Question regarding calenders, Magazine covers, etc

MichaelKirk

Not trying to come down on SM at all, but I see a decent market for offering calenders, magazine covers, greeting and holiday cards, etc (a lot of items I see at MPix - sorry :huh )
http://www.mpix.com/productsinfo.aspx
(hopefully I don't get my account cancelled for posting that link :wink

How are other people offering these such products.
I know I am probably late for calenders, but still want to know to get things in place.

Michael

Andy

MichaelKirk wrote:

Not trying to come down on SM at all, but I see a decent market for offering calenders, magazine covers, greeting and holiday cards, etc (a lot of items I see at MPix - sorry )
http://www.mpix.com/productsinfo.aspx
(hopefully I don't get my account cancelled for posting that link

How are other people offering these such products.
I know I am probably late for calenders, but still want to know to get things in place.

Michael

GREAT IDEAS

We're trying hard, we want to have those things too. Stay tuned. I can't promise a delivery date, but this is something I want us to have very very much.

MichaelKirk

Good to hear!
One suggestion I would make is the ability to see examples.
It's nice to know mugs, buttons,mouse pads, shirts, ect are available, but unless you can see an actual example I think sales of these items will be minimal.

I really think we/end customer needs the ability to pick a an item (shirt,mag cover, etc) drop a photo into it and see a decent image of the end product.

I also think the portfolio idea is an excellent one, with all the professional want a be's (that me included), having available access to a portfolio book is great. Right now I am hauling around multiple large picture fames with 4 8"x12" photos in each for show at events I shoot at just to get my name and site out there and banner and book would be much easier - and probably less expensive.

Michael

Andy wrote:

GREAT IDEAS

We're trying hard, we want to have those things too. Stay tuned. I can't promise a delivery date, but this is something I want us to have very very much.

System

FYI: the printer (EZ Prints - click on pricing info in the upper right corner) that prints your smugmug photos offers all of these items on it's site. Might be a bit more of a PITA than just selling through your smugmug site with no hassle but it can be done.

jww

Andy wrote:

GREAT IDEAS

We're trying hard, we want to have those things too. Stay tuned. I can't promise a delivery date, but this is something I want us to have very very much.

Hi Andy,

It would be great to have a calendar as seen from the "evil link above" (just kidding ) ...but I think it would be really cool to have a calendar that you could build from 12 seperate pics. Maybe like special gallery type where you include the 12 pics... Then you could build a few calendar's to choose from!

OR......


What if you offered a calendar purchase and in doing so you selected 11 more pics to complete the calendar. Maybe even have an attribute on galleries that you wanted to allow folks to include in the 12 pics.

Just a thought.. or 2 or 3..

jww

Ann McRae

I'll chime in for wanting to be able to offer calendars. I'd also like to offer folded 5 x 7 greeting cards. And if we can really call this a wish list I'd like backprinting on the cards.

Since I am the ultimate procrastinator, I still haven't got any 2007 calendars ordered, but will use someone else if necessary this year.

This is my big wish this year though!!!

ann

clovisguy

Calendar software
Hi,
I've written a piece of software to make your own smugmug calendar.

You can check out my smugmug gallery for more examples and make your own calendar.

You can upload the calendar to smugmug & order prints at 5x5, 8x8 and 10x10 inches in the checkout menu.

Hope this helps.
Krishnan
Clovis, NM

JimM

truth wrote:

FYI: the printer (EZ Prints - click on pricing info in the upper right corner) that prints your smugmug photos offers all of these items on it's site. Might be a bit more of a PITA than just selling through your smugmug site with no hassle but it can be done.

Just looked at the EZ Prints pricing, how come they are cheaper than Smugmug's pricing? I always figured SM probably charged the same as them, but were able to get better rates buying in bulk. SM gets a hosting fee from us and as a pro account holder, gets 15% of my marked up sales.

Khaos

smugmug also gives you free support and guarantees mistakes, even ones you may be responsible for. I haven't checked, but will EZ Prints give you new prints free of charge if you screwed up the skin tones and aren't happy? Plus, how are the going to make any money off of print sales from non pros? It's a very thin profit margin, but if you offer a great service with a friendly staff like they do, the numbers will be good due to high membership. I'm very impressed with them. I also don't put much emphasis on always having the lowest price being the most important thing. Consistent quality service I know I can rely on has always been more important to me. There are certain businesses I always order from even if they are a few dollars more, because I know I can rely on them.

You know, I think maybe smugmug should hire me as a marketing guy.:D

Halliday

JimM wrote:

Just looked at the EZ Prints pricing, how come they are cheaper than Smugmug's pricing? I always figured SM probably charged the same as them, but were able to get better rates buying in bulk. SM gets a hosting fee from us and as a pro account holder, gets 15% of my marked up sales.

I bet SM wants to make a profit

I don't think my account fee covers the amount of storage and bandwith I eat up.

JimM

I agree that they want to make a profit. But as I try to charge a reasonable amount for my prints, say $18 for an 8x10, by the time I pay the SM $2.99 plus the $2.25 to SM then I make less than $12 on the 8x10 and my client sees 8x10's locally at Costco for $1.49.

I like the guarantee, but I don't know that the guarantee should cover my mistakes.

Andy

JimM wrote:

I like the guarantee, but I don't know that the guarantee should cover my mistakes.

This is a huge differentiator for us out there, and it's something that we honor daily. There are lots of good photographers that make "digital mistakes" and once I fix them, and teach them how & why, it's all good for the future. Happy Pro, Happy Customer

jww

JimM wrote:

I agree that they want to make a profit. But as I try to charge a reasonable amount for my prints, say $18 for an 8x10, by the time I pay the SM $2.99 plus the $2.25 to SM then I make less than $12 on the 8x10 and my client sees 8x10's locally at Costco for $1.49.

I like the guarantee, but I don't know that the guarantee should cover my mistakes.

..Before I signed up for SM, I felt the same way when I first saw Ez print prices. However I also started looking at SmugMug as storage and bandwidth costs with a pretty nifty tunable user interface as well as a 2nd offsite backup, with a seemless way to get prints out to folks. Uploading to SM sure beat building web galleries on my own. I couldn't afford the amount of storage I am using right now for $149 a year and as a plus I didn't have to really code anything to support it.

..and it sure beats printing pics and shipping them out myself. I spent way too much time screwing around with that where I could have been doing something useful. So having to pay a bit more per print didn't seem that bad to me. Especially considering how many more options they have.

The guarantee sure is a plus if the prints get mangled in the mail. ...and maybe they shouldn't pay for our mistakes, but I sure have been impressed and very happy when they did. It also impressed a customer as well when they didn't notice they cropped off the nose of their car. (Andy, I use proof delay now!!! )

Costco might be cheaper, but most folks should realize the difference and see it in the results. 1st off.. they see your shot. Yeah, they might get it printed at Costco for 1.49, but oh well... they don't have that shot. You get what you pay for..

You might be able to save a few bucks per print by doing it some other way, but I would think it might take a bit more of your own time and effort...

...and personally, I like riding in the limo!

jww

JimM

jww wrote:

..Before I signed up for SM, I felt the same way when I first saw Ez print prices. However I also started looking at SmugMug as storage and bandwidth costs with a pretty nifty tunable user interface as well as a 2nd offsite backup, with a seemless way to get prints out to folks. Uploading to SM sure beat building web galleries on my own. I couldn't afford the amount of storage I am using right now for $149 a year and as a plus I didn't have to really code anything to support it.

..and it sure beats printing pics and shipping them out myself. I spent way too much time screwing around with that where I could have been doing something useful. So having to pay a bit more per print didn't seem that bad to me. Especially considering how many more options they have.

The guarantee sure is a plus if the prints get mangled in the mail. ...and maybe they shouldn't pay for our mistakes, but I sure have been impressed and very happy when they did. It also impressed a customer as well when they didn't notice they cropped off the nose of their car. (Andy, I use proof delay now!!! )

Costco might be cheaper, but most folks should realize the difference and see it in the results. 1st off.. they see your shot. Yeah, they might get it printed at Costco for 1.49, but oh well... they don't have that shot. You get what you pay for..

You might be able to save a few bucks per print by doing it some other way, but I would think it might take a bit more of your own time and effort...

...and personally, I like riding in the limo!

jww

I actually agree with everything you say here. These are all the reasons I happily use SM. The thing that caught me by surprise was the fact that the EZ Print prices were less than SM. That was the one thing that I was surprised at. I don't expect SM to be the lowest cost provider by any stretch. I just figured they charged what EZ Prints charged and they got much better wholesale/bulk pricing to give them profit. EZ Prints regular pricing is still not the lowest cost provider. It is only the difference between SM and EZ Prints that I am not exactly understanding. Maybe EZ Prints should raise their regular prices to what SM charges?

To put this grocery analogy. If I can walk into the grocery store and buy milk, bread and eggs for $5, then walk into the wholesaler and buy the same milk, bread and eggs for $4 then why do people use the grocery store? I understand the benefits for the order hastle and the unlimited storage, trust me I understand these. But for these benefits I give up 15% and pay an annual fee. I always believed SM deserved to make a profit on the prints. I think SM should try to negotiate better wholesale rates from EZ Prints for the volume the do with that, I guess that is what I am saying.

Andy

JimM wrote:

It is only the difference between SM and EZ Prints that I am not exactly understanding.

It's value add. And we hope we're adding value

I think SM should try to negotiate better wholesale rates from EZ Prints for the volume the do with that, I guess that is what I am saying.

We did. 4x6 prints used to be much higher, I worked very hard to get those prices down in the last year.

System

I think SM is a helluva deal for the back end service they provide for Pro Users. The deal is a pretty fair shake for not having to deal with storage, print quality, shipping and the bulk of your financial nitty gritty. There's plenty of margin in the prices we are being charged. Sure you can find a cheaper way to get the same results, but at what cost? How much is your time worth? How much is having problems resolved within hours by folks like Andy worth? My only fear is that smugmug grows to large to maintain the level of service it now delivers.

MichaelKirk

Agree
I didn't start this thread to bash on SM or to indicate there is no value here. I just wanted to see about adding a few sale items. Heck, I just switched to a Pro Account a short while ago and haven't even sold enough to worry about filling out any paperwork!

I am looking at this as a long term investment and know it will take some time to get a decent site up and running, become an experienced photographer and maybe even sell enough to pay for some expenses

As I am learning about site development, photopraphy, etc and come across things that seem they could be improved - I'll make a statement or ask a question about why or why not.....that's all.

Michael
(anyone want to finish my site so I can take more pictures and give my tired brain a rest!! )

truth wrote:

I think SM is a helluva deal for the back end service they provide for Pro Users. The deal is a pretty fair shake for not having to deal with storage, print quality, shipping and the bulk of your financial nitty gritty. There's plenty of margin in the prices we are being charged. Sure you can find a cheaper way to get the same results, but at what cost? How much is your time worth? How much is having problems resolved within hours by folks like Andy worth? My only fear is that smugmug grows to large to maintain the level of service it now delivers.

jww

MichaelKirk wrote:

I didn't start this thread to bash on SM or to indicate there is no value here. I just wanted to see about adding a few sale items. Heck, I just switched to a Pro Account a short while ago and haven't even sold enough to worry about filling out any paperwork!

I am looking at this as a long term investment and know it will take some time to get a decent site up and running, become an experienced photographer and maybe even sell enough to pay for some expenses

As I am learning about site development, photopraphy, etc and come across things that seem they could be improved - I'll make a statement or ask a question about why or why not.....that's all.

Michael
(anyone want to finish my site so I can take more pictures and give my tired brain a rest!! )

not a biggy.. I don't blame you for asking and thought it was a good idea.

..and as far as your site. I looks pretty cool to me. Nice work! ..though I am wondering with so many drop down items, I think you might end up with a ton of little drop down thingies once you do quite a few events. I wonder if you would be better off leaving it down to catagory..

Just a thought and might help you get back out to take pics quicker!

Other than that.. nice work!
jww

MichaelKirk

I was just thinking...
I was just thinking the same thing.....was actually just sitting down mapping out a site plan on paper & pencil.

My "Goal" is to get all the basics going and the fine tune everything.

Right now I want to set up a slide show on the Home page and need to fix the photos on the Bio and Guestbooks pages....

Michael

jww wrote:

not a biggy.. I don't blame you for asking and thought it was a good idea.

..and as far as your site. I looks pretty cool to me. Nice work! ..though I am wondering with so many drop down items, I think you might end up with a ton of little drop down thingies once you do quite a few events. I wonder if you would be better off leaving it down to catagory..

Just a thought and might help you get back out to take pics quicker!

Other than that.. nice work!
jww