With most zine writers struggling to break even with issues, the thought of venturing out and making a profit on their work is very tantalizing. It's so much closer to the author, and there are so many intangibles that you just can't get from reading a magazine. They go through so many filters before you read them. But at the same time, you have to please a bigger audience, and if you're in the mindset that zines are in a personal nature, then maybe you've lost that original motive that you had when you first started. It's an issue of maintaining your diversity.
Zine creators know that a very fine line divides money and self-expression.
With commercialization, the zinester must contend with deadlines and guidelines, threatening the quality and individuality of their writing. If there's nothing to gain, then you're really going to make it your own. When you're thinking independently, nothing is getting in the way of words or images. If you're trying to make money off of it, the independence of it is lost.