Pro Account increase
Skorri
Registered Users Posts: 110 Major grins
Yikes, just got the email and listened to the explanation. Thanks for that video explanation. I see where SmugMug is coming from. Going to have to give this quite a bit of thought...:scratch
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To be quite honest, I don't care if it's the first time since the beginning of time they raised their prices. It doesn't make accepting it any easier.
What I would really like to know is since I just paid $150 for year's pro account, do I now need to fork out another $100 to get what I thought I was getting 3 days ago?
I do appreciate the video as well, and understand there are times where a price increase is needed. I work for a very small local cable tv company, one of the few locally owned and operated that still exist, and we've had to up our prices a couple bucks a month recently as well. We're still under $30 a month though and you can't beat the local mom and pop type customer service. Even though Smugmug isn't quite like that, they still have great service, and I have never had any issues. I'll continue to host my photography here, and support the business, but I would be lying if I said I wouldn't be at least looking at other options to see if they are as compelling as Smugmug still is for my needs and taste.
Hopefully changes and faster iteration will happen as a result of this. If it happens quick enough, I imagine a lot of the angry customers now will feel it was a bit more justified. I think the timing of this isn't the best as a lot of people are getting tired of waiting and waiting for the new overhaul without a whole lot of updated news. If that rolls out soonish, it would go a long ways to justifying the price increase at least in my opinion.
www.zblackwood.com
My understanding is you won't see any price increase until your renewal date in 2013. Since your purchase date is before October 15th. If you sign up after October 15th, then you will renew or be charged the increased rates.
www.zblackwood.com
I'm under the impression that you will be charged an additional $100 come October. I already changed mine to stay at the $150, however now thinking about it, I wonder if I was still good to stay at "Business" for a year since that is technically what I renewed at last week. I'm going to be pretty upset and probably won't renew if I just cheated myself out of a year of what would have been a "pro" account.
I also love that SM thinks that watermarking, printmarking, backprinting, and pro labs are worth $90 over the power account.
I'll be paying attention to see if any of the claims in the video about upgrades finally come to fruition. If not, it's time to move on..
Blog: http://blog.scolephoto.com
No worries on that, Parkerman - Shoot the Heroes and email, let 'em know the situation, and they'll bump you back to Business without missing a beat - help at smugmug dot com -
No worries, Marvin - the price increase won't affect you until next year's renewal...
Ever heard of Customer choice?
So what's this mean for those of us developing or have developed SM sites at considerable effort and expense? We have two choices - stay with SM and pay an additional 67% PER YEAR, or move to another provider.
Thanks heaps for dragging my company into another business planning session to do a cost-benefit analysis. We REALLY appreciate that. Can I send you OUR invoice for my staff's time?
http://www.despatchesgallery.com
Hi Parkerman - I'm looking for your help email - let's cut through it, shoot me an email direct at sean at smugmug dot com - include your account name etc - I'll get this handled for you -
I thought it was justifiable for the extra features of a pro account at $150. At $250 it's not for me. And the portfolio account at $150 now does not have the features I paid for so I don't see any reason to stay at Pro. I will be down-grading when this contract is over.
This is disappointing. I was already hoping for more improvements and value for the $150 and then they almost double the price with no added value? Makes for a very easy decision.
I do have a question. My renewal date is April 15th. Do I still get to have full business plan privileges until then? That is what I paid for. The way one could interpet the email is that we ALL need to renew on Oct. 15th and If I chose not to remain pro and just pay the $150 then I will be forced to pay more on that date to use the pro features? That cannot be correct.
Monte
Going directly to my custom domain from the get-go doesn't help!
Mark
Hi Montec - I confess, I can see how the wording could be read that way, but I assure you, you're paid through your next renewal at the new Business level - The meaning there is that the increase goes into affect on that date - and renewals after that point, whenever they may be scheduled for, would be at the new pricing.
I'm terribly sorry for any confusion.
You have a good reputation with me, as far as I'm concerned so I'm willing to stick it out 1 more year.
Keith
I (we) hear ya, Skorri - I've been a customer since '03 - and an employee since late '07.
As OT posted here, http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=1809586&postcount=33 -
"Tiny little bits and pieces have been leaking out around the edges - the gallery preview, the new search interface, Pricelists, and the new Account Settings. They're all tiny little echoes of a much bigger product shift."
What's coming will be worth the wait - and we're grateful (I REALLY wish I could think of better words) for you're loyalty, understanding and patience.
Hi Mark - I'm very familiar with the issue you've outlined, I have a custom domain myself - it's not a 'bug' actually, it has to do with the way web browsers handle cookies - your logged-in session cookie to be precise - and the way they view your actual domain (you.smugmug.com) vs your custom domain (you.com) -
If you're up for it, shoot me an email (sean at smugmug dot com) and I'll be happy to outline some some options for mitigation.
I sincerely hope that it is, but I need some information on which to base my decision as soon as possible. I really think it would be best for everyone if SmugMug could release their intentions. I know that in normal circumstances you would want to have a big release announcement, but I think the substantial price increase warrants a different approach.
Smugmug has decided that after already taking too much commission from loyal and paying members from every single sale... that it isn't going to be enough money for them. So, instead of a small logical price increase, they have disrespected the member base by slamming them with massive 67% and 100% price increases!!!! This is not a joke. How can a company make a decision like this without first fixing a site that is unreliable and always down? Absolutely dumbfounding. There will be a mass exodus at Smugmug and the companies all time worst decision was made tonight. Time to back up files by using the "Download All" tab under "Tools" in each gallery. They are counting on people just paying since it's easier than moving all those files. Don't fall into that trap. To read what other member's are saying, please go here and view "Recent Posts by Others on SmugMug". https://www.facebook.com/SmugMug
Good luck. I have been waiting over two years. From the very start I problems with corrupted uploads and downtime at the most inopportune times. The it was promises of all of these amazing new features that were just right around the corner. Do a trial a Zenfolio and I bet you will switch. $120 for what Smug calls "business". Lower commissions and more features.
Absolutely no-one else has the customisation options available on Smugmug. If they did I would be checking them out. $300 isn't a stupid amount, but SMugmug have demonstrated over the 7 years I have been here that they are too US centric, and WAYYYY too slow on feature development. I'd pay $300 in a flash if their feature development increased 10fold like their developer count has.
Cheers - N
http://www.nzsnaps.com (talkiet.smugmug.com)
You can customize a pile of sh!t but it will still be a pile of sh!t. Zenfolio has the features that everyone has been wanting.
Wrong, it might have the features a lot of people want, but it doesn't have the features I want... To be able to customise my site to the level that at first glance it's not immediately obvious it's a smugmug site...
I know experience smugmug users will be able to tell instantly, and I'm sure you are one of those experts, but most people can't tell with a well customised site at first glance that it's a generic photo sharing site.
So please, tell me what options there are... I've looked and as far as I can see, in this area, Smugmug is the only game in town.
Just a shame the table stakes got bumped up 100%
N.
http://www.nzsnaps.com (talkiet.smugmug.com)
Who cares if I have a site that looks custom if the purpose is to make the pictures the focus and sell prints or digital downloads. They are going to be looking at the pictures as long as the site doesn't get in the way.
Pfffft, it's a no-brainer for me — I will not be continuing with a Business account when my renewal comes due. I'll continue to use smugmug as my main portfolio site, but I'll happily downgrade to a Power account and hyperlink my galleries to other sites that I already sell through, and through which a much higher level of my sales occur anyway. Thanks to smugmug for making it a VERY easy choice. Ninety bucks per year back in my pocket, yippee!
And you will still cost them as much money in storage! Their reasoning doesn't make sense.
And as I said, you are the expert so can easily pick up on little things like that... I'm perfectly aware of the Smugmug branding in the shopping cart. I don't know how long you've had an account here, but I've had one since 2005 and have been dealing with the customisations ever since.
Most other photo hosting sites look absolutely ugly. Changing background colours or adding a banner at the top doesn't fix that.
You said Zenfolio has the features everyone has been wanting, I'm just pointing out that they don't have the features that everyone has been wanting. Don't tell me my business or what I want.
Cheers - N
http://www.nzsnaps.com (talkiet.smugmug.com)
Well congrats on your $100 price increase!