Has Anyone Tried Zazzle.com?

chuckinsocalchuckinsocal Registered Users Posts: 932 Major grins
edited March 12, 2008 in Mind Your Own Business
I tripped over Zazzle.com the other day and it looks kind of interesting and maybe even fun. Has anyone tried it? Any feedback good or bad?

Thanks.

Chuck Cannova
http://chuckinsocal.SmugMug.com
Chuck Cannova
www.socalimages.com
Artistically & Creatively Challenged

Comments

  • ChrisJChrisJ Registered Users Posts: 2,164 Major grins
    edited March 9, 2008
    I've used them a few times and have been generally happy. The shirts are good quality. I only printed simple images, and one of the prints came back not quite as covered as I liked, but not enough to send back. I still wear it all the time!
    Chris
  • bhambham Registered Users Posts: 1,303 Major grins
    edited March 9, 2008
    I have printed about 6 different custom designed t-shirts. Front pocket design and rear designed and I was blown away by the quality. They were all printed on Hanes Beefy T-shirts. For those of you unfamiliar, they are the top quality (and usually price) IMHO. The shirts have been washed many, many times and they still look good. What particularly impressed me was how the outer glow that faded to nothing came out. Very smooth. A friend that has a business doing the fade advised me that he had a hard time doing it and looking well.

    I did the design myself though, and uploaded it.

    I also did a design on a black t-shirt. I was not thrilled with the results. A simplier design would have worked much better. They redid the black shirt and it was better, but doing multiple colors on black is difficult.
    "A photo is like a hamburger. You can get one from McDonalds for $1, one from Chili's for $5, or one from Ruth's Chris for $15. You usually get what you pay for, but don't expect a Ruth's Chris burger at a McDonalds price, if you want that, go cook it yourself." - me
  • ElaineElaine Registered Users Posts: 3,532 Major grins
    edited March 9, 2008
    I've had a couple calendars printed through zazzle and while they were OK, they didn't blow my socks off. I was actually disappointed in how dark and muddy the pics printed on the calendar and I'm hoping to try a different company for calendars next time.
    Elaine

    Comments and constructive critique always welcome!

    Elaine Heasley Photography
  • AngeloAngelo Super Moderators Posts: 8,937 moderator
    edited March 9, 2008
    I've always used T-shirt Pros with great success and satisfaction. 9especially for anyone in southern CA)
    www.angelo.smugmug.com

    Moderator of: Location, Location, Location , Mind Your Own Business & Other Cool Shots
  • bhambham Registered Users Posts: 1,303 Major grins
    edited March 9, 2008
    The major difference is you can do 1 shirt (at zazzle) at a very reasonable price, I think mine where about $20 for full color on the back and front (I only used 1 on front, but could have used all colors).

    The t-shirt pros has at a minimum 24, according to the site quote.

    Two very different markets. One company is trying to sell t-shirts (usually one at a time) to individuals, the other is looking to sell to company, individuals, etc that are buying in bulk.

    My friends business targets groups as well but couldn't touch the same price point because of the artwork, setup charges, etc until about 36 shirts. I pretty sure you will find the same true for many other companies that do screen printing, etc. Especially for the same quality of t-shirt (hanes beefy T).
    "A photo is like a hamburger. You can get one from McDonalds for $1, one from Chili's for $5, or one from Ruth's Chris for $15. You usually get what you pay for, but don't expect a Ruth's Chris burger at a McDonalds price, if you want that, go cook it yourself." - me
  • chuckinsocalchuckinsocal Registered Users Posts: 932 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2008
    Thanks All ...
    I wonder if it's worth the time and effort to design a bunch of products with my images (custom, classic, vintage, etc cars) on them and set up a "store" where people can order them. I experimented with a couple of products and it's not that hard once you get the hang of of it. I wonder how many people actually "shop" at zazzle and what the odds are of someone actually finding my stuff.

    Chuck Cannova
    http://chuckinsocal.SmugMug.com
    Chuck Cannova
    www.socalimages.com
    Artistically & Creatively Challenged
  • JDrakeJDrake Registered Users Posts: 49 Big grins
    edited March 10, 2008
    I use CafePress for this kind of stuff. I have been using them for about a year now and I've actually made some $$ from them too by selling designs I made on T shirts and also of calendars of my photography and my pony's paitnings. I have the store set up for mainly my Pony's painting business....but I also have some photography and artwork up there too.

    Here is a link to the calendars I have made/sold... I had a repeat customer who bought more calendars after she got the first one (the at liberty calendar).
    http://www.cafepress.com/paintingpony/3888759
    The Painting Pony - Raising $ for Equine Cushings Disease Research.

    Drake Photography - My Home on the Web
  • bhambham Registered Users Posts: 1,303 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2008
    chuckinsocal wrote:
    I wonder if it's worth the time and effort to design a bunch of products with my images (custom, classic, vintage, etc cars) on them and set up a "store" where people can order them. I experimented with a couple of products and it's not that hard once you get the hang of of it. I wonder how many people actually "shop" at zazzle and what the odds are of someone actually finding my stuff.

    Chuck Cannova
    http://chuckinsocal.SmugMug.com

    You could, but to get people there I would keyword your site well and then once you created the products have a link from the gallery with the custom, classic, & vintage cars to the zazzle shop. When you create zazzle products they ask you to categorize each one. If I remember correctly it also then subcategorized it as well. It make it very specific. The one I remember was a photo, it started in the US, then state, then city. You had to do at least one, but could do more.

    You should try and search for products with similar images, that is what I did and found little there, so no much competition.
    "A photo is like a hamburger. You can get one from McDonalds for $1, one from Chili's for $5, or one from Ruth's Chris for $15. You usually get what you pay for, but don't expect a Ruth's Chris burger at a McDonalds price, if you want that, go cook it yourself." - me
  • DeeDee Registered Users Posts: 2,981 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2008
    I've created loads of products at Zazzle. The postage stamps seem to do the best, but I've sold cards, mousepads and keychains too.

    While I've created over 200 products, I've only seen one of mine, a stamp I made. I ordered a sheet to see how they look.

    Zazzle uses their stamps to send out their royalty checks. The first ones were uncoated and they looked all right. The new stamps are all coated with a glossy finish and the colors look a lot better.

    As for calendars and printed photos, although they accept RGB .jpg files, I'd work in CMYK first, set my white point to 5 and my black point to 95. When I had the photo the way I wanted it, then I'd convert it to srgb and save it as a jpg file. This way there should be less disappointment with the colors and blacks.
    http://www.deegolden.smugmug.com
    http://www.twitter.com/deegolden
  • bhambham Registered Users Posts: 1,303 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2008
    JDrake wrote:
    I use CafePress for this kind of stuff. I have been using them for about a year now and I've actually made some $$ from them too by selling designs I made on T shirts and also of calendars of my photography and my pony's paitnings. I have the store set up for mainly my Pony's painting business....but I also have some photography and artwork up there too.

    Here is a link to the calendars I have made/sold... I had a repeat customer who bought more calendars after she got the first one (the at liberty calendar).
    http://www.cafepress.com/paintingpony/3888759

    I printed a couple shirts from them. I didn't like them as well as zazzle. Like most things try both for different products and use which you prefer or both. Between the 2 you should cover a good bit. I think they each have some products the other doesn't offer. I think I saw a thong on CafePress that you could customize.
    "A photo is like a hamburger. You can get one from McDonalds for $1, one from Chili's for $5, or one from Ruth's Chris for $15. You usually get what you pay for, but don't expect a Ruth's Chris burger at a McDonalds price, if you want that, go cook it yourself." - me
  • chuckinsocalchuckinsocal Registered Users Posts: 932 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2008
    WOW ... it's getting overwhelming.

    As it is now, I'm spending 12-14 hours per day at my computer managing, tweaking, and promoting my SmugMug site. Maybe that's way too much, I don't know. I might be busy doing all the wrong things.

    Adding a 2nd or 3rd site seems to be a double edged sword. On one hand I'm increasing my exposure in different market places which is probably a good thing.

    On the other hand, I may be spreading myself too thin by touching only the surfaces of 2-3 things (smugmug, zazzle, cafe press) and not getting deep enough into anyone of them to be effective.

    I'm pretty sure I have a marketable niche, custom, classic, vintage and other cool cars. I'm finding that these people are passionate about their cars even if they don't own one. It's more a matter of reaching them and convincing them that I have what they want (or,that they want what I have).

    I'm starting to ramble now so I better cut it short here. Thanks again for all your replies.

    Chuck Cannova
    http://chuckinsocal.SmugMug.com
    Chuck Cannova
    www.socalimages.com
    Artistically & Creatively Challenged
  • bhambham Registered Users Posts: 1,303 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2008
    chuckinsocal wrote:
    WOW ... it's getting overwhelming.

    As it is now, I'm spending 12-14 hours per day at my computer managing, tweaking, and promoting my SmugMug site. Maybe that's way too much, I don't know. I might be busy doing all the wrong things.

    Adding a 2nd or 3rd site seems to be a double edged sword. On one hand I'm increasing my exposure in different market places which is probably a good thing.

    On the other hand, I may be spreading myself too thin by touching only the surfaces of 2-3 things (smugmug, zazzle, cafe press) and not getting deep enough into anyone of them to be effective.

    I'm pretty sure I have a marketable niche, custom, classic, vintage and other cool cars. I'm finding that these people are passionate about their cars even if they don't own one. It's more a matter of reaching them and convincing them that I have what they want (or,that they want what I have).

    I'm starting to ramble now so I better cut it short here. Thanks again for all your replies.

    Chuck Cannova
    http://chuckinsocal.SmugMug.com

    Well based on your photos, if I were you, I would probably use some classic and vintage cars for a few cool things. Don't spend to much time if you don't feel you will get a return, but maybe a few shirts that you could wear while shooting that have your business name and cool examples of what you can do. You become a walking advertisement.
    "A photo is like a hamburger. You can get one from McDonalds for $1, one from Chili's for $5, or one from Ruth's Chris for $15. You usually get what you pay for, but don't expect a Ruth's Chris burger at a McDonalds price, if you want that, go cook it yourself." - me
  • chuckinsocalchuckinsocal Registered Users Posts: 932 Major grins
    edited March 10, 2008
    Now that I think more about it, it may be time to let SmugMug simmer on the back burner for a while and spend some time putting images on coffee cups, mouse pads and such. If people don't want to buy the image, maybe they'll buy a coffee mug with the image on it. Plus, it'll provide a little vacation of sorts from what I've been doing and that could be a good thing.

    Chuck Cannova
    http://chuckinsocal.SmugMug.com
    Chuck Cannova
    www.socalimages.com
    Artistically & Creatively Challenged
  • camera ladycamera lady Registered Users Posts: 20 Big grins
    edited March 11, 2008
    zazzle
    chuckinsocal wrote:
    I tripped over Zazzle.com the other day and it looks kind of interesting and maybe even fun. Has anyone tried it? Any feedback good or bad?

    Thanks.

    Chuck Cannova
    http://chuckinsocal.SmugMug.com

    I used them for a photo statue. I was pleased.
    www.mccranie.smugmug.com/\
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited March 11, 2008
    JDrake wrote:
    I use CafePress for this kind of stuff. I have been using them for about a year now and I've actually made some $$ from them too by selling designs I made on T shirts and also of calendars of my photography and my pony's paitnings. I have the store set up for mainly my Pony's painting business....but I also have some photography and artwork up there too.

    Here is a link to the calendars I have made/sold... I had a repeat customer who bought more calendars after she got the first one (the at liberty calendar).
    http://www.cafepress.com/paintingpony/3888759


    Is this a free or paid for Cafe Press store?

    Cool Calendars BTW....quite a talented pony you there.....thumb.gif
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • bhambham Registered Users Posts: 1,303 Major grins
    edited March 11, 2008
    Art Scott wrote:
    Is this a free or paid for Cafe Press store?

    Cool Calendars BTW....quite a talented pony you there.....thumb.gif

    I am pretty sure all Zazzle and CafePress store fronts are free.
    "A photo is like a hamburger. You can get one from McDonalds for $1, one from Chili's for $5, or one from Ruth's Chris for $15. You usually get what you pay for, but don't expect a Ruth's Chris burger at a McDonalds price, if you want that, go cook it yourself." - me
  • JDrakeJDrake Registered Users Posts: 49 Big grins
    edited March 11, 2008
    I upgraded my store on cafepress and I haven't regretted it since! I have made back what I paid for the subscription (which is only like $6 a month) and then some. If you have good designs....you are sure to to make money on there especially if you pay attention to your SEO. Someone had posted a poll on their forum awhile back for people to post how much they made last year and I was amazed there were SEVERAL people making well over 20K (a few even over 100K) a year JUST from cafepress. Now I am trying to figure out how to do just that lol....

    It is something you can get going good and then watch it make money for you even on vacation. (it takes a lot of work to get going to that point - but in my opinion, is worth it). From what I have learned - the more designs you have to offer - the more you make.

    It especially works well for people who have an external site to draw in traffic.
    The Painting Pony - Raising $ for Equine Cushings Disease Research.

    Drake Photography - My Home on the Web
  • Art ScottArt Scott Registered Users Posts: 8,959 Major grins
    edited March 11, 2008
    JDrake wrote:
    I upgraded my store on cafepress and I haven't regretted it since! I have made back what I paid for the subscription (which is only like $6 a month) and then some. If you have good designs....you are sure to to make money on there especially if you pay attention to your SEO. Someone had posted a poll on their forum awhile back for people to post how much they made last year and I was amazed there were SEVERAL people making well over 20K (a few even over 100K) a year JUST from cafepress. Now I am trying to figure out how to do just that lol....

    It is something you can get going good and then watch it make money for you even on vacation. (it takes a lot of work to get going to that point - but in my opinion, is worth it). From what I have learned - the more designs you have to offer - the more you make.

    It especially works well for people who have an external site to draw in traffic.

    Thanx.....I have signed up for a free store front and need to get my tail in gear and get the designs going now that I am no longer working 60-72 hrs a wk....thanks again
    "Genuine Fractals was, is and will always be the best solution for enlarging digital photos." ....Vincent Versace ... ... COPYRIGHT YOUR WORK ONLINE ... ... My Website

  • TommyboyTommyboy Registered Users Posts: 590 Major grins
    edited March 12, 2008
    156840313_9XcNB-L.jpg

    I bought this shirt (me on the right) from Zazzle. It seemed a bit pricey at the time ($30 if I remember) but it is VERY high quality. The shirt remains one of my favorites and the silk screen (I guess) has held up to multiple washings. It's nearing two years old.
    "Press the shutter when you are sure of success." —Kim Jong-il

    NEW Smugmug Site
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