[NSR] Zazzle, Cafepress, etc.

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 5:52 pm

Hey, folks. I'm wondering who may have recent experience buying shirts or other products from Zazzle, Cafepress or a similar online place. I used to sell stuff via Cafepress, but stopped because the quality of their prints was inconsistent and often just bad. I had issues with other products there as well.

But I've heard good things about Zazzle, and think Cafepress may have improved. I also know there are some similar services. SO, for anyone who uses these sites:

What did you buy (and from where)? How would you rate the quality? How does it compare to a store-bought, screenprinted item? Does it hold up well over time, multiple washings, etc.?

Thanks for your input.

k1dude · Post by **k1dude** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:01 pm

I bought some vinyl stickers from zazzle. I've only had them for about 2 or 3 months, so I can't verify the longevity. But they seem to be holding up and they look nice.

jfrost2 · Post by **jfrost2** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:03 pm

My sister made a tshirt off cafepress, it looked nice, she washed it like crazy and dried it a long time on the hottest setting, the shirt looks like it did when it came out of the packaging. It holds up real well and the shirt itself is very nice.

alienmeatsack · Post by **alienmeatsack** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:05 pm

I use CP for one-off shirts all the time. The quality has really improved a lot over the last few years. And their dark shirt printing has gotten way better as well.

When you wash the shirts, if you turn them inside out, they don't fade/crack nearly as bad. I've had commercial screen printed shirts that looked the same after a few washings.

Their only downside is the cost. $19 for a shirt at my cost is just not that great, then throw in shipping and you are looking at $23. But, for one-offs and custom shirts its great. Otherwise, if you need more quantity or quality I suggest making friends with a local screen-printer who will do the work cheap.

I've got several shirts at home from various times in the last 3 or so years I can take pics of to show how they fare over time if you are interested.

I've been very happy with the results I've gotten for my shirts recently, and shipping times.

vnice · Post by **vnice** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:08 pm

I hand screen tee shirts and patches myself. I won't use either site because they're expensive.

verdecalavera · Post by **verdecalavera** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:22 pm

i've had shirts done on zazzle on 5 or so occasions. The first time was to print myself up a tech shirt for running "in style." I got my picture popped for the following days paper and a lot of people liked the shirt, so i printed up a few on regular t-shirts. All turned out nice. The only problem i had(one time) was that my design is a bit assymetric and i didn't pay attention to the centering on the shirt one of the times that i printed them. it came looking a bit funny due to a fault of my own. The quality seems to have held up through several wash cycles. i didn't think it was expensive if you print on the basic shirts, and if you order more than one shirt you get an automatically discount(even if they are different designs). i also had some stickers printed there as well. they turned out alright, too. the stickers were strictly for my helmet. In the end, i highly recommend zazzle. i like that i can take my own art and put it on a shirt.

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 6:27 pm

I'm a big fan of screenprinting, but for what I'd like to do I want 4-color and the ability to offer several designs. I also don't want to get stuck with a bunch of stock in various sizes that I can't move.

Eventually, we'll do screened MB shirts, but I figured this was a way to offer something (and raise a little $$ to pay for decals, patches and other things) without having to put up and money up front and deal with fulfillment.

Thanks for the feedback! Anyone else?

olhogrider · Post by **olhogrider** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:24 pm

The Royal Bastards have used zazzle with success. If you check with robotribe over on MV, he may have better ideas. He now has a business selling scooter related t-shirts.

robotribe.com

Post by **ericalm** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 7:59 pm

olhogrider wrote:The Royal Bastards have used zazzle with success. If you check with robotribe over on MV, he may have better ideas. He now has a business selling scooter related t-shirts.

robotribe.com

Yeah, I was actually going to talk to Ted about screenprinting when I got to that point. HIs shirts are great, I have the 3 he's done for ModernVespa—wearing one right now!

italiaguy · Post by **italiaguy** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 8:19 pm

My avatar is a t-shirt design of mine through CafePress. I ordered one on a black shirt and it came out great. The cracking is part of the "retro" look and was done on purpose.

ranette · Post by **ranette** » Fri Sep 19, 2008 11:12 pm

We purchased our Christmas cards last year through Zazzle and were very happy with the quality.

Post by **ericalm** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 12:23 pm

The prints on the shirts I used to get via Cafepress felt very plastic-y and thick. Are they still like that?

italiaguy · Post by **italiaguy** » Sat Sep 20, 2008 3:52 pm

ericalm wrote:The prints on the shirts I used to get via Cafepress felt very plastic-y and thick. Are they still like that?

Yes, depending on the design and ink coverage they can feel that way. I think that the ones on darker shirts are thick because they need to lay down a layer of white first – so that the design's colors are not distorted by the shirt color.

ScootLemont · Post by **ScootLemont** » Sun Sep 21, 2008 1:38 am

i have used zazzle for a variety of t shirts
I have been happy with them
they have held up well (one for over a year - dont know how many washes, but I would guess around 10 or 12

I suggest you put up a design on zazzle or CP & post up a link on MB & say the quality is unknow, until someone buys ones & reports back on the quality

I bet you would have a lot of people willing to try one out