Again, I don’t disparage Cafepress for wanting to make more money. What I disparage them for is doing it on the backs of those of us that make them successful and giving no significant notice of these changes for the most part. Call us “employees”, call us “business partners”, call us “independent contractors”, I don’t care which. The fact is that whatever you call us, we are Cafepress. (more…)

Cafepress:

You have begun doing some things that are upsetting a lot of people that helped make you what you are today and getting in the way of them continuing to help you grow. Previously you limited premium shop sizes to 500 sections, increased base prices on some items and now are rearranging the way commissions are being pay with one obvious goal – to increase revenues on the backs of those that are your lifeblood. (more…)

This week, without any warning, Cafepress dropped a bomb that is going to affect nearly everyone that has helped them become what they are by creating designs and letting CP sell them online. This bomb is that CP is changing the way they pay their volume bonus to the detriment of shopkeepers. Not only are they changing this, but the changes are going into effect August 1st. Notification of this change came on July 23rd. Talk about giving shopkeepers no time to adjust! (more…)

There are many different reasons business fail and much of it is debatable but there are some common mistakes that are detrimental in business failure.

Some of the reason many business fail are due to the following reasons: (more…)

Businesses have to stay modern to compete with other businesses that are popping up all over the world, and all over the Internet. One of the ways businesses stay modern is to rebrand themselves. If you are preparing to rebrand your company, read on for mistakes to avoid while in the rebranding process: (more…)

We’re writing to let you know that beginning on July 28, 2008 we will be implementing Base Price increases to some of our products.

We understand that price increases are unpopular; please know that we made this decision after careful consideration of Shopkeepers impact. With the rising cost of goods and labor modest price increases became a necessary business decision. And, as you know, with the exception of a few products last year, we haven’t had a merchandise price increase in over 9 years.

Effective July 28th, Base Prices will increase as follows:

White T-Shirt - $14.99
Women’s T-Shirt - $14.99
Dog T-Shirt - $16.99
Rectangle Magnets:
• Single Rectangle Magnet - $3.49
• 10 pack - $19.99
• 100 pack - $139.99
2.25″ Magnet - $2.99
Buttons:
• Mini Button - $1.49
• 2.25″ Button - $2.99
• 3.5″ Button - $3.49
Black Cap - $14.99
Cap - $14.99
Stickers:
• Bumper Sticker - $3.49
• Oval Sticker - $2.99
• Rectangle Sticker - $2.99
Journal - $9.49
Single Greeting Card - $2.99

We will see how this will effect sales in the long run. On t-shirts I doubt very much since it is a small percent, but on bumper stickers it is a much larger increase and I’m not about to cut my margins and profits.

When it comes to selecting a name for your business you would assume it is the easiest part of the start up process. But in fact, there is a lot you have to take into consideration. After all, your business name acts as your identity. A poor name could keep people from even coming to your site, let alone becoming a customer. (more…)

So you want to ditch corporate America, work for yourself, be your own boss. You want your commute to be a trip to your downstairs office where you can work in your pajamas if you want to. Nice thought, but what on earth would you do to make this dream possible? (more…)