing new.. been that way for years .. 😏

[epcollections]

Yes. Regardless of the actual changes it’s a terrible communication strategy. What a mess for Monday…if anyone reads these comments or cares to maintain a strong designer community. 

[Windy]

.

[JLynnW]

@PrintablePretty , as to tariffs, alas, I'm afraid, we've all been trumped (as in the card games Bridge, Whist, Spades, and Pinochle), by and including Zazzle.

[PrintablePretty]

Very possibly so that could be what all this is about. It very well could be about survival due to the tariff costs and not greed. If they want to keep prices competitive for consumers and keep their doors open they may have had no choice but to offset costs to us. I want to believe if there was any other way they would have done it and this isn't just a corporate money grab. I would fight a lot harder to make it through this if I knew for sure that is what it was. 

[SandyMDesigns]

I didn't even think about it. But this all could be part of the recent tariffs. I am sure it will hurt many businesses. The creator (designer on another POD) always takes the hit on this. Not so much the company.

[idraw]

@sharonrheafords   @PrintablePretty @Cat @SandyMDesigns  @Jadendreamer13 @epcollections 
They dropped the terms on us creators Friday, it is now Monday 8pm EST, with no further input from Z, except the email we got, which basically leaves us with more questions than answers.
Tomorrow, Tuesday, will be day 5 , waiting.

Something else to think about....No one has brought up the possibility of them adding potential pay raises by and for Z employees,CEO, Board, etc, (along the lines of we need a raise...cost of living, etc) and that would be passed along to us the creators and taken out of our royalties, even tho we are also having cost of living issues, and alot of us work extreme hours to keep up with the constant changes at Z, Z also raising the price of the product....Also... some Z employees work from home, I know that the CSRs do. (Customer Service Reps)
Z’s salary raises timing and info is not available to us because they are a private company. I have no problem with  that info being proprietary, just that this salary increase could be a variable we are not considering.

[Connie]

I don't think the tariffs have had an actual impact yet, at least for most items. It would depend on where Zazzle gets their materials from, also. Weddings & Stationery have the highest Fees, and they don't get their paper from one of the tariffed countries. (not yet, anyway.)
Boycotts and fears of a recession, probably would have a bigger impact, but even then, the Wedding market is probably less likely to be impacted by that. People are still going to get married, even if they might cut back on some expenses. I mean, we've pretty much been in a recession for a couple years now, so maybe it just finally accumulated enough that Zazzle is hurting.