From Four Figures To Barely Three In Nothing Flat
… or how Cafepress has turned me from a top shopkeeper into nothing.
Another update as to how things are going at Cafepress for my stores. Well, as everyone knows when marketplace sales no longer counted towards the volume bonus my income from that site took a big hit. It dropped from a healthy four figures a month down to barely reaching $1,000. Now, since the newest market place changes, something CP promoted as going to help its quality shopkeepers, I will be very lucky to make even half that this month.
Sales in the marketplace are lower than ever and sinking like a stone since the “improvements” and there is no sign of this turning around any time soon. Once the fixed 10% commissions on market place sales come into play I am fearful that profits from CP will struggle to break $100 a month.
I am also getting similar and equally distressing reports from other, formerly, top shopkeepers as well. That is why I am officially removing, as of today, Cafepress from my recommended list of PoD services. I honestly thought that this day would never come but let’s face facts here. Their platform is broken and it is harder than ever to make money in an already competitive business so you do not need the hassle of using a platform that does not reward your hard work.
Sorry Cafepress, but until you get things fixed I will not recommend your service to anyone. As such CP’s site wide link has been removed until further notice.
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J.J. Jackson is President of Land of the Free Studios, Inc. and Cafepress “Top Shopkeeper”. He has been selling t-shirts on-line since 2004 and is the owner of the T-Shirt Entrepreneur, a site dedicated to helping people get involved in the T-shirt Economy. He is also the owner of Funny When Wet T-shirts, American Infidel Tshirts, Uber Gamer T-shirts as well as many other online t-shirt and gift stores.
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May 6th, 2009 at 6:17 am
I too was a top shopkeeper at Cafepress and my sales have already plummeted- opening many galleries at Zazzle – and in all of my blogs Io longer support the suggestion for anyone to use Cafeprss- we’ll see you there – Zazzle is making leaps and bounds to implement things to make the gallery owners money and help them with promotion unlike the gestapo Cafepress.
May 14th, 2009 at 3:29 pm
I wasn’t even close to being a top shopkeeper, but have recommended the same – use another POD to my readers.
I am also pondering eating the yearly fee I just paid on my new shop since I don’t think it will be worth the time spent on loading “designs” to it.
June 8th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
I was a top shopkeeper at CafePress as well. I’ve gone from $3000/month to wondering if I’ll hit $500 this month. I won’t post any new designs at CP. Zazzle is getting them all now. I may check out Skreened though.