Zazzle Questions

Hi,

I'm trying to get busy on Zazzle. I have a couple of questions, though.

1. Can products be listed in more than one category in your store? Say I have an item under keychains, and then the same item listed under flowers. Is that possible?
2. Right now I have everything listed in one store. If I want to separate things out into different themed stores, can I transfer the products I already have to another store, or do I have to re-create them all over again?
3. On my categories, should they be like keychains, t-shirts, etc., or should I name the categories different themes? If I make sense.

Thanks!

Thanks Abby for asking these questions, i would be happy to know these aspects too since i too want to make a zazzle store. Esp your question regarding categories, i am also a bit confused as to what works the best- theme or the product

Thankfully Pam has given me some good tips and i am sure she and others will answer your queries too. 

I will answer your questions and look forward to Pam answering as well as she may think differently (and I might be wrong about something):

1. You can make new categories for your products based on any theme you want. For example, flowers, plaids, Canadiana, etc. Within these categories (which will appear on the sidebar in both your products page and in your store-front), you will then have the product-type subcategories: cards, mouse pads, etc.
2. Within your account, you can freely transfer products from one store to another using the edit feature. Your store will already have to have been created before making the transfer.
3. I think number 1 above answers this question. If you look at different stores, you will see on the sidebar: Departments (these are the type of product - "Home and Pets", "Office Products", etc) and below that "Browse This Store" (these are products organized by the categories you made up - "flowers", "plaids", etc).

Hope this helps. Now, if I got something wrong here, I will learn something new too!

Hello Abby,

Identical products should not be made to go into two different categories.  The product can be moved from one category to another using the edit area.  

Products can not be added to more than one store.  To move a product into a new store, re-make it but the original must be deleted or set to "direct only".

Sheri is incorrect in saying that products can be transferred from store to store.  They can only be transferred within that store to another category.

Double products are a no-no.  They seem to cancel each other out, I've heard.

When starting a new store with a certain theme, just make new product to go in it.  I think it is too much work to re-make all the old stuff and move it.  Also the original search info, or whatever, for when that product is made will be lost.  My advice is to just move on and make new things.

Even with new products in the second store, which will match some of the older ones in the first store, if the tags are similar the matching products will probably show up down the page.  You can always edit the tags and make them similar.  You could give them all one distinct tag that will cause that to happen.

As for setting up categories.  It is up to the shop keeper as to how to organize.  Some like to set categories by image likeness, and some go by product.  I do both, depending on the items.

If you plan to write about something specific in your store, such as "scenic mugs" it will be helpful to be able to link to that category which is full of scenic mugs.  So keep that in mind.

Hi Pam, you said in the above response "You could give them all one distinct tag that will cause that to happen" what does that mean? What is the best way to add tags to a product- for example should we go with "wedding invitations" "beach wedding invitations" OR wedding, invitations, beach, which is the correct way?

Sometimes I have names for my group of products, such as a unique color name or title of a wedding set.  Using that tag for all like products MAY mean they will be shown in one or both of the lines below the product.  For instance, I name each of my wedding sets a particular name and then include it in the tag area.

You could also make a link in the description pointing to the whole group of products.

I tag in all different ways.  I use single words and groups of words, but the thing to remember is that Zazzle strips out any words in your tags that are product words.  If you use "blue mug" only "blue" will be used in the search on the Zazzle site.  This applies for the 10 power tags.  It's okay to use words like "invitation" but they will not show in your tag words for the product.  

Every new Zazzler should check out the forum and read over the helpful pages in the "New to Zazzle" area where many questions like this are answered.  You can really learn a lot from browsing the forums.  I am still learning things after almost 7 years.  Things change fast there.  I will try to steer you in the right direction but that doesn't mean I am always right!

Hope this helps.

Thank you dustytoes for you answers. I am hoping that I can get it together. I sell a few things every couple of months or so. I know it could be more if I'd put more stuff in. The tag issue has always baffled me. I could probably do better if I fixed that too lol

Sometimes I think I need to just scrap the whole store and start over. That's what happens when you learn as you go.

thanks!

Abby that is exactly how I began.  My very first store is basically forgotten now.  I rarely do anything with it, and I rarely sell anything from it.  Most every other store I have is an offshoot of that one!

We are all learning as we go... You are not alone....

It hat makes me feel better!

OOPS!  That's right - can't move things from one store to another, just from categories within the store. I thought I had done that, but I guess I hadn't (moved from one store to another).

I closed my very first account once I began to have a clearer idea of how things work on zazzle and wanted to start all over (there wasn't much in it). It IS a continual learning process, as Pam says. I also visit the forum on zazzle a lot and find people there very helpful.

thank you Sheri! I have thought about  closing it, but I have a couple item that go in buying spurts. I don't want to lose what little sales I get lol. I am thinking about opening up another store though and just start clean

Since this is a zazzle talk, so just thought to ask you all- from where can i get free images for zazzle,  i tried pixabay but it wasnt offering the images i needed. I tried google search for free images download, but still each of the site asked for money. Where should i go now?

Younghopes, one place I used to use quite frequently is MorgueFile.  Every image is free, but there is a lot of junk there.  It takes a lot of searching to find something good.

I found some people images that I needed there.

I have also paid for images from Dreamstime and Fotolia.

younghopes - there are many places with free images you can use for zazzle. Everyone has different needs, so try to use the keywords that would best describe what you are looking for and take the time to find the sites that host images suitable for your needs.

Remember to check the TOS to make sure the images are free for COMMERCIAL use.

Thanks a lot Pam and Sheri for this information, i would certainly try to figure out now. Actually i want to create some baby products on zazzle, and i need some pics which are liked by babies like monkeys, cats, dogs etc all in cartoon character, and i really dont understand where to look for.

I've never known where people get those types of cute images.  But they may pay for them..?

I've wondered the same thing. I thought maybe the other zazzlers were just artists and created their own.

AbbyFitz: 04/13/2014 - 03:27 PM

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I've wondered the same thing. I thought maybe the other zazzlers were just artists and created their own.

I think that is true for some of them.  

Pam, I had saw something on Zazzle about making your own website somehow with them. Have you tried that? It said you needed an understanding of HTML, which I don't. LOL I was just looking down the road and wondered if it would be something worth doing as I progressed.

AbbyFitz: 04/13/2014 - 03:34 PM

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Pam, I had saw something on Zazzle about making your own website somehow with them. Have you tried that? It said you needed an understanding of HTML, which I don't. LOL I was just looking down the road and wondered if it would be something worth doing as I progressed.

You mean they sell / or give out their own images / art?  I have come across some Zazzlers who do that.  In fact I have used a couple of things - incorporated into my designs. 

I just can't remember who they are, or what their sites are called.