Designer News Market is Coming to a Close

9 months ago from , Community Manager at Designer News

December 1st – The Designer News market has officially closed up shop. If you require assistance with purchases made previously, or have any questions, please feel free to reach out at the email listed below. Thank you for your continued support!

October 1st – Thank you for all of your support! The Designer News Market has closed its doors. Any purchases you made will still be available for a while longer. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to reach out.

– The DN Team

Eight months ago we launched Market. Today, we’re announcing it’s closure at the end of the month. Products will remain on sale through September 30, at which time they will be removed and archived along with the Market itself.

While our team spent many hours on design and development, and many more reaching out to hundreds of top designers from the DN community, it simply wasn’t a sustainable project for us long term.

That said, whether you’re looking for fonts, UI kits, themes, or more, some folks continue to do it really well!

We’re proud of everything we create and continue to build upon. This was simply a reminder that not everything goes according to plan.

Sellers -- First, thank you again for joining us in this endeavor. Second, all sellers have been notified via email, but if you have any questions/comments please let us know.

Buyers -- If you’ve previously purchased an item on the Market, your downloads will remain available for a period of time to ensure they can be accessed and stored locally. You'll be notified via email with any further updates.

Questions -- If you have any questions, feel free to email me at: max@designernews.co or leave a comment below.

19 comments

  • Tyce Clee, 9 months ago

    Pretty great to see such honesty and transparency on something that didn't go quite right. Takes a lot of courage to acknowledge something like that and move on to greater things.

    39 points
  • Henry GillisHenry Gillis, 9 months ago

    I honestly wasn't even aware of the marketplace...

    14 points
    • Maxwell LindMaxwell Lind, 9 months ago

      Market existed in the main navigation where Podcast is now, as well as the sidebar (highlighting new products). We also included it a number of times in the DN Digest email, but as these things go sometimes it feels like information overload.

      1 point
  • Daniel FeldtDaniel Feldt, 9 months ago

    This is sad but not really surprising news. As a seller I had high hopes for this marketplace due to the great community - and it seemed like a good fit. But my fonts never got the traction on DN as on other places. I'm glad with the honesty and transparency from DN and with that attitude I'm sure DN succeed in another endeavor. Cut loose the things that's not working and try again.

    8 points
    • Kieran RheaumeKieran Rheaume, 9 months ago

      It was always a pleasure working with you Daniel! Your products are standout and I'll definitely keep an eye out for more of your fonts and other goodies in the future :-)

      1 point
  • John JacksonJohn Jackson, 9 months ago

    I never really knew it existed. Has it always been hidden in the ellipses? Great on you for recognizing that it wasn't working out and making the call to phase it out, though!

    7 points
  • Harry FuecksHarry Fuecks, 9 months ago

    Ummmmmm so despite being a regular lurker on designernews, this is the first time I hear of Designer News Market. Marketing fail?

    4 points
    • James LaneJames Lane, 9 months ago

      Not really Harry, there were quite a few stories on this, and as Max said, it has been in the nav bar for the past 8 months among other places. Maybe you're lurking in the wrong places ;)

      0 points
  • Dan SherrattDan Sherratt, 9 months ago

    I bought a few themes, was really nice to have a stamp of approval on things rather than having to dig around in themeforest without really knowing how good what you purchased was.

    Sad to see it go.

    1 point
  • Spencer HaizelSpencer Haizel, 9 months ago

    Wouldn't it be worth making the "Market" more prominent in the navigation and seeing how it goes? Surely the "Market" is more important than the "Podcast" for example.

    1 point
    • Maxwell LindMaxwell Lind, 9 months ago

      You're right. In fact, Market lived right where Podcast is now for over 8 months! Just recently as we announced the Market closure, it had been moved.

      0 points
      • Spencer HaizelSpencer Haizel, 9 months ago

        I honestly can't say I have ever noticed the Market link then. That's crazy. I guess people just come here for the news :)

        2 points
  • Kevin LetchfordKevin Letchford, 9 months ago

    I knew it existed - but none of the resources were ever pushed in my face. I think this project was poorly marketed.

    I remember DN was bought originally so you could turn it into a profitable product and I don't t think hiding key assets you want people to purchase is the way to go about it. It might of been a good idea to show popular market place items in the right hand navigation under the job board. Or even just above or below the comments section (this is where Dribbble shows its adds).

    At the moment the only way to get to the marketplace is by click the ... menu then clicking a marketplace link. This is not enticing i have no motivation to go to your marketplace. You have this audience of people who go to DN every day/week it doesn't feel like you are harnessing the traffic you are receiving.

    Its a real shame as i went on the marketplace because of this post and i'm tempted to buy some of the fonts you have for sale...

    1 point
    • Daniel FeldtDaniel Feldt, 9 months ago

      Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but "Market" was an item in the main navigation and products were displayed in the right hand side. :)

      It just the last weeks/months or so that Market was moved into the ... and the "ads" disappeared.

      1 point
      • John PJohn P, 9 months ago (edited 9 months ago )

        but none of the resources were ever pushed in my face

        This wasn't the problem, the stuff on sale just wasn't compelling. Just a bunch of UI kits (honestly don't understand the value proposition of selling these to designers, esp. in the "flat" era), iDevice mockups and also-ran line art icons

        3 points
      • Kevin LetchfordKevin Letchford, 9 months ago

        Hmm possibly - may be its because like every one else i run some kind of add block or i was blind to it.

        0 points
  • Vince P.Vince P., 9 months ago

    Too bad. I thought it was doing OK. Gonna miss it.

    0 points
  • Jon MyersJon Myers, 9 months ago

    I love the fact you all keep experimenting and trying new things.

    Even more, I love the fact you all are willing to walk away when it doesn't work out.

    Looking forward to seeing more.

    0 points
  • adrian ioadrian io, 9 months ago

    Reading that title made me think that it's something you are going to launch, i.e. build is almost done.

    I wasn't even aware this existed.

    Thanks for the transparency.

    0 points