Name Your Royalty

Specify how much money you make on the products you sell on Zazzle with our Name Your Royalty feature. Set your royalty at 20%, 50% -- whatever you want -- and we will increase the product price to pay you the royalty you want.

Why is this important?

You have the right to set the value on your work. You've spent time creating designs and you know the worth of your efforts. Because of this, we've made it easy for you to set the prices for whatever you sell at Zazzle.

How does Name Your Royalty work?

Every product on Zazzle starts with a standard price. For example:

• Basic White T-shirt: £12.95
• Men's organic T-shirt (American Apparel): £19.95
• Ladies' baby doll (fitted) T-shirt: £16.95
• 16"x20" poster: £19.95
• Greeting Card: £2.95
• Bumper Sticker: £3.95

Each of these products (in fact, every product sold on Zazzle) includes a 10% royalty that will be paid to the product's creator. Take a Basic White T-shirt for example. When a customer buys one of your designs for £15.95 you will earn £1.59 (Zazzle's cost is £14.36).

Naming Your Royalty

Let's say you want to earn more than 10% or £1.59 for your shirt design. You can set the royalty rate anywhere from 10% to 99%. Whenever you increase the royalty rate, we add the increase to the price the customer pays. Since Zazzle's costs are fixed, you will earn all of the increase.

It's easy to calculate your royalties using this formula: (0.9*standard price) / (1-royalty), and the price is rounded to the nearest nickel. Let's say you increase your royalty on the £15.95 shirt from 10% to 20%: (0.9*15.95) / (1-20%) = 14.355 / 0.8 = 17.94375, and the final price is rounded to £17.95. You earn £3.59.

Product Options and Customization

Your royalty rate applies to every product option the customer chooses. When you post a T-shirt design for sale, you choose the style and color of the shirt to customize with your design. If the customer applies your design to a different T-shirt style and color, you will receive the royalty percentage you set, based on the final price of the shirt the customer buys. If they pay more, you earn more.

If you allow customization of your design, no matter what the buyer does, you will still receive your full royalty.

Upcharges

Buyers can select some product options that increase the basic cost of a product. We call these "upcharges." They reflect additional costs Zazzle incurs. Examples of upcharges include:

• Custom framing, matting, and glazing on posters and prints
• Extra-large apparel sizes (2XL and up)

You will receive 10% of what your customers pay for any upcharges.

Transaction Fee

For any sale with a royalty in excess of 20%, we will deduct a 5% transaction fee from the amount you earn. The transaction fee helps us to cover additional costs we must pay for credit card and royalty payment processing.

FAQ:

What royalty rate do you recommend?

It depends on you how you value your work, and what you feel customers want to pay. There are scores of customers who willingly pay more for bright ideas and great designs. Other customers prefer less expensive options.

For most Zazzle products, we recommend a royalty of less than 50%. The standard prices for most Zazzle products are set so that with royalties up to 50%, the prices will still be within what customers expect to pay at retail. At the higher rates, the retail comparables would be for high-end art and design. Generally, we see royalties averaging between 10% and 25%.

For posters and prints, because of the quality of the finished product, the sky is the limit. We use industry-leading printing technology to reproduce your work with 100+ year archival inks on seven different media, from basic poster paper to two kinds of canvas. Add custom framing to the mix and it's safe to say Zazzle prints are true works of art. You should feel comfortable setting a royalty that reflects the value you place on your work. We see royalties as high as 80%-90% on prints and poster art.

How do I set my royalty?

Whenever you post a product for sale (or go back to edit your product) use the "Royalty" form on the product page to set your royalty. The default is 10%. This form also shows the price for the product and the amount you'll earn on a sale. If you change the royalty, the form will update the product price and your earnings.

If you want to fine-tune the product price, royalty, or amount you earn, click on "advanced calculator."

How often can I change my royalty?

As often as you like. You can make changes to test various prices or offer special promotions. Otherwise, just pick a royalty rate that is fair to you and your customers.

What happens with discounts and promotions?

Zazzle offers volume discounts to customers who buy multiples of a given product. Zazzle also runs promotions and offers discounts to encourage customers to spend more money buying your products. We base your royalty payment on the discounted price the customer pays .

Can I set my royalty as high as 99%?

Sure, but it won't encourage sales. Take a £19.95 shirt for example. If you price it with a 99% royalty, it will cost £1,795.50. But hey, if some rich person wants to buy your shirt, we'll be happy to make it and give you the 99% royalty.

What if my product is sold as a result of a "Referred Sale"?

"Referred Sale" means a sale where Zazzle incurs a cost to acquire that sale. Examples of Referred Sales include: sales arising from Zazzle's Associate Program; sales resulting from a referral through a registered Affiliate channel; sales resulting from our Search Engine Marketing efforts; and sales resulting from our special relationship with Google Base. Let's say a Zazzle Associate likes a particular t-shirt you designed and they put a link to it on their website or blog. When a buyer comes to Zazzle through that link and buys your shirt, we pay the Zazzle Associate a referral fee for referring that order to your product.

If my product sale is referred, does Zazzle pay the referral fee or do I?

Zazzle pays the referral fee on your behalf, and we back that fee out of the calculation of your royalty. We always use a flat referral fee of 20% for every referred sale calculation. For example, on a t-shirt with a base price of £12.00 and a 30% royalty markup, the total net sales price will be £14.40, and you would normally earn a £3.60 royalty. But in the case of a referred sale, the calculation changes a little. From the total net sales price, we deduct the 20% referral fee right off the top of the total net sales price. To continue our same example, we will deduct £2.88 from the net sales price of the t-shirt if it is a referred sale (£14.40 x 20% is £2.88). That leaves a new "royalty-eligible" sales price of £11.52 (£14.40 - £2.88 is £11.52). Your 30% royalty is calculated on that value, so you will earn £3.46 in royalty fees (£11.52 x 30% is £3.46). In this example, you give up 24 cents of royalty in order to acquire that order.The 20% referral fee is only backed out of your royalty calculation when there is a cost associated with acquiring that particular order. It is important to remember that although your royalty is slightly reduced, without the referral there would not have been any order at all!

The 20% referral fee is only backed out of your royalty calculation when there is a cost associated with acquiring that particular order. It is important to remember that although your royalty is slightly reduced, without the referral there would not have been any order at all!

How did Zazzle come up with 20% for the referral program fee?

While the base referral fee in Zazzle's Associate Program is 15%, our Associates usually refer enough sales to earn volume bonuses, ranging up to 32%. Certain other referral channels, such as the Affiliate and SEM channels, can be even more expensive than that. The blended average cost of maintaining the different referral programs, all of which are designed to drive more prospective buyers to your products, is actually more than 20%. But we believe 20% is fair and easy for you and Zazzle to manage, and it's helpful to have one flat rate in order to keep expectations totally consistent.

Can I earn referral fees?

Yes and it's easy to get started. See the details of the Zazzle Associate Referral Program

Watch the Video

Zazzle referral link builder