CafePress - any good or bad experiences?

Discussion in 'General Marketing' started by redecrea, Jun 7, 2007.

  1. #1
    Hi,
    I'm thinking of using CafePress to generate some income on a site, does anyone use them? Experiences good or bad would be welcome. Does the quality of the products stand up, do they deliver on time, do they pay on time?
    thanks for any feedback . ..
     
    redecrea, Jun 7, 2007 IP
  2. 8everything

    8everything Peon

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    #2
    I've tried using cafepress to monetize my site but didn't recieve any sales... it's pretty tough unless you have a catchy graphic/slogan and high quality visitors.
     
    8everything, Jun 7, 2007 IP
  3. Game Producer

    Game Producer Well-Known Member

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    #3
    For books, many people recommend lulu.com as alternative for cafepress.com.

    I faintly remember hearing (it was like 5 years ago) that the product quality is poor at cafepress... although things might have changed since then and I would check out their own forums for more information. They have active discussions going on in their site.
     
    Game Producer, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  4. Annie7

    Annie7 Active Member

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    #4
    Isn't it the wrong category? Or am I wrong? Sorry, redecrea, no offence, but I need to find my own ways at DP myself - that's why I am asking. Shouldn't it go to Affiliate Programs?

    You know, I received once an infruction for posting in the wrong category and that makes me make such issues clear ech time.
     
    Annie7, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  5. Game Producer

    Game Producer Well-Known Member

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    #5
    there's the "report this post" "warning sign in each post... you may use that to report posts in wrong categories.

    cafepress offers affiliate program, but that's only one part of their service.

    Back to the topic, I haven't heard bad about these - although again I'd suggest checking cafepress forums. there's probably more stories there.
     
    Game Producer, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  6. Annie7

    Annie7 Active Member

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    #6
    I was not going to report, that was just a mere curiousity. Does it mean you get an infraction only if someone reports the post? Again, just making the things clear...
     
    Annie7, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  7. Game Producer

    Game Producer Well-Known Member

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    #7
    Well, there's text that describes when to use "report post". I for example used it to tell mods to move one of my posts to the right place. I belive checking the forum rules & FAQs will go a long way.

    Cheers
     
    Game Producer, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  8. 13013

    13013 Active Member

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    #8
    I did sales through Cafe Press a couple of years ago. The margins are very slim and your shameless self promotion is what sells the product. You have to be very careful about using copyrighted images as you will get legal notices. I got one from Avery Products for using "Hello My Name Is" in one of my designs. I also found out that the Olympic logo is trademarked when I tried to use it.

    Monetarily, I made about $30 a month and that was using a dedicated site just for the products.
     
    13013, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  9. Annie7

    Annie7 Active Member

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    #9
    Fine, thanks
     
    Annie7, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  10. Meistro

    Meistro Peon

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    #10
    Cafe press charges $15 for a shirt, you can get them for $1. You do the math.
     
    Meistro, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  11. grahf

    grahf Peon

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    #11
    CafePress can be quite hard, simply because there are SO many products made every day. If you have a good design it can really take off, though. On one of my designs I've made $300 over two years.

    I also have a site with printfection.com, which has better quality shirts. With this site, I have over 500 designs and I am currently making about $120/month profit. At Christmas my sales went really high, to about $400 for December. Printfection's user interface is really time consuming, though, but I think they're working on making it better.
     
    grahf, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  12. Yankee0306

    Yankee0306 Peon

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    #12
    Sure you can get shirts done cheaper but I have always had to buy more shirts than I wanted to get a really good price. If they don't all sell then I have a problem. Additionally it ties up money in inventory which I am getting away from. So I use Cafe Press but I will check out Printfection.
     
    Yankee0306, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  13. bkarnot

    bkarnot Peon

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    #13
    Cafepress is a great way to test stuff.

    Nevermind inventory. If your gear sells well then you can consider making it cheaper elsewhere. And yeah if people like your junk you can do very well with CP
     
    bkarnot, Jun 8, 2007 IP
  14. redecrea

    redecrea Peon

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    #14
    Just compared prices at Cafe Press and Printfection and they're almost identical. Cafe Press seem to have a larger range of items to choose from though . . .
     
    redecrea, Jun 8, 2007 IP