Deb
Valued Contributor

I am So tired of each time I am working on a design I have to click off this annoying popup that covers up most of the page - is this how we are losing  self referrals I have to ask?      But that aside,  I'm working ... Not buying.. it is VERY annoying.. if I were just a customer - I think this would be enough for me to say Goodbye - and go elsewhere.. popups are annoying to just about everyone .. I'd think Zazzle would know that - the internet is full of junk mail & unsolicited ads..  and this qualifies IMHO - Please Stop or at least give us  a way in our profiles to click an option to not have this in our faces.. I bet I click off of these 20/ 30 times a day..  drives me nuts 

 

 

17 Comments
shellifitz
Valued Contributor

James, those are ppc ads.  I see them on all my pages too as well as every other page I look at.  They are always competing with whatever the product on my page is by offering up ads to other sites that have the same product. These are not targeted ads served up to me or else they would be showing me other things that I actually have looked at recently.  

It isn't hard to figure out that Zazzle has monetized the site with these ads as if Zazzle was a blog and that Zazzle gets paid for every click and that that is the reason Zazzle keeps them on site. 

I personally think they make Zazzle look cheap and common and as a creator I also feel like Zazzle doesn't care if I lose a sale to a competitor site as long as Z is making money from the ad clicks. 

gardenstyle
Contributor

I would not be writing on this topic except for the fact I have prudently and silently with regards to the community of us gone through the appropriate channels with Tech Support and have been given the run around for 2 weeks with no answers, just, "I will forward this to our..." after I completed several requests for time consuming screenshots of the sponsored ads as well as my AD BLOCKER stats. Zazzle can make more money on monetized ads than by producing products.  There are millions of product pages of Creators for these SPONORED ADS. We have been made into something like a You Tube Channel. These are click through ads. If a shopper is on a Product page of a Creator's Product, they are likely to be distracted. If they click through, Zazzle makes money. If someone buys a product within 30 days of the click through, Zazzle makes more money. The sale may have originated on a Creator page, but the Creator will never see a cent of money made from click through ads off their product page.  In this venture, Zazzle has no risk whatsoever. They do not have to purchase, produce, or ship and risk total loss with the %100 guarantee. That is the big conflict. Zazzle cannot afford to offer a %100 guarantee because they are not a stocking major store like Wayfair. WE are the stock. The guarantee comes out of our earnings even if there has been a manufacturing error. We get to share the loss with Zazzle. But we don't get a share of ad sales generated because OUR promotional work has brought a customer to OUR design from Pinterest, blogging, or a unique personal URL to promote Zazzle products. Further, the Print on Demand Business is on a Bubble. There are loads of companies now which put products right into your Etsy store once they are made. And there are other options for buying your own stock. The problem is that every single one of these POD operations offers the SAME products. With that in mind, we are limited in a creative rut of what is available to make from the same blank products which are offered everywhere. Aside from paper, POD products are too expensive and use basic quality textiles. The mug wraps have become shorter and shorter, finishing at least an inch on each side of the handle. How can this compete with a mug which prints all the way and beneath the handle which is in a nice color? That is what is shown on our mug pages from other stores- the good mugs. The Zazzle template for throw pillows does not allow seams to match. Other companies who are using the SAME printer for throw pillows use a one-piece template which allows seams to meet and match perfectly, including along the zipper. Zazzle will profit more by using its millions of product pages to sell department store merchandise through ads.  There is no incentive to get better products or invest in Creators, because we are already here bringing in the ad bacon for Amazon and Macy's.  I am thoroughly annoyed because it takes a real designer to make something out of nothing. It is not easy to make a medium quality product appealing. We aren't even "Designers" anymore. We are revenue Creators. Furthermore, I never saw a word announced about a BETA test allowing some CREATORS to buy full banner ads for their Store which can be displayed on their fellow Creator's Pages. 

shellifitz
Valued Contributor

@gardenstyle  you nailed it and it is depressing to say the least. 

 

Harmony
Valued Contributor

I have been getting  a 20% popup (or full page ad) repeatedly over the last few days

gardenstyle
Contributor

Spare yourself and use an Ad-Blocker.

@Harmony 

gardenstyle
Contributor

Spare yourself and use an Ad-Blocker. I think with the new monetized pop-ups on our product pages from Wayfair et al. we are challenged with becoming more strategic with keywords and types of design to distinguish ourselves from Mass-Production.  People must want to come to Zazzle for what they don't see everywhere else... because WE have ingenuity! No money, but we are Creators!

@Deb
@shellifitz 
@Harmony

LauraLee
Valued Contributor

Amen gardenstyle!  As I say in Shelli's post,   Frustration = poor creativity = no sales.  So, ultimately, it's Zazzle shooting itself in the foot...in both ways - us and customers who would rather not put up with it.