Interview with Mike AKA suburbanscenes

The ProSeller Corner Tell the world a little bit about yourself.

Mike

My name is Mike Savad I live in Westfield, NJ. Single, no kids, unless you count my computer and camera. No pets, though I did have some birds and fish at one point in time. My hobbies are Stained Glass, Fusing, Photography, Photo editing and manipulation, I built my last 3 computers, I'm learning Japanese off and on, and have a vast knowledge of the building trades.

The ProSeller Corner When did you start designing at Zazzle and what made you choose them?

Mike I came here about a year go, I think in June of last year. I came from Cafepress, which I was doing pretty well in. But they changed their policy and cheated me and everyone else of a lot of money keeping 90% for themselves and telling us that they do all the work. I guess they don't know how hard art is to actually make.

The ProSeller Corner Do you have any other stores at Zazzle?

Mike No just the one. but the store is mixed, i felt that it was better to keep everything under "one roof" as it were. It's easier to find and keep track of things for me. Logging into other stores would be a hassle for me. Suburban Scenes by Mike Savad 

The ProSeller Corner What has been you best selling product?

Mike I don't think i have one best selling item. I have around 1,100 designs as of this interview. Though my pharmacy section and barber section are very popular.

The ProSeller Corner What do you enjoy doing when you're not working on your store?

Mike I think i'm pretty much always working on my store. Except when I'm at my real job. Though if I can pull myself away, I would be found in the shop fixing tools, or making something.

The ProSeller Corner How do you balance your time between Zazzle and life?

Mike There is life outside of Zazzle? I'm not sure there really is. Reality kind of merges into one. I photograph things in order to edit them, in order to send them here to sell them. People buy stuff, and repeat number one.

The ProSeller Corner How long had you been with Zazzle before you reached a ProSeller status?

Mike Hard to remember, I think maybe 6 months in or so. Maybe a little bit less.

The ProSeller Corner Getting noticed and becoming a ProSeller takes a lot of hard work and time. What advice would you give to those aspiring to become a ProSeller?

Mike Keep a huge variety of designs on your store. Sell every design you have on every product they sell. Don't sell just a mug and a poster and maybe a key chain. Many do that. If it fits on the template and you can manage to make one successfully (something pretty hard to do on Zazzle unfortunately),  - sell it all. Some say it's the amount of designs - it's not, it's what those designs are. Keep a large variety of things, and offer something for everyone. Also don't be afraid of pushing the price a little more, you'll have to experiment what works for you. You can especially charge more for posters. Also when creating a template, always choose the best paper, usually a few dollars more won't be noticed, and the user can always bring it down for a personal sale.