There are many shopkeepers at Cafepress trying to figure out where to go from here now that the announcement of restructuring the volume bonus has come.

I’d like to direct those interested to two posts where myself and others have begun discussing ways to overcome the deficiency left for some VB earners. I’m directing to a collecting point of posts where several links to other, great information reside.

This information, I feel, is too important to ignore and is probably worth re-reading until it really sinks in. My gut tells me that once some mindsets begin to come full-circle a lot of the wisdom being passed around will begin to click and make sense. Then a sense of direction will follow for how to proceed if you’re left feeling a pinch from the changes to the volume bonus.

Cafepress Volume Bonus Becomes Shop Performance Bonus

I Lost My Cafepress Volume Bonus – What Do I Do Next?

As usual, Adam at TShirtChat.com is doing what myself, and others have a passion for: providing a resource for giving helpful advice and a collecting pot of information on the industry. TShirtChat does it well and that’s why I’m happy to direct you to the above posts and subsequent responses.

Cafepress.com announced it will restructure the Volume Bonus program as of August 1, 2008.

Highlights include:

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

There’s good, bad, and indifferent for this – in my eyes. However, I’m surprised it didn’t happen earlier as it’s a perfectly normal practice to create an incentive-drive to gain customers (in this case – shopkeepers who fit into the equation for CP making money) and, when a strong customer-base is established make a shift from incentive-based drives to advertising-based drives. Without any inside-information: I’m taking an educated guess this is what has happened. Like I said, though, my educated guess was made some time ago this would occur and now it has. Combine this possibility with the ever-rising cost of advertising and it’s not hard to imagine that the cost and effectiveness that were advantageous even a year ago are now less-so. Money spent then may be better spent differently now. You think our costs with Google, for example, alone are expensive? Imagine the broad-sweep advertising expenses companies like Cafepress must incur and they don’t even get the advantage we can have in niche marketing efforts.

I know some people will take this as a personal slap but if you know anything about business… it’s a known process. One may or may not like it but it’s a known-routine… hardly a personal afront.

Here’s the bad:

There’s a strata of base-price sales that now make significantly less in VB than before.

The good:

There’s a strata of base-price sales that now make significantly more in VB than before.

As with any business model – those who adapt can overcome. Those who can’t – sink.

Here’s my suggestion: The most likely affected shopkeepers will do well to adjust from pimping the marketplace to following advice from those who’ve done this thing old-school: Market your own business – build your own business – get your own customer base.

The volume bonus was a bonus and it hasn’t always been around yet some of the most successful shopkeepers were (and continue to be) successful beyond the marketplace ups and downs… including an understandably welcomed bonus.

CP’s marketplace and VB are fine and dandy (well, the MP can be a nightmare some days but you know what I mean). I can’t bash on them for what they are or what they try to be. However, I have a hard time relying on that external system of sales. I’ve always felt it best to get a customer base of your own, outside of someone else’s enclosed system.

I wish everyone good luck in adapting and succeeding from this major change. I’m confident that the business models and manners in which many will now have to conduct business will be more solid, long-lasting ones that can endure changes such as this. Everything changes – nothing stays the same.

Newsletter #41 has gone out.

Details for adding new Athletic Shorts, Swim Trunks, and Flotation Key Holders are highlighted. Please review as catalog has changed.

Well, to be fair, we’ll have to classify this as rumor-mongering because I haven’t had the chance to check numbers or sources, yet.

However, I woke up to an article in Venture Beat offering early glimpses into the possibility that Cafepress has paid between $15m-$20m for ImageKind – an art print-on-demand service.

Again, in keeping with purely the word on the street angle, is that Zazzle lost a possible desired bid in this as well – not surprising since they’ve been making many moves to increase their business lately (some positive, some less so).

If true and accurate it’s no surprise to me because of the focus of Cafepress as a leader in the POD industry and their growth… often to successfully expand beyond what made them successful years ago: the tshirt.

We’ll see what comes of these as the press releases, rumors, and day runs on.

If it’s the case I have to admit I’m anxious to hear the reactions from a few people I know who are highly invested in the IK service.

UPDATE: It’s confirmed.

Have a safe, happy, and reflective Independence Day!

Special thanks to Micky for the photo usage.