[ami]

Probably you've seen it already: we have launched the new marketplace and we wanted to give you a quick update about some of the changes. For more information and details please also have a look at the initial forum post.

Products Instead of Designs
Instead of designs, we are now showing off products in the marketplace. Items are organized by gender and type - men, women, babies & kids and accessories.

Search & Filter
The search and filter function is the perfect match for the departments: just look for a topic, design or product. The search function includes a filter on the results page as well as a filter for misspellings.

Simplified Commission Model
After careful consideration we've decided to drop the product commission - for two reasons: first, it would confuse customers and cause "jumping prices" (if you buy a 'premade' product in the MP it would have a different price then if you would have personalized the same product in the designer). Also, we saw that the product commission wasn't heavily used anyway. That's why we decided to simplify the commission structure: as a designer, you make your cut by just adjusting the design commission.

New Homepage
Included in the makeover is a new look for our homepage. It's more dynamic and makes it easier for us to show what Spreadshirt is about: customized apparel.

What did we keep?

The Designer - The look and feel of the designer is the same. Customers can still choose their design and apparel directly from the designer.

The old marketplace a.k.a. "Design Network" - It's there as well - but we have moved it over to the login area. So if you are interested in grabbing a design for your Spreadshop you can select the design from the product detail page or from the login area.

How is your first impression?

[powerdogs@gmail.com]

My first impression ... i don't like it ... but i am a person that don't like changes when i don't know
the results..


The products on the MP doesnt look the same as products from my shop.. on the MP is ugly!

[caleythistleonline]

Can you explain something regarding commission?

I have a design in the market place and a product (mug) with that design also out there.

I have design commission set at £2

So.......

In the Marketplace the Mug sells at £12.90 - I get £2 Commission
In the Designer it sells at £12.90 - I get £2 Commission
In my Shop it sells at £11.90 - I get £2 Commission
In my Designer Shop it sells at £12.90 - I get £2 Commission

Not only does this new set-up not eradicate the "price jumping", but it looks like Spreadshirt are, in effect, skimming an extra £1 off me as the designer.

As it was before, at least designers had the option if they wanted to add extra to the Market Place cost and reaped the benefit of that, it now seems that Spreadshirt are now adding this extra and passing none of it back to the designer.

If we do want to have control over how much extra we charge in the Market Place/T-Shirt designer (over and above what Spreadshirt are skimming) then we have to upload two copies of every image/design and set different prices or continue to receive lower commissions from the market place.

In effect we now have to do more work for the same/less return??

I honestly don't think this has been thought through properly from the designers side of things.

Spreadshirt seem to benefit, as does the end customer....but it seems that the cost of the changes is being met by the Designers/Shop Owners in the middle (in terms of time and commission).

[ibisdesigns]

my feelings as well, it's been mentioned repeatedly and passed off repeatedly by SP. everyone benefits except designers... and we're the one providing most of the content on the MP.

[ami]

hey,
thanks for your feedback.
I agree, it seems like this, however you can take a look at this issue from different perspectives - here some more background why we setup the model like this:

- after all more than 95% of the (so called) "market place sales" happened in the designer -> it should be possible to make the same amount without the more hassle just like before.

- since we see the new marketplace as a *new sales channel*, additional effort should mean additional sales. of course it's up to you if and how you combine it with your shop or design network activities.

- as far as only SP benefits: also consider that we do spend quite some budget on marketing and promotion, too, but you always get 100% of your commission for every sale.

so, we take this point, and we might consider further adaptions (as I mentioned above e.g. we skipped the product commission also because designers didn't really use it), but please give us some time to examine how the marketplace develops with the current model.

[ibisdesigns]

you've shifted the business model of the MP heavily towards products, and meantime you have removed what used to be the product commission. the overall pricing structure has also been raised. it's also fundamentally not possible to make the 'same' without more effort because no products = no search ranking.

it's a bit circular to say it wasn't used before therefore it doesn't matter now... in the past there was no major promotion of the products section. now that's the major part of the site front end.

[caleythistleonline]

Zitat von ami

hey,
thanks for your feedback.
I agree, it seems like this, however you can take a look at this issue from different perspectives - here some more background why we setup the model like this:

- after all more than 95% of the (so called) "market place sales" happened in the designer -> it should be possible to make the same amount without the more hassle just like before.

This doesn't make sense....if 95% of sales came through the designer and you have removed focus from the designer, then surely it's plainly obvious that those without products already in the marketplace WILL NOT be able to make the same amount without more hassle???

Zitat von ami

- since we see the new marketplace as a *new sales channel*, additional effort should mean additional sales. of course it's up to you if and how you combine it with your shop or design network activities.

I think what you mean is that we have no choice. You've already made the decision for us that everything is now going to be centred around products as opposed to designs and if we want to combine things (on an even basis) with the marketplace and our shops then we will need to jump through hoops and be doing things like creating double copies of designs so as we can vary commission levels.

Zitat von ami

- as far as only SP benefits: also consider that we do spend quite some budget on marketing and promotion, too, but you always get 100% of your commission for every sale.

That's kind of twisting things. I've already pointed out above that there's a "cost" over and above our design commission being added to products in the designer/marketplace and we get NOTHING from that. So whilst it may be true that we're getting 100% of the design commission, we get nothing from whatever the other commission/premium is that is being added by Spreadshirt.

Zitat von ami

so, we take this point, and we might consider further adaptions (as I mentioned above e.g. we skipped the product commission also because designers didn't really use it), but please give us some time to examine how the marketplace develops with the current model.

As has been said already, did Spreadshirt not stop for a second to think that the reason Product Commission wasn't heavily utilised was because the site was Design Orientated. Do you not think that it might have been sensible to have left the Product Commission in place to see how it developed since you were shifting focus to that?

Are those designers who were using product commission going to be compensated for sales between the time when you wiped it out and they had time to adjust their design prices...or indeed upload second copies for use in the market place whilst removing the ones that were already there?

What about all those who got sales through the fact that the site was Design Orientated who may well be losing sales until such time as they can get around to producing products to regain their presence?

And then there's just the general fact that we now have to entirely rethink our strategies, go through all our designs and products to check what we have out there and what we don't - something that is now harder to do!!!

I'm fairly new to Spreadshirt and was only just getting a handle on how best to push my products and designs....that's taken me a good few weeks, and now I have to start from scratch and formulate a new approach.....are we going to be compensated for that...perhaps you could give those who have invested in premium shops and extension to their memberships at the very least as a gesture of goodwill?

Honestly Spreadshirt....take a step back and look at it from our point of view and stop with the cutting and pasting of the standard response. You can keep saying the same thing over and over again, but it doesn't change the fact that you have designers here who feel like they are/ have been royally shafted and you need to address that issue, not give us a "wait and see" response when we know fie it will change nothing.

[hvente]

tbh the only reason I used to create products for the MP is to give potential customers an idea what it could look like. I very soon after the MP launch stopped adding product commission as from my MP sales stats it was very obvious that customers create their own products (I have only sold a handful MP products since the launch vs a very significant amount of designs)

I can understand the descisions made as I am sure a lot of partners like me did not bother with product commission for the MP - not worth the hassle

Like for example zazzle SP is still design orientated. You see one example of the design (and via the arrows you can opt to see more) and then quickly as a customer create the product as you want it...

In this new format partners will have to ensure that the design actually looks good on a produt;-) This in my view will help customers as if they don't like the effect on the product they can move on. Unlike before, where they could click on a design that looked nice on it's own.. but then they were soon to be dissapointed once placed on a product.

I think from a customers point of view this is so much better, and ultimately for us as well

[asiantees]

another thing you all seem to be glossing over here, no, of course people didn't utilize the products before and the product comission because you had no search! Duh! And since very few people had the patience to search thru your extremely limited selection of categories, and may not have been too interested in all of the SP house brand designs all over the first pages, no wonder things didn't sell.
Another large clue you all seem to be missing - none of the other POD's charge more in their MP's than in the shops. In a bad economy (checked the exchange rates lately?) it looks like a big rip off for the customer, and not a good impression to leave. They seem to have found a way to work advertising and marketing costs into the base prices so they're the same across the board. And have realized the importance of doing so.
I have to wonder if anyone that makes decisions in there has any idea how the business they're in actually works in the real world at all.

[ami]

@ibis - exactly, we've shifted the focus of the mp more towards end customers. the "price jump" has been made to avoid irritation (price jumping mp vs. designer, but also vs. buying it cheaper in the mp than in the designer, buy it cheaper at the mp vs. a spreadshirt partnershop) and also to simplify the price structure.

when I said the product commission "wasn't heavily used" I also meant the ratio of people who used the "product FEATURE" vs. the product "COMMISSION", like hvente mentioned - even if creating a product, most of the designers (in fact around 97%) just used the "bulk function" and didn't take a commission.

@CaleyThistleOnline - let me clarify this: 95% means that 95 out of 100 buyers came e.g. from search engines or affiliate sites directly to the designer itself, without taking a big look at the mp. we've already discussed the backgrounds.
with the new homepage there will be more people taking their way over the marketplace, but still the main traffic from outside is linking directly to the designer. so thats why we expect *additional orders* from people who wouldn't order at the designer because they come through the marketplace. of course this is an assumption by average, but it should work for you, too.

re "twisting things" - this is exactly what I meant before - you can view this issue with different perspectives. Some marketplaces charge you, even if you have all the effort, others even give you an affiliate share. With the new mp there was no hidden agenda to "exploit the designers", and we still think that you will benefit if you additionally create products.
With the own shop, the design network, and the marketplace I think there should be at least a set of possibilities to work with .. e.g. if you think it's not worth to create products for the marketplace, you still can participate in the "designers network" - or just go for your own designer shop, where you get the design commission plus the 20% for a sale.

regarding the "standard response" - I'm sorry if you think this is a "standard response" .. I actually write every word very carefully because I don't want to offend anyone with my rude german style
and we do care about our partners and their feedback, even if it's sometimes hard to bring all under "one big umbrella".. but I'm sure the new mp structure can also pay out for you - just give it a little bit more time.