QR Codes now on the back of cards

[SORS]

Hello,

I just noticed that a Zazzle QR code is showing up on the back of my cards.  Did I miss an announcement about this? Unfortunately it messes up my logo and information I just created after Zazzle changed the attributions on the back a short while ago.

 It's my understanding that the QR code will bring the customer directly to our store, which is great in some ways, but it might take away from my referrals, as I was putting my website on the back of my cards. 

Would love to hear feedback from other creators. 

Thanks!

[Fiorenzo]

Yes, I know all these little fancy games. You can track your own links with any code you want without cutting the designers' royalties. You can easily forward an affiliate's referral code to a local domain when switching language. And you can handle sales differently on products with user options set to a fixed 5% royalty... 

In regard to referrals in such QR cases, objectively judged, a no referral of any sort would be the logical answer because neither Z nor we designers refer a person to Zazzle if they like a card they received, scan the code, and visit Z's site. Z is not advertising/promoting, nor are we.

And yes, I also prefer to add my own branding on the cards. I wouldn't mind a subtle Z logo on folded cards, as we had before. If it's well done and placed. Not on flat or postcards, tho. On flat cards with content on the backside, I don't have any branding, except a custom one that can be personalized at the shopper's own discretion. And on postcards, I have a text-only branding on the middle line, where applicable, otherwise none.

[Barbara]

What if they decide to move the errant code up to top left, the standard spot for a description on souvenir and travel cards?

Hudson River Lighthouse at Athens, New York Postcard
by colorwash

[Fiorenzo]

There is some space on the bottom left. Here are the official USPS reserved areas. I got them from their official site and made myself a template:

edit: this is a very old template, I even added a Zazzle logo on the bottom left outside the reserve area. All my elements can be freely modified and deleted by customers if they wish to.

[shellifitz]

That is the thing with me.. I design a lot of my postcards with bulk sales in mind whether it be moving announcements or small business direct marketing uses.  Also a few wedding designs with save the dates and thank you postcards.  So I am concerned about those. 

[shellifitz]

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@Fiorenzo wrote:

You can track your own links with any code you want without cutting the designers' royalties. "

@shellifitz  wrote

This has always been a point of contention with me.  Why do they take a cut of our royalty when they don't have to... and if they are going to do it why not call it an advertising fee instead of a referral?   Then people could clearly see when it is Zazzle that made the sale for them or a normal affiliate.  

It has always seemed weird to me that Zazzle is the first party, I am the second party and then Zazzle calls themselves the third party too...    all third parties should be separate and apart from the first and second parties shouldn't they? 

[SandyMDesigns]

I just noticed that same thing on a postcard that sold. Definitely an overkill with the logo on the left and QR code on the right. I wonder how many of these cards get returned.

[Fiorenzo]

In my (Swiss) experience, these bulk mailings subject to specific requirements are referring to mass mailings. We're talking about thousands, not about bulk mailing 50 or 100 invitations. To be honest, I also don't 100% comply with my address lines and the stamp symbol, these areas shall be empty, too, either white or with a solid background color of max. 15% or so ink coverage (can't remember). In my case, the customer can delete all the elements on the back individually, and the attribution can be hidden, too, so in the end it isn't such a big concern. If businesses plan to mass-mail stuff, they usually know what they have to do.

[shellifitz]

@Fiorenzo  According to the USPS bulk rate pages the minimum is 200 pieces or 50 lbs whichever is applicable. 

[Saints_Aplenty]

@Barbara 

Please, NO!  That's where I--and oodles of designers, I'm sure--put the very kind of description you cite.  And, not just on souvenir and travel cards.  That too is a disaster in the making.  

If we must--and I personally don't think we need a QR code on postcards--have some form of Zazzle branding on them, Fio's solution of the word Zazzle in the extreme lower lefthand corner outside the USPS reserve area seems the least objectionable.  But, that's just my 2 cents and I'm often on the wrong side of issues it seems.  😉

[Barbara]

I understand that everyone everywhere seems to be using QR codes, but mostly what I've noticed is codes that lead a person to a special web page where there's a discount--basic incentive to get people to show up. Given that I've never used codes, I've no idea if people are capturing them to simply go to a web site for the purpose of browsing on their phones. As you can see, I'm not questioning just the positioning of the codes, but also their usefulness for marketing an entire web site.

If people are using the codes en masse, I hope they're aware of the danger in using a code that's on a sticker.