Groups: Member
Joined: 1/23/2008
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I read plenty about ethics and company philosophy and I liked all of it. I have a quick lash up of a piece done here: http://theyellowfury.googlepages.com/hornetWebsite's on the way. Can anyone suggest, say what products are selling most or what it'd suit best? How many people visit the site etc? I didn't see any hit counters. I did see lots of comments alright. Also I'm not sure how to make an avatar either. Sorry bout that. Its nice though, its a yellow skull with a BMW emblem in his forehead. Anyway I'm an extremely distru*l person and could anyone allay my fears? That's how they get you y'see. S
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 7/25/2006
Posts: 4,148
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it depends on the type of art and the target area. One of my galleries sells mostly stamps. However, on another gallery, I sell a lot of mousepads, prints and shirts. It really varies from gallery to gallery.
Some sites, such as mine, do have a counter on the right hand side between the two sets of pods that tell how many visits for the day and how many total. Go to Manage Gallery and check the box next to Gallery Statistics if you want those counts to show.
As for the avatar, that's just a pic that you upload. Go to the Customize Your Look section and upload whatever pic you want to use. Though - BMW is copyrighted and it may be fine for just your avatar, but you wouldn't be able to use it on any products.
Hope that helps
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Groups: Member
Joined: 1/23/2008
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Thanks dog. I'd still like to know though, can someone make a living off it? I don't want to be a computer engineer in a big sucky corporation anymore. I want to do art in my kitchen and still be able to afford stuff.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 7/25/2006
Posts: 4,148
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well, I get a payment every month, but I couldn't live off of it, even if I didn't have a family.
Some people do very well, but I think it is the very rare case that someone can actually live off of this kind of thing.
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Groups: Member
Joined: 1/23/2008
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I see. And do you find them good? I spose a big portfolio would help. They don't seem to charge you, only on comission. Would that be right? Nothing to lose kind of thing? Stuff that's made in Ireland usually sells well with Americans I've found. I have these Ireland logos I made into stickers. That copyright thing is an issue alright. I did some stuff just for sh*ts and giggles before for my wall and the walls of a few friends and there's a ton of Nineteen Eighty Four, Hitchkhiker's Guide To The Galaxy and some Dalai Lama and Hitler for good measure. "How fortunate for leaders that men do not think."
I'd say the Dalai Lama wold probably let me off.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 8/25/2006
Posts: 2,378
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theyellowfury wrote:I see. And do you find them good? I spose a big portfolio would help. They don't seem to charge you, only on comission. Would that be right? Nothing to lose kind of thing? Zazzle are great .. their design tools are second to none .. the fact that its free to set up and theres a global market can't be beat .. you set your own commission percentage .. but if you keep it under 25% zazzle don't take anything from that .. 25% and above theres a very small charge for admin reasons .. I don't know if many people make a living off it .. but if you have the right products and the right advertising .. then I can't see why you couldn't You wouldn't be able to use your hitch hikers guide stuff .. or any other copyright work .. read the User Agreement it will tell you everything you need to know theres nothing to lose .. so give it a go
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Groups: Member
Joined: 1/23/2008
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Thanks a mil dudes. I'll look into it more and be back tonight after working in my bad job to see if there are any more comments.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/19/2007
Posts: 1,073
Location: fernley
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For me Zazzle works really well as a selling tool, but it is not the ONLY place I sell, nor is it the only thing I do. You can make a living, but you would need to do a lot of outside marketing for your Zazzle site, not just on the internet but in person, does that make sense?
Also keep doing what you are currently doing outside of Zazzle to create an interest in your work, you know original pieces, one of a kinds, that sort of thing. That gets word out.
You can definitely do what you love and making a living at it, just be open to different ways of getting your work seen. Zazzle is one of the ways to get it seen.
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Groups: Member
Joined: 1/23/2008
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I'm putting one up now and its taking ages. 9.6Mb jpeg. They sort of forgot about Ireland when they were making the internet. I've got a 4meg line that's operating at 1-3%
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Groups: Member
Joined: 1/23/2008
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Groups: Member
Joined: 1/25/2008
Posts: 37
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It's a very nice image. But I've been looking at it for hours and always it shows (at least TO ME) that it's sold for 0.00 dollars. If I try to decide the print options I see the relating box shows an error and after that the zazzle home page. So, if I were a potential customer you would loose me! 
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 8/25/2006
Posts: 2,378
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I can see the price and it checks out ok .. myfairies try cleaning out your cache .. it might help
Thats a really cool poster theyellowfury
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Groups: Member
Joined: 4/4/2004
Posts: 9
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When you're selling online I think it's more profitable to diversify.
I sell through Zazzle.com, Yessy.com, Etsy.com, and RedBubble.com. I've also made sales directly from my blog -- htttp://art166.blogspot.com -- and from site links in my email and forums signatures.
Also, I do "real world" shows, fairs, and exhibits as often as possible and hand out lots of business cards.
If you're hoping to make a living with your art, you'll need to throw a wide net -- and, you probably won't get to stay in your kitchen.
Best of luck, and I love that poster, btw!
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Groups: Member
Joined: 9/23/2007
Posts: 25
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I have to say, and understand that I am coming from a position of tremendous frustration after trying for nearly an hour to re-organize my store, that thus far I greatly prefer CafePress to Zazzle.
I have shops on both locations, but on that other site managing the galleries, changing gallery looks, all that is frighteningly simpler than Zazzle.
Me Zazzle gallery is very limited on SEO opportunities, and there are depressingly few templates that I can find to change the look of the gallery.
The gallery management tools- especially changing a design from one category to another- is very weak, and tough to figure out. I am used to click here, select there, enter...and I am done.
At Zazzle I am finding click here...no, no not there, you have to use this window instead. Okay click here, and click there to move....nope! Didn't work, still not moved. Can't get there from here!
Can anyone suggest a tutorial, or give me some pointers on re-organizing my gallery?
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 7/25/2006
Posts: 4,148
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reorganizing is one of the weak points here - but.. considering this is free and CP isn't...
Also - I find designing the look of my gallery here much, much easier than on CP. Here I can just click and change the colors to anything I want, upload a new banner if I choose, etc.
Just use good keywords in your keyword section - you can find that umder MyZazzle, Account Settings, Contributor Information.
Use very descriptive titles for your products and have a good description on your gallery page.
I find that more of my Zazzle items show up in searches than my CP items. But that's just me.
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Groups: Member
Joined: 9/23/2007
Posts: 25
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True CP isn't free, but it is only $7 a month, and if you make a sale or two a month you won't even have to pay that.
While it is easier to change banner colors and backgrounds here, the choices are also a vastly more limited. There I can include HTML coding, not even anything I would right, but stuff available for free on the web.
How frequently and highly you rank in the store is a function of how long your store has been up, and how well you are managing SEO.
I have had a CP store for more than twice as long as the Zazzle store, so at the moment my CP shop shows much higher.
My biggest complaint right now is that I am finding it impossible to make very simple changes to my gallery- changes that at CP would literally be finished in about three clicks. Here I am having to delete designs from the gallery all together, which will hurt me SEO imprint, delete or rename the category and then repopulate it with the designs I want.
That means I have to re-write the descriptions, tags, etc. That is ridiculously counterproductive.
I am wanting to like Zazzle more than I do, but the management tools are so hard to work with it makes that VERY hard.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 7/25/2006
Posts: 4,148
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Quote:There I can include HTML coding, not even anything I would right, but stuff available for free on the web.
? You can use HTML here. There are some contributors that have video clips and music players on their gallery pages. Oh - and I've had my sites at both places for nearly the same amount of time. I just have always worked more here at Zazzle than on CP because I like it better here. But that's just me.
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Groups: Member
Joined: 9/23/2007
Posts: 25
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Really? Where can you upload HTML into the Zazzle gallery? I would love to be able to do that, but I cannot find anywhere that works. Every attempt thus far has resulted in no change to my Zazzle layout. Maybe I am just in the wrong place?
I do like Zazzle's more international appeal. Are there any custom templates that can be uploaded, or is Zazzle planning on expanding the very limited set that are available now?
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 8/25/2006
Posts: 2,378
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BallisticArt wrote:Really? Where can you upload HTML into the Zazzle gallery? I would love to be able to do that, but I cannot find anywhere that works.
into the edit title and description box
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 7/25/2006
Posts: 4,148
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myself, I prefer not to use a template but create my own banner and set the colors to compliment my banner. I find this much easier to do at Zazzle than CP. If I use a template, then I look like other shops that use the same template and, again - just for me - that's the last thing I want is to look the very same as another shop.
It only takes seconds to upload your banner and set your gallery colors and make your gallery completely unique. You don't need to know HTML or anything for that either.
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