For the Business plan....
If you were paying $99.95 before your new rate is $200
If you were paying $150 before your new rate is $250
If you are a brand new signup your rate is $300
Would you mind posting a link to where it says that current Pro Account holders will only pay $200/year instead of $300/year?
I don't think it is "publicly" posted anywhere (for obvious reasons). It was privately sent in email to existing SmugMug Pro subscribers.
Canon EOS 7D ........ 24-105 f/4L | 50 f/1.4 | 70-200 f/2.8L IS + 1.4x II TC ........ 580EX
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
Pro Fees
So....why can't someone look at a sliding fee scale? Like many others using Smugmug I'm a hobbyist. I started offering my high school sports photos to parents. Why should someone like me who made $1,000 last year pay the same as a pro who makes much much more selling through SmugMug? It's frustrating!
So....why can't someone look at a sliding fee scale? Like many others using Smugmug I'm a hobbyist. I started offering my high school sports photos to parents. Why should someone like me who made $1,000 last year pay the same as a pro who makes much much more selling through SmugMug? It's frustrating!
Well as a fellow hobbyist/retired pro I who is happy with what SmugMug offers at the price I would be very pleased to make $1000
For the Business plan....
If you were paying $99.95 before your new rate is $200
If you were paying $150 before your new rate is $250
If you are a brand new signup your rate is $300
So....why can't someone look at a sliding fee scale? Like many others using Smugmug I'm a hobbyist. I started offering my high school sports photos to parents. Why should someone like me who made $1,000 last year pay the same as a pro who makes much much more selling through SmugMug? It's frustrating!
It's not SmugMug's fault or credit that a Pro makes more from photography than advanced amateurs like us. If we invested the time to hone our skills and work full-time at it, we'd make a lot more, too (although there's the pesky problem of loss of our regular job income ;-)).
With our SmugMug subscriptions, we're paying for a service. If we happen to not take full advantage of the service but it still takes as much of SmugMug's resources to deliver it, then we should pay the same. (if we buy a Ferrari but only drive 45mph in it commuting to work, Ferrari won't charge us the same as Camry)
That said, the key words are "as much of SmugMug's resources". If it was possible to make some profit off of photos hosted at SmugMug without needing all the resources that must to be devoted to a true Pro customer -- disk space, bandwidth, support staff time, etc -- then it would sure be nice if there was a lower-price option. As I mentioned, maybe a Pro Lite account with storage and bandwidth limits, or a Power account that allows earning a margin on sales, or something. Just a thought.
Canon EOS 7D ........ 24-105 f/4L | 50 f/1.4 | 70-200 f/2.8L IS + 1.4x II TC ........ 580EX
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
$300/year is just for BRAND NEW signups. If you already have an account you will be paying the new grandfathered price.
In reality that new price is not a "GRANDFATHERED" price...it is simply a discounted price until SM decides that it needs more money from it subscribers... ... ... but it is still a double your current price Price....
Why should someone like me who made $1,000 last year pay the same as a pro who makes much much more selling through SmugMug?
I'm an extremely serious amateur tennis player, playing 6x a week - I pay the same money for my Babolat tennis racquets as the guy who is 999th on the pro money list, and the same as the guy who is 100th. I'm ignoring the guy who is in the top 10, as he probably has a sponsorship deal with Babolat I also pay the very same amount of money for court time as the pros have to pay at my tennis club. Why do you think that someone in your position should have a different deal? You have the ability to do the VERY SAME thing as any other Pro on SmugMug.
So....why can't someone look at a sliding fee scale? Like many others using Smugmug I'm a hobbyist. I started offering my high school sports photos to parents. Why should someone like me who made $1,000 last year pay the same as a pro who makes much much more selling through SmugMug? It's frustrating!
You don't pay the same. The pro who sells a lot more pays a lot more in sales commissions. The pro service is offered at a price - you can decide if that's worth it to you or not. The annual fee for the service isn't priced according to how much you sell.
We've argued that if certain things are driving the cost increase to the pro account such as storage use and support for complicated things like packages and coupons, then perhaps Smugmug could retain some pro customers who can't or won't pay $300 by offering a pro-lite offering that still allows full selling, but caps disk storage and perhaps does not have packages and coupons. That seems like a generally good business idea for Smugmug, but they haven't indicated whether they will consider that or not.
I'm an extremely serious amateur tennis player, playing 6x a week - I pay the same money for my Babolat tennis racquets as the guy who is 999th on the pro money list, and the same as the guy who is 100th. I'm ignoring the guy who is in the top 10, as he probably has a sponsorship deal with Babolat I also pay the very same amount of money for court time as the pros have to pay at my tennis club. Why do you think that someone in your position should have a different deal? You have the ability to do the VERY SAME thing as any other Pro on SmugMug.
Tennis player or not it's good to see you here Andy clap as somehow these forums seemed to have died a bit.
Can someone explain why I need to buy a Business Subscription just to be able to print from Loxley in the UK?
You don't need to buy a Business Subscription just to be able to print from Loxley in the UK. You can open an account with Loxley & send your order direct to them. What you get with your business subscription is for SmugMug & Loxley to handle the whole display/ordering/fulfilment process for your customers & then pass on the payment to you (less 15%).
You don't need to buy a Business Subscription just to be able to print from Loxley in the UK. You can open an account with Loxley & send your order direct to them. What you get with your business subscription is for SmugMug & Loxley to handle the whole display/ordering/fulfilment process for your customers & then pass on the payment to you (less 15%).
yes ok, but this kind of misses the point. If I buy a portfolio sub I get to use the integrated printing facility for all the US based labs through smugmug, but I have to pay an additional $150 for a business sub to get UK printing. My question is why is it $150 more? Surely it makes no difference to Smugmug as they still get their cut?
yes ok, but this kind of misses the point. If I buy a portfolio sub I get to use the integrated printing facility for all the US based labs through smugmug, but I have to pay an additional $150 for a business sub to get UK printing. My question is why is it $150 more? Surely it makes no difference to Smugmug as they still get their cut?
Well Sure it makes a difference to Sm...a $150 difference...
Hadn't thought of that. might look into it as a stop gap. Cheers
for a stop gap, that is in YOUR best interest, if there is a good to great processor in Edinburgh, I would use PayPal and self fulfill, your clients will love the personal touch ... ... just a thought.
I think I totally get where many posters/subscribers are coming from.
But if you're a working Pro I think SM does have value even at the new price point. If you're a working Pro, you ought to be out working. According to many that work involves a ton of business-work such as marketing yourself and obviously doing actual shooting.
When I first started pursuing my photography interest and wanted to turn it into a viable business, SM was THE place to be as far as I could tell. And the reasons why are still relevant: http://www.smugmug.com/about/story/
I needed to have a place to send my clientele so they could do what they are supposed to do (if I did my work). And that work I did was aided by these things I care about: Beauty; in aesthetic design, simple interface, no Ads(!), Shopping Cart, And I never have to handle a darned thing after I have done my part of the job: Priceless!
That last part is especially important because if like me, you were just falling-into Digital Photography, there was tons to learn and absorb. And if a customer had an issue with the way you did or did not edit their photo, SM would make it right, re-send it and eat the cost of doing so. Priceless!
Many People complain about this new pricing and actually have the audacity to put the blame for their own poor planning onto SM. I understand if you just came aboard last week or last Month and now this huge increase is startling you, that makes sense. Adding to what I wrote above, the peace of mind of knowing all the other aspects of my business decision was being taken care of the moment I uploaded the clients photos was again; priceless!
So new-comers, take heart. Go out and do what you planned to do in the first place and let SM take care of the rest of it the way you envisioned to begin with. You obviously read what they were offering service wise. And for me at least Service ought to be spelled with a capitol S. Because I believe SM, me, any entity has really only that one thing to offer. There are tons of photographers, plenty of photo sharing sites and other places to sell your imagery. Service trumps it all! Oh, and for the folks that don't like an e-mail CS, I say think about it. They respond quickly, can escalate it quickly and if there needs to be detailed instructions, I'd rather have them written in an e-mail versus waiting and having to take notes over a phone.
My renew comes up in October, past the deadline. I was already in the reassessment phase. I have other hosting and other Websites and now-a-days (a-ton-of) other interests and plans that do not revolve around still-photographs. So from a business standpoint, I need to move on. If I stay or if I go, it is not SM's fault at all. My business is about me.
And if my post weren't long winded enough, let me say something else. A website is a tool. FB liking is a tool. A Camera and gear are tools. Great marketing tools sometimes, but really at max tools, all of them. They cannot grow your business. Only you can do that.
It is very easy to be led down a path of thinking that with our present-day Internet that somehow all these social media gathering places are going to make us the go-to choice of the clientele searching for a photographer. I think there are very few folks that are truly getting most of their leads from such places. I think many of the old rules still apply. The first that comes to mind and many say the most important is, Who do you know? And I mean physically, not digitally. There is a difference, and you know it.
Long winded enough~
Man how insulting is this guy. So we shouldn't have to worry about the increase because we should be out shooting and marketing ourselves, and our labor will pay for it? The point of all these posts is that SM is being predatory in their practices. And taking advantage of the pros who make them money everytime they sell a photo. 67% price increase is nothing but predatory.
I am freaking gone when my subscription is up. I just priced it out with another service and they will migrate it all for $100 fee. They do not take a cut of the photos, charge outlandish shipping prices which discourage impulse orders, take a cut of the digital downloads, or have support people wear disturbing face paint. Does it look as good as Smug, yep. Is it as easy to use, in some ways yes, some ways no. I will use them for one year as I build my own stand alone website. They priced themselves to compete for the Smug exodus, so I am guessing they will probably try the same tactic after a while and I need stability with my costs. Thanks Smug for the increase, due to your greed, you just put more money in my pocket!
By the way when are going to fix the mobile version, oh yea I can just turn that feature off! What are you doing with the extra bucks? Oh yea the owners giving themselves bonuses.
Man how insulting is this guy. So we shouldn't have to worry about the increase because we should be out shooting and marketing ourselves, and our labor will pay for it? The point of all these posts is that SM is being predatory in their practices. And taking advantage of the pros who make them money everytime they sell a photo. 67% price increase is nothing but predatory.
I am freaking gone when my subscription is up. I just priced it out with another service and they will migrate it all for $100 fee. They do not take a cut of the photos, charge outlandish shipping prices which discourage impulse orders, take a cut of the digital downloads, or have support people wear disturbing face paint. Does it look as good as Smug, yep. Is it as easy to use, in some ways yes, some ways no. I will use them for one year as I build my own stand alone website. They priced themselves to compete for the Smug exodus, so I am guessing they will probably try the same tactic after a while and I need stability with my costs. Thanks Smug for the increase, due to your greed, you just put more money in my pocket!
By the way when are going to fix the mobile version, oh yea I can just turn that feature off! What are you doing with the extra bucks? Oh yea the owners giving themselves bonuses.
In my opinion, I don’t think SM pricing is as bad as people are making them out to be, $300 for Business, $150 for portfolio (yes it was a big jump up) I will be dropping down to portfolio as I don’t sell that many photos and don’t need some of the stuff that business offers, so to retain the watermark. thats my decision.
But after reading all (most) of the comments over the last few months about the price jump, customization and wants etc, I see it’s pretty hard to please everyone and SM will never do this, nor will any other site, there’s always something, just like tech toys, (but is it “want or need”) As for the professional side of things, it’s like the Builder or Mechanic got to have the tools , claim it back on your taxes.
I look at it this way, $20 week on beer x 52 or $20 month thats $240 a year I’am I going to give up my cold beer on those hot days NO and that’s not counting every thing else dinner etc etc
I look at it this way, $20 week on beer x 52 or $20 month thats $240 a year I’am I going to give up my cold beer on those hot days NO and that’s not counting every thing else dinner etc etc
Well, to be fair to SmugMug, I left - but now I'm back. There are important things for me at SmugMug that I can't get anywhere else, so I learned an expensive lesson. It seems that I've returned at the right time, though, and I'm looking forward to all the new stuff that'll be announced in a few short hours.
I totally agree. $200 is $200. I wouldn't waste $200 on beer, and I'm not going to burn $200 on a Smugmug subscription that I use twice a year.
I wish I could find anything *else* that was affordable, presented a "quality" image, and allowed me to keep even a small portion of the print sales. 500px only lets visitors buy a VERY limited selection of prints (e.g. canvas!), and most of the other sites don't let the photographer keep any percentage of image sales. I just posted some event photos using Shutterfly ... not only did I have to do it for free (no percentage for me), but it left me feeling like I needed to take a shower ... like I was Pa Kettle posting snapshots from my P&S instead of a semi-pro photographer posting quality images.
I was one of SmugMug's early customers and stuck with SM as long as I could -- but the Pro increase from $99 to $199 was too much. I have always loved Smugmug's service and its willingness to add features that customers needed; if I was a full-time pro, there would be NO other choice for me. But for very part-time pros, SM totally priced itself out of the market :-(.
If SM chooses full-time Pros as its target market, I'm perfectly OK with that. I'm just bummed that there now ONLY seem to be "Mercedes" players like SmugMug and "Yugo" players like Shutterfly in the market. Where are the "Toyota" players in the photo-hosting market? (I just noticed that Art Scott mentioned Zenfolio.com a while back ... I'll check that one out)
Canon EOS 7D ........ 24-105 f/4L | 50 f/1.4 | 70-200 f/2.8L IS + 1.4x II TC ........ 580EX
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
Comments
Thanks for the link.
http://mcq.smugmug.com
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
So....why can't someone look at a sliding fee scale? Like many others using Smugmug I'm a hobbyist. I started offering my high school sports photos to parents. Why should someone like me who made $1,000 last year pay the same as a pro who makes much much more selling through SmugMug? It's frustrating!
Well as a fellow hobbyist/retired pro I who is happy with what SmugMug offers at the price I would be very pleased to make $1000
www.carolineshipsey.co.uk - Follow me on G+
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So is this the "grandfathered" price for everybody for now on or just a 1 year thing then everybody goes to $300?
With our SmugMug subscriptions, we're paying for a service. If we happen to not take full advantage of the service but it still takes as much of SmugMug's resources to deliver it, then we should pay the same. (if we buy a Ferrari but only drive 45mph in it commuting to work, Ferrari won't charge us the same as Camry)
That said, the key words are "as much of SmugMug's resources". If it was possible to make some profit off of photos hosted at SmugMug without needing all the resources that must to be devoted to a true Pro customer -- disk space, bandwidth, support staff time, etc -- then it would sure be nice if there was a lower-price option. As I mentioned, maybe a Pro Lite account with storage and bandwidth limits, or a Power account that allows earning a margin on sales, or something. Just a thought.
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
Support Hero
In reality that new price is not a "GRANDFATHERED" price...it is simply a discounted price
I'm an extremely serious amateur tennis player, playing 6x a week - I pay the same money for my Babolat tennis racquets as the guy who is 999th on the pro money list, and the same as the guy who is 100th. I'm ignoring the guy who is in the top 10, as he probably has a sponsorship deal with Babolat
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We've argued that if certain things are driving the cost increase to the pro account such as storage use and support for complicated things like packages and coupons, then perhaps Smugmug could retain some pro customers who can't or won't pay $300 by offering a pro-lite offering that still allows full selling, but caps disk storage and perhaps does not have packages and coupons. That seems like a generally good business idea for Smugmug, but they haven't indicated whether they will consider that or not.
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Tennis player or not it's good to see you here Andy
What is your role as 'Admin Emeritus'?
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Become a fan of Chris Humphreys Photography
yes ok, but this kind of misses the point. If I buy a portfolio sub I get to use the integrated printing facility for all the US based labs through smugmug, but I have to pay an additional $150 for a business sub to get UK printing. My question is why is it $150 more? Surely it makes no difference to Smugmug as they still get their cut?
Become a fan of Chris Humphreys Photography
Well Sure it makes a difference to Sm...a $150 difference...
Support Hero
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Ok look forward to hearing how that turns out.
Hadn't thought of that. might look into it as a stop gap. Cheers
Become a fan of Chris Humphreys Photography
for a stop gap, that is in YOUR best interest, if there is a good to great processor in Edinburgh, I would use PayPal and self fulfill, your clients will love the personal touch ... ... just a thought.
I've got the best part of 9 months still to run, but am test driving Photoshelter.....
Man how insulting is this guy. So we shouldn't have to worry about the increase because we should be out shooting and marketing ourselves, and our labor will pay for it? The point of all these posts is that SM is being predatory in their practices. And taking advantage of the pros who make them money everytime they sell a photo. 67% price increase is nothing but predatory.
I am freaking gone when my subscription is up. I just priced it out with another service and they will migrate it all for $100 fee. They do not take a cut of the photos, charge outlandish shipping prices which discourage impulse orders, take a cut of the digital downloads, or have support people wear disturbing face paint. Does it look as good as Smug, yep. Is it as easy to use, in some ways yes, some ways no. I will use them for one year as I build my own stand alone website. They priced themselves to compete for the Smug exodus, so I am guessing they will probably try the same tactic after a while and I need stability with my costs. Thanks Smug for the increase, due to your greed, you just put more money in my pocket!
By the way when are going to fix the mobile version, oh yea I can just turn that feature off! What are you doing with the extra bucks? Oh yea the owners giving themselves bonuses.
In my opinion, I don’t think SM pricing is as bad as people are making them out to be, $300 for Business, $150 for portfolio (yes it was a big jump up) I will be dropping down to portfolio as I don’t sell that many photos and don’t need some of the stuff that business offers, so to retain the watermark. thats my decision.
But after reading all (most) of the comments over the last few months about the price jump, customization and wants etc, I see it’s pretty hard to please everyone and SM will never do this, nor will any other site, there’s always something, just like tech toys, (but is it “want or need”) As for the professional side of things, it’s like the Builder or Mechanic got to have the tools , claim it back on your taxes.
I look at it this way, $20 week on beer x 52 or $20 month thats $240 a year I’am I going to give up my cold beer on those hot days NO and that’s not counting every thing else dinner etc etc
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7DII w/Grip, 50D w/Grip, 24-70/2.8L, 70-200/2.8L, 85/1.8, 50/1.8, Rokinon 8mm FE 3.2, 580EXII 430EX
I wish I could find anything *else* that was affordable, presented a "quality" image, and allowed me to keep even a small portion of the print sales. 500px only lets visitors buy a VERY limited selection of prints (e.g. canvas!), and most of the other sites don't let the photographer keep any percentage of image sales. I just posted some event photos using Shutterfly ... not only did I have to do it for free (no percentage for me), but it left me feeling like I needed to take a shower ... like I was Pa Kettle posting snapshots from my P&S instead of a semi-pro photographer posting quality images.
I was one of SmugMug's early customers and stuck with SM as long as I could -- but the Pro increase from $99 to $199 was too much. I have always loved Smugmug's service and its willingness to add features that customers needed; if I was a full-time pro, there would be NO other choice for me. But for very part-time pros, SM totally priced itself out of the market :-(.
If SM chooses full-time Pros as its target market, I'm perfectly OK with that. I'm just bummed that there now ONLY seem to be "Mercedes" players like SmugMug and "Yugo" players like Shutterfly in the market. Where are the "Toyota" players in the photo-hosting market? (I just noticed that Art Scott mentioned Zenfolio.com a while back ... I'll check that one out)
Supported by: Benro C-298 Flexpod tripod, MC96 monopod, Induro PHQ1 head
Also play with: studio strobes, umbrellas, softboxes, ...and a partridge in a pear tree...
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7DII w/Grip, 50D w/Grip, 24-70/2.8L, 70-200/2.8L, 85/1.8, 50/1.8, Rokinon 8mm FE 3.2, 580EXII 430EX