Changes Made To CafePress Volume Bonus Program
CafePress is making changes to the volume bonus program. According to the announcement just made by CafePress, the following changes are being made:
Effective, August 1, 2008, the changes to the Volume Bonus program are as follows:
* Sales originated from shops will earn larger bonuses at lower thresholds
* Sales originating from the Marketplace will no longer qualify for a Volume Bonus – you will continue to receive your mark-up as your commission
* Shopkeepers will no longer pay the 20% fees on affiliate-driven sales – CafePress will pay this fee
* The “Sales Source” is being redefined: Credit for a sale will now be based on where the item is added to the cart
* The Volume Bonus program will be renamed Shop Performance Bonus
Many shopkeepers make good money with the volume bonus program. It’s been one of the major attractions for CafePress because no other POD company out there offers the same type of incentive. What do you think of the changes?
You may view the announcement at CafePress.
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This is going to cost a lot of people a lot of money… especially considering that their source reporting is not 100% accurate (shop sales being listed as marketplace, etc). If they can prove that the source reporting is 100% accurate, then I suppose it makes a certain amount of sense to reward shopkeepers who work to drive traffic to their shops instead of those who randomly pick up sales from the marketplace. It’s true performance-based rewarding, and I’m in favor of that.
But without proof that the source reporting is 100% accurate with ZERO mistakes… this is a foolish move for them as far as CP/SK relations. The shopkeepers are going to get the shaft if it’s not 100%.
That is old info though Daniel. They have previously fixed and announced the fix that sources are now reported correctly - and differently. It’s all done via the add to cart button - so much simpler. No room for error.
Gotcha, gotcha. Thanks, Adam. If reporting is 100% rock solid, then I see no problem with this kind of model.
I am like many others though…. I’ll be keeping a MUCH closer eye on my stats…. everyone needs to make SURE that you report any errors that you spot immediately…
Ditto Kayecee!
I’ve never yet even made a volume bonus, so this is all academic to me. Actually, this month may be the first that i actually reach it; remains to be seen. I can see that it will affect a lot of SK’s but to what extent, i think, remains to be seen.
Announcements like this always trigger immediate outrage, but i suspect that the worst part of the whole thing is the time frame itself.
Along with you all, I will be keeping a tight eye on my stats- and honestly I think not only the late notice was a kick in the gut to Sk’s, but the recent addition to those HUGE Add to cart Buttons in the MP- Almost makes it a sure bet customers will buy from the MP and not follow the tiny link to the shop that is offering the design.
I just calculated that my profits will go down by 22.5% if next year’s sales are identical to this year’s. If my shop continues to grow (which it will) the profits will be down even more than 22.5%. I currently get less than 5% of my sales from my shop (used to be more) - over 95% are from the Marketplace (thanks to CafePress promoting their Marketplace so heavily). Thanks for stealing almost a quarter of my profits, CafePress. I will now be diversifying my items to Zazzle and Printfection so I don’t rely so heavily on profits from one POD source. Screw you, CafePress - you’ve definitely screwed me.
On analyzing our YTD sales, it’s apparent that we’re going to lose probably $5,000 in income this year under our current business model, due to the changes in the volume bonus program. Guess that I’m going to have to get my butt in gear and make some MAJOR changes in the way we do business.