Better Support for Fabrics, Please!

[rebeccaheartsny]

Any chance fabrics could receive the same level of support as all of Zazzle's other offerings? While not technically discontinued, the product line seems to have been all but abandoned.

For some reason, the design tool has never been upgraded to the new version, and the "old" design tool is incredibly laggy (so you can't even see what you're doing or how it will look, you just have to...guess?) and locks up frequently. It also lacks the features of the modern design tool, many of which would be incredibly useful for fabric designs, like removing white from the background of an image.

Beyond this, the only in situ for fabrics is quite poor -- it's just a piece of fabric hanging on a wall, which does not present the product in a good light. Most customers would likely purchase fabric to make pillows, curtains, items of clothing, etc. Why not add in situ images on these types of products? Or at the very least, a shot of the fabric on a sewing table, perhaps with a sewing machine, scissors, and spools of thread nearby?

Fabric used to be one of my top sellers. These days, I rarely design new fabrics because the technical issues and lack of features associated with the old design tool make things incredibly tedious, with no way to really design or showcase a great product. Is there a reason fabrics can't have the same design options as a similarly tiled product, like wrapping paper?

An upgrade to the new design tool, better in situ images, and more promotion on Zazzle's main pages would make a world of difference!

[Baylee]

I agree totally. I would like to add that a selection of nicer fabrics would a plus too.

[Pádraig]

Hi @rebeccaheartsny,

Thanks for your feedback on our fabrics. I passed your thoughts and suggestions along to our team so that they can review it.

All the best,

Pádraig

[rebeccaheartsny]

Thank you @Pádraig! And I forgot to mention this in my original post, but it would be great if fabric listings were editable and eligible for the "replace product" option, too. I have some from years ago which are very much in need of updating, but as it stands, everything fabric-related is just sort of frozen in time.

[Pádraig]

You're most welcome @rebeccaheartsny!

[JessicaAmber]

I didn't even know Zazzle sold fabric, glad to know this!

And you're right, looking at the product page is like stepping back into the early 2000s. I tried placing an image on the in-situ of the fabric, and dragging the image taller made it wider??? And you can't change SVG colors, editing directly on an in-situ is awkward... This screen definitely needs an update!

There is one small benefit to this old screen that the newer editor lacks... you can stretch SVG files! That is actually a very good feature I'd like to see in the new editor.

[rebeccaheartsny]

@JessicaAmberThe quality of the fabrics is actually really nice. But as you've discovered, the design tool is like traveling back in time, and it's so buggy. I really hope they'll fix it, because right now it is impossible to use.

Fabrics used to sell incredibly well for me, so there is definitely a market. But Zazzle never promotes or highlights the product line (clearly, seeing as you're a designer and didn't even know it existed!) and the merchandising images are poor, so I think over time fabrics have just been forgotten, and people have stopped designing or buying or paying any attention to them at all. I'd love to see these brought back to life, and maybe become top sellers once again.

[BKMuir]

Just reviewed my products by searching FABRIC.

I see that of the 7 status points I have selected (Last viewed, Views, Date Created, Orders All Time, Quantity Sold, Last Sold, and Royalty Percentage) only 3 items are given (the first 3 BOLDED above).

Is Zazzle tracking these no longer?

I did find my SOLD fabric in my "Earnings" Report

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OOPS - I just realized I had my selections checked for DIGITAL !! - Sorry...

[LFL]

I totally agree that the fabric template needs a major overhaul. It is so needlessly complicated. 'My Fabric Designs' company has shut down. Zazzle could make a good play for the marketplace if this tool was better setup. I have only done 3 designs and then gave up. I have hundreds of design repeats that would look good and are ready to upload! I also already own professional mockups for fabric cover photos as well.

[Coppercloud]

Since Spoonflower has been sold to shutterfly, their quality and customer service has gone down a lot. I have had a lot of customer complaints. So I have started to add my patterns to Zazzle.

If Zazzle updated their fabric up-loader(to make it easier and user friendly) and new situ for customers, I think the sales would go up a good amount as other artist and customer are looking for a descent alternative.

[glitterandchic]

Agree!  I have a group of quilters that want to buy some of my quilt square designs and it's just so time consuming and frustrating using the out-dated design "tool".  May have to find somewhere else to do this.