tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post6846323143926615688..comments2023-06-13T08:29:39.914+00:00Comments on MAKING A MARK: CafePress acquires Imagekind - what next?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-2637231756243827212009-06-24T09:06:51.713+00:002009-06-24T09:06:51.713+00:00I normally don't allow comercially oriented co...I normally don't allow comercially oriented comments on this blog. However I've read the last comment a few times now and it seems to me to be something which artists need to be aware of.<br /><br />Cafe Press are at at liberty to send a response!Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-4593866987846629052009-06-23T10:55:52.231+00:002009-06-23T10:55:52.231+00:00Recently CafePress began competing with the artist...Recently CafePress began competing with the artists for whom it acts as printer and shipper.<br /> <br />CafePress rents web shops to its artists. The artist creates a website page and manually loads the desired blank products. The artist imports his image onto each product, arranges the products on the page, describes the products, titles the products and tags the images.<br /> <br />Initially, the artist would set a markup and received the markup for each product sold.<br /> <br />However, recently CafePress began competing with its artists, using the artists' own images. CafePress created a marketplace where a customer can search a keyword. That search brings up artist products. When the customer buys from the marketplace CafePress pays the artist 10% of the price CafePress set. Both the customer and the artist lose money. If the artist's shop sells a t-shirt for $21, the artist makes $3.01. If the marketplace sells the same shirt for $25, the artist gets $2.50. The customer pays $4 more, and the artist gets $0.51 less. <br /> <br />CafePress tells artists to "promote your own shop," but CafePress buys Google adwords using the very image tags the artist provided. <br /> <br />CafePress justifies this bait and switch of service terms by telling artists they can opt out if they don't like the new terms; however, many have spent as much as 7 or 8 years creating as much as 88000 images. <br /> <br />In spite of their sweat-equity, many shopkeepers (content providers) are building shops at other print-on-demand companies and then closing their CafePress shops due to the broken faith and trust, the financial hardship CafePress has delivered into so many lives, and the huge amount of time and dedicated effort all lost in the momentum of their own businesses. Would you keep your AMOCO station franchise if AMOCO built a company store across the street from you?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-9158169295520414892008-08-05T21:52:00.000+00:002008-08-05T21:52:00.000+00:00Great post, and great comments, too! I agree. I st...Great post, and great comments, too! I agree. I stopped visiting Imagekind about a year ago. It seemed dead in the water. <BR/><BR/>There are, indeed, many overlapping services and the economy is ominous around the world. It's going to be a quiet Christmas. The best-capitalized and most efficient will ride it out. <BR/><BR/>There are art sites that sell original paintings (absolute arts.com), not prints of original paintings. <BR/><BR/>This is an interesting argument, and it could be the basis of specialized sites, actually--prints from drawings and paintings only? Prints from collages only? Fresh-layered digital art?<BR/><BR/>Okay, enough silliness--I know what you mean about the photographs. Actually, carefully juried microstock (photography) sites offer prints from their fabulous collections, so photography doesn't have to be on these POD art sites at all. (Okay, I post mine, but I don't have to. I have hundreds of paintings and drawings, too.)<BR/><BR/>I agree that Barney's last paragraph is fascinating. It makes sense. It will be interesting to find out what happens.Notes from a Virtual Easelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04194576722935106134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-56709132952924035172008-07-10T21:18:00.000+00:002008-07-10T21:18:00.000+00:00You make some sound additional points Barney - I d...You make some sound additional points Barney - I didn't see the value of the deal (my jaw dropped!) until after I'd published this post.<BR/><BR/>I agree about the stall - I've gone lukewarm on Imagekind of late. I still think they have the best set-up but I don't like the direction they've been taking prior to the latest announcement - too many photos and not enough artwork.<BR/><BR/>Over here in the UK we're having some very major shifts in spending - and I'm expecting that to have a big knock-on effect on some of the major high street (non-art) chains. We've already had some very worrying results posted by some of the major companies<BR/><BR/>One can only speculate at this point about how the economic shake-out and recession will affect online traders - but my take on it is that there are too many outfits that look a bit too similar in the marketplace at present - particularly in relation to photographs. <BR/><BR/>I'd like to see some really serious competition for art.com - in relation to giclee versions of hand-made original art - but first people have to be able to find the art!<BR/><BR/>I'm intrigued by your last paragraph!Making A Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13509483023337008890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20645140.post-41307304243083835002008-07-10T21:05:00.000+00:002008-07-10T21:05:00.000+00:00Hi Katherine,I saw the press release a couple of d...Hi Katherine,<BR/><BR/>I saw the press release a couple of days ago and have been pondering my own blog regarding the acquistion of Image Kind by Cafe Press. You bring up some very good points on both pro and con of this new deal.<BR/><BR/>The biggest benefactors of this arrangement are most likely the shareholders and investors in Image Kind. From my perspective, after what seemed to be a promising start, IK seemed to stall out a bit on it's potential. I was never sure whether it was a lack of vision or cash, or a little of both. Not that it was doing a really bad job, more that it seemed to not be progressing towards taking the dominant role it initially portended.<BR/> <BR/>What Cafe Press' management does with IK is the key to whether IK's 50,000 artists benefit from the deal. Is there a vision to create something powerful by bringing the two companies together? Will the new entity be able to mount a serious challenge and offer artists a true competitor to Art.com? Is there some visionary thinking that will allow the new entity to capitalize on technological developments? Is there enough input from artists as opposed to techies to address items such as those you mention?<BR/><BR/>This latest development signals the changes that have roiled the art print market are far from over. I'm betting that by the year's end timeframe you mention for this deal to be sorted out that announcements from other quarters in the art and picture framing market will be grabbing the attention of visual artists, art publishers and art industry professionals everywhere.Barney Daveyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06466958949588909177noreply@blogger.com