I'm trying to download a new line of dark shirt designs (speedlines) and I click on the black backgrounds in the media basket and it acts like it "sticks" but then pops back to white or transparent. Although my storefront looks okay, my designs are invisible on the marketplace. I see this subject has been posted before and the thread is now closed but obviously it's still a problem. Any suggestions?

Report a bug. Go to the main page and click on Contact Us.

If more people report it maybe they will work on it. I've emailed them 7 times (since Feb/09). No fix yet. They recommend re-uploading the image. Then click on the image 9 times.

I've tried making new files (Inkscape & GIMP in OSX and Ubuntu). Different browsers (OSX-Firefox, Camino, Opera, Safari; Ubuntu-Firefox; Windows-Internet Explorer).

Next: Re-uploading...

David

I emailed cafepress directly and will post the reply when I get it back. My files are CS3 PSD PNG files made on a Mac with Snow Leopard and uploaded through Firefox. Considering the many ways files have been uploaded with the same result, the problem must be on their end.

I just had a chat with customer service. As you said, they're aware of the problem but very non committal about when it'll be fixed. I suppose the good news out of this is that some customers may be seeing it correctly, Here is the e-chat conversation:

Crystal R.: Thank you for contacting CafePress.com. How may I assist you today?

SB: Hello, I am trying to fix a problem with black backgrounds disappearing from the marketplace. They look fine on my storefront but my designs for dark shirts are invisible on the marketplace.

Crystal R.: I'm sorry to hear your images aren't showing properly in the marketplace. Give me one moment to get logged into your account.

SB: The designs are on my storefront - speedlines.

Crystal R.: Thank you for your patience.

Crystal R.: You are referring to the white images in your media basket?

SB: Yes. When I click on the black backgrounds, they appear for awhile and then go away. All these new designs are designed for dark shirts. I've reloaded a couple images and have had the same result.

Crystal R.: This is something we are currently working on. The images aren't showing correctly in the marketplace preview; however, they are showing correctly on the products if the customer rolls the mouse over the products and they are printing properly.

SB: The question is - when will it be fixed? I understand from the forum that this has been an issue since at least March/April of '09. The problem is no one will mouse over the design if it's invisible on the marketplace.

Crystal R.: They are working on a new display for the transparent items. Right now, 50% see the background color select, while the other 50% are seeing different colors behind the designs. I'm not sure when it will corrected. I don't have any information on that. I apologize I can't give more information regarding when it will be corrected.

SB: Hopefully soon. At least you are aware of the problem. Thank you.

Crystal R.: You're welcome. Anything else I can assist you with?

SB: If what you're telling me is that there's nothing I can do on my end, then I guess not. The frustration of course is a loss of sales until it's fixed and if has taken this long and still no solution then maybe I'll close shop and reopen later. Thanks for your assistance.

Crystal R.: I'm sorry. I understand the frustration. I'd love to give you a fix or a date when it'll be corrected, but I just don't have the information.

SB: I understand. Have a good night.

Crystal R.: Thanks. You do the same.

As a followup to this problem I have since had some success at making the black backgrounds "stick." I have found that you basically have one chance to get your transparent design on a black background. All the clicking in your media basket makes no difference if it's not taking the very first time you open your file and tag your design with a description on a black background. When bringing in 5 new designs at once, hit "save and next" after each one until you're happy with all of them after a couple of reviews and then press "done". After you hit "done" it's either going to take or it's not. When your new design is shown in the media basket hopefully it is on a black background, if not delete it and reload over again and go through the tagging process another time. If it does appear black after you've tagged it, I think it's good to go. No guarantees yet but it seemed to work for me.