Redbubble Disappointment

It’s very disappointing as an artist (not to mention as a customer) when a product on which you’ve put your art turns out to be crap. (Glaring at you Redbubble.)

Generally, when I start with a new company, I try to order at least one or two products to get a feel for the quality. I ordered this notebook from Redbubble and was very pleased with it. I use it daily.

Sadly, it would be financially challenging to order all of the products from places like Redbubble, Society6, or Zazzle because there are just so many. So I have kept it to a minimum.

Recently, a dear friend ordered a couple of these totes from Redbubble (with my designs on them of course). She was sad to inform me that their quality was absolute crap. (Not her words.) What she actually said was something along the lines of “They are so flimsy, I am afraid to carry anything in them.” That was so incredibly disappointing. And I am so glad she told me. I immediately told her to return them.

Crap item from Redbubble

What to do? Just remove these totes from my shop? No. That didn’t address questions about the quality of the other products. And now I am deeply suspicious, although it is feasible that only the totes are affected. But as I’ve already stated, I can’t afford to order all of the various products being sold. And you know, I really shouldn’t have to. If a company offers a product, the quality should be decent. In a fit of pique, I deleted my shop.

Here I am several days later, and I don’t regret it. (I’ll admit that I wondered if I would.) My art is a hobby; I am not trying to make a living from it. I just don’t need the worry and aggravation.

I have no advice for artists find themselves in the same position - except to at least remove these crappy totes from your Redbubble shops.