Lab Advice if customers are in Ireland

shana

Hi I'm trying to decide which lab to use. I'm in Ireland and most of my customers are located here aswell. Problem is I really had my heart set on going with bay photo. Location not ideal as the shipping cost is huge but the only other reason I choose this lab originally was because of reviews and the fact u can add frames to an order.

Loxley on the other hand shipping price would be way cheaper but they don't offer frames.

Looking for advice. Anyone here in the same situation? Also do you find customers more inclined to not buy based on the shipping? By going with loxley without frames what would be my option then if customers start asking me for frames for them etc.... any advice would be appreciated. So unsure at the moment in what to do.

denisegoldberg

I would guess that requiring your customers to pay shipping from the US to Ireland will stop them from purchasing.

Are you happy with the quality of the print products from Loxley?

Do you offer print products that don't require frames? For example, I offer MetalPrints from Bay Photo; no frame is needed. The Loxley acrylic products look like they could be interesting - https://www.smugmug.com/prints/loxley-acrylic-products.

Have you considered ordering a sample photo of each product you plan to offer from each lab?

shana

Hi Denise thanks for the feedback. I've requested samples from bay and loxley. Still waiting on them at the moment.

Yeah those loxley acrylic do look lovely too. .. it's a hard one to decide that's for sure because not only shipping cost but then bay is cheaper then loxley but could end up on par when shipping is added... So many pros and cons with both.... My head is melted lol.

AceCo55

I'm in Australia. There is ZERO chance of some-one here is going to order a print from America with the shipping costs.

I had a pro account but never turned on shopping as it would have been a complete waste of time.
I now have a Power account and self-fulfill. I know that is probably not the path you want to go down but high shipping costs will be a killer for you.

Maybe ask a few acquaintances if they would consider buying a print with a shipping cost of $xxxx, just to get a "feel" of your market and potential customers?

Very best of luck which ever way you decide to go.

shana

yeah am still on the fence. Gonna work out more prices later.
Self fulfil would be ideal but I wouldn't have the time. Im thinking Ill probably just gonna go with Loxely and offer what they have and if anyone asks for frames I could direct them to a private gallery that has bay photo attached with "photo extras" turned on and will maybe pre warn customers that i dont usually offer frames as shipping "quite" expensive lol. Then they can make the decision.

Hikin' Mike

@shana said:
yeah am still on the fence. Gonna work out more prices later.
Self fulfil would be ideal but I wouldn't have the time. Im thinking Ill probably just gonna go with Loxely and offer what they have and if anyone asks for frames I could direct them to a private gallery that has bay photo attached with "photo extras" turned on and will maybe pre warn customers that i dont usually offer frames as shipping "quite" expensive lol. Then they can make the decision.

Nothing wrong with just offering prints and letting the customer know if they want it matted/framed, they need to find a shop locally. That's what I did before I came to SM. Even now using SM, I've only had one order that wasn't for prints (3 MetalPrints) but it was friend.

tartan snow

@shana said:
Hi I'm trying to decide which lab to use. I'm in Ireland and most of my customers are located here aswell. Problem is I really had my heart set on going with bay photo. Location not ideal as the shipping cost is huge but the only other reason I choose this lab originally was because of reviews and the fact u can add frames to an order.



Loxley on the other hand shipping price would be way cheaper but they don't offer frames.



Looking for advice. Anyone here in the same situation? Also do you find customers more inclined to not buy based on the shipping? By going with loxley without frames what would be my option then if customers start asking me for frames for them etc.... any advice would be appreciated. So unsure at the moment in what to do.

Since this is about 10 months old you will have made your decision by now Shana. All I can add is that I use Loxley (I'm in Scotland) and they are very good quality prints. If someone asks me about framed photos I just have to tell them some alternatives. frithandcompany.co.uk make it fairly easy for DIY framing and if they fancy something different I advise buying a download and then using DSCL (DS Colour Labs) for their various products. Had SmugMug been linked to DS Colour Labs it would have been ideal for me because I use them for everything that is not done through SmugMug

rmwphoto

been a very long time since i have been is here still no photo lab in Canada???