I was once among the Customer Service representatives of Society6, and I've seen how low the cost of materials the company spends from importing them in China, and the fact that the artists dont get paid well, plus so much environmental waste the company creates from all the returns and replacements. It's a company that has totally no respect, not even for its employees. There was a customer once who emailed aren't artists supposed to be environmentally conscious, why is your company creating so much trash and has so much carbon footprint sending back and forth items that are not well-made? That was the toughest questions I've ever seen from a customer. I agree with John, artists need to be given free samples of the items that they've signed on as it reflects badly on their reputation if customers get a crappy print out of the artwork.
Are the other companies producing less trash from the returns? And how do they make it? Do you know any company that sells 100% American-made material?
As a POD newb possibly considering setting up a store on Society6, I found your video very formative, especially the fact that they rely on their artists to bring in traffic tonteira site rather than marketing their wares themselves. Thank you for the upload 👍🏻
Say it again! "we deserve more than 10%!" Yes, we are worthy. And artists are culture shapers! These buisnesses are really pushing the limits and disregarding our human dignity. Thanks for this helpful review. Don't see this kind of honesty from artists so much these days, lots are getting paid to promote these platforms and disregard critical & useful feedback. Needless to say, I will continue my search for other platforms with more equity & userfriendliness.
I felt so ripped off by Society6! They contacted me to let me know they used my art for a credenza tutorial for their UA-cam account. I got no credit, no shout out, no merch, nothing!!! They used several other of my images for their social media and never credited me once! Worst part was they didn’t even tell me about it. I had to do my own research to see my artwork used on their platform. Makes me sick 🤮
I've been selling on S6 since late 2013. It took a while but I started making a nice bit of money every month selling my California photographs. I have 2 accts and make any average of around $1500 per month total. However, the web site has ALWAYS been glitchy, they don't make the sales/earnings page have clickable links so I can't find out exactly which item sold. Their 30-day clearance sucks. You can wait up to 2 months to be paid! I had a bunch of sales at the end of November but since the 30-day clearance starts when they ship, it meant those sales won't clear till January 1 which means I won't see that money till February 1. So instead of me getting over $2,200 on January 1, I got $1700.
It sounds like you've been able to make it work! I'm happy for you! The 30-day clearance was something that I didn't address in the video, but you're exactly right it's not very fun to deal with. You mentioned you run two different accounts on Society6, do you mind if I ask why? Is it a strategy of some kind or for two different kinds of shops?
I did Society6 for two years, but also came to the same conclusions. I left this year and have no regrets, except I wish I had done it sooner. I also think it works best for already well known artists, but definitely not for anyone just starting out. 10% is pitiful all around and with how much effort it takes to upload and then market it yourself it’s just a joke. I’ve also gone from 2D illustration work into ceramics both sculptural and wheel thrown, so many of these websites no longer make sense for what I’m creating. Thanks for sharing this video and your thoughts!
Agree! I'm in society6 since 2014 and I've made a few sales till now (almost 700$). But the fact is that I barely have any work at all with the shop besides uploading the designs and promote it from time to time. So, as I use to say, it is a better profit than if that designs just lay in my computer's hard drive. Besides that, it is not also my full-time job. By the way! Just checked your site! Your photos are great dude. Congrats!
Right! If you've got art sitting around, why not! Thrilled to hear you've made some money on the site! 🥳 And thank you very much!! Really appreciate the feedback on my photography 🙏📸
I've come to the same conclusion as you after just over a year on Amazon Print on Demand KDP. Different platform, same conclusion. 1st, we owe it to ourselves to retain our intellectual property and how we present it, and 2nd, we really need to have access to our clients, they're the artist's lifeblood.
I just joined Society 6 and have the same opinions/concerns...I hope someone over there does watch your video and makes this more about the artist and yes, their products are atrociously high!! Thx for sharing your thoughts!
Thank you SO much for this. I'm starting out in PoD and I get so frustrated at them. I'm glad to have someone be honest about whether this site is worth the time. I swear, it takes about 4 times longer to upload to that site and it never seemed worth it.
Holy shit this is SO helpful! I just found out about society 6 TODAY and thought it might be a fun side hustle. I’m not a full time artist or even a proper artist (I’m a video producer) so I thought it might be a cool way to see if anyone might even be interested in my photography. And I may still try it, but this is an excellent perspective and deep dive. Also, I will absolutely be checking out your work! I think there is nothing wrong with artist being the customer of artists, but I do hear you on wanting a wider audience. So thank you very much for your insights. I will give this a lot of thought. Best of luck to you!
OOoo, #6 gets me...(im not on society6 yet, researching it), but those sorts of technical things seriously take up so much time, not to mention how drained you feel after waiting, feeling frustrated, all that, at least for me that's what it is like...good to know, thank you.
"YES ....I deserve more!"....spoken whilst eating cat food, off the back of an old canvas, whilst staying warm by burning my original prints and drawings! :)
As an artist of various mediums I must say I am SO very tired of artists being taken advantage of, exploited, stolen from and devalued. Youre right transparency is everything and I wish more businesses implemented it instead of leaving it up to just the small business owners. I almost put my work on S6 until I realized I would make pennies while they made twenties. With social media we are all our own brand and have the ability to expand or not, if we choose. We dont technically have to rely on these kinds of platforms, however, they could be a HUGE part of the process and make it more lucrative for everyone involved if they just listened and stepped it up a little.
S6 was one of the pod I tried. I uploaded 3 artworks and then the time spent fine chuning made me stop. I have, unexpectedly, had a few t-shirt sales without any effort on my part.
I’ve only bought one thing off society 6 cause I loved the design and I figured I’d have the shower curtain forever but everything is so expensive and I didn’t realize how expensive it was til I tried selling on there and it’s insane
Earlier this week, Society6 updated their Policy. Now Artists can Set their Profit margin on all Products. Still, I have drastically cut back on the products I make available simply because it is time-consuming to upload all of my Open Edition Photography. Sticking to Wall Art and Greeting Cards only. Everything else is not really a focal point for me right now.
Thanks for the info. I just started uploading to S6 today and it is horrendous, which is why I came over to YT to find some opinions on the site. Redbubble and FAA are so much easier to upload to. Most of the PoD sites have a pricing issue imho, their base prices are so high, I'm always amazed that people buy from these sites. I think I'll just add more photos to S6 as and when I have a bit of spare time. Definitely not something I want to spend a lot of effort on. Appreciate hearing your experience, thank you.
I agree with you. Part of my artistic journey but payout not enough for the slow system. I do have to thank them for supporting artist growth. Jeez I was so brand new. But I think my time is best used mastering the art processes. Thanks for this video.
I started on society6 recently and the uploaded is incredibly frustrating. I almost always get an error and the upload process is generally slow. As a result I've only uploaded a handful of designs even though I have dozens
Hi! I am a designer from Taiwan. I almost used this website. Fortunately, I saw your video introduction and realized that it works like this. Thank you~ If you can, I hope you can find a friend to help translate into Chinese. Because UA-cam's translation function is not so accurate. (The above English is translated through Google Translate)
thanks for this video. I had been debating if i should close my shop or not. As much as I think red bubble takes alot, i still make more and feel i have more freedom to customize and makup ALL my prices. I'm not always guessing and just marking up prices just to make a buck on society6, i feel more like I'm cheating the customer than needed just to make like 2 dollars. I agree with alot of your points. i didn't want to close it because i have made sells there but i am just not feeling it. feels too much like uploading and not being valued any way or other ways i can bring value to my work.
Glad to hear this video was helpful for you! Thanks so much! It's important to feel valued by who you're choosing to work with, wish you the best of luck 👏
@@starsvibes I don't have a video on that, no. Unfortunately my experience with Print on Demand services ends at Society6, so I can't officially recommend anything. In the comments here, though, some people have noted some degree of success with Redbubble and Fine Art America, although I expect them to be somewhat similar to Society6.
I felt the same way. i got all excited. gathered up all my work and was ready to dive in. then I saw the measly 10% and I was like NOPE. I'm sorry, but that's straight up thievery. like he said, without artists, S6 wouldn't even have a site. like come on. at least make it 20-25%.
That’s the challenge with our industry. Nobody cares except for other designers and artists, and even then, we’re more jealous-competitive than supportive.
I agree with all of the points made here. I still upload work to Society 6 but my main concern is the price of the products for customers. I stick to the 10% margin because the price of the product if you raise it is totally unrealistic.
Not only everything I heard here is so accurate, the exact reason that brought me to this video in the first place was that I just started in society6 last week, basically to add more platforms to upload my stuff as everyone in the POD industry does, and I didn't need more than just an uploading process to figure out that...overall that WEBSITE SUCKS! I could even say, that it's a FUCKING SCAM considering that if you combine all the DOWNSIDES around it, there's no way you can make it worth it, that meaning decent income of course. That's 100% clear if you compare it to other POD sites (no all are good). Thanks for solving my doubts bro, it definitely saved me time since now I do know that my bad feeling about the site WAS REAL! 🤝
I've been using the upload time to practice my flute. I adjust one product, then play a tune or do a scale while I wait for every single product to load up again before I can adjust the next one. It's painful.
I was kind of horrified they want $1 for artists to verify their email. I feel ripped off already $1.45. Like I know it's very little but why are they scamming me for $1.45 when I probably won't sell on their small site. And yeah the upload stuff is incredibly buggy. I only joined today I only have two items and they kept confusing the two somehow and showing only one under both titles????????
Oh goodness I completely forgot about the $1 account fee, that probably would've made my list for sure haha 😂 I also, had very little patience for how unstable their site is. It's like they don't have a department for that at all, totally embarrassing 🙈
At last, someone who is openly prepared to share the pain of millions of us! I left S6 years ago after only getting a trickle of sales. It was a mass disappointment. Then, perhaps quite stupidly, I returned about a year ago. And in that time... (blows a raspberry)! POINTLESS!!! The most I've been able to do with the shockingly new uploader is upload nothing but masks at about 1500px!!! There is no rude word on this planet to acknowledge the idiocy of that uploader. Especially if you reside in the UK and you are using broadband with a fairly slow upload rate. SO, now... I've simply given up all hope and the most I upload is face masks. (Simply because that's all about I can upload). And much like you have explained here, without promotion, your work just sits in an abyss. So, who knows. Maybe by the time I'm 80, ( a good few years away yet), I may have made one sale. Until then... I'll stick to that other POD site, where I do at least make some sales!
Sorry to hear S6 also hasn't been a good fit for you, but thank you for sharing your experience! Your frustrations with the uploader is...wildly justified haha you aren't alone 😂
Thanks for the vid. I came across S6 recently and asked them about watermarking - important to me. But nope, not available (and I tested simply right-click copying an image). That's BS, so allow me to throw them under a bus for you ;)
I agree wholeheartedly, I'm moving away from S6 as well. The effort is just not worth the income. Add to that, some products are not shown from all sides, which annoys the heck out of me. The one thing they have that Redbubble sorely misses, is an all-over shirt. However, they only display the front of it, not the back. Really S6...?!
I just found them because they have a lot more Rose gold and that one of my colors in my 1st apartment 😆 but, I’m sorry about all the cons. I definitely want to continue to support artist so I’ll definitely check your and other artist websites
Have you tried Artfully Walls for art prints? They promise 20% (I think), but they have an audience with Anthropologie clients. Do you know of another POD platform that sells cream t-shirts?
one of the so called founders Andy stole my idea for an art project that he never gave me credit for so obviously I would never buy anything from this website
I left S6 back in 2013. Their outfit was a bit of a joke and unbelievably frustrating back then and, given their complete inability to take any constructive feedback on board from their contributing artists, it's not surprising to hear that much seems to have remained the same. Fine Art America is a much better outfit for artists looking for a POD solution in my opinion..
2013!? I'm exhausted. Maybe I'll just check back in on S6 in another 8 years and see if they've even attempted to fix anything 🙃 thanks for the advice on Fine Art America!
I've heard so many mixed things about society6 but have been considering using it just as a way to get my foot in the door and learn the process. Would this at least be a good beginners option until i find another avenue?
Nice video John, I'm thinking the same with etsy, but I'm not sure who will find me with a personal website. Have you paid for Google ads on your personal website? Thank you!
Maybe I'm missing something but I never understood is why we can't change the color background of most of the products on S6 (except shirts and some few others products that deal with PNG's transparent background). You have to upload several times the same design with different aspect ratio and a color background that you made yourself if you want to have a background that is something else than white... That alone is a brutal loss of time.
100% agree on this. The lack of personalization & control is doing more harm than good to the artists, and yes, the amount of time spent trying to wrestle that control in our favor is never rewarded. There just aren't any systems in place for this kind of thing, which is disappointing.
i made a sale from a design 50 pieces at once in a day and the company gets around 3000$ and i get around 100$. it's christmas soon and i didn't buy anything. it's so sad i wanted an Iphone 13 Pro for creating Arts. to take pictures and draw them. i have around 1000 designs but the market is full and many people do not see your beautiful designs. i have many design which i design for almost 8 hours. some designs even took me 3 days. they are incredible so many details and it looks amazing. but i think most of the people have financial problems and many people buy products with brand and hype.
Thank you very much! We just signed up with Society6! But if you sell from your own website, do you print out your artwork and ship it to the customers? Thank you in advance.
I was just looking for reviews on their product quality when I came across your video. I think I may just pass and try other POD sites until I can afford to dropship or print my own. S6 has absolutely ABYSMAL trustpilot rating. Idk what's going on there but it sounds like at some point in the past few years they gave up entirely
I actually don't have any experience with fineartamerica, nor had I any clue it existed before you had mentioned it! Some quick research tells me that, at the very least, their actual selling platform is more versatile than Society6's. At first glance, it looks like they offer a wider variety of promotional tools & allow you to integrate products into your own pre-existing website, which are just a few examples of areas that Society6 desperately needs to improve. I'll be keeping fineartamerica on my radar, thanks for the tip!
Fine Art America cares less about artists than S6. Don't get me wrong they have great quality & you are able to see locations of sales, etc. But they have ZERO protections for art on their website. You can literally go in and view the high-resolution image & download whatever you want. I had work stolen from there when I was paying for their Premium service. They had zero concern that my work was stolen and flat out told me they did not plan to change the way their website displays art. They feel that watermarks that cover the image or low-resolution images will deter buyers. I immediately canceled my premium subscription & deleted my work. So please just be careful with them or any website that does not protect artists.
@@that5280lady the watermark thing that they claims deterring potential customers kept me thinking whether i should be uploading more designs there... I just started FAA as an another option after the redbubble glitch and suspension of my Teepublic account. And now its S6. Looks like there are no reliable POD company, idk.
i use them as a one off dropship site because they're really only manufacturing and shipping my merch. do you have any other print on demand suggestions? red bubble's shipping to my region is ASTRONOMICALLY priced so they're not a great option, i literally use their end prices as my sale price on society6.
Unfortunately my experience with other POD sites is limited, however a number of people here in the comments have been suggesting Fine Art America as another option besides Redbubble. It's frustrating to learn that you have shipping issues for your region! Do you mind if I ask if it's Redbubble specifically that you're having problems with? Or are you encountering this issue elsewhere as well? 🙁
@@yonder-john red bubble specific, for barbados in the caribbean. people are okay waiting for imports as most things including amazon deliveries take 4 weeks easily via dhl/ups ... redbubble isn't giving a gauranteed 7 day delivery, but they are charging ridiculously, for deliveries, where s6 is all of 5-7 per item and it's here within 4-6 weeks.
Sounds like Redbubble isn't quite as integrated as other places, which is a total bummer, I wouldn't be excited about working with them either 😭 Hopefully that really is an isolated Redbubble issue so that you have some flexibility while looking for other options!
😊As a seller on Society6, is it completely free or have any fees after certain amount of sale? Subscribed from Malaysia & i love your photography very much❤
@@yonder-john 😊Your most welcome. 1. So, how about Redbubble? Does it have the same style of fees as well or its completely free? 2. What is Single Fee means?
I believe they’re similar, but I’ve never used Redbubble personally so I can’t say for certain. What I mean with the fee is that you only have to pay once, just when you open the account.
I've been on S6 for 4 years and only made 26.00, period. It sux. I have some amazing photography which has been featured on the internet, printed in photo calendars, and more. I've never been featured as an artist by S6 and after watching this video, I've deleted my account. It's the same with Shutterstock. I've been on Shutterstock for 4 years and made $1 / not even kidding, just $1 for amazing photography after 4 years.
Great question! I have my own print shop set up on my personal website - I use Squarespace. I print with a local business, but package and ship everything myself. Hope this helps! 👍
It's 2023 - the links to your website do not work anymore, following through your social media and links I can find there, nowhere do you still maintain your own print store.
Thanks for watching everyone, make sure to check out the first link in the description for my NEWEST Print on Demand video! 🧐✨
I was once among the Customer Service representatives of Society6, and I've seen how low the cost of materials the company spends from importing them in China, and the fact that the artists dont get paid well, plus so much environmental waste the company creates from all the returns and replacements. It's a company that has totally no respect, not even for its employees. There was a customer once who emailed aren't artists supposed to be environmentally conscious, why is your company creating so much trash and has so much carbon footprint sending back and forth items that are not well-made? That was the toughest questions I've ever seen from a customer. I agree with John, artists need to be given free samples of the items that they've signed on as it reflects badly on their reputation if customers get a crappy print out of the artwork.
Are the other companies producing less trash from the returns? And how do they make it? Do you know any company that sells 100% American-made material?
You can change the mark up now.
As someone just exploring POD platforms as a seller this was super informative and thorough thanks!
I did my best! You’re welcome! 🥳
Lol that’s my design on that water bottle
NO WAY 😂🍻
It’s beautiful 🧡🧡
As a POD newb possibly considering setting up a store on Society6, I found your video very formative, especially the fact that they rely on their artists to bring in traffic tonteira site rather than marketing their wares themselves. Thank you for the upload 👍🏻
Say it again! "we deserve more than 10%!" Yes, we are worthy. And artists are culture shapers! These buisnesses are really pushing the limits and disregarding our human dignity. Thanks for this helpful review. Don't see this kind of honesty from artists so much these days, lots are getting paid to promote these platforms and disregard critical & useful feedback. Needless to say, I will continue my search for other platforms with more equity & userfriendliness.
I felt so ripped off by Society6! They contacted me to let me know they used my art for a credenza tutorial for their UA-cam account. I got no credit, no shout out, no merch, nothing!!! They used several other of my images for their social media and never credited me once! Worst part was they didn’t even tell me about it. I had to do my own research to see my artwork used on their platform. Makes me sick 🤮
I've been selling on S6 since late 2013. It took a while but I started making a nice bit of money every month selling my California photographs. I have 2 accts and make any average of around $1500 per month total.
However, the web site has ALWAYS been glitchy, they don't make the sales/earnings page have clickable links so I can't find out exactly which item sold.
Their 30-day clearance sucks. You can wait up to 2 months to be paid!
I had a bunch of sales at the end of November but since the 30-day clearance starts when they ship, it meant those sales won't clear till January 1 which means I won't see that money till February 1.
So instead of me getting over $2,200 on January 1, I got $1700.
It sounds like you've been able to make it work! I'm happy for you! The 30-day clearance was something that I didn't address in the video, but you're exactly right it's not very fun to deal with. You mentioned you run two different accounts on Society6, do you mind if I ask why? Is it a strategy of some kind or for two different kinds of shops?
OMG, it's getting worse...
I aware I jus seen this same comment on a different page with different numbers 🤔
@@ghoulape6976 yes a bot...so s6 is probably using bots to boost up their image...my a*s this dude makes $1500 a month selling california pictures...
I did Society6 for two years, but also came to the same conclusions. I left this year and have no regrets, except I wish I had done it sooner. I also think it works best for already well known artists, but definitely not for anyone just starting out. 10% is pitiful all around and with how much effort it takes to upload and then market it yourself it’s just a joke.
I’ve also gone from 2D illustration work into ceramics both sculptural and wheel thrown, so many of these websites no longer make sense for what I’m creating. Thanks for sharing this video and your thoughts!
You're very welcome! BEST of luck with your current work 🥳🍻
Agree! I'm in society6 since 2014 and I've made a few sales till now (almost 700$). But the fact is that I barely have any work at all with the shop besides uploading the designs and promote it from time to time. So, as I use to say, it is a better profit than if that designs just lay in my computer's hard drive. Besides that, it is not also my full-time job.
By the way! Just checked your site! Your photos are great dude. Congrats!
Right! If you've got art sitting around, why not! Thrilled to hear you've made some money on the site! 🥳
And thank you very much!! Really appreciate the feedback on my photography 🙏📸
Thank You *so* much for your insight, experience and commentary on Society6! I was on the fence with them, now I know what to do ;)
You're very welcome! Glad I could be of some help to you! 🥳
I've come to the same conclusion as you after just over a year on Amazon Print on Demand KDP. Different platform, same conclusion. 1st, we owe it to ourselves to retain our intellectual property and how we present it, and 2nd, we really need to have access to our clients, they're the artist's lifeblood.
👏👏
thank you for making this video, I was about to start a store but nope
You're welcome! I'm glad that I could be a resource for you. Best of luck with your store, I hope you're able to find what works best for you! 🥳
I just joined Society 6 and have the same opinions/concerns...I hope someone over there does watch your video and makes this more about the artist and yes, their products are atrociously high!! Thx for sharing your thoughts!
Thank you SO much for this. I'm starting out in PoD and I get so frustrated at them. I'm glad to have someone be honest about whether this site is worth the time. I swear, it takes about 4 times longer to upload to that site and it never seemed worth it.
Holy shit this is SO helpful! I just found out about society 6 TODAY and thought it might be a fun side hustle. I’m not a full time artist or even a proper artist (I’m a video producer) so I thought it might be a cool way to see if anyone might even be interested in my photography. And I may still try it, but this is an excellent perspective and deep dive. Also, I will absolutely be checking out your work! I think there is nothing wrong with artist being the customer of artists, but I do hear you on wanting a wider audience. So thank you very much for your insights. I will give this a lot of thought. Best of luck to you!
Appreciate this, and best of luck to you as well! 🍻
OOoo, #6 gets me...(im not on society6 yet, researching it), but those sorts of technical things seriously take up so much time, not to mention how drained you feel after waiting, feeling frustrated, all that, at least for me that's what it is like...good to know, thank you.
"YES ....I deserve more!"....spoken whilst eating cat food, off the back of an old canvas, whilst staying warm by burning my original prints and drawings! :)
the life of an artist 😅🙏🏻
As an artist of various mediums I must say I am SO very tired of artists being taken advantage of, exploited, stolen from and devalued. Youre right transparency is everything and I wish more businesses implemented it instead of leaving it up to just the small business owners. I almost put my work on S6 until I realized I would make pennies while they made twenties. With social media we are all our own brand and have the ability to expand or not, if we choose. We dont technically have to rely on these kinds of platforms, however, they could be a HUGE part of the process and make it more lucrative for everyone involved if they just listened and stepped it up a little.
S6 was one of the pod I tried. I uploaded 3 artworks and then the time spent fine chuning made me stop. I have, unexpectedly, had a few t-shirt sales without any effort on my part.
It's a time sink for sure, glad you've at least been compensated a little for all that hard work 🤪
Thank you for your honesty and I hope you are VERY successful doing your own prints!
You're very welcome, and thank you!! 📸😎🥳🍻
I love society 6! It’s a great way to sell my Prints in America. I’m from Germany :)
I hadn't thought to look at Society6 from an international perspective! I love this! I'm thrilled to hear it works well as an option for you!! 🥳🥳
@@yonder-john I order form Society6 to Belgium and the taxes on top of what you pay are so high its not really worth it.
I’ve only bought one thing off society 6 cause I loved the design and I figured I’d have the shower curtain forever but everything is so expensive and I didn’t realize how expensive it was til I tried selling on there and it’s insane
Thank you. Society6 is out of the picture! I have seen others with similar issues.
Earlier this week, Society6 updated their Policy. Now Artists can Set their Profit margin on all Products. Still, I have drastically cut back on the products I make available simply because it is time-consuming to upload all of my Open Edition Photography. Sticking to Wall Art and Greeting Cards only. Everything else is not really a focal point for me right now.
Thanks for the info. I just started uploading to S6 today and it is horrendous, which is why I came over to YT to find some opinions on the site. Redbubble and FAA are so much easier to upload to. Most of the PoD sites have a pricing issue imho, their base prices are so high, I'm always amazed that people buy from these sites. I think I'll just add more photos to S6 as and when I have a bit of spare time. Definitely not something I want to spend a lot of effort on. Appreciate hearing your experience, thank you.
What's FAA?
I agree with you. Part of my artistic journey but payout not enough for the slow system. I do have to thank them for supporting artist growth. Jeez I was so brand new. But I think my time is best used mastering the art processes. Thanks for this video.
I'm glad I could be of some help! You're very welcome! 👍
Thanks for the honesty and all the details! Good luck with your new site
Absolutely! And thanks so much! 🥳
I started on society6 recently and the uploaded is incredibly frustrating. I almost always get an error and the upload process is generally slow. As a result I've only uploaded a handful of designs even though I have dozens
Hi!
I am a designer from Taiwan. I almost used this website. Fortunately, I saw your video introduction and realized that it works like this. Thank you~
If you can, I hope you can find a friend to help translate into Chinese. Because UA-cam's translation function is not so accurate.
(The above English is translated through Google Translate)
Everything you say is amazingly correct!!! THEY CLEARLY EXPLORE TALENT !!!!
Exploitation
yes THANK YOU this has been a struggle
thanks for this video. I had been debating if i should close my shop or not. As much as I think red bubble takes alot, i still make more and feel i have more freedom to customize and makup ALL my prices. I'm not always guessing and just marking up prices just to make a buck on society6, i feel more like I'm cheating the customer than needed just to make like 2 dollars. I agree with alot of your points. i didn't want to close it because i have made sells there but i am just not feeling it. feels too much like uploading and not being valued any way or other ways i can bring value to my work.
Glad to hear this video was helpful for you! Thanks so much! It's important to feel valued by who you're choosing to work with, wish you the best of luck 👏
@@yonder-john do you have any videos on print on demand sites you do recommend that don't take and arm and a leg?
@@starsvibes I don't have a video on that, no. Unfortunately my experience with Print on Demand services ends at Society6, so I can't officially recommend anything. In the comments here, though, some people have noted some degree of success with Redbubble and Fine Art America, although I expect them to be somewhat similar to Society6.
I felt the same way. i got all excited. gathered up all my work and was ready to dive in. then I saw the measly 10% and I was like NOPE.
I'm sorry, but that's straight up thievery.
like he said, without artists, S6 wouldn't even have a site.
like come on. at least make it 20-25%.
👏🏻👏🏻
That’ll explain why they’re flooded with abstract canva designs lol
@@naturallyeccentric05 lol yeah that rat Canva
That’s the challenge with our industry. Nobody cares except for other designers and artists, and even then, we’re more jealous-competitive than supportive.
I agree with all of the points made here. I still upload work to Society 6 but my main concern is the price of the products for customers. I stick to the 10% margin because the price of the product if you raise it is totally unrealistic.
Not only everything I heard here is so accurate, the exact reason that brought me to this video in the first place was that I just started in society6 last week, basically to add more platforms to upload my stuff as everyone in the POD industry does, and I didn't need more than just an uploading process to figure out that...overall that WEBSITE SUCKS! I could even say, that it's a FUCKING SCAM considering that if you combine all the DOWNSIDES around it, there's no way you can make it worth it, that meaning decent income of course. That's 100% clear if you compare it to other POD sites (no all are good).
Thanks for solving my doubts bro, it definitely saved me time since now I do know that my bad feeling about the site WAS REAL! 🤝
Glad to hear I was helpful for you! Best of luck with finding what works best for you 👏
@@yonder-john 🤝
Great video. Can you make a video on how you integrated your shop on your website....and the shipment and print part. Thanks
Thank You! That's a great idea, I'll put some thought into it!
@@yonder-john I was about to ask the same question. That would be great to see!
noted! ;)
Thank you for sharing your tips. Loads to learn!
Now to find a good print shop locally so I can print out my photography!
I've been using the upload time to practice my flute. I adjust one product, then play a tune or do a scale while I wait for every single product to load up again before I can adjust the next one. It's painful.
Grear video! I'm there for more than 5 years with 3 stores. The sales dropped 400% or more. I don't spend any minute there anymore.
Good to know. Thanks.
Thanks for this video, I was considering on working with Society6, but not anymore (lol) I'll continue looking. Thanks!
Thank you so much for sharing! At least I have an idea now.
He seems a very nice guy. Real info. Thanks
Appreciate it! You’re welcome! 🥳
I loved this video! Well spoken and super informative
Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it!
I was kind of horrified they want $1 for artists to verify their email. I feel ripped off already $1.45. Like I know it's very little but why are they scamming me for $1.45 when I probably won't sell on their small site. And yeah the upload stuff is incredibly buggy. I only joined today I only have two items and they kept confusing the two somehow and showing only one under both titles????????
Oh goodness I completely forgot about the $1 account fee, that probably would've made my list for sure haha 😂 I also, had very little patience for how unstable their site is. It's like they don't have a department for that at all, totally embarrassing 🙈
damn, now... where do i go...
At last, someone who is openly prepared to share the pain of millions of us! I left S6 years ago after only getting a trickle of sales. It was a mass disappointment. Then, perhaps quite stupidly, I returned about a year ago. And in that time... (blows a raspberry)! POINTLESS!!!
The most I've been able to do with the shockingly new uploader is upload nothing but masks at about 1500px!!! There is no rude word on this planet to acknowledge the idiocy of that uploader. Especially if you reside in the UK and you are using broadband with a fairly slow upload rate. SO, now... I've simply given up all hope and the most I upload is face masks. (Simply because that's all about I can upload). And much like you have explained here, without promotion, your work just sits in an abyss.
So, who knows. Maybe by the time I'm 80, ( a good few years away yet), I may have made one sale. Until then... I'll stick to that other POD site, where I do at least make some sales!
Sorry to hear S6 also hasn't been a good fit for you, but thank you for sharing your experience! Your frustrations with the uploader is...wildly justified haha you aren't alone 😂
which other site do you use?
this is such a helpful and well thought-out review. Thanks!
Thank you for sharing- needed this!!
I’m glad I was helpful! You’re welcome!! 🥳
Thanks for the vid. I came across S6 recently and asked them about watermarking - important to me. But nope, not available (and I tested simply right-click copying an image). That's BS, so allow me to throw them under a bus for you ;)
I agree wholeheartedly, I'm moving away from S6 as well. The effort is just not worth the income. Add to that, some products are not shown from all sides, which annoys the heck out of me. The one thing they have that Redbubble sorely misses, is an all-over shirt. However, they only display the front of it, not the back. Really S6...?!
1000% all of this 🙌
I just found them because they have a lot more Rose gold and that one of my colors in my 1st apartment 😆 but, I’m sorry about all the cons. I definitely want to continue to support artist so I’ll definitely check your and other artist websites
other PODs do also have many problems. one of the biggest problems are Copycats. Have seen sooooooo many stolen designs and they do nothing about it.
Have you tried Artfully Walls for art prints? They promise 20% (I think), but they have an audience with Anthropologie clients.
Do you know of another POD platform that sells cream t-shirts?
Thank you. This is very helpful.
You’re very welcome!
The upload bugs set this in stone for me. Won't be going there. Thanks for saving me time.
Back to RedBubble for products I guess.
Glad to hear I've been helpful! Best of luck!
It would be awesome if we could change background color and rotate your image, as Treadless. Less files to keep on your computer.
They are all rip offs. Spoonflower gives you $2 per sale but they want you to buy a yard of the material before it goes live.
That’s ridiculous 🙈
Rip off
Such a great video!!
The uploading UI is the most frustrating thing ever. They should have a pattern set up or get to the level to Amazon and Redbubble...
Thanks for this video, probably saved me tons of time :)
I have had nothing but problems uploading - so glitchy and time consuming
one of the so called founders Andy stole my idea for an art project that he never gave me credit for so obviously I would never buy anything from this website
Appreciate the review!
This is so helpful! Thank you. What do you recommend for selling print on demand products?
Very useful video thank you 😊
I left S6 back in 2013. Their outfit was a bit of a joke and unbelievably frustrating back then and, given their complete inability to take any constructive feedback on board from their contributing artists, it's not surprising to hear that much seems to have remained the same. Fine Art America is a much better outfit for artists looking for a POD solution in my opinion..
2013!? I'm exhausted. Maybe I'll just check back in on S6 in another 8 years and see if they've even attempted to fix anything 🙃 thanks for the advice on Fine Art America!
I've heard so many mixed things about society6 but have been considering using it just as a way to get my foot in the door and learn the process. Would this at least be a good beginners option until i find another avenue?
Nice video John, I'm thinking the same with etsy, but I'm not sure who will find me with a personal website. Have you paid for Google ads on your personal website? Thank you!
Thanks so much Josh, very useful
great insight , thank you
Maybe I'm missing something but I never understood is why we can't change the color background of most of the products on S6 (except shirts and some few others products that deal with PNG's transparent background). You have to upload several times the same design with different aspect ratio and a color background that you made yourself if you want to have a background that is something else than white... That alone is a brutal loss of time.
100% agree on this. The lack of personalization & control is doing more harm than good to the artists, and yes, the amount of time spent trying to wrestle that control in our favor is never rewarded. There just aren't any systems in place for this kind of thing, which is disappointing.
amen, society6 loves to waste your time it seems
thanks!
You're Welcome!
It takes too long to upload and doesn't work one design, never sold anything. same for me not wasting anymore time there
나는 한국사람이지만 생각보다 부정적인 견해가 많아서 놀랐어요 잘 보고갑니다 한국에선 인기가 많은 사이트입니다
I’m trying hard to upload and it’s so frustrating lol
So what should I (an artist) do ?
i made a sale from a design 50 pieces at once in a day and the company gets around 3000$ and i get around 100$. it's christmas soon and i didn't buy anything. it's so sad i wanted an Iphone 13 Pro for creating Arts. to take pictures and draw them. i have around 1000 designs but the market is full and many people do not see your beautiful designs. i have many design which i design for almost 8 hours. some designs even took me 3 days. they are incredible so many details and it looks amazing. but i think most of the people have financial problems and many people buy products with brand and hype.
I was deleting all my society 6 artwork while watching this. 2 years, no sales, no point.
Thank you very much! We just signed up with Society6! But if you sell from your own website, do you print out your artwork and ship it to the customers? Thank you in advance.
Congrats! I take orders directly to a local print shop that I help support. Once I have prints in hand, I package and ship myself 👍
@@yonder-john thank you very much! We have to decide also how and where to sell our art, still new at the business side of it.
Oh my, I love your video!
This is great info !
Thanks!! Glad you’ve gotten something from it 🥳
I was just looking for reviews on their product quality when I came across your video. I think I may just pass and try other POD sites until I can afford to dropship or print my own. S6 has absolutely ABYSMAL trustpilot rating. Idk what's going on there but it sounds like at some point in the past few years they gave up entirely
Hi can you tell me how to get my own printshop website for my designs and photography, please if it’s not a bother?
I had the same problem issues.
I started an account with them today wouldn't let me relog in now i have deleted my account.
Do you have any experience with fineartamerica? And what are your thoughts about it if you know it.
I actually don't have any experience with fineartamerica, nor had I any clue it existed before you had mentioned it! Some quick research tells me that, at the very least, their actual selling platform is more versatile than Society6's. At first glance, it looks like they offer a wider variety of promotional tools & allow you to integrate products into your own pre-existing website, which are just a few examples of areas that Society6 desperately needs to improve. I'll be keeping fineartamerica on my radar, thanks for the tip!
@@yonder-john thank you so much for taking time and replying to my question that fast! And you are welcome :)
Fine Art America cares less about artists than S6. Don't get me wrong they have great quality & you are able to see locations of sales, etc. But they have ZERO protections for art on their website. You can literally go in and view the high-resolution image & download whatever you want. I had work stolen from there when I was paying for their Premium service. They had zero concern that my work was stolen and flat out told me they did not plan to change the way their website displays art. They feel that watermarks that cover the image or low-resolution images will deter buyers. I immediately canceled my premium subscription & deleted my work. So please just be careful with them or any website that does not protect artists.
@@that5280lady the watermark thing that they claims deterring potential customers kept me thinking whether i should be uploading more designs there...
I just started FAA as an another option after the redbubble glitch and suspension of my Teepublic account.
And now its S6.
Looks like there are no reliable POD company, idk.
i use them as a one off dropship site because they're really only manufacturing and shipping my merch.
do you have any other print on demand suggestions? red bubble's shipping to my region is ASTRONOMICALLY priced so they're not a great option, i literally use their end prices as my sale price on society6.
Unfortunately my experience with other POD sites is limited, however a number of people here in the comments have been suggesting Fine Art America as another option besides Redbubble. It's frustrating to learn that you have shipping issues for your region! Do you mind if I ask if it's Redbubble specifically that you're having problems with? Or are you encountering this issue elsewhere as well? 🙁
@@yonder-john red bubble specific, for barbados in the caribbean.
people are okay waiting for imports as most things including amazon deliveries take 4 weeks easily via dhl/ups ... redbubble isn't giving a gauranteed 7 day delivery, but they are charging ridiculously, for deliveries, where s6 is all of 5-7 per item and it's here within 4-6 weeks.
Sounds like Redbubble isn't quite as integrated as other places, which is a total bummer, I wouldn't be excited about working with them either 😭 Hopefully that really is an isolated Redbubble issue so that you have some flexibility while looking for other options!
$5-$7
😊As a seller on Society6, is it completely free or have any fees after certain amount of sale? Subscribed from Malaysia & i love your photography very much❤
Thanks so much! Appreciate it. As far as I’m aware, there’s only a single fee at sign-up. It’s only like $2 or something, but it’s there.
@@yonder-john 😊Your most welcome.
1. So, how about Redbubble? Does it have the same style of fees as well or its completely free?
2. What is Single Fee means?
I believe they’re similar, but I’ve never used Redbubble personally so I can’t say for certain.
What I mean with the fee is that you only have to pay once, just when you open the account.
@@yonder-john 😊Ok...Understood! Thanks a lot! I pray & hope, you all the best in life👍
🙌🙌🙌🙌
And another change ... drumroll ... they have paid plans now for 5 or 13 dollars per month.
It's too much work, income not worth it. I stopped adding art there...
Rip off
if the app is buggy imagine the commision pay out.
I've been on S6 for 4 years and only made 26.00, period. It sux. I have some amazing photography which has been featured on the internet, printed in photo calendars, and more. I've never been featured as an artist by S6 and after watching this video, I've deleted my account. It's the same with Shutterstock. I've been on Shutterstock for 4 years and made $1 / not even kidding, just $1 for amazing photography after 4 years.
10%?! That’s pathetic!!!! Only a fool would sign that contract.
What are you using to sell prints then?
Great question! I have my own print shop set up on my personal website - I use Squarespace. I print with a local business, but package and ship everything myself. Hope this helps! 👍
@@yonder-john Hi John, could you tell me how much the local print shop charges you, and what profit you make after for example 1 order?
impossible to use, so so so so so so slow to upload/edit art
It's 2023 - the links to your website do not work anymore, following through your social media and links I can find there, nowhere do you still maintain your own print store.