The Wholesale Forums

[BrandDirect]

I signed up myself recently to explore the possibilities of using this company and i have to say that after a long 'giving them a chance' 4 days i quickly cancelled the free 30 trial.
A read of their forums really do suggest that they are still trying to find their feet with so many people complaining that items not being delivered and all they respond is that they have had no problems in 3 months.
I have been kind in what ive mentioned above. As a supposedly service which infact you do pay for they are severely lacking in customer service. Their instructions for any newbies are as clear as mud and to be honest if anyone is interested in this form of business then i would have to say look at cafepress. For me it has closed this avenue as it is more hassle than its worth.
One thing also to note is that if you spend less than $15 dollars on an item then there is also a handling fee. Making this less appealing also if your item costs over £18 pound then there is duty costs involved .
You can make it work i suppose but it isnt the deal they make it out to be.
Stay away not worth the hassle, many other avenues to go down by.

[GB@Contender]

I have a few coupon codes for them if you just want to try them out.

Each mousepad at US$2.99 with free shipping.
Each White Spaghetti Tank at US$3.99 with Free Shipping

[US Colorprint]

Good afternoon,

I've been printing heat transfers since 1987 and finally 'retired' a while ago. I've been using cafepress since 1999 to sell a few misc. items and have had little luck with them. Maybe lousy designs in addition to high base prices. Started selling '69 Mustang t's and have since moved them to my own store at you-print-online.com

In May 2007, I ran into Artscafe and was very reluctant to try it but I gave it a shot. I am pleased to report that I am now a Super VIP owner.

Artscafe has a long way to go as their spelling had to be corrected, descriptions and such. Forum members helped out on this a lot.

There was a rash of comments concerning late/no deliveries but I have made two separate orders and both reached me in 8 days. Product printing and quality was more than I had expected - colors sharp and details/hues exactly as I made them.

On the down side, the instructions on setting up even a free store are, uh, need a lot of work. As a Super VIP owner, I have made my own 'How To' manual for all of my own storeowners so they can see how to do a certain thing. Mind you I'm not plugging my stores, I'm just letting you know what I had to do to get my storekeepers going.

If any shopowner needs artwork made into a transparent bg, resize, etc... I do it for them for free. I help them create and work their own store so they can get selling faster. If necessary, I build their store for them. I have my own forum for my shopkeepers and others interested and need help or questions answered.

The support at Art's needs work but I am responsible for getting my own shopkeepers online and making money, so I provide it myself.

Overall, in my honest opinion, Artscafe does a great job printing and filling orders but their support for their storeowners is weak.

Yes, I will stay as a SuperVIP owner and will support my own shopkeepers. And yes, I do participate in the Artscafe forum to help wherever I can.

I hope this information helps a bit and your comments are most welcome.

Fred
Melbourne FL

[aat666]

Originally Posted by cymru78

Looks very good for me.

I have actually emailed them an enquiry of my own - do they only do images or is text only possible.
If so, i will probably give them a try.

The free delivery option is quite slow, but for free you can't complain too much.

This is a very similar thing to what myself and a friend were looking for quite some time ago. Maybe we might look into it again.
approx £1.50 for a custom designed t-shirt and delivery is pretty darn good and a damn site cheaper than my local t-shirt printing business wanted per item.

And another plus thing - there should be no import & taxes to pay.

approx £1.50 for a custom designed t-shirt ??

HOW ??

[US Colorprint]

Hi,

A white, custom 'Make Your Own' t-shirts runs about $10.00. I don't know what that converts to in pounds.

The individual VIP storeowners set their own retail prices so one VIP store may be selling it at $10.00, another at $12.00, etc...

NO VIp or free storeowners can set their selling prices for less than the base price. The programming won't allow you to.

Fred
Melbourne FL

Originally Posted by aat666

approx £1.50 for a custom designed t-shirt ??

HOW ??

[US Colorprint]

Good afternoon,

I have been with ArtsNow (formerly ArtsCafe) since June of this year and am happy to post that I am more than happy with their products, service and pricing.

What they still lack is support to the storeowners themselves. I post in their forum to try to help out but as a Super VIP owner myself, I offer support to all of my storeowners plus I have just released our brand new 'How To' manual. This shows the storeowner how to setup, edit, add sections, etc.. Additionally, I have also included a new section about the Internet - setting up your own website to draw customers to your store, etc...

This manual is available only to my Fun-Tees.com storeowners and it is also available on cd. The 'How To' for non-Fun-Tees storeowners is still online and only has the basics.

'Products not received' complaints have been just about eliminated and all of us have not experienced any problems with shipping.

I would suggest that if you are serious about operating your own store, want real support, you visit us.

More new products are available plus VIP stores can now offer their own free stores to schools, people interested in their own store, etc.. .and make a profit on their sales.

Hope this information helps.

Fred
Melbourne FL

[Dreamtide]

Hi to you all,

Thanks for the info, apparently, artsnow works better than cafepress, is that right? Anyone knows if they ship worldwide? And if so, how much it takes between the order and delivery?

Thanks in advance,

/Dream.

[US Colorprint]

Hi Dream,

Artsnow IS working better and more products are now available plus more coming very quickly (playing cards, prints, etc...).

Xmas caught AN by surprise and sales were so great that they fell behind in shipping the orders. That will not happen again!

If anyone does have an interest in the AN program, that they should really consider joining under a Super VIP owner and not AN directly. The SVIP owner is responsible for each VIP< Reseller and FRee store under them and they do take care of them. Although, very few SVIP owners actually want stors under them. Besides myself, there are only 3-4 other SVIP owners in this category of owners who take care of all of our stores. I guess I'm the veteran at it.

When an order is received, it takes 2 days for it to be processed (printed and packaged). It the takes from 8-12 days for the order to arrive to the customer. On all stores selling under me, this has held true with some exceptions for Xmas. I handle orders to the US, Europe, AU, NZ, etc... and have had no complaints.

Which POD service is better? They all are as each POD service offers the usual t-shirts. mugs, etc.. For now, AN offers over 200 products with more on the way. This is something that you would have to decide for yourself so shop around.

Hope this help.

Fred
melbourne FL
Mod Edit: Removed - You are NOT permitted to use a siganture.

[Dreamtide]

Yes, it helps, thank you so much. Don't quite get the SVIP part, though, you're suggesting to circumvent AN in order to gain certain advantages by dealing with the SVIP? This sounds kinda preposterous, shouldn't you be paying higher prices due to the reseller status?

I base my bussiness in Europe, being Italy, Spain and Belgium three good targets, although the plan is just being designed. It takes the same time to get to Brussels than Sydney?

I'm also willing to know how it works the law appliance for registered images and characters, I left a post in the legal section of the board, I'm gonna check it out, but if you guys know anything about it, I would appreciaty any hint.

Thanks!!!

/Dream.