Groups: Administration, Zazzle Admin
Joined: 9/1/2007
Posts: 248
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Hi folks,
First, thanks for your feedback on our new look. We appreciate all comments, and we do read and discuss the issues you bring up in the forums.
As for the search bar and the Zazzle header in your galleries, we did realize that the new design is a bit taller and the search bar is more prominent. However, to address this issue, we introduced what we call the “zbar”.
The zbar is a minimal Zazzle header that is only 30 pixels high, and does not include all the navigation links that our normal header has. The footer is also replaced by a much smaller version with links to our User Agreement and Privacy Policy. More importantly, the search bar is gone, plugging up the main “leak” from your galleries into the Zazzle marketplace. And best of all, it’s FREE to all contributors.
So how does it work?
There are a few ways to enable the zbar on your gallery and products:
1. Gallery: Create an external link using the Zazzle Star www.zazzle.com/yourGalleryName*
2. Gallery: Create an external link to a gallery and add your referral id www.zazzle.com/yourGalleryName?rf=yourReferralId
3. Gallery: Create an external link to a gallery and add “zbar=true” www.zazzle.com/yourGalleryName?zbar=true
4. Product: Create an external link to a product, and add a matching referral and gallery parameters
www.zazzle.com/your-product-name?gl=yourGalleryName&rf=yourReferralId
5. Product: Create an external link to a product and add a gallery and zbar parameter
www.zazzle.com/your-product-name?gl=yourGalleryName&zbar=true
Note that these links need to come from outside Zazzle’s site (from your website, blog, etc). Currently there is a bug where links clicked on from emails or typed into the browser do not show the zbar, but that issue is being looked at.
This feature is designed to create an entirely custom branded experience from the time someone clicks one of these links, all the way through the checkout process. Yes, even the shopping cart gets the zbar treatment.
I hope this is helpful, and we’d appreciate any further feedback on this feature as you play around with it!
Best,
Ed and the zbar team
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/9/2007
Posts: 382
Location: Yokohama
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Wouldn't it be simpler just to change our headers and remove that search bar? There is already a marketplace version of our store that doesn't include our header.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 7/1/2003
Posts: 99
Location: Melbourne
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I dont understand what this zbar is? Ive read and reRead what you wrote, but, i still dont get it..
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Groups: Member
Joined: 8/6/2008
Posts: 3
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This is no solution Zazzle. We should not have to enable "zbar" - we should have to enable the search bar. You are thinking backwards.
Still not happy
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Groups: Member
Joined: 1/21/2006
Posts: 956
Location: www.nicoleb.org
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It's a start to say at least. But I found another hole in the net, I think. When people click on my products, posted on my blog from their RSS reader, there seems to be no ref code on the product page. I guess that would explain some loss of referral sales 
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/9/2007
Posts: 382
Location: Yokohama
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I don't know for other people but when I try to post a link with the Zazzle star in my wordpress sidebar the star is removed. Not that it matters a lot as I now use performics links. Can we use performics links to link to small header zazzle store?
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 2/27/2008
Posts: 1,789
Location: Pascagoula
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I never have tried it but they should work just fine. Instead of using the zazzle * try using your user id on the links.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/9/2007
Posts: 382
Location: Yokohama
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Well, I tested it with Performics, adding the ref code but it doesn't work. I am not so worried about the links thing though. I really want to remove the biggest leak from my store and if Zazzle are genuine in their intentions they will remove or at least move it.
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Groups: Member
Joined: 1/21/2006
Posts: 956
Location: www.nicoleb.org
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ruderetro wrote:I don't know for other people but when I try to post a link with the Zazzle star in my wordpress sidebar the star is removed. Not that it matters a lot as I now use performics links. Can we use performics links to link to small header zazzle store? Do you host your own WP blog or is it a free WP blog? If it's a free one that might be the culprit. You are not allowed to advertise on WP. (But I think I didn't have a prob on my old one)
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Groups: Zazzle Employee
Joined: 7/25/2007
Posts: 8
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Hi Folks,
I've been following this and other threads closely, and we appreciate and listen to all the feedback. We understand the frustration with the “leaky galleries”, which is why we introduced the zbar as a way for contributors to keep customers in their gallery when customers come from a contributor link. The basic philosophy behind the zbar is:
- If a contibrutor drives the traffic from their site, blog, email, or by some other link, then the zbar will appear.
- If Zazzle drives the traffic, via our marketplace, via our own SEO efforts, or our own marketing campaigns, then the full Zazzle header will appear.
With regards, to #1, we currently have a bug where email links do not show the zbar, but this will be fixed shortly.
The reason for the above philosophy is that we need to think of things from both the buyer’s and seller’s perspectives when we launch new features on the site. If a buyer comes to Zazzle directly and starts browsing around the site, it can be disturbing and difficult to navigate if common navigation links disappear every time you enter a gallery. It is a bad browsing experience. But if a buyer comes to a seller’s website and then links over to Zazzle, the zbar will appear and allow the seller to have their own branded experience all the way through checkout with minimal Zazzle branding.
Please let me know if you have any further questions.
Regards,
Mike
Mike Talvensaari
Director, Product Management
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/9/2007
Posts: 382
Location: Yokohama
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Rainmountain wrote:
Do you host your own WP blog or is it a free WP blog?
I host my own. I don't link with the Zazzle star anyway so it is not an issue for me but it will be for some people.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 11/9/2007
Posts: 382
Location: Yokohama
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BTW. @Mike - I posted my opinion about the zbar in the other thread.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 9/21/2004
Posts: 4
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I really like the look of the new bar. It's a great idea and think it could result in more sales for everyone. I think it may give a visitor more of a feeling of being in a shop. 
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 4/23/2006
Posts: 610
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webgrrl wrote:I dont understand what this zbar is? Ive read and reRead what you wrote, but, i still dont get it.. I'm with youwebgrrl...this is all mumbo jumbo to me. I have no idea what I am supposed to do with this info or if it is even beneficial. You haven't zazzled me on this one.
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 4/23/2006
Posts: 610
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ruderetro wrote:Wouldn't it be simpler just to change our headers and remove that search bar? There is already a marketplace version of our store that doesn't include our header. see...now this I understand. Good ol' plain english. 
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 4/14/2007
Posts: 1,730
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This is a BIG problem for those of us with multiple galleries! If I lead someone into my gallery from my outside website, they get the zbar... but when they click on my different categories (galleries), the search bar comes back. Then the search bar will stay there while they shop in my galleries. Even though I have my star on the links, it's not an outside link from gallery to gallery... therefore I have the unwanted search bar. How can those of us with this type of setup get rid of the search bar????? We need a solution for this.  edit: It's not just a multiple gallery problem... I'm going into certain galleries with the star & get the zbar, and when I click on a featured product, the search bar comes back. Is this a bug?
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Groups: Member
Joined: 3/14/2008
Posts: 13
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tshirtfun wrote:Is this a bug? It's bugging me. An easy solution is to make the zbar standard. Zazzle would have a lot of happy campers.
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Groups: Member
Joined: 5/30/2004
Posts: 4
Location: College Park
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@tshirtfun
Try adding &zbar=true to the end of those links
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Groups: ProSeller
Joined: 4/14/2007
Posts: 1,730
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Sketchee wrote:@tshirtfun
Try adding &zbar=true to the end of those links thanks for the idea... it works on the links going within one gallery, but it doesn't work when I try to link to another gallery Zazzle - please check my gallery and let me know how I can link to my sections for holidays, sports, etc... without getting the search bar
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Groups: Member
Joined: 11/16/2006
Posts: 57
Location: Los Altos
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Quote:
thanks for the idea... it works on the links going within one gallery, but it doesn't work when I try to link to another gallery
Zazzle - please check my gallery and let me know how I can link to my sections for holidays, sports, etc... without getting the search bar
I think your problem is that you are just adding &zbar=true to the end or a URL make a link that looks like this http://www.zazzle.com/tshirtfun*/&zbar=trueUnfortunately, this not what web-links usually look like. Normally, the first "&" in a link must be a question mark ("?"). So a correctly formatted URL would look like this. http://www.zazzle.com/tshirtfun*/?zbar=trueThe ?/& thing is really hard for people to get used to because it was clearly intended to make things easier for computers and computer programmers not users. I'm sure that you are not the only person with this problem.
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