RedBubble.com is a scam company that lure artists into making a profile on their site, and upload their work in hope of selling it and make money. This is what RedBubble promises all over their website. "Upload your art and sell it as T-Shirts or photo prints, and make a lot of money".
What they don't tell you, is that they steal your art, delete your profile but keep selling your art so THEY can make money, NOT you. You will only get paid for the very few first sales, till they find out that your designs are popular.
When they discover that your art is selling, they steal it and cut you off.

Sounds unlikely, I know, that's why I tried them even though they have a LOT of bad reviews all over the internet.

About a month ago, I started a RedBubble account. I uploaded my designs and they actually started selling pretty fast. ..What a great way to make money I thought, and started making more designs. After I made about $700 my account mysteriously vanished without a trace, and with no reason given by RedBubble. My designs were however still for sale on their site. They didn't pay me the money I had earned, and they didn't answer any e-mails. E-mailing is the only way of communicating with RedBubble. No phone number, no address, no company info, nothing.

I tried posting the problem at their support board, but they simple deleted my posts as soon they discovered them.

I thought it was a server error or something, since I had not violated any of their terms of service, and why would a respectable company just delete an artists account out of the blue?? That would not make sense at all, especially when they make money too, whenever a design is sold.

So I didn't stop contacting them.

Correspondence with RedBubble (Which took 14 days)

 I made a post on there support board, asking politely why my profile all of a sudden was gone, and when I could expect it to be up and running again.
-RedBubble deleted my question with no answer

I asked again (since I thought it was an error, that my post had mysteriously disappeared)
-RedBubble deleted my question with no answer

 I asked for the 3rd time, and mentioned that I had unpaid earnings on my account.
(This time I kept an eye on the post, and noticed, that as soon as a guy named Rob started commenting on other issues, my post magically disappeared) He commented on questions like, "Where do I change the T-Shirt size"? and such, but all the critical questions about there billing and missing art, just disappeared from the board.
-RedBubble deleted my question with no answer

 I made a 4th post, asking them to start taking some action on getting my account back, and that I would like to know why it was gone in the first place. I also stated that the problems wouldn't go away, just by deleting the posts.
-RedBubble deleted my question with no answer

 I made a long post, explaining to them that I had unpaid earnings on my account, and that they had to start looking into it and not just delete my posts. I explained that I had put a lot of work into it, and that I would understand if it was some technical glitch, but I would really like my profile back, and I would also like to know when I would get the money that I had earned.
-RedBubble set my post to be "private" (so no one else could see it)

Nothing happened for 2 days
-Rob from RedBubble set the status to "Resolved", but didn't answer it?!?.

 My account was still gone, so I set the post back to "Open", and ask why he had set it to "resolved" when it was in fact NOT resolved. Plus I had still not gotten any answer about my money.
-Rob from RedBubble set the status to "Resolved" again, without answering or doing anything at all.

 As expected, my account was still missing, so I set the post back to "Open", and asked again, why he was setting it to resolved, when nothing was resolved.
Nothing happened for 2 days, then....
-RedBubble just deleted my question again zzzzzzzzz....

 But, I finally got an e-mail from RedBubble, saying that they would get back to me in 2 business days.

 ..Finally! (I thought) Someone would take a look at the problem, so I could get my account up and running again, or at least get the money I had earned.

 3 days later I receive this mail from RedBubble

 Copy of RedBubble's e-mail:
================================================================================
Subject: My account (tore999) has been suspended???????????????????????????????????????
Hello Tore,
Thanks for getting in touch. Is it possible that you inadvertently [deleted](http://support.redbubble.com/kb/advanced/closing-your-account) your account or that someone with access to it did?
I did also note that you have another account that is [currently active](http://www.redbubble.com/people/mayhem-7).
Kind regards,
Thomas

--
================================================================================

My reply:
================================================================================
Hi Thomas,
I can't see the messages you link to, as I can't log in with that account anymore. It's completely locked, so I can't see the answer unless you mail it to me.

I'm 100% sure I didn't delete my account. 100%.. I have been no where near. Anyway, I would really like to get it back as soon as possible.
I have put so much work into it, and I still have unpaid earnings there.

The other account "mayhem-7" was just an account I started up while waiting for my other account to be "un"-suspended again.

I hope you guys can do something quick, cause it really doesn't look good on the website that I just launched and advertised, that it links to an error page. The timing for this suspension could really not be any worse.

Best regards,
Tore
================================================================================
-RedBubble never replied.
A few days later I made another post on their board, asking them to at least try to act professional, and tell me what was going on, instead of just deleting my posts. I made clear that I would like to get my money SOON.
-RedBubble deleted my question with no answer

I made a final post, saying that I wouldn't go away, just because they deleted my posts. I made it clear that I didn't care about the profile or their site anymore, but that I insisted on getting the money they owed me.
-RedBubble deleted my question with no answer, yet again

 But I got another e-mail from them.

 Copy of RedBubble's e-mail:
================================================================================
From: RedBubble Objections Team
Subject: suspended account (account name: tore999)

Hi Tore,
Apologies for the delay in getting back to you on this one.

On the 9th September your account tore999 was closed by RedBubble for deliberate misuse.  A copy of the email sent appears below.  When an account is closed for deliberate misuse we ask that you not open any further accounts on RedBubble, therefore we have today also closed your mayhem-7 account.

Your account details have been forwarded to our accounts department who will finalise any outstanding sales in the next pay period.

Regards
The RedBubble Objections Team

Hello Tore,

Today we have taken the decision to close your RedBubble account for

deliberate misuse of RedBubble. Deliberate misuse of RedBubble is
defined as follows: When a person or entity opens an account with the
primary purpose of infringing the RedBubble Community Guidelines or is
found to be otherwise using the account for purposes RedBubble was not
designed for. We expect members to conduct themselves within the
community guidelines and to report any more serious issues to us so we
can follow them up directly.

Examples of deliberate misuse include but are not limited to the following:
• Using RedBubble to sell cheap mass produced art reproductions
• Using RedBubble to host links to or advertise products that are
either illegal or otherwise unsuitable for Redbubble eg: Viagra
• Opening an account which is used primarily to harass or intimidate
other artists, disrupt discussions or to cause conflict and bad
feeling within the community
• Operating an account whose sole purpose is to engage in unacceptable
behavior as defined by our Community Guidelines.

The consequence is immediate account closure. We ask that you do not

open any new accounts on RedBubble in future. Any other accounts found
to be owned or operated by you will be closed immediately.

Regards,
The RedBubble Support Team
================================================================================
OK, so now all of a sudden, they tell me that THEY deleted my account on purpose. Why in the world would they ask me, if I deleted it myself on accident then?!?. And now they also claim that I was misusing it?!???

I would really like to know what that "deliberate misuse" would be, but for some reason RedBubble "forgot" to put that info in their e-mail, so that will remain unknown. I uploaded some designs and sold them. Just like it says on their site, that you are supposed to do!! How in the world is that "deliberate misuse"? ..What a pathetic excuse to come up with. A flat out lie, to cover up whatever went wrong on their side.

Here is what I think:
Either, RedBubble had a mysterious server glitch that erased my account, which RedBubble for some reason will not admit.
or..
After seeing that my designs made sales, RedBubble decided to steal them so they could keep all profit them selves.

I didn't even bother replying to their e-mail. I don't think RedBubble deserves any more of my time. Well, except for the time I now use to create this blog, so other artists can be warned about RedBubble.

RedBubble is a scam, nothing more. Don't ever upload your designs to them. They steal it and cut you off.

 Update: RedBubble actually did pay the outstanding amount, finally. They also finally deleted my designs, so they no longer sell them on their site.
Still, it's incredible it took that much, for something that simple.

I now have all my designs at SpreadShirt instead. They are a legit company, and I have not had any problems so far. I can definitely recommend them.


Posted by Tore999 131 comments
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