Printing in Smugmug for Canadians?

photovanbeek

Is there anyone who has used the printing option in Smugmug who also lives in Canada? I'm curious to know how it works in terms of ease of use, shipping costs, duty fees, time for delivery, etc...

Many thanks,
Andrew

Andy

photovanbeek wrote:

Is there anyone who has used the printing option in Smugmug who also lives in Canada? I'm curious to know how it works in terms of ease of use, shipping costs, duty fees, time for delivery, etc...

Many thanks,
Andrew

hiya andrew welcome to dgrin

here's the info you're looking for in the smugmug help section. the cart is no different for you in canada vs. elsewhere - very easy to use. you can see that there are options for delivery times etc as well.

hth

photovanbeek

andy wrote:

hiya andrew welcome to dgrin

here's the info you're looking for in the smugmug help section. the cart is no different for you in canada vs. elsewhere - very easy to use. you can see that there are options for delivery times etc as well.

hth

Thanks Andy.

That covers the shipping cost part, now I'd love to hear from someone who has gone through the experience from the perspective of a Canadian client. As we all know up here, it's often an annoying experience dealing with cross-border shipping and especially on small order items.

Best regards,
Andrew

Ann McRae

Hi Andrew.


I have yet to order from my own (or other galleries) but can tell you the experience of my 'customers' that have. Actual amount of time that it takes the photos to arrive varies significantly. I have had customers recieve their prints in a few days, and some have taken several weeks. I do not think this has anything to do with smugmug/ezprints, but rather the Canadian border guys.

I try to encourage local people to order throguh me, and I use a local lab for fulfilment. I have yet to reach a level of sales off of the site where I can expect the cheque in the mail becuase of this. I have recieved very mixed reaction from people when they realize the prints are coming across the border, but that should be far less an issue now that the $ is gaining value. I also mail photos within Alberta - it is actually really affordable to use Canada Post!

FWIW, one of my customers orders was 'lost' - had not arrived after 6 weeks. I contacted smugmug support and they immediately and professionally dealt with the problem by reprinting the order. Perfect customer service, AFAIAC.

Hope to see some of your photos here - love your work.

ann

photovanbeek

Ann McRae wrote:

I have yet to order from my own (or other galleries) but can tell you the experience of my 'customers' that have. Actual amount of time that it takes the photos to arrive varies significantly. I have had customers recieve their prints in a few days, and some have taken several weeks. I do not think this has anything to do with smugmug/ezprints, but rather the Canadian border guys.

I try to encourage local people to order throguh me, and I use a local lab for fulfilment. I have yet to reach a level of sales off of the site where I can expect the cheque in the mail becuase of this. I have recieved very mixed reaction from people when they realize the prints are coming across the border, but that should be far less an issue now that the $ is gaining value. I also mail photos within Alberta - it is actually really affordable to use Canada Post!

FWIW, one of my customers orders was 'lost' - had not arrived after 6 weeks. I contacted smugmug support and they immediately and professionally dealt with the problem by reprinting the order. Perfect customer service, AFAIAC.

Hope to see some of your photos here - love your work.

ann

Hi Anne,

My preference is to use a Canadian Lab or to just get an order list from my smugmug account (something I requested last year to no avail). I have been experimenting with various online galleries and all basically act as portals for print services. For my own clients, I would rather that they didn't have to deal with cross-border wait times and potential duty or brokerage fee issues.

Now if only they could just tie into a Canadian Lab, we'd be all set...

As for seeing more of my work on here, I unfortunately have no time for fun displays. This is good news though since all of my time is taken by professional photography work

Best regards,
Andrew

Jetranger

photovanbeek wrote:

Is there anyone who has used the printing option in Smugmug who also lives in Canada? I'm curious to know how it works in terms of ease of use, shipping costs, duty fees, time for delivery, etc...

Many thanks,
Andrew

I would be interested in this as well. Not the turnaround as that will vary with customs - but I would like to know specific examples of duties charged, and shipping fees for large prints.

I have requested the option to have a Canadian Lab available for Canadian Smugmug users but to my knowledge nobody is working on that. With so many good labs in the area it is a shame to have to order from another country in a foreign currency.

Montec

photovanbeek wrote:

Is there anyone who has used the printing option in Smugmug who also lives in Canada? I'm curious to know how it works in terms of ease of use, shipping costs, duty fees, time for delivery, etc...

Many thanks,
Andrew

I recently ordered some large prints and it took three weeks to get my order. Canada Customs is very slow these days with the Loonie being so high and everyone ordering goods from the US.
There have never been any extra duties or shipping fees due on arrival.

You MUST use the Airmail PARCEL option, Airmail LETTER is dog slow.

I get 90% of my prints done in Canada because of this.

Hey SmugMug, partner up with a Canadian lab and help us out with the shipping times.

Sheaf

Montec wrote:

I recently ordered some large prints and it took three weeks to get my order. Canada Customs is very slow these days with the Loonie being so high and everyone ordering goods from the US.

Yeah, I found this out the hard way when I shipped a few hundred SmugMug camera straps to various locations in Canada. They took longer to arrive than just about anywhere else in the world.

I'm sorry, but we don't have any plans currently to work with a print vendor in Canada. It's quite difficult for us to coordinate with a single print vendor, to tell you the truth. Much harder than you might think.

habanr

Why not to send order list to the gallery owner?

Sheaf wrote:

I'm sorry, but we don't have any plans currently to work with a print vendor in Canada. It's quite difficult for us to coordinate with a single print vendor, to tell you the truth. Much harder than you might think.

I think that the solution for people that don't live in US (I live in Europe) would be the new feature in Smugmug. Simply Smugmug will send the order list by email to the gallery owner. This would be "system solution"...

emtajim

Hi Andrew

I live in Okotoks, Alberta and have personally ordered prints as well as have had some clients order some prints. The only complaint I have had and do have is our good friends at customs holding things up. Generally you are looking at a 2-3 week window for deliveries. Picture quality, packaging and shipping rates don't seem to be an issue for folks (thanks SmuMug!) just the long deliveries.

Hope this helps.

Jim

Montec

habanr wrote:

I think that the solution for people that don't live in US (I live in Europe) would be the new feature in Smugmug. Simply Smugmug will send the order list by email to the gallery owner. This would be "system solution"...

This would be soooo nice.

Montec

Sheaf wrote:

Yeah, I found this out the hard way when I shipped a few hundred SmugMug camera straps to various locations in Canada. They took longer to arrive than just about anywhere else in the world.

Hey Sheaf...I just received my camera strap today!! Thanks

Just for reference when did you ship it?
It might give us all a good idea what to expect from Canada Customs these days.

Jetranger

Montec wrote:

Hey SmugMug, partner up with a Canadian lab and help us out with the shipping times.

I uploaded some photos for 11x14 prints to Costco for the first time this week. I uploaded them Sunday night about 22:00 and they e-mailed me before 10am the next morning to say they were ready. They even have the option for backprinting when you order the prints.

The quality looks amazingly good, and they were only about $2.49 each. So I can submit orders in the late evening and have them in frames before lunch the next day. Not bad.

It would be great if we could use a lab that had multiple locations instead of one for the whole continent. Some global thinking and planning is needed. Until then, I will have to take all the orders manually.

ifocus

Long Delivery
I am having the same experience. Some clients and myself ordered prints from smugmug and it takes 3-4 weeks to arrive. It would be really nice to have an order list option a client to fill in, kind of a shopping cart but the order to send to me! At this time, ordering print cross border is just not an option I am comfortable to offer. Otherwise, Smugmug is outstanding and service is absolutely best in class.

Folks, what is your experience with this? Is there any better way?

JY

321guy

any updates?
Hi, I am new to SM. Being from Canada, this thread was of interest. Are there any updates on this situation? Thanks!

RobPetrullo

wow this is terrible, 25 dollars to ship from pittsburgh to niagara falls, 11 days later and still no word. i wish i had known this before signing up for a pro account. it kills convenience what a shame

Montec

RobPetrullo wrote:

wow this is terrible, 25 dollars to ship from pittsburgh to niagara falls, 11 days later and still no word. i wish i had known this before signing up for a pro account. it kills convenience what a shame

From the sounds of it (I could be wrong) but SM has no plans to offer a Canadian option for printing. I do not use SM for printing for this reason, not their fault but with Customs, brokerage fees and long shipping times as a result.

RobPetrullo

Montec wrote:

From the sounds of it (I could be wrong) but SM has no plans to offer a Canadian option for printing. I do not use SM for printing for this reason, not their fault but with Customs, brokerage fees and long shipping times as a result.

how much is customs on photos?

Andy

Montec wrote:

From the sounds of it (I could be wrong) but SM has no plans to offer a Canadian option for printing. I do not use SM for printing for this reason, not their fault but with Customs, brokerage fees and long shipping times as a result.

We do ship lots of orders to Canada.

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=114457

Montec

Andy wrote:

We do ship lots of orders to Canada.

http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=114457

I realize that, and your product is very high quality. However there are things that are out of your control that really make it a problem.

Last thing I ordered (Holiday cards) took three weeks to get here. The order before that took one week...you never know if it will be held up in customs or go right through.

Andy

Montec wrote:

I realize that, and your product is very high quality. However there are things that are out of your control that really make it a problem.

Last thing I ordered (Holiday cards) took three weeks to get here. The order before that took one week...you never know if it will be held up in customs or go right through.

Yeah, I wish there was a good way to deal with this.
Unfortunately, there's SO much involved in having a local lab operation in Canada (or any other country) - One day we may have that but it's not something we can do in the short term.

rstwohee

Revisiting Canadian printing

Andy wrote:

Yeah, I wish there was a good way to deal with this.
Unfortunately, there's SO much involved in having a local lab operation in Canada (or any other country) - One day we may have that but it's not something we can do in the short term.

So I understand the issue with SmugMug having to setup deals with international print labs. So how about the simple request I've read here time and again yet not addressed? How about a shopping cart / email option where fulfillment can be handled locally? Can we get a comment on this as an option?

Having moved to Canada from the U.S. a few years back, I've experienced the good, bad and extremely ugly of international post. It's nice that there is a US-based company willing to send my prints via the postal service but the reality is that I really need something here in Canada. I think until you've experienced actually living in Canada (in particular in a non-major city) you can't really appreciate the issues involved.

Andy

rstwohee wrote:

So I understand the issue with SmugMug having to setup deals with international print labs. So how about the simple request I've read here time and again yet not addressed? How about a shopping cart / email option where fulfillment can be handled locally? Can we get a comment on this as an option?

Having moved to Canada from the U.S. a few years back, I've experienced the good, bad and extremely ugly of international post. It's nice that there is a US-based company willing to send my prints via the postal service but the reality is that I really need something here in Canada. I think until you've experienced actually living in Canada (in particular in a non-major city) you can't really appreciate the issues involved.

It's something we'd love to do & have.

GeoffWessex

A long time since this topic had a new post..... I had been searching for information for potential Canadian users of similar services. While SmugMug is undoubtedly a really efficient business there's no way in this day and age (fuel, pollution, carbon footprints. local economy etc) that I'm going to order prints from 3000 miles away and have them flown to my customers - particularly with the Canadian Customs involvement. If SmugMug would like to liaise with an Ontario based printer, I'm all yours. If not, I'll continue to look elsewhere.

pmbpro

I'll just order from a lab I use here in Toronto as my first option. I can get prints ready for pick-up the next day!
I can also print my own at home too now. Whichever way I choose will just depend on the print order size, paper, small quantity, deadline, etc.. I'm trying to keep it on this side of the border.

As mentioned, an order list from SmugMug would be nice though, for those who have a Pro account. I don't have that account yet, so people are just emailing me with the ones they like for now.

GeoffWessex

Thanks Paula, I also had some very limited replies in Flickr to the same question... there aren't a lot of options, really, though there are a few sites that will do various parts of the job. The most likely assistance seems to come from onlinepictureproof (at $29 a month) which can be integrated into an existing website - it doesn't look very Canadian but at least I could keep the printing local. It doesn't have all the smart albums and frames that you could show and sell but all those things could be discussed with a local printer so that all the services and items available could be clearly shown on the website. In the meantime, I'll stick with my partner's current system of providing a minimum number of prints - a bit wasteful but it apparently works.

The first Canadian company to set up a system like SmugMug would really be onto a winner - way beyond my capabilities though.

WildThing

I am also a Canadian based wedding photographer. When I signed up with smugmug I was really excited about the opportunity that customers can order from the website. Back then I was pressed for time and I needed a place to post the pictures I really did not have time to look into the details of the ordering process. Now that my assignments are more structured and I very much want to sell the photos using online order forms, I realize how unavailable the smugmug site is for my use.

I am most disappointed with the limited capabilities of smugmug. I like to have my prints done locally. I have a few local print shops lined up. All I would need right now is for the customer to go in, pick out the photos, sizes and quantities they want. Provide them with a proper price in Canadian dollars with sales taxes calculated. Option to pick up or ship.
If this information is sent to me then I can bill the customer through paypal or other methods I see fit to use and take care of the rest.
But my customers need to look through the list and copy and paste or type up all the image numbers for me all over again, or I have to provide a separate form for them with all the image numbers and pretty much the options smugmug already offers for sizes.

I really don't see why that cannot be done very easily to have a switch in the pro account say smugmug print, local print. If the pro user chooses local print then still allow for setting of prices like before. The photographer now should set the currency charged such as in US, CAD, AU or what ever country they are from. (This is only a list of names to display and has nothing to do with international money exchanges) but at the end when customer checks out it would say :Your total price is $$$ CAD (or what ever currency was set before). When they choose to check out collect the customer's info like always then simply say, "Your order has been submitted to your photographer. He/She will contact you with a confirmation and your payment options." Then send both the customer and the photographer a copy.

This would allow for a more seamless order process for the customer and allow the photographers to receive orders faster and to deal with them locally.
This would be not be a huge change to the system and would benefit US photographers too if they wish to have a rush job done and need to take matters to their own hands.

While I am only a smugmug user for less than 6 months I am currently looking for other solutions because of this issue.

Andy

Hi WildThing - we have intentions of offering what you are looking for. Can't say when it'll be done but it's on our list In the meantime, our Pro Lab BayPhoto ships awesome quality prints direct to you (Personal Delivery) or to your customers. Thanks for posting! You can also add your voice here: http://feedback.smugmug.com

carshop

Andy wrote: »

Hi WildThing - we have intentions of offering what you are looking for. Can't say when it'll be done but it's on our list In the meantime, our Pro Lab BayPhoto ships awesome quality prints direct to you (Personal Delivery) or to your customers. Thanks for posting! You can also add your voice here: http://feedback.smugmug.com

Any updates to this thread for Canadians?
Is there an email list or a Canadian Prining Company?
I have had a Pro account for over a year, and have not renewed it because of this.
The customs wait and the high cost of shipping is a customer deterrent.
Thanks

Jaunty

still waiting in UK and elsewhere too...

fotomus

Denmark also waiting..
Hi SmugMug..
What is the status for this issue?..

I want my danish clients to be able to choose items from the your shopping cart,, and have the list sent to me instead of getting prints from US.



???

regards