Actually it is a good time for an increase. People are willing to spend money during the holidays.

But hopefully we'll get some free shipping promocodes to boost sales.

In my own mind there's a huge difference between spending $ because you want to and being taxed to death for every little thing the gov't can apply a tax to, people are fed up with that so of course we're going to complain when yet another new tax pops up.
The reason people do shop Zazzle is because we offer things you don't find at Walmart or K-Mart or Target, that's the draw for most shoppers and frankly if someone can't afford an extra $1 they probably wouldn't be shopping here anyway.
You're always going to have people getting married, having babys, anniversaries and birthdays so I don't think that's going to stop anyone from shopping after the holidays either.

No need to OD on the caffine, it was only announced in the forum http://forum.zazzle.com/news/price_increase_tonight and is on t's and mugs only.

Let's not exaggerate. The last price increase was 1.5 years ago and on some products, so maybe not on Ts and mugs. I don't know, I wasn't here then.

Price increases never end. That's a fact of life and business. I highly doubt Zazzle is going to price themselves out of business.

It's a fact of life, when the suppliers prices go up the buyer needs to increase theirs to compensate or take a business loss, there's no getting around it no matter what business you're in...retail stores, groceries or for that matter Subway (I just paid $7.00 for a foot long that used to be $6.00)

If you're really concerned about the x-tra $1 hurting your sales why not decrease your markup a % or 2 to compensate, the buyer pays about the same amount as always and you won't loose a thing.

Ok, first of all, you're blowing things WAY out of proportion. It is highly unusual for Zazzle to raise their prices--I only know of twice they've done it since I first found the site in 2005. Wal-Mart, on the other hand (since you used it as an example) jacks up its prices about daily, then drops them a few cents to make it look like they're giving the customer a deal. The Wal-Mart I work at kept its prices low only until the other grocery store in town went under, and as soon as it did, our prices went way up. The Christmas tree I wanted to buy last year but couldn't was $47 last year, but this year it's $70. The frozen burritos we usually buy just went up 50 cents a bag. My favorite fruits and vegetables have exploded in price.

So even Wal-Mart is raising it's prices--far above and beyond the piddly little price increase Zazzle did. Why should Zazzle be the one company in the world that refuses to ever change its prices to cope with rising costs? They have to feed their families, too, and unlike the CEOs at Wal-Mart that can afford to lose money (and do so, in the effort to drive competition out of town), Zazzle is trying to run a quality service that treats its employees and customers with respect. While Wal-Mart is able to save money by buying cheaply-made overseas merchandise in enormous bulk, Zazzle creates our items personally, one-at-a-time. While Wal-Mart saves money by skimping on wages and screwing over their employees at every opportunity, Zazzle pays us what we say we're worth (And while I can't say with any certainty how the employees themselves are treated, I have to assume it's better than at Wal-Mart.) Long story short, there's a reason people can get things cheaper at Wal-Mart, and while a lot of people will refuse to spend $40 on a t-shirt, they were refusing before. Another dollar isn't going to push people over the edge. The ones who DO shop at Zazzle do so because they want something unique--something that not everyone else in their neighborhood has. Believe me, when you live in a town as small as mine, you know when someone got their t-shirt at Wal-Mart. A lot of people--even broke people--are willing to pay extra for quality and uniqueness. I know, because I am one, and my fiance is one, and my mother and my father are, and my cousins are...

Really, all of this just sounds like you're looking for something to be mad about, because if you really looked at the situation, you'd realize that the sort of people who shop at Zazzle aren't going to be daunted by a dollar.