Bulk downloads of PURCHASED images??

akurtz

[highlight]If you agree that SmugMug should provide one zip file containing all images for each digital download sale, please cast your official vote for this idea here. Thanks![/highlight]

First, let me say that I am a HUGE fan of SmugMug and in general could not be happier with the level of service you provide. In my last year and a half as a serious amateur, you have displayed my images beautifully and have made sharing them with friends and family an absolute joy. Thank you!

Recently, many people have asked me what I'd charge them for photo sessions, so I have decided to start making at least some part-time income from my passionate photography hobby. I have been exploring my Pro account features in more depth now to see what I can offer my clients. Unfortunately, I just discovered a little speed bump in my planned SmugMug workflow...

Rather than having to export hundreds of medium-res images, burn them to DVD, and mail or hand deliver them, I would prefer to use your 1MP and 4MP download options for delivery. Benefits?

• Time savings -- client does the delivery work themselves by selecting images that are already on SmugMug -- I don't have to worry about re-exporting images, burning DVDs, or delivery
• Cost savings -- no media to burn, postage to pay, or gas tanks to fill (in the case of hand delivery) -- and the time that I save (see above) IS money!
• Flexible pricing -- I could charge them a nominal download fee or a larger per-image fee depending on what we've agreed upon beforehand -- SmugMug and I both make money on each image sold
• Selective sales -- my clients could select only the images they want (ideally this would be paired with a digital download proof-delay...but that's another issue for another time)
• Tracking -- I can keep track of who has which images, and in what sizes
• Licensing -- it's an easy way to make sure that they've accepted the terms of a personal-use license before they receive the files

Sounds good, right?

Well, I just placed a test order of about 130 images for download and was dismayed to find that [highlight]a customer would currently have to download each purchased image individually![/highlight] It is clear that your digital download option is meant for very selective purchases of high-value digital images, and not for a higher volume digital workflow that I've described above.

[highlight]Could you instead (or in addition) offer a zip file for customers who purchase downloads?[/highlight] (I'm not referring to bulk free downloading that can be done with [thread=121361]RapidFetcher[/thread].)

Individual download links become unacceptable past a handful of images. Whether I'm charging $50 or just 50 cents per image, I cannot fathom asking my customers to click dozens or hundreds of download links.

And at best (Firefox, Safari) the browser will automatically dump them into the default download folder where the client will have to sort them all out. At worst (IE6), they could be presented with a Save dialog box for every photo, which doubles the amount of clicking they will have to do.

I work with PHP every day to make my living, so I know that it would not be supremely difficult for your amazing website wizards to add this feature. And it wouldn't increase your bandwidth costs, because if anything, a zip file is smaller than the sum of its parts. Please???

Thanks!

rainforest1155

Hi Austin and welcome to Dgrin!

Thanks for taking the time to write this up. I'm with you on the request for a bulk downloading option for visitors and customers buying digital downloads.

Sebastian

akurtz

rainforest1155 wrote:

Thanks for taking the time to write this up. I'm with you on the request for a bulk downloading option for visitors and customers buying digital downloads.

Thanks, Sebastian! It's nice to know I'm not the only one.

Can we get a Support Hero to chime in on this...?

Redneck

akurtz wrote:

Thanks, Sebastian! It's nice to know I'm not the only one.

Can we get a Support Hero to chime in on this...?

+1
You're not alone.

Andy

akurtz wrote:

Thanks, Sebastian! It's nice to know I'm not the only one.

Can we get a Support Hero to chime in on this...?

Hi, Sebastian is a SmugMug Support Hero

akurtz

Andy wrote:

Hi, Sebastian is a SmugMug Support Hero

Oops, my bad!

So now we've had two Heroes on this thread, but still no official word...is this a planned feature?

If it's planned (or has been started), would you mind making a note of that on your Feedback Forum?

Andy

akurtz wrote:

Oops, my bad!

So now we've had two Heroes on this thread, but still no official word...is this a planned feature?

We don't comment on future stuff, generally. But this one will be done at some point, I hope! Hang in there.

akurtz

Andy wrote:

We don't comment on future stuff, generally. But this one will be done at some point, I hope! Hang in there.

Thanks for the quick response, Andy. How many votes does a request need to have on UserVoice before you will consider commenting on it? (Not trying to be snarky -- just curious.)

And I'm sorry if I'm being pushy, but this morning I woke up to negative comments about this issue from a customer who ordered 100+ digital downloads last night (order #1331495). Looks like I'll have to keep using discs until this zip file feature is added. :cry

rainforest1155

akurtz wrote:

Thanks for the quick response, Andy. How many votes does a request need to have on UserVoice before you will consider commenting on it? (Not trying to be snarky -- just curious.)

And I'm sorry if I'm being pushy, but this morning I woke up to negative comments about this issue from a customer who ordered 100+ digital downloads last night (order #1331495). Looks like I'll have to keep using discs until this zip file feature is added. :cry

It's not just a matter of votes. The 'planned' or 'started' status on uservoice is not something automated. We might also consider a feature with not so many votes if we think it's a great suggestion that can be done easily. Our engineers all have a full plate of things they would like to do and only so much time.

All in all, we generally comment on things in development, except for the status on uservoice.

Sebastian

akurtz

I emailed support about this issue and got a slightly more promising reply than what I've heard here (emphasis mine):

Hi Austin

Thanks for contacting SmugMug. I am very sorry about the inconvenience of this. [HIGHLIGHT]A bulk download tool is on our development list, and I do think it has quite high priority.[/HIGHLIGHT] I cannot say when it will get released.

Best Regards

Ann McRae
SmugMug Support Hero

debsactionshots

Anyone heard updates on this? I'd also like a way to progressively discount the download cost - prices drop if they order more than 5, 10, etc.

Is there currently a way to do this? Is it planned?

Andy

No update but we ARE working on this feature.

funcrunch

I really wanted this feature too, but got tired of waiting for it and recently got an account on Zenfolio, which already has Zip downloads. (Though it was mainly SmugMug's continual downtime that ultimately caused my switch, that extra feature will be a big help in my business workflow).

akurtz

I just wanted to say a quick [highlight]THANK YOU![/highlight] to the SmugMug dev team for implementing bulk digital downloads! Thanks for listening to your customers! My SmugMug account is the only subscription that I never hesitate to renew. :]