Zazzle Review 2024: Features, Pros & Cons

• Zazzle is an online marketplace that enables individuals to design and sell products at a fixed price with a set profit margin.
• It has a large product catalog of over 1,000 items, and creating a product on Zazzle is easy.
• Unlike many print-on-demand services, it does not allow sellers to connect to their own site; however, sellers do gain visibility through its existing customer base, which can help new sellers drive more sales.
• Zazzle is one of the most popular online marketplaces for graphic designers and creatives, in general, looking to sell custom designs on a variety of products.

Pros

Zazzle has a number of advantages for sellers. Not only is it free and does not charge a listing fee like other marketplaces do, such as Etsy, it also gives designers the ability to create a passive income. The reason being is because products are solely listed on Zazzle, meaning that there’s no website upkeep like there would be if you were selling directly through, say, Shopify or WordPress. So in a sense, it’s well-aligned for those who wish to “set it and forget it.”

Additionally, Zazzle has a large product catalog and offers a number of items that competitors do not. For example, sellers can list digital downloads for sale or sell their custom designs on apparel, home goods, stationery or wall art as well as sell personalized items, such as a mug with the buyer’s name on it.

Cons

The downside of Zazzle for some sellers is that they are limited to selling on the Zazzle marketplace, whereas many of its leading competitors enable sellers to sell across a number of platforms, including their website, social networks and online marketplaces. It also does not allow users to set their own prices or customize product packaging. That said, Zazzle is generally not the ideal choice for a seller looking to build a brand.

Zazzle is a print-on-demand marketplace geared toward helping graphic designers and artists sell merchandise and custom-printed products, such as clothing, wall art and home goods. Unlike most print-on-demand services, it has a built-in design editor where users can create their own custom designs within Zazzle, as opposed to creating designs in third-party software, such as Canva or Adobe.

In addition to its own design editor, sellers also have the option to upload a design. When a customer purchases said design, Zazzle automatically manufactures and ships it directly to the customer. In other words, sellers never touch the products they sell and therefore also have zero overhead or product inventory.

The main feature of Zazzle is that it automatically prints custom, made-to-order products. It has a large product catalog with thousands of items to choose from and 30 million-plus customers, a user-friendly designer where users can upload their own graphics and designs and direct shipping so sellers never have to handle products or carry any overhead.

Existing Customer Base

One of the leading reasons why sellers choose Zazzle is because it gives them the ability to create and sell custom products without having to spend as much time and money marketing their products in order to get found online. Since Zazzle is an online marketplace, consumers come to Zazzle to browse the types of products it sells, so sellers don’t need to build their own online store or invest as heavily into marketing and advertising in order to land sales.

Product Catalog

Zazzle has an impressive product catalog with thousands of items across a variety of categories. While most print-on-demand services include all of the standard categories, such as clothing, home goods and technology accessories, Zazzle offers a number of other categories, including invitations and stationery, craft and party supplies, wedding goods, sports and games and office supplies.

Shipping

One of the benefits of print-on-demand products is that orders are automatically fulfilled and shipped directly to customers. While Zazzle lacks custom branding and therefore isn’t the ideal choice for businesses that are looking to build a brand, it also does not need the same degree of branding as other print-on-demand services, as customers are placing their order on Zazzle and therefore expect their order to be from Zazzle.

In terms of shipping time, customers have the option between standard shipping and premium shipping. Standard shipping takes between four to seven days and premium shipping takes between two to three days.

One unique aspect of Zazzle that is different from most of its competition is that it gives sellers the ability to sell instant downloads. This opens the door to additional sales that other platforms do not offer. On top of that, it’s also unique in that sellers do not set their own price. Instead, items are sold at a fixed price across the site, and sellers get a percentage of the sales price. While this could be a downfall for those who want control over profit margins, it can also be a selling point, as it eliminates the need to worry about product pricing. Either way, it’s worth being aware of when deciding whether or not to sell on Zazzle.

It’s completely free to sell on Zazzle. The standard commission rate is 15%, giving sellers a transparent profit per order. It’s worth noting that this is a very different pricing structure from most print-on-demand services and online marketplaces. Generally, users see the cost of the product and set their own prices as a means to determine their unique profit margin.

To start selling on Zazzle, simply click the “Sell on Zazzle” button in the upper right-hand corner. From there, select the option to create an account and input your email and password or log in using Facebook, Google or Apple. Upon doing so, you will be directed to your new account dashboard.

In order to open your Zazzle store, you will need to verify your email address and click the “Start” button to activate your account. After doing so, you can then create your first store where you can select your store name and then begin creating products by browsing the product catalog and uploading your designs.

We don’t find Zazzle to be the most user-friendly print-on-demand platform. While it’s not necessarily difficult, it’s not particularly intuitive or well laid out, so it requires a bit of a learning curve for new users. Its product editor is also fairly dated-looking compared to many of its leading competitors. For example, Zazzle’s product editor doesn’t let sellers choose which colors the designs can be sold in, giving sellers less control over the products they sell.

In regard to security, Zazzle has all of the standard built-in security features that an e-commerce site that handles sensitive information must have to uphold the safety of both sellers and buyers. However, it offers very minimal security features that users have control over. For example, it gives users the ability to change their password and adjust content filters. For perspective, most print-on-demand services typically offer features, such as multiple users—each with their own roles and permissions—as well as two-factor authentication.

What’s unique about Zazzle for sellers is that because customers place orders directly from Zazzle, if customers have an issue, Zazzle is their first point of contact to resolve the issue. This is key for sellers, as it eliminates the added need to provide timely and helpful customer service to your customers.

In regard to support that Zazzle provides to sellers (a.k.a. “creators”), it heavily leans on its comprehensive help center. However, it does also provide support by email and phone, giving sellers live support—which is more than most print-on-demand services can say.

Zazzle vs. Redbubble

Zazzle and Redbubble are two direct competitors that both give individuals the ability to upload and sell print-on-demand designs on their own marketplaces. One major difference between the two is that while both offer a free plan, Zazzle does not have limits on how many designs a seller can upload, whereas Redbubble limits sellers to 30 design uploads per day. Additionally, while Redbubble is more well-known and allows sellers to set their own pricing, Zazzle offers more unique selling options, such as digital downloads and personalized items.

Zazzle vs. Gelato

Zazzle and Gelato are two different types of print-on-demand services. Along with Gelato, Zazzle users can create their own print-on-demand products. However, unlike Gelato, where users connect their products to third-party stores, Zazzle users are required to sell their products on Zazzle only, as it does not sync with other platforms. Another difference is that Gelato offers sellers some custom product packaging options, making it the all-around better choice for businesses that plan to build a brand, rather than set up a potential stream of passive income.

Zazzle vs. Printful

When it comes to comparing Zazzle to Printful, the key difference is Zazzle users sell their products on Zazzle, while Printful users sell their products through third-party stores, such as their own e-commerce website or social or online marketplaces. Another difference is that with Printful, sellers set their own product pricing, giving them control over profit margins, whereas Zazzle sellers do not set their own pricing and instead earn a 15% commission on sales.

Zazzle is a good choice for designers and artists looking for an easy way of building a passive income that requires no upfront investment or overhead. It’s also a solid platform for those who are looking to sell custom designs on everyday products without extensive marketing and advertising efforts.

Zazzle is a solid marketplace for designers to sell print-on-demand products. It’s more hands-off than many other print-on-demand options, as it does not give sellers as much control over factors, such as product color, pricing or packaging. However, this also means while it’s not likely a good fit for building a brand name, Zazzle is a good platform for building passive income, as it has a customer base of over 30 million users. Plus, once a product is created, there’s little to no ongoing maintenance or management required.