5 DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS of REDBUBBLE - Things They Don't Advertise or Want You To Know! (ZEN RANT)

[@hello2oblivion]

I agree 100% with you, the amount of copyright infringement is infuriating. I work hard to create my designs and it is so disheartening to see people being successful by just stealing other people's work.

[@Moodboard39]

How they even allow it ?

[@linnfriberg4017]

Ive seen people put those "copy right stars" on famous artists work! Like really, you trying to protect your van Gogh stickers so no one else can steal from van Gogh?!

[@DeePatience]

I’m going to start reporting Etsy and Redbubble to Disney on Twitter

[@Pyxelles]

Great suggestion. Maybe if we all do that RB & Etsy will finally clean up their act!

[@LoneWolf-tk9em]

How would you do that. I want to report too

[@LisaGTrueCrimeGuru]

I saw this woman KZbinr having a fit about how her Robin Hood Disney design got stolen

[@LisaGTrueCrimeGuru]

Does redbubble care if anyone other than the rights holder sends in the complaint?

[@anniemcannie977]

@@LisaGTrueCrimeGuru Yes. I had no idea that Who Dat was a copy righted phrase and my design was rejected because I had Who Dat in the design.

[@Spyro_2076]

And one of the "Top Artists" that get shown on the homepage etc is just FULL of copyrighted designs. A featured artist. WTF!!!! Fracking P*SSES ME OFF to no end.

[@noah-te2bv]

💯

[@ahote1028]

yup, id encourage anyone to report loriscloset to the respective rights owners (or explain to me why the shop isn't infringing)

[@Spyro_2076]

@@ahote1028 Redbubble really needs a report design or user button. Simple, but no can't have that, loose too much money...

[@purplebubblegum4055]

Thank you so much. You're right.

[@purplebubblegum4055]

@@ahote1028 I was wondering about it too. Even I thought that photos of celebrities and music artists are copyrighted. But loriscloset is always at the top. I think Redbubble let's it stay because that shop must be earning a lot

[@zmbrsys]

I have nearly zero sales on all of these POD sites after about 8 months. I happened to find one of my watercolor illustrations blatantly ripped off by another user. It had the newer redbubble watermark, and they blasted the contrast. I wouldn't care if they just copied the concept and used their own characters, but they straight copied my original artwork. Luckily RB was quick to remove their upload after I submitted a claim. But that goes to show even the overall watermark won't stop people. I'll just keep grinding. Eventually I'll get some sales!

[@aybenahos4497]

Oh my! That sucks! How did u find out?

[@thinktankboulevard]

OMG 8 mths, I am into my second mth and already disheartened. I believe the only way people get sales is having already a massive social platform of followers like instagram ect. As for a newbie you have very little chance of being seen no matter what niche or perfect SEO ,all platforms are saturated now., We have missed the boat by at least 3 years, especially since the lockdowns and the destruction Covid has done across the world.

[@ayaaellboudy]

How claim about this copyright infrig

[@scottsummerson1310]

As long as these Platforms are making money, they're not gonna do anything unless the actual copyright owners complain. Warner Bros. monitors Redbubble regularly, but no other companies seem to be. These big companies need to be told that the platforms are allowing copyright infringements by the thousands! You'll have to go over their heads to get anything done.

[@LisaGTrueCrimeGuru]

A lot of music companies are sending trademark infringement notices through Redbubble I've seen people complaining how their KPOP fan art designs keep getting taken down.

[@francomartini4328]

@@LisaGTrueCrimeGuru Warner Bros in this context means film rather than music. Warner Bros owns DC Comics hence Superman, Batman (and Robin), Wonder Woman, Joker, Flash, Green Lantern, Justice League, etc. They also own several major non-superhero movie franchises such as Lord of the Rings. All of these and many more are favourite targets of POD trademark and copyright infringers worldwide.

[@crystal2915]

I agree with you. I am new to Redbubble and I am so frustrated with this. I had 2 designs taken down for copyright. I used the phrase "fight like a girl" breast cancer awareness. It was taken down for copyright. Ooops i should of checked that phrase BUT when you type it in the search more of those designs pop up. Why were mine taken down and the others are still there.

[@Moodboard39]

U better complaint

[@Moodboard39]

It could be the algorithm

[@FlippBook]

so true bro! on a serious note, this video wasn't just a rant but very informative. Thanks bud.

[@eccentricereen4121]

✨ TIMESTAMPS ✨ 1:24 Dirty Little Secret (DLS) 1: Trademark infringement (logos, superheroes, slogans from movies) 4:28 DLS 2:Niches fill up (whatever niche you find, it won’t last) 6:50 DLS 3: Redbubble Partner Program (the designs keep getting rejected for unclear reasons) 9:28 DLS 4: Some genres are completely full, especially the popular ones. Eg: ‘cute cats’, ‘cute dogs’, ‘funny’. 11:28 DLS 5: The designs are easy to copy

[@rottenrobot]

thanks!

[@bodhipod64]

As a design theft victim myself, this can be very frustrating. I sell on Redbubble and my first multi-sales design was copied and sold on Redbubble itself, Amazon Merch (10 different sellers), and on Etsy (5 different sellers - one with 47 sales!). Complaints filled with all platforms, but I would much rather be designing than hunting. We need to have a "Hall of Shame" or something.

[@Irland_mindset]

Your serious humor is killing me😂 I love your videos and thanks for doing it with so much sincerity and transparency

[@xxnightopsxx]

If you want your artwork stolen posting it to RB is the surest way. Appreciate your channel and your honesty. Glad someone, finally on youtube/social is willing to talk about this. This will never get cleaned up, they could do that today if they actually wanted to. A majority of their revenue comes from copyrighted materials, they willingly turn a blind eye to it (this goes for other sites as well but RB is by far the worst offender). If you're sweating it creating original designs it's mostly a losing game. On the one hand you're competing with copyright infringers and on the other with people that will simply steal your best-selling original designs and sell them for less on RB and others. I've narrowed it down and I know that RB is where people go to get screen grabs of best-sellng images and simply reupload them to RB (and other sites). Often they don't even bother to crop the visible borders out. Best-selling artworks that I haven't uploaded to RB but sold elsewhere have not been able to be stolen., amazingly enough. The worst part is RB do nothing about it or just drag their feet unless it's someone with deep pockets issuing legal takedowns. Even posting screen grabs of entire pages gets no action, you rarely even get a real human to respond. And I can assure you they don't have anyone watching youtube, or even care what we or anyone has to say. Of all the POD businesses they are the most unscrupulous and callous when it comes to dealing with creatives. They just use them and toss them away and rely on another sucker being born every minute.

[@zenwatercooler]

Agree 100% - I have been able to counter this problem a little bit by registering my copyright, but it costs $50 (in Canada) so I have only done it with my best sellers. It does work (complaining to RB with proof of copyright) but obviously a costly option for 98% of people plus the time spent monitoring all these sites.

[@julie5786]

This was a great video, I appreciated your rant and the humor. I totally agree with everything you said. I have a hard time finding my designs because I draw them myself so it'll never show up on page 1; very frustrating.

[@ahmedmido6520]

No they won't clear these copyright designs. They are very good at suspending the other designers who are working hard to make and create new ideas

[@joan5996]

This is so valuable. Calling out what needs to be called out is such a brave thing to do. Thanks for making this video for all of us who carefully tread on this industry and tries so hard to play by the rules.

[@lynxcee6993]

Hey! Zen, Absolutely hilarious approach to a not-so-funny” situation/s. After your rant you must be feeling pretty relieved, right? 😊 Remember: “Laugher, the best medicine”! Keep up the good work! Cheers!

[@loveoceandesign4510]

I 100% agree with you on the non-popular niches. If a POD youtuber has uploaded a video on a hot niche, it's done and cooked for and your design is lost at sea with all the others.

[@MrMick560]

Great ! I agree with everything you say, It really pisses me off when Redbubble tell me that my design was rejected by the fan art program, because I never even entered one. I had an idea about your last rant about people who steal your art, I have started signing my work and state that I sign it in the description because of the art thieves.

[@SpiritWolf209]

yes, I had my store banned within a week of opening because I used part of a really old painting (which I believed was safe to use) in one of my designs but there were plenty of other pages using the entire painting completely unmodified and they are still up. When I tried to argue Redbubble wouldn't even let me talk to a person.

[@punkisl989]

I thought I was the only person thinking that about RB! The trademark one is the worst thing ever and thank you for posting this and talking about for this community! Love your channel! Thank you for your time !

[@noor1988iraq]

WOW “Super bad design” 🤣 you are the funniest, you’ve absolutely right my store got suspended yesterday for no reason while the spammers and copyright infringement people out there!

[@CopperA]

New to your channel, and learning so much. Thanks for sharing your experience and wisdom ❤

[@benjaminbrind953]

It frustrates me so much. I’m over here avoiding copyright like the plague and genuinely trying to sell MY designs that will barely get a chance because of all the peeps uploading whatever they want. The trouble is, it’s their stuff that sells. Of course people want a marvel logo t-shirt! But they should be buying it from Marvel themselves, not some random person! Eugh... Redbubble, Etsy, all of you... sort it out!

[@zenwatercooler]

This comment made my day, I could not agree more 🍺

[@patriciadavella6714]

Your videos bring a lot of value as well as entertainment. You are right regarding these issues in this video as well as making me laugh! You are great. I always look forward to your next video. Thank you for all your work.

[@zenwatercooler]

Thank you for the awesome feedback Patricia!! 🍺🍺🍺

[@kriselleamlagphotography9628]

I'm new on RB, and as I am creating my own designs, this has been actually my concern. Thank you though for showing your vulnerability...we appreciate your channel. Subscribed today.

[@Lilione111]

Redbubble needs some competition!!! We need new sites for artists with more ethics & concern for there sellers. Leave the copyright junk for RB. Who knows they may collapse if they start getting multiple law suits & then all our hard work of uploading will be down the tube. The sad truth is there's so many people with no originality, that have zero scruples & will rip off where ever you put your work. But these sites could help us out, as you said by implementing some deterrents.

[@zenwatercooler]

I 100% agree - there are new sits like VSUAL and I really hope that they succeed. A little competition will hopefully help the whole industry - and the artists!

[@chrissiem4]

I am so discouraged as I am a POD beginner and was so excited to upload my designs I worked for 2 weeks into Redbubble. I watched a lot of your tutorial videos and was so careful about copyright slogans, checking and double checking about trademarks; created original designs myself, and lo and behold, my account was suspended after two days for copyright infringement??? I have only uploaded 5 designs so far and I am scratching my head why my account was suspended when I created them all myself with barely any slogans. No explanation at all! This is so unfair! Is this how they support their designers?

[@zenwatercooler]

Yes that is really frustrating and I am sorry. I have a couple of options that are a little different than Redbubble and I am going to make a couple of videos to address this exact scenario. You have inspired me and hopefully I can help!

[@sibylle5556]

you might have unknowingly used a wrong phrase as a keyword and there are number of other things, which might make the account suspicious. But more likely it was not about you. I was recently suspended for uploading designs with muted colours and my original drawings of flowers with keywords as general as "cute" and "flower" and "colourful". New accounts seem to have higher chances to get rejected than accepted on last months and I am yet to find a credible explanation (having an older shop and a lot of experience did not help, which means that problem in my case was not on the user side).

[@asherpoke4837]

The Genres/Niche thing is so spot on I was like I want to do nerdy gaming references and ended up doing niche random stuff.

[@davidpaxton6402]

Agreed on all points. Unbelievable this happens blatantly online in 2021. If I was living in Melbourne (I'm in Adelaide) I'd be paying them a personal visit. For an Aussie public company valued $1.3 billion cudos to them, but this lack of control in their overall store is appalling.

[@Stonecon]

I worked for a local tshirt shop late 90s. We had a local soccer team that was independent ,meaning not from a school, and they wanted the nike swoosh in the design on the front. Somebody reached out to Nike and got permission. Royalties were paid and the shirts were provided by Nike as part of the deal. It was pretty cool. Got the official ok and printed Nike shirts. It was youth soccer so that made it cool too.

[@zenwatercooler]

Wow that is pretty cool of Nike. Thank you for the feedback!

[@kb2885]

I absolutely agree about the copyright infringements- so frustrating that these designs are still up. My 11 yr old spends hours trawling places like Redbubble and Etsy for copyright images as it angers her so much too!

[@albixdesign4149]

I completely agree about the partnership program. I'm uploading a lot, a ton of designs, and 99% of them are rejected. Some pass throw but most of them not. The more frustrating part is that they do not explain to you what's wrong with them and you go crazy because of that...I feel the same as you. I have right now at least around other 30 designs waiting to be approved or rejected...I hope I will get throw with them...

[@va3279]

I made 10 designs for fanart and 9 of them got rejected and 1 was approved but not included in fan art ...i gave up making fan art designs

[@johnbyrne5838]

Love your viable RANT and you're so right stating there is a lack of monitoring by Redbubble which allows designers to literally STEAL other hard working artists and designers creative images. Again thank you for bringing this most important matter to the fore.

[@FanVidder72]

The mere fact that words like Marvel or Superman or Spiderman appear in tags should send out warning signals to whoever monitors the site (DOES ANYONE monitor the site?)

[@twotwinningcavs]

Im in a micro niche and when researching it pisses me off seeing “designs” from people who simply download a free image that says “cannot resell image as is, must make changes to image” but they haven’t made any changes!!! Im working my ass off to create unique designs but these people are earning money off a straight download & upload. To buyers who don’t know what’s happening it looks cool but to creators it just PISSES ME OFF 🤬🤬🤬

[@razorsandvines]

Your videos are great! Even a year afterward! Thank you!

[@geoffkeen5234]

Love your rant! U r eloquent, speak the truth, speak from your heart and I stand firm with u! ❤✊ thanks man✌👽

[@tinam.9810]

Thanks for this video. As for the niches, you said, you choose the ones with low competition. But it might also mean that there is no demand on them. Do you use a rule of thumb or you have a strategy, to identify the demand on those niches? Another point, related to your previous video: maybe you make a short video, how you would make a design of that fox. Ex.: would you leave that background or delete it, would you change fox colours (it looked like a watercolour vintage pic), what kind of text colour would you choose, what about title and tags, which niche it would be, etc.? Just an idea for your future videos :)

[@zenwatercooler]

Love the suggestions, thank you!! Yes I have a strategy for those "Micro Niches" because you are bang on with your assessment (they might be small for a reason). Let me chew on this!

[@Amberlocks100]

I agree with if enough of us complain. So let's all start sending in our complaints right now and report back here..

[@merilyncarlstad3157]

I enjoyed all the rants very much.

[@tummymummy0867]

Yep about the copyright - used a public domain image and changed it, account SUSPENDED - not even a strike, lost a lot of work and appeal process sucks.

[@master-of-the-quote]

what annoys me is that you see stuff on the 1st page and the image has nothing to do with the niche

[@Fairychamber]

I´v made like 5 Jane The Virgin designs, they were all approved to the partner program. My designs were very simple text designs. My sales on those designs I must say, have dropped a lot since the show ended, which is natural but a bit sad. My XFiles stickers are still doing pretty well.

[@da8675]

So what is the secret to getting approved?

[@kathyk7598]

I'm fairly new to this RB myself, and I'm already frustrated over a number of things going on there. For instance, when I search for a specific category, and throughout that search are designs that have absolutely nothing to do with that category! Who's patrolling this thing? A few weeks ago, they held up one of my designs, not for any discernable problem I could figure, since another one of the same design with one word difference is fine. Go figure that? Why is it, that I go through the trouble of editing each product in each category, to get the placement of design just right, but when I finish, all those items end up with the fixed placement I did on the last item in that category, i.e. shirts? I wanted to get more designs going before I look into other p.o.d. sites, but now I'm rethinking that! Thanks!

[@Deepbluecat]

Haha I like the rants...they're equally helpful bro

[@ilikeito]

I feel your pain for all 5. But I have noticed were the trends are completely saturated it seems to be about tag spamming and that is a big no no to me. That is were I get frustrated.

[@suuuhaylaaa]

Not that it's a full proof against theft, but RB has different options for watermarks, one of which is the tiny corner one, there's also one in the form of crosses that goes all over the design. Some people just don't choose it because they believe it ruins the look

[@Moodboard39]

They should be able to remove right? Once they purchased it or print

[@redsailor101]

Drive a yacht to work 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@victoriavirgo]

I had a design held in review to make sure it complied with their IP policy. Two days later, they approved it as it was a public domain image used. But what I annoyed me is exactly what you said. Blatant TV Shows and Films copyright infringement and these designs are front and centre. How is that possible????

[@computernerdtechman]

All of this stuff about "Finding Niches", "Finding Niches", "Finding Niches", I call "Chasing the Rainbow". Eventually 10,000 other people are going to discover that "Niche" and crowd you out. It's just a matter of time.

[@FedSher]

Getting into trends is not very different from a damn regular job in which your boss tells you WHAT TO DO AND WHEN TO DO IT since most of the times, these ''promising trends'' are gonna be related to things that you aren't interested in at all! So, why will you be making designs around them or how long would you last doing so? Best advice as told in here, find your own small niches around things you love and know about; not only it will get you more sales, you won't get out of ideas easily and upload more stuff without feeling that you're working for someone else... considering that most people doing print on demand HATE THE 9 TO 5 JOBS and are aiming to quit that forever, I think this is a good advice. HOPE YOU ALL THE BEST OF LUCKS 🤜🤛

[@zenwatercooler]

Yes I totally agree - I don't really find niche marketing enjoyable - I would rather make designs I really like. So I usually do "1 for me, 1 for you" and make a set of designs I like for fun, and then make a set that I think will sell. I agree, the best niche is the combination (stuff you like AND you think will sell). Thank you for the feedback!

[@FedSher]

@@zenwatercooler that's right bro! Not only this is true, it also feels good to know that someone who's already making some decent money with POD actually thinks this way, makes me feel that I'm on the good path 🤝 Just discovered this great channel of yours last week 💪 and I'll be following you from now on!

[@nicopicco]

Trademark Infringement: There is a serious elephant in the room and I have yet to see anything done about it. Infringements lay squarely on the backs of the designers. RB will take zero responsibility as stated in their TofS. Something else to mention is that there is a serious conflict of interest as RB makes money when these sell and nothing will be done about it until TM infringement is legally called out. SO, if you add up everything, RB is going to ride it for as long as they can because at the end of the day, the designer will be the scapegoat...RB has nothing to lose.

[@da8675]

Of corse this is true. RB, and even Amazone thrive from ignoring IP. They always play dumb when the IP owner lawyer's show up. It's all just apart of corperations doing business.

[@pythonjava6228]

I thought gravity falls was part of the partner program but it's not. I guess I just assumed because there's a bunch of gravity falls designs on redbubble

[@karenwood6374]

Wanted to send you a note, I'm a production artist for a big licensed sportswear company and I get a lot of rejections from NFL, MLB, NHL, NCAA, and so forth. And it's really frustrating because sometimes they won't tell us what is being rejected. Is it the Logo? the Font? The phrase? The garment color? Is the TM/® not exactly in the right place? Did the team secretly update their 3 tier logo and didn't tell us yet? And we have the official team logo slicks, font guides, licensing researched phrases, and a whole bunch of resources. And it's a complete and total crap shoot! So don't feel bad if Redbubble doesn't tell you why it's rejected. They probably don't know either. The only person who knows why is the licensor at the company that holds the rights. But don't give up.

[@ahmedabbas2751]

It's really very hard to be consistent in redbuble with all the problems they have I hope they do something about it

[@nexus9deluxe]

Red Bubble have had it. I won't touch them with a bargepole from now on. The poo on their artists.

[@potato6495]

Add glitches to the list of frustrations. Sometimes the thumbnail for a product shows just a blank square. On what earth can you sell a product that can't be seen?

[@pythonjava6228]

Redbubble improved their watermarks though. There's now a tile over the whole design.

[@AlbinoMissTwilight]

Yeah! I started a few months ago and have a watermark that covers the design. Would it be different in Canada?

[@jimg9820]

@@AlbinoMissTwilight You have a choice of watermark, I guess Zen doesn't know about the all over yet.

[@thinktankboulevard]

But it still doesn't stop them copying your design idea, and if it's words then a watermark makes No difference.

[@juliea.244]

As someone who started a long time ago on Zazzle, I found that any design that sells will be copied...I have always done my own thing (being in the creative role and not the "copy what sells" role) even though the masses of people teach copying what sells. I'm an artist, not just trying to make a quick buck posting a 5 minute design. I have my work copied all the time...and by copy that means different things...sometimes almost exact, and then sometimes what I call "the same thing only different". I've learned to let it go unless it is actually competing with my own work as I know I their work is not on the same level as mine & I can create original items that sell. I once had an invite design for the 4th of July that someone complained about that was similar, and Zazzle took mine down because they complained...if they would have checked, my design was there long before the one who complained was! I let it go as it was older and really wasn't selling anyways...

[@amylouisebrutonl9051]

I’m always getting stuff checked I tend to ignore it now. Because I don’t even know who they think my stuff is like?

[@bobgivens9095]

They claim they are actively removing Copyrighted and Trademarked items, but it doesn't seem that that activity is more than just a thought.

[@trzagor2769]

You are doing a good job!!! Critical thinking is not a crime!! Thanks for spilling the beans!!!😅😅

[@temael1]

Thank you so much for speaking about this it's really frustrating.

[@aymankhallouki8502]

This video is hilariously true

[@donpakundo8790]

Half of my fanart designs were rejected without explanation/review when even using their assets.

[@va3279]

All my fanart designs got rejected....i made 10 designs and nothing was wrong with it ..i checked all their guidelines

[@AJ-wt5zy]

I had a design not accepted which was fair enough but the last part of the rejection email was all about trademark infringement when i did everything they asked ie tags etc just for the fan art submission. Made me feel like a criminal and i felt dirty for this extremely distasteful paragraph on their reject email. I won't ever submit another design not because of the reject itself but that last paragraph on the email

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

I'm concerned about putting my original artwork on POD sites. I am a fine art painter and once I'm done with a piece, I photograph it for use later as prints, or whatnot. I am just now getting serious about using my art to make money with sites like Redbubble, but how does an artist protect their intellectual property when using these sites?

[@zenwatercooler]

It is certainly a concern. If you upload your designs to Redbubble, there is a “time stamp” (the listing number) so if someone Straight up copies your designs and upload them to Redbubble, You could initiate a complaint and ask Redbubble to take the listings down. The more difficult part is if someone steals your designs on Redbubble, and uploads them to another site like Teepublic. Teepublic would not know who the original artist is (unless you have your own website or proof of ownership of the original). It is definitely a challenge (and takes effort to be diligent, checking other sites).

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

@@zenwatercooler Wow it's just so discouraging to hear.

[@barrelrolldog]

Why even bother? redbubble isn't the place for fine art.

[@gigiartstudiowithartistvir3919]

@@barrelrolldog That's probably true. I'm learning and don't know what I don't know. :)

[@MissTShompagne]

I uploaded one of my designs and next thing I know I get an email that says "their checking to see if its one their license desgins". Well...I did not use anything from their licensed designs, I used elements from Kittl to create my desgins. The next day I got an email stating that it was nothing wrong and so approved my design. Then invited me to be a part of their Fan Art Program. After hearing this...NOT. I won't be wasting my time. Thanks again.

[@rock_star9392]

And many who are on the first pages, spam the tags, put several repetitions. with that they take places from those who do it right.

[@twotwinningcavs]

Any tips to help prevent theft of my designs? I’m using Fiverr to help create unique designs for me. Then I’m tweeking them myself to create additional unique designs but I’ve yet to upload any in fear of exactly your last point… what is stopping someone from taking a screenshot of my image and using it?

[@zenwatercooler]

For Redbubble, you can put a watermark on your listings. For digital, I have a vid here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oIbVqJ5nmNuMnaM

[@twotwinningcavs]

@@zenwatercooler thank you

[@bobgivens9095]

Re: Watermark.... Can't we just put a watermark on our designs before uploading the image? Just no watermark in the d/l file?

[@zenwatercooler]

On Redbubble you just upload the design (you don't upload a watermark). So on Redbubble you have an option to add a watermark (but it is RB's watermark and it is not very good).

[@bobgivens9095]

@@zenwatercooler So the image shown is the only image we are allowed to upload? I was talking about uploading our image with our own watermark on it for display and one for the POD.

[@debradavis9800]

Lot of times I type in a subject, and it says there are thousands of them, but when I look at the shirts, most of them are about a subject that is not related. I suppose its because of key word spamming. So how do we really know how many shirts are on that subject? And doesn't the spamming really hurt the good key word sellers because people will see everything else but the shirts on that subject? I am not on the partner program but it is frustrating when I get flagged for something I have been working on that is completely mine, and Redbubble thinks I am violating copyright. Sometimes I think because my art is improving, that they look at it and it looks so good, that they say to themselves, it looks so good, she must have stole it from someone else. My first sale was a sheep that I copied and pasted with a black background because I hadn't learned yet how to do anything transparent on a tapestry, my second sale was a fruitarian apron. When I looked it up it didn't look very good. The writing looked absolutely horrible, and the picture was off center. I then did it over. So there is hope.

[@emmafifield2400]

Yeah it’s really frustrating when your partnership stuff is rejected & they don’t even explain why. I’ve been lucky to have a few accepted, but also had lots rejected which I took time drawing, it’s frustrating you think why did I waste my time. Also annoying is when they just such stop accepting designs, I uploaded 5 Star Trek designs which (in my opinion) were awesome before they stopped taking them, but they are still waiting approval. RB said that Star Trek may start accepting designs in the future, so I guess I just leave them there. I had a kiss design pixel for pixel stolen and put on RB, they even got a little fan art artist badge from RB with my design!

[@zenwatercooler]

OMG I can so relate. I had literally the exact same experience - I am a huge Star Trek fan and spent 2 days designing these amazing graphics and they were all rejected. I was like REALLY. Thank you for providing this feedback!

[@emmafifield2400]

@@zenwatercooler I’ve kinda given up doing the fan art program for a while, I had some rejected for back to the future, dexters lab and courage the cowardly dog rejected. Just sticking to the ones who’ve accepted stuff from now on :-)

[@EPHONIC]

Right there with you. They suspended my original artwork yet they leave up the copyright violation work. Sucks. I worked over 24 hours on my work and they remove it.

[@EPHONIC]

and if you get rejected you can't reupload or defend your work

[@mootastica3146]

So true, I had to wait 6 months to be told that my fan art had been rejected!!

[@aybenahos4497]

I feel sad when i saw my favorite rock bands or kpop group/idol r being used like this. Spreadshirt is maybe rb's opposite. It's an original design and still they reject it.

[@megmathisen5368]

That was actually really informative. Thank you. : )

[@realghoststories1210]

Lot of Loki designs got taken down by Disney and not just Marvel Loki but all Loki designs.

[@HaulingPros1]

Hmmm, well I was pretty optimistic up till now,, And there's so much to learn,, what chance really does a beginner in POD have?? When I see a trend I decide I'd like to try I use the phrase but do a completely different design than the other same 100 or more designs currently in that trend,,the thing I'm counting on is that most people will get frustrated and give up,, it's just the reality, so far I'm only on RB, with 1 shop, I'll continue plugging away, in it for the long haul,,

[@zenwatercooler]

Yes we were all beginners at one point (and I am regularly trying new platforms and making sales - if you make quality that is in demand, and you have staying power, it can be a fun hobby that pays!

[@agungsulistiawan2895]

i wonder is there any human working at rb to filtering their product ?

[@MsCheresse]

I wonder why RB dont stop accepting new designers?The site is totally flooded,the customers get paralyzed,and the designers already there,dont get sales.When i was new a year ago,i had sales.My first designs were not all that great,but.. i have developed as a designer,but i get a sale only every second month at best.That is extremely frustrating.I would like more videoes like this,where the focus isnt all about how easy it is to get massive success:)

[@veraluka3100]

Well the same reason why Amazon ist not closing for new sellers

[@notAsoccerMom]

I got a design bounced because I used a trademarked term in the TAGS...not in the design. It was my mistake but the design wasn't even up 12 hours when they pulled it.

[@NCGrace413]

I'm here a year later hoping RB will do something. Maybe if everyone tweets this at them or something someone might take notice?

[@TheWorldisSoDivided]

I looked at the top sellers and one of them was all copyright. Music bands mainly.!

[@2weargrafix]

perfect point on copyright infringements, even here 2 years after your video, Redbubble still contains almost more copyrighted work than original creative artist work, must be all about the money, would be great if the hired a cleaner...

[@brians9072]

Any defense strategies you can share?

[@zenwatercooler]

Well you can't really stop other people from also uploading designs so I am not sure what you mean by a defense strategy - typically I aim for low-competition niches and try to offer high-quality designs that are hard to replicate.

[@imforeverrickys]

They should hire people who's only job is to browse images and flag all the copyright stuff. Then have a team of people above them that look closer into all the flagged designs.

[@zenwatercooler]

That could be a fun job!!

[@sa.agarrr]

one year of designing merch and i got nothing not even one sale 🥲🥲 and i know ehy bcoz of your videos thankx!

[@tilteddesertdesigns82]

I'm just getting started and I was suspended right away for 'infriging on a copyright ... it was a totally original work of a sirling planets within a planet and they froze my entire account.... i couldn't get a straight answer and so I started another account and they accepted it and the rest of them were accepted--every last one... i don't get it.

[@zenwatercooler]

Yes it is very frustrating. I think that 99% of the site is run by bots so it could have been that a tag (word) in the listing triggered something. I am glad you are up and running!

[@greatdreamer8854]

Like bitching by the water cooler at the office..lol!

[@kenanderson1963]

with the mess with the honk... I got 10 different designers on the first page with that exact design

[@colemyst]

It's strange that a pawn broker is partially responsible for stolen property that they take in, stores and bars are responsible for selling to non-adults who show a fake ID no matter how good it is. I'm sure POD stores are saying we can't check everyone everywhere but come on, any obvious copyrighted stuff should be taken down. If they don't tell people why work is rejected how are we supposed to know what was done wrong and not to do it again? That sounds like the computer robot is just haphazardly trashing designs.

[@zenwatercooler]

I absolutely agree - it is super annoying when a design is rejected and we are not told why!

[@tasmas1782]

Just was wondering zen do you protect your designs before you upload them to red bubble ? Other than using a watermark on your designs

[@zenwatercooler]

I've registered copyright (in Canada) for $50 - I've only done it one really big sellers where people blatantly copy the design. It works (l send a notification to the site like Redbubble and they kill the copied listings). Most of the time I just do watermarks. Tons of pirates out there unfortunately.

[@EwanArnolda]

very true, I work hard to create designs, but I can see these images which are not official.

[@that5280lady]

Glad I made it to the support group. I brought cookies ✌🏽😁

[@michaelcooley9251]

Hi Zen - I really enjoy your videos - you seem like a guy that I wouldn't mind having a beer with or a spot of tee whatever the case. My question to you is in regards to the images that you created and were ripped off by others. Did you report them and if so were their stolen images taken off of the site? Or if you do file a complaint will RB doing anything about it? Keep up the good work - as it is greatly appreciated.

[@zenwatercooler]

Hey there - thank you for the kind words - I haven't had any of my designs on Redbubble personally get stolen (that I know of) - but I've had popular designs from OTHER POD sites taken and uploaded onto Redbubble. Which stinks because I know I created the design, but the other person was technically first uploading it - so I'm stuck watching my designs on the first page of a popular niche. Oh well there are always other niches I guess but I hate it.

[@judischneegas3155]

I agree. I started my store and plan on moving on to next business adventure

[@JessiTheBestiGaming]

Its so funny if you uploaded a very similar design, red bubble will take it down IMMEDIATELY for copyright. So how are these people allowed to have front page marketing, but if we post anything remotely similar, ours get taken down. I made an oil painting of a pink animal crossing balloon, and RB removed it within two hours for copyright. IT BARELY RESEMBLED original animal crossing, but they told me the balloon was copyright.... HOW.?? And then we have people taking actual screenshots from the game and selling them, but that's okay. Smfh

[@rottenrobot]

Which is better, red bubble or Etsy?

[@zenwatercooler]

Well I think it depends on what you value - you have more control and visibility regarding customers on Etsy. Redbubble is way less work from a customer perspective but you also can’t see any information about who buys your designed product (so you can’t build a repeat customer base). I personally like Redbubble because I am willing to have only commission as a tradeoff for much less work.

[@rottenrobot]

@@zenwatercooler OK, now I get it. Thanks for explaining.

[@ahote1028]

You didnt mention it, but kinda made a noise over a Thor design. I think those are safe, as long as it doesn't reference marvel or the MCU in anyway. Cant copyright Norse mythology. (let me know if im wrong please though)

[@zenwatercooler]

Hey there - yes you are absolutely right - I didn't say anything more in the vid because technically they can say "hey Thor is Thor" - I just get annoyed when it's OBVIOUSLY Marvel Thor (but yes that design probably skates away on a technicality!) Great niche though - actual legitimate mythology designs!

[@IntrovertedAffiliate]

They should get some kind of technology similar to what KZbin has where if someone copies something then they get a copyright claim and all the profits go to the original uploader.

[@MistressGomorahhReigne]

Thank you! i was venting about this last week to my husband! It makes it so frustrating and tempting to break the rules and its not just etsy or redbubble its the clipart sites as well!! But yeah LOL One thing i'd like more clarity on I'm in a comic drawing group on FB and one of the artist asked how other artist were getting away with copyright infringement ......One artist chimed in and said if they are from another country they can get away with selling it .. kinda like how china rips off our products and resales them.......anybody 2nd that or know more about it ?

[@zenwatercooler]

I personally would not agree with that comment (if they are from another country) - for some reason Marvel and DC just either don’t care or don’t have the resources to police Redbubble. I know strikes do happen (I have had DC levy a strike on me but I got it overturned, it was public domain art) - I would say the only reason they are getting away with it is because of a lack of enforcement (not any legal right) 👎

[@MistressGomorahhReigne]

@@zenwatercooler Thank you for sharing your thoughts

[@barrelrolldog]

This whole POD movement started with pop culture art actually. t-shirts started online with more arty stuff, then some bright spark figured out pop culture stuff is way more popular. Then there were daily sites, then POD started, it was built off the back of these 'copyright infringing' pop culture designs. Redbubble has cracked down on it quite a bit though, its not really welcome there anymore.