Packaging Templates with other Items

In the CV/Resume Category… There’s a well designed resume item. Included with the template are Adobe InDesign items for business cards, envelops, stationary, etc… These items are usually sold over on Graphic River…

Now, I’m not calling the Author out… they did nothing against the rules (obviously, because it passed review)... Their item is doing very well, compared to others and I can’t tell whether it’s because it’s a package or just the design/functionality…

But my question to the community/Envato is should things like this be allowed?

By packaging these items with templates… we are now dealing with a whole new element of selling to customers… not just design/functionality, but also does the product now offer “The Whole Enchilada”... the All-In-One…

Can I package a website template, with an email template, banners, business cards, stationary, etc…?

Does this limit authors who don’t have the experience in the Print industry?

Does this devalue the items of Authors that only build site templates?

Does this devalue the items of Authors on GR, in these print based categories, who don’t offer site templates?

Where does it stop? Can we offer Brands and Domains too?

I can see this being a popular category for customers… however I can see a lot of problems with it too, especially for those who don’t have the software or experience to compete… not to mention the review team and the length of time it will take to review new items…

Thoughts?

You are talking about this template – http://themeforest.net/item/clean-cv-resume-html-template-4-bonuses/82474

I know because I made a super simple CV template, and its not selling well at all and I know why, it’s because for a few extra bucks they can get this one which has a business card and letter. To be honest as a buyer it represents added value, so fair play to the author!!!

To answer your question though, it does need a limit. For example Mark has this for sale – http://themeforest.net/item/sapphireonline-we-make-your-business-grow/65363 and it comes with an additional template.

i think generally, it needs to add value without affecting the marketplace – I mean whats to stop Kreisi from taking 2-3 of his top selling items off of themeforest, and putting them in as added extras witha new theme – no-one else could compete.

I’d be interested to know what the folks here at Themeforest say about this, purely from an author standpoint of knowing what is acceptable and adding value, and what is just pure anti-competition or whatever Microsoft are classed as these days.

Interesting post

I think there needs to be specific rules, like:-

A template cannot include other templates a.k.a, you may only have colour variations, not completely different templates as an “added bonus”

A template can include files from other marketplaces, but not two of the same thing. e.g. like templates, a bundle cannot include two business cards completely differing in style.

However, this can’t work on places like graphicriver, where value for money means a variety of stuff, like many different web2.0 buttons etc.

It’s a hard one to call, but I think there had to be a limit on what can be included. I see no problem with people including free email templates and so on with websites and stuff, I mean why not offer that full bundle to the buyer, but bundling popular themes that have slowed down on sales with new themes to boost sales and so on can’t be done.

Maybe it should simply be down to reviewer disgression, who have a set of rules to stick by when reviewing these bundle uploads.

Anybody else? I thought this was a pretty enough important topic for others to be concerned with…

maybe I’m wrong though…

... Where does it stop? Can we offer Brands and Domains too? ...

I agree with luckykind.

I’ve read somewhere (can’t find it now) that themeforest rule was to include maximum 3 variations of the theme. Nowadays marketplace is flooded with 3687243657 in 1 items…

I wont mention any url’s but packaging templates like those are free elswhere on the web and Graphic Designers like myself use actions to create covers any way. I see your point though, where will it stop? $12 buys you a template, business card and logo? And all this from the very people who feel if you charge too low you are undermining the career of a designer. Hmm..

I wish for an admin to rename this thread,

“Free Gold Inside” or “Five Headed Baby Born To Segregate Female Dragon”

... then it would attract people to take a peek…

Oh well… I guess not enough people care… I will crawl under my rock and come back out when I have dominated the “all-in-one package” market here at Themeforest…