CafePress Just Added New Products!

Shoes, more cases, baby stuff, maternity tank tops...wow. It's to late to do a full post tonight, but I know I know I'll be busy adding stuff tomorrow!

So Many Changes!

There have been so many changes in recent months at both CafePress and Zazzle, I don't know where to start.  I will be talking about these in more detail eventually, but for now I'm just going to list them.

At Zazzle

• Major Changes to Volume Bonus Program 
  Basically, they reduced the bonus, made it only available at a higher volume, and made it only apply to sales you referred, not sales from the marketplace.  Yeah, it sucks.  I understand that they were being very generous before...but I hate to see this become so unattainable for most sellers.

• 5% Mark Up Available
  You can now mark your products up by 5% if you want to.  You don't have to, but you can.

• Major Site Layout Change 
  Zazzle changed their layout to better fit iPad, iPod and other mobile devices.  We lost some of our ability to customize.

• New Papers for Invitations, and Envelopes
  They now have 11 paper paper types for invitations, and new colored envelopes!  This blog post has a good overview of 8 of these.

• New Products
  They have added flip flops, watches, candy tins, and Case Savvy iPad.  The flip flops come in black and white in both mens and womens styles.  The candy tins and watches come in various styles and colors.  See a few examples of the watches and tins below...

At CafePress

• New Profiles and Dashboards
  CafePress is now a lot more interactive.  You have a profile where people can see your latest designs (which they can like and follow).  You can follow others and get news about other CP artists designs, as well as news about your sales and such.  Very nice...I like this.  More on this here.

• New Commission Changes
  They are making marketplace commission changes based on volume sold of certain designs.  It would raise some marketplace commissions to up to 15% but lower others under 10%.  They are framing it as a "reward" for high sellers, but I'm very leery of what this may do to a lot of little guys.  I don't sell much on CafePress anymore, but when I do sell, I'd like it to AT LEAST get 10% commission.  More on this here.

• New Design and List Tool, and Other Updates
  They have a new design and list tool that looks cool, and a lot of other new updates you can see here.

• New Products
  They have quietly, without announcement, added Neoprene lunch bags and diaper bags.  The lunch bags show up under new products, but the diaper bags you have to search under Baby to find.

• New Products
  They have quietly, without announcement, added Neoprene lunch bags and diaper bags.  The lunch bags show up under new products, but the diaper bags you have to search under Baby to find.

• New Products
  They have quietly, without announcement, added Neoprene lunch bags and diaper bags.  The lunch bags show up under new products, but the diaper bags you have to search under Baby to find.

Whew!  Good changes and bad changes all mixed together there.  Sorry I didn't get these announcements posted sooner.  Been busy with real life (and a MESS at Squidoo, where there's been a lot of changes going on too.  More on THAT later too, hopefully,  for those who use that service).  

POD Giveaways

Here are all the giveaways I could find from various print on demand services and POD shops (whether they're sponsored by the POD or by individual artists who work through them.) If you know of any others, please let me know!



Artist/Shopkeeper/Blogger Sponsored Giveaways

These giveaways are sponsored by artists who work through PODS.   They are usually for specific items from the artist's shop.  (I haven't found any yet this week...so if you know of any please share)

Yam Yam Giveaway (Winners Chosen Every Friday Until July 30) - Zazzle

I Love My 2nd Graders Hoodie (6/12) - CafePress

POD Sponsored Giveaways
The following giveaways are sponsored by various print on demand services.  I list the blog it's posted on as well so you can better keep track of which ones you've entered.

CafePress Cassette Tape iPhone Case (7/24)

$25 CafePress GC at Sweeps 4 Bloggers (7/27)

$25 CafePress GC at MommyFactor (6/3) - Low Entry

$25 CafePress GC at Elitemama (6/6)

Retro phone case from CafePress at Hip Mama's Place (6/8)

$25 CafePress GC at Just Us Girls (6/11)


$25 CafePress GC at Savings in Seconds (6/16)

$50 CafePress GC at A Little Umbrella (6/19)

Design Tips and Tricks

Various articles to help you get your designs looking their best.

Testing Fonts and Dark Stroking on Dark Shirts

Article shows a test of various font sizes, and the difference between color areas with a tiny dark "stroke" (1 pixel outline) and without (on CafePress Dark Shirts). VERY USEFUL!

CafePress Color Swatch Test

Shows a color swatch and font size test on various CafePress shirts. I like this one because you can download the original color swatch so the you can sample the colors.

Kerning

A technique for good looking text designs.

CMYK vs. RGB - Things You Should Know

Helps you learn how to best use color so that your designs look the same printed as they do on screen.

List of Cool Color Tools

Helpful resources when picking out your colors.

Pod Reviews

Trying to find a good print on demand service?  These review sites may help.

My POD Reviews

A detailed comparison of the four print on demand services I've used:  CafePress, Zazzle, Printfection, and ArtsNow.   

Which POD Gets Your Nod

This article by Tees in a POD (my new favorite POD blog) gives a detailed comparison of six major PODS: Zazzle, Skreened, CafePress, Printfection, Redbubble, and Spreadshirt. They compare print size, printing method, affiliate programs, payment, and more. I highly suggest this article!

CafePress vs. Zazzle

A squidoo lens comparing Zazzle and CafePress.

CafePress vs. the Competition

This lens compares Cafepress to Printfection, Zazzle, and Spreadshirt. It's a good comparison, but some of the information on it is old (like, it says on Zazzle you can not set your own mark-up, which now you can.)

T-Shirt Printers Review

This site reviews 10 different t-shrit printers. While most of these aren't print on demand, they do cover most of the major print on demand prodiders.

What's the Best POD Service

This lens does a very good job of reviewing the major POD services (though a few items he mentions are outdated): CafePress, Zazzle, Printfection, Spreadshirt, RedBubble.

Selling Art on CafePress, Zazzle, RedBubble

This lens shares one artists experience with several PODS and opens a discussion about how these sites use your images and whether they misuse them.

CafePress vs. Zazzle

A short comparison of CafePress vs. Zazzle - written in March, 2012. It includes some stats on traffic and earnings as well as the shopkeepers personal experience.

POD Giveaways

Here are all the giveaways I could find from various print on demand services and POD shops (whether they're sponsored by the POD or by individual artists who work through them.) If you know of any others, please let me know!

Artist/Shopkeeper/Blogger Sponsored Giveaways
These giveaways are sponsored by artists who work through PODS.   They are usually for specific items from the artist's shop.

Set of 5 x 7 Pretty Poison Prints by Elvenstar Art (7/12) - Possibly Zazzle


POD Sponsored Giveaways
The following giveaways are sponsored by various print on demand services.

Spoonflower Fabric and Collete Pattern (7/9)

$50 Zazzle Giftcard at the Mommyhood Chronicles ( 7/10)

CafePress Gremlins Bag (7/11)

Where to Find Free Graphics to Use Commercially

The following places have free graphics which you are allowed to use on CafePress. Each site may have specific restrictions on this, so make sure to look for site rules and read them.

Anita Vallle Art

Some fun graphics, free to use, even commercially.

Graphics Fairy

She posts free public domain images. She asks that you not use any more than 6 on a page or single project.

Open Clip Art Gallery

Free clip art that can be used commercially, no strings attached.

More Places to Find Free Graphics

Theres some more places to find free graphics here...but not all are to be used commercially, so review their terms carefully./

Free Commericial Use Resources | BedazzledByZazzle.com

Bedazzled by Zazzle has a bunch of graphics free for commercial use which can be used POD products: Calendars, Backgrounds, Clock Faces and More!

Free Calendar Graphics - 2013
Calendar graphics free to use in print on demand shops.

Free Clock Graphics

Useful clock faces free for commercial use!