So You Want My Opinion Do You?
Because based on the emails asking me what I think is going on over at Cafepress you do. In the wake of all of the recent, and very substantial changes at Cafepress there are a lot of questions as to what exactly is going on in the offices over there. Why would a company upset so many of the people that made them so successful? Why would they seem to not care that they are flooding over to other PoDs and uploading their same designs there and only increasing CP’s competition? Why announce such major changes with only 30-days notice when such changes can drastically affect revenue for shopkeepers who already have business plans 12-months out that require a certain amount of cash flow each month?
Personally I think these things all point to one plan. Each of these moves are designed with one thing in mind – the bottom line of Cafepress. Since we are told that Cafepress is not in any sort of financial trouble, and if they were they wouldn’t tell us anyway, everything mirrors what I have seen many times over.
I personally believe that the owners are trying to position themselves for a sale of the company. Yes, this has been denied, but if the company is not in financial difficulty then why make such drastic changes which will certainly help CP in the short term. But once all the shopkeepers get their Zazzle, etc. stores fully running it will certainly only hurt CP in the long run?
Quick changes to increase cash flow are only done for a couple reasons. The big one is to make the books look so awesome that they can command top dollar at sale. The second one is to try to stave off financial failure.
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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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June 7th, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Personally, I’m thankful to have been pushed into Zazzle’s arms…so much more potential! Skateboards, shoes, artsprojekt, oh my! My knight in shining armor. LOL!
June 20th, 2009 at 11:43 pm
JJ very grateful for your line of reasoning and I’ve been trying to get others to follow suit. There are other possibilities, maybe even the intention to pretty much eliminate shopkeepers and simply concentrate on mass market designs and corporate accounts.
It’s become obvious that they really don’t want to pay shopkeepers and don’t care about the backlash: yes, they might be prepping to sell out the company, but I am a bit worried that they might be gearing up to buy another POD company. Last year in July, they bought Imagekind, so it’s not unheard of that they are looking to scoop up another one this July. I have no evidence, just speculating.
There does have to be some reason for such drastic moves on the part of this company.
November 11th, 2009 at 7:48 am
Glad I pulled up stakes from CP and moved to Zazzle. My designs and time are worth more than the pennies they are now paying for commission. I see many familiar shopkeepers who have migrated as well. My hard work and determination to make my new presence at Zazzle is finally paying off.
It’s been four months now since I’ve closed up shop at CP and have no regrets, but their bad business decision still leaves a bitter taste in mouth. A recent visit to CP marketplace now shows the result of their decision, very few good designers have remained. It’s a matter of (short) time before this bites them in the behind and CP is no more.