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Payment Processing Strategy (Dance Photos using SmugMug)
thayes01
Registered Users Posts: 17 Big grins
I am taking photos at a formal Ball at a hotel next month. The organizers estimate 100+ sittings. But the time for photographs is constrained so as to not conflict with other activities planned. Consequently, I'm faced with doing a lot of shots in a short period of time. I was selected because of my family portrait style which requires time to pose the individuals.
I know I must take credit cards at point of sale to optimize my sales.
I wish to use SmugMug to do order fulfillment, specifically to ship the order directly to the customer and to do any needed fulfillment customer service.
In summary, I need to take payment on site at the Ball, then place the order with SmugMug after the Ball.
I don't want to incurred credit cards fees twice (at time of Ball and at time of SmugMug order). And I'm trying to stay away from having the customer write their credit card number on a paper that I am then liable later to destroy/shred.
I conjured up one idea to somehow use SmugMug Packages online and add dummy images tied to my Ball Packages so I could use Proof Delay and later replace the dummy images for each particular order using the ones the client selected while at the Ball.
I'm seeking input from those who have experience with doing high volume photography sessions like Dances or Formals and who use SmugMug for order fulfillment and have collected payment at time of customer order (e.g. at the Ball).
Any insight how to do this effectively and efficiently?
Many thanks!
Ted
I know I must take credit cards at point of sale to optimize my sales.
I wish to use SmugMug to do order fulfillment, specifically to ship the order directly to the customer and to do any needed fulfillment customer service.
In summary, I need to take payment on site at the Ball, then place the order with SmugMug after the Ball.
I don't want to incurred credit cards fees twice (at time of Ball and at time of SmugMug order). And I'm trying to stay away from having the customer write their credit card number on a paper that I am then liable later to destroy/shred.
I conjured up one idea to somehow use SmugMug Packages online and add dummy images tied to my Ball Packages so I could use Proof Delay and later replace the dummy images for each particular order using the ones the client selected while at the Ball.
I'm seeking input from those who have experience with doing high volume photography sessions like Dances or Formals and who use SmugMug for order fulfillment and have collected payment at time of customer order (e.g. at the Ball).
Any insight how to do this effectively and efficiently?
Many thanks!
Ted
0
Comments
Perhaps offer a discount or package price only at the event. Individual images purchased after the event can be offered at a higher, standard, price.
Have an assistant to take care of all the paperwork.
Sam
Sam,
I like this idea of using a coupon strategy. However I'm not clear about how this will fully help me.
If I sell a package for $25, I issue the customer a $25 coupon to be used in my SmugMug gallery. I need to obtain payment from the customer on site for $25 to compensate me for the coupon I just provided to the customer. If the customer pays by credit card, then how do I process the customer payment for their $25 coupon? If I do this processing separately using PayPal or Google Checkout I incur a credit card process fee. And when the customer goes to SmugMug and processes their order, SmugMug retains 15% of the markup which includes the credit card processing fee which is a cost I had to already factor into my $25 price.
Wouldn't I be losing money on credit card processing fees in issuing a coupon for 100% of the package purchase price?
Ted
Sam
Yes, indeed they are. And not paying them twice may be the smarter way of doing business.
The context of my question is a lot of photos done in a single sitting, meaning margins are lower and profit is made on volume. Adding unnecessary cost in this type of situation is to be avoided, hence why I submitted my post.
Thanks for your time and thoughts in responding to my post. It gave me an idea I didn't think of before.
I also want to do a similar situation, with dance recital photos, unposed action photos. In previous performances, I just advertise my website/smugmug and tell them to order directly there and I have offered a coupon for 50% (the code is in the recital program) w/ a deadline. But I find some order but not as much as the guy who offers DVDs of the whole performance, as he has them buy the DVD that night and then the customer can pick it up at the studio two weeks later. He makes a killing as the customer is "hot."
I want to do a similar thing, like having them fill out an order form and collect money then and there. I thought of having them order packages and then give them a coupon, but the coupon can't be for a specific package, so basically it's just giving them credit, which I can work that angle. Like for $20 get $40 worth of photos? But the packages sound better, like standard, and elite with a free 8 x 10.
Thoughts?
I can share with you that to make the sale on site, you can collect the customer credit card information on a form and then using Google Checkout or PayPal BuyNow payment methods (or the PayPal Virtual Terminal method to run their card regardless of whether or not they have an existing PayPal account) to collect for the order. You will incur the normal credit card process fees from Google Checkout or PayPal for doing this.
I use a rewards business credit card that gives me a percentage cash back each month based on purchases. This offsets a portion of the cc fees I'm charged.
Next you would place the order on SmugMug on your own User account, and use the customer shipping address. SmugMug won't charge you additional cc fees for this. Again, if you use a cash back cc for your SmugMug account, you can reduce your overall out-of-pocket cost.
As part as packages, it's always a good idea to lead with Packages and add higher priced options for individual photos. What I'm doing is making a $15 minimum order. This works when you are expecting volume sales of 100 orders like at a dance or formal ball.
The problem with this scenario is you are taking a lot of your time to key in data you could have the customer do themselves if they were to purchase the photo directly from the web site. The pro is you will likely increase your sales volume because the emotion is high at the time/location of capture.
If you are seeking thoughts on a more specific aspect of your business scenario, please specify what aspect, otherwise I hope this generally helps you.
Ted
If you are going to do this, why wouldn't you just use someone more affordable like Miller's, WHCC, etc?
Lakewood, Colorado, USA
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I'm not sure I follow but I would like to benefit from your point of view by better understanding it. The point is to be able to capture payment at time of photo capture, not after post processing. How does Miller's WHCC help with this? Or is your point simply don't use SmugMug for print order submission, go directly to the lab?
As I interpreted it, you were taking the money from their CC via Paypal, then using your CC to pay Smugmug and have it delivered to the client. This is essentially a drop ship situation, and when you factor in the SmugMug fees, etc, I think you would come out ahead if you used another lab for this. I'd have to run the numbers to be sure, but my gut feeling says this is the case.
Lakewood, Colorado, USA
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Thanks for the clarification. Yes it's correct as you understand it. It is essentially a drop ship. SmugMug does't charge the 15% fee when you as a Pro are logged in and pay using your CC on file with SmugMug. You can do this and specify a customer address to drop ship the product.
SmugMug overall is slightly higher in all its prices than if you were to purchase directly from the lab (at least I found this true with BayPhoto). With SmugMug I can use my own logo for the shipping package, which I can't do if I drop ship via the lab. Maintaining my brand is important to me.
With high volume events, I like using SmugMug this way. Plus if any customer has an issue, they email me the order number and I notify SmugMug and they take their time to resolve the issue. This is important to me because I work full time and do Pro photography only part time. So not having to deal with any customer issues if and when they arise is worth it to me.
Last, I'm able to leverage the SmgMug 100% money back guarantee for my customers. Granted I could do this myself, but its a risk I'd rather have SmugMug shoulder right now instead of me.
Makes sense to me then, I didn't realize they didn't charge the 15% when you did it yourself.
Lakewood, Colorado, USA
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