Contacting SmugMug?

rockstar

Hi,

Is there a phone number to contact someone to ask questions about SmugMug? I tried emailing but it has been days and I'd really like to know if this site is what I need...

I know I could post here too, right? They are fairly basic questions, but I would feel better if I could talk to someone at the company to ask them before signing up.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Andy

rockstar wrote:

Hi,

Is there a phone number to contact someone to ask questions about SmugMug? I tried emailing but it has been days and I'd really like to know if this site is what I need...

I know I could post here too, right? They are fairly basic questions, but I would feel better if I could talk to someone at the company to ask them before signing up.

Thanks in advance for the help.

Hi,

We don't have a phone number. We answer all of our emails, 365 days a year. Sometimes our replies get caught in spam filtes, we wish we could control that. Can you please pm me wiht the email address you used to mail us, and I will find your note in our system.

Also, you can ask any question here, we'll answer very fast!

rockstar

Hi, thanks for the reply...Here is the information I emailed...

I have been looking over the information online, but I am a little confused. I think this service is what I need, but I want to make sure. I took a ton of digital pictures over the past few years at my school (teacher) and I would like to have a place where the former students can find their pictures and order them. I would like the events to be private for the kids. Can the site have thousands of pictures at once (by different events, like prom, graduation etc.)? Am I in the right place??

Also, what is the best way to get my own "domain" or whatever it is called to have my own website? Can I do that through the Pro account or is that a separate thing?

I did read the information online, I just want to make sure before I sign up for this service.

THANKS!

Andy

rockstar wrote:

I have been looking over the information online, but I am a little confused. I think this service is what I need, but I want to make sure. I took a ton of digital pictures over the past few years at my school (teacher) and I would like to have a place where the former students can find their pictures and order them. I would like the events to be private for the kids. Can the site have thousands of pictures at once (by different events, like prom, graduation etc.)? Am I in the right place??

Absolutely - unlimited # of photos and storage. You can have them in your own gallery & category structure and they can be private, private and passworded, or public. You can sell for profit (at the pro level) or at cost (standard and power).

Also, what is the best way to get my own "domain" or whatever it is called to have my own website? Can I do that through the Pro account or is that a separate thing?

Sure, this is a pro account feature. You can find our favorite domain hosts here:

http://www.smugmug.com/help/professional-accounts

As well as the instructions on how to tie your domain name to SmugMug! Like this:

www.moonriverphotography.com

Holler here with any more questions, we'll be happy to assist. And thanks for considering SmugMug!

SteveM

rockstar wrote:

I think this service is what I need, but I want to make sure. Am I in the right place??

As a Pro user, I can certainly say you're definitely in the right place! Before finding Smugmug, I tried many many webhosting/picture sharing sites, from hosting my own site and coding it from scratch HTML (UGH!) to various "Foto" sites, all of which had some crippling limitation whether it be file size (bytes), photo size (resolution), number of files, amount of storage (50MB?! Are you SERIOUS?) or bandwidth (Sorry, this site has exceeded it's monthly...). All of these features at Smugmug are either unrestricted (storage, for any membership plan and unlimited bandwidth for Pro accounts) or super generous (check out the resolution limitations here).

You can have as many galleries and catagories as you can invent and arrange things however you like. I am spoiled by a Pro account which allows you to restrict Large and Original size photo viewing, add your privately owned domain name (www.yoursite.com), set your own prices and sell your photos for profit, without even having a merchant account. Smugmug handles it all for you. Not to mention about a dozen security options available to the Pro user. You can custom watermark your photos, right-click save disable, password protect ENTRY to your site, password protect on a per-gallery basis, make private galleries available to share groups you set up and the list goes on and on.

And possibly the best thing about Smugmug... These guys are REAL. Don, the CEO, with 200,000 customers actually talks to us and better yet, he LISTENS. They are constantly working on new features and improvements based directly from what WE ask for. The customer service at Smugmug is unmatched, more than prompt and somehow even with the crisply professional products and services, still manage to maintain that corner barbershop intimacy. It really is like no other company on the Internet and I feel fortunate to have found them.

Steve
Smugmug member since: Dec 25, 2004 3:32pm EDT
http://www.downriverphotography.com

dogwood

it's true
Everything in the previous post is true. I'm not sure if SM does this on purpose, but I think you'll find a lot of customers who chime in here to give the ol' thumbs up to smugmug And you can easily pay for a pro account through print/digital downloads if you work it right. Seems like a pretty decent business to me, and I'm mighty picky about that kind of thing (customer service is crucial and SM passes my rigid test in that regard).

System

You won't find a better home for your pix. you cannot beat the service and professional help .. they are the total package...
come join.....
curtis :ivar

rockstar

Hi,

I forgot to say...yes, I am looking at the Pro option only...I looked at some of the hosting services as I had before, and that's the part that is confusing to me...I like that GoDaddy has the "private registration" option b/c I really do not want any personal info out there at all.

Any advice about that before I try to get a site? I am ready to sign up for everything so I can set it up and have the kids start ordering their pictures...

Anyone else have similar market for photos that can suggest a good markup for profit on basic prints (4x6, 5x7 probably what they will get)?

I REALLY appreciate all the input so far, and would value anything else you guys have before I sign up...just want to make sure I'm getting it right the first time.

I know these seem like basic questions, but I am new to this process and want to get it up and running so the pictures are finally available to the kids! [several thousand digital photos from the past 2 1/2 years]

Andy

rockstar wrote:

s start ordering their pictures...

Anyone else have similar market for photos that can suggest a good markup for profit on basic prints (4x6, 5x7 probably what they will get)?

Post this question in our Pro Sales Support forum, and let's get input from your Peer Pros!
http://www.dgrin.com/forumdisplay.php?f=35

SteveM

rockstar wrote:

I looked at some of the hosting services as I had before, and that's the part that is confusing to me...I like that GoDaddy has the "private registration" option b/c I really do not want any personal info out there at all.

I actually use this service through GoDaddy and I love it, for what, an extra $2/yr or something? Can't be beaten. I actually stalled for quite a while getting my own domain name due to this, until I found GoDaddy and this privacy option. I currently do not have a storefront or public studio, so I didn't want my personal info available to anyone who might do a /whois on the domain. I considered a few options including setting up a P.O. Box ($20some a month) as well as just taking the hit and hoping everyone who might do a /whois would be upstanding citizens. Obviously I reconsidered the latter.If you'd like to see what that privacy option looks like, do a /whois on www.downriverphotography.com It's an IDEAL solution for me, and any LEGITIMATE correspondance about my domain is handled and forwarded to me through the service (NONE yet, but I bet there would have been ILlegitimate use of it by now).

Keep in mind that domain hosting companies and Smugmug are two separate things, and that Smugmug only makes it really easy for your domain to point to your Smugmug site and just happen to have very easy, very specific instructions on how to do this with the top 5 companies (GoDaddy being one of them!). Sounds to me like you're very much on the right track and you're ready to open the door to your turnkey business!

As for the sales and the markups, that's a very individual, circumstantial topic I'll leave for the Pro Sales forum to comment on.

Good luck,

Steve
http://www.downriverphotography.com

Switched To Imagequix

This is why I switched to Imagequix!

rockstar wrote: »

Hi,

Is there a phone number to contact someone to ask questions about SmugMug? I tried emailing but it has been days and I'd really like to know if this site is what I need...

I know I could post here too, right? They are fairly basic questions, but I would feel better if I could talk to someone at the company to ask them before signing up.

Thanks in advance for the help.

I don't trust a company who hides behind technology! this is why I switched to Imagequix and why, even though it is allot more work to setup, I like that company better! Call and they actually answer the phone and your questions! PERIOD!

Switched To Imagequix

Because this is great customer service right? I'm supposed to wait 34 minutes to CHAT with someone? My business moves faster than that!!!!

rainforest1155

Switched To Imagequix wrote: »

Because this is great customer service right? I'm supposed to wait 34 minutes to CHAT with someone? My business moves faster than that!!!!

I'm sorry for the wait time. If you don't have time to wait, send us an message via our contact form or email us directly. We'll get back to you as fast as possible (usually in an hour or less) with an answer to any of your questions.

Elite

Problem uploading photos to online gallery
Hi,

I sent and email and have not heard back. We have an online gallery with smugmug where we upload all of our photo booth photo strips. We've been using this gallery since last year and never had any issues until this week. We are not able to upload pictures. The uploading page says that the upload failed. However, when I go to the gallery, it shows that the pictures did upload but with multiple duplicates. For example instead of 4 total pages, it is posting 12 pages with the same photos. We have also "checked" the "skip duplicates" box and it is still doing this. We've tried every day this week and it's still not working. Please let me know what you suggest doing, or if you're having technical difficulties with the site? Thank you.

Elite Video Booth
Ryan@EliteMobileDJ.com

SamirD

If you need help getting rid of those duplicates, PM me as I created a tool to help do so.