Your Recent Online Sales
So, having been slightly demoralised by the Zazzle forum, after learning that I should not expect a sale until I had created over 1000 products, I then received an exciting email from them. It was entitled ‘Your Recent Sales’! I was overwhelmed with happiness and excitement when I opened the email and found out that I had sold a birthday card on Zazzle! I was so excited; my first sale within two weeks of opening my store.
Online Earnings
When I got home from the office job, I logged on to the website and after trial and error, discovered the Earnings tab and found out that I had made the princely sum of 37 pence! This encouraged me and I created more and more ‘products’. I followed up this heady success two weeks later by selling a postcard featuring a cute donkey foal that I chanced upon in the New Forest. For some reason my commission on this was only 7 pence.
Payment for Sales
Now, before you get carried away with me, and think I am on the road to handing in my notice, I must draw your attention to the small print in the Zazzle terms and conditons. Payment is not made to designers until their earnings have reached $35. Now, I don’t know what the current exchange rate is but I think it may take several years or possibly decades for me to receive a payout. Also, payments are only possible after you have successfully completed a W8-BEN form in order that you can be taxed correctly on your income.
Tax
There is a whole section on the forum on completing the W8-BEN form; ideally you would need assistance from a researcher in order to find the correct paragraph in the IRS tax agreement treaty with the UK. The forms get returned to the designers many times asking them to have another go at filling in the correct information. I am currently on my second attempt.
Dogs
Meanwhile, I am slowly but surely working my way towards 1000 items – check out my dog collection in my Zazzle store. (If you feel like it – no pressure.)
© Michelle Le Grand
http://www.5pmfriday.org
http://www.michellelegrandart.wordpress.com
https://michellelegrandart.artweb.com/
Le Grand Art 