So my sister plays the flute, and I was checking out the flute shirts at Zazzle for a potential gift. I knew Zazzle’s marketplace had problems, but my eyes have been opened to just how hard it is for a potential customer to find anything.
Typing in flute brings up 9172 results on 306 pages. The first page is sorta okay. Starting at the second half of the first page all the way through page 15, it is completely dominated by two stores with nothing but text designs (variations of “World’s Hottest Flautist” “Proud Mom/Dad of a Flautist” “I Heart Flautists” etc).
The next couple pages are okay, then those same two stores are back for pages 18-28.
Two more pages, and then another store dominates for four pages. Rinse and repeat.
Seriously, do I really need to see 15 black shirts in a row with the exact same design?
This is a major problem for Zazzle. I found a lot of nice designs buried about 70 pages in, but what are the chances that regular customers will go that far?
Cafepress had the same problem a few years ago before they switched to the image based search. I hope that Zazzle has something similar in the works.
Tags: zazzle marketplace
I agree. That is the way Zazzle should have done if from the begining. They’ve created a fantastic API and Flash application where you can put the design on any shirt/model. I dislike that idea (which came from cafepress, and the shopkeepers moving over) that you have to feature your design on 100 different shirts. It’s redundant, and like you said leads the the marketplace problem.
The fact is Zazzle and Cafe Press both have some major issues, if you ignore the search issue you listed, the PRICES are often KILLERS!
I”m not really sure if anyone sells anything on those sites, other than bands who have a specific group to sell to and need the services that Zazzle and Cafe press provide.
Actually, I don’t think the price is that big of an issue. If people want a $5.00 t-shirt, they will go to Wal-mart. My shirts were marked up $8-$10 minimum, and I made plenty of sales to people willing to pay $25-$30 for a t-shirt. (And I’m not in a band)