Click on the "pick a category". Was held up there too.
When this function is set up for my customers to order them, please let me know. I have over 100 families I have shot this summer alone that would love the options here. I do all my holiday careds through my printer but its not as easy as this would be. Definitely keep us in the loop.
When this function is set up for my customers to order them, please let me know. I have over 100 families I have shot this summer alone that would love the options here. I do all my holiday careds through my printer but its not as easy as this would be. Definitely keep us in the loop.
Holiday card pricing....seems "pricey" to me.
Like many other SmugMug customers, I was very glad to see holiday cards become part of the product line, and applaud the SM team for getting it done.
The pricing, though, is nearly DOUBLE that of Costco, for example. The total cost for my 150 card order from Costco is $43.51 compared to about $75 (plus shipping) from SmugMug.
Both offerings (Costco and SM) are for cards and envelopes.
Differences:
Costco is 5x6 (30 sq. in.), a bit smaller than SM at 4x8 (32 sq. in.)
I do have to pick up my order from Costco (order Monday nite, pick-up Wed. morning)...a minor inconvenience, in my case.
I also have to upload my image to Costco separate from SM...again a minor inconvenience when dealing with a single image.
I'm sure there are more customization possibilities with SM over Costco, and I suspect the pro's will claim SM quality is superior, yaddah, yaddah...which may be true, but I've found Costco's "consumer" quality in previous years to be quite satisfactory for my holiday cards.
I don't mind paying a bit of a premium for convenience, or for presumably somewhat higher quality, choices, etc....but to pay nearly double the cost for what is, at the end of the day, a nearly identical product, is a disappointment.
I hope SM will re-visit the pricing model and end-up being more competitive so I can look forward to ordering next years holiday cards directly from SM.
Like many other SmugMug customers, I was very glad to see holiday cards become part of the product line, and applaud the SM team for getting it done.
The pricing, though, is nearly DOUBLE that of Costco, for example. The total cost for my 150 card order from Costco is $43.51 compared to about $75 (plus shipping) from SmugMug.
Both offerings (Costco and SM) are for cards and envelopes.
Differences:
Costco is 5x6 (30 sq. in.), a bit smaller than SM at 4x8 (32 sq. in.)
I do have to pick up my order from Costco (order Monday nite, pick-up Wed. morning)...a minor inconvenience, in my case.
I also have to upload my image to Costco separate from SM...again a minor inconvenience when dealing with a single image.
I'm sure there are more customization possibilities with SM over Costco, and I suspect the pro's will claim SM quality is superior, yaddah, yaddah...which may be true, but I've found Costco's "consumer" quality in previous years to be quite satisfactory for my holiday cards.
I don't mind paying a bit of a premium for convenience, or for presumably somewhat higher quality, choices, etc....but to pay nearly double the cost for what is, at the end of the day, a nearly identical product, is a disappointment.
I hope SM will re-visit the pricing model and end-up being more competitive so I can look forward to ordering next years holiday cards directly from SM.
Jay, I'm no smugmug employee, but I have had experience with both Costco and Smugmug holiday cards. I did my cards last year with Costco. In fact, I do a lot of my photo printing at my local Costco with good results. The Costco cards are nice for the money. They are more square and slightly smaller. The biggest difference to me is that the Costco paper is somewhat thinner than the Smugmug paper. I also find that my smugmug print colors are more vibrant than Costco.
Is it worth the price differential? Only you can decide. For me, it is. I'll be buying my holiday cards from Smugmug again next year. My biggest gripe is the lack of flexibility with text on the Smugmug cards. I'm sure they will work this out for next year.
Jay, I'm no smugmug employee, but I have had experience with both Costco and Smugmug holiday cards. I did my cards last year with Costco. In fact, I do a lot of my photo printing at my local Costco with good results. The Costco cards are nice for the money. They are more square and slightly smaller. The biggest difference to me is that the Costco paper is somewhat thinner than the Smugmug paper. I also find that my smugmug print colors are more vibrant than Costco.
Is it worth the price differential? Only you can decide. For me, it is. I'll be buying my holiday cards from Smugmug again next year. My biggest gripe is the lack of flexibility with text on the Smugmug cards. I'm sure they will work this out for next year.
Mitch...apples to apples feedback is always noteworthy, and since you have had direct experience with both SM and Costco holiday cards, your feedback is especially noteworthy. For the record, I'm not tied to Costco (left them for Smugmug, in fact). The heavier paper comment does resonate with me (higher quality "feel"), so I'm swayed in SM's direction (but only slightly!....it's not yet enough to convince me that paying double is worth it). I'll revisit again next year to see if there's sufficient justification on a price versus value basis to switch.
Mitch...apples to apples feedback is always noteworthy, and since you have had direct experience with both SM and Costco holiday cards, your feedback is especially noteworthy. For the record, I'm not tied to Costco (left them for Smugmug, in fact). The heavier paper comment does resonate with me (higher quality "feel"), so I'm swayed in SM's direction (but only slightly!....it's not yet enough to convince me that paying double is worth it). I'll revisit again next year to see if there's sufficient justification on a price versus value basis to switch.
Happy to help.
I just wanted to add another thought about my Costco experience. I've cultivated a relationship with the photo department at my local Costco. They all know me and the type of printing that I do. I use the printer profiles for their printer when I use them. Prior to all of this, my Costco prints were mediocre at best with haphazard results.
Smugmug has been much more reliable and consistent with less effort. If I've had a printing problem, the pros here have always taken care of me. My clients are also constantly impressed with the SM quality.
I've had a customer choose to buy a download and make Costco cards rather than pay the extra for Smug cards this year (and will probably have a couple more customers do the same thing). I've struggled a bit myself with the price differential for a product that you're sending out to people, not knowing if you'll end up on the fridge or in their round file. Since I'm trying to have a little business going here (and promoting Smug prints in the process), I think it's worth it for me to send out Smug prints myself. Hopefully mine will stand out in the mailbox full of other types of cards people get! For customers, one thing I can say (I haven't yet) is that I'm not a huge photo printer like Costco that can count on the quantity of orders to cover costs and bring a little profit. I'm not offended if they'd rather purchase a download (I don't charge much). Hopefully, Smug will start to offer different sorts of cards/announcements throughout the year so we have even more with which to draw people in!
Elaine
Comments and constructive critique always welcome!
On the greeting text.....
Andy et. al, Is there a way to add a little more text to the greeting? I did some mockup's earlier and it seemed like I was able to get a two line greeting in on some of the cards which I am unable to do now?
Andy et. al, Is there a way to add a little more text to the greeting? I did some mockup's earlier and it seemed like I was able to get a two line greeting in on some of the cards which I am unable to do now?
Thanks.
DS
There is a way. Create the card with no text and have it made so it goes into the cards gallery. Then go to the gallery, download the original file, open in photoshop, add all the text you want, where you want. Upload and order. A little extra work, but I have a customer who wanted 3 lines of text like one of the examples I showed her, but on a card with plenty of room, but only automated for one line of text. It worked fine.
"A photo is like a hamburger. You can get one from McDonalds for $1, one from Chili's for $5, or one from Ruth's Chris for $15. You usually get what you pay for, but don't expect a Ruth's Chris burger at a McDonalds price, if you want that, go cook it yourself." - me
I still can't create a greeting card using IE7. Is this going to be fixed anytime in the near future?
I was able to order a set of cards for my daughter by using Firefox, but I was a little disappointed in the quality of the cards and envelopes. Greeting cards are normally printed on heavy card stock and are usually folded. These cards were simply odd size prints with some bordering and text layered on top. Not really what I was expecting.
I still can't create a greeting card using IE7. Is this going to be fixed anytime in the near future?
Hi Mick, I don't know a single other customer that has the difficulties you are having with IE7. Write me again at the help desk, we'll continue to try and fix it with you. I'm really sorry.
I was able to order a set of cards for my daughter by using Firefox, but I was a little disappointed in the quality of the cards and envelopes. Greeting cards are normally printed on heavy card stock and are usually folded. These cards were simply odd size prints with some bordering and text layered on top. Not really what I was expecting.
But our guarantee: http://www.smugmug.com/prints/our-guarantee.mg covers anything - so if you wish, just holler to me at the help desk with the order number and we'll happily refund your order.
I just wanted to say that I'm very happy with the quality of our cards! Especially after viewing one from a friend tonight, which was unfortunately made with a family photo I took! She purchased a download from me and had them printed at Costco, and quite frankly I was shocked at how poorly the photo portion turned out. The highlights were blown quite badly and it looked really washed out and very sub-par. I was very disappointed to see a picture I took look like that. I'm half-way tempted to order a print from Smug, just to compare the quality for myself! Anyway, I was glad to be able to send out our cards and be proud of the way they looked.
Elaine
Comments and constructive critique always welcome!
I just wanted to say that I'm very happy with the quality of our cards! Especially after viewing one from a friend tonight, which was unfortunately made with a family photo I took! She purchased a download from me and had them printed at Costco, and quite frankly I was shocked at how poorly the photo portion turned out. The highlights were blown quite badly and it looked really washed out and very sub-par. I was very disappointed to see a picture I took look like that. I'm half-way tempted to order a print from Smug, just to compare the quality for myself! Anyway, I was glad to be able to send out our cards and be proud of the way they looked.
Smug v. Costco
Since initially expressing a degree of displeasure about the higher cost of Smugmug's holiday cards over those from Costco, I feel obligated to share my latest experience...
I ordered my cards this year from Costco (3rd year in a row) rather than Smugmug (just couldn't "justify" the price differential). While stuffing the envelopes, my wife complained that the envelope flaps wouldn't stay "stuck", and that I should write a complaint letter to Costco. Then I remembered that we experienced the same problem with the envelopes last year!
This shouldn't be interpreted to mean I'm thrilled about paying nearly double the price to get a "quality" product, but I won't be buying my holiday cards from Costco next year!
Since I'll almost certainly be buying from SmugMug, I'd like to chime-in on a request others have mentioned....more text flexibility. I generally send a separate letter along with my holiday cards. A card I just received from a family member was a folded Shutterfly card with pictures on the outside, and which additionally allowed the sender to craft a nice, legible, holiday letter directly on the inside flap of the card...NICE!
Since initially expressing a degree of displeasure about the higher cost of Smugmug's holiday cards over those from Costco, I feel obligated to share my latest experience...
I ordered my cards this year from Costco (3rd year in a row) rather than Smugmug (just couldn't "justify" the price differential). While stuffing the envelopes, my wife complained that the envelope flaps wouldn't stay "stuck", and that I should write a complaint letter to Costco. Then I remembered that we experienced the same problem with the envelopes last year!
This shouldn't be interpreted to mean I'm thrilled about paying nearly double the price to get a "quality" product, but I won't be buying my holiday cards from Costco next year!
Since I'll almost certainly be buying from SmugMug, I'd like to chime-in on a request others have mentioned....more text flexibility. I generally send a separate letter along with my holiday cards. A card I just received from a family member was a folded Shutterfly card with pictures on the outside, and which additionally allowed the sender to craft a nice, legible, holiday letter directly on the inside flap of the card...NICE!
You know I'm biased but we (my lovely wife and me) received holiday cards from friends, printed by Shutterfly, Costco, Walmart, CVS, Kodak, and others. Lots of comparisons here. There *is no* comparison IMO, from a quality standpoint. Reason? Our stuff is uniquely made, 300dpi high quality artwork and photos. We don't skimp on a single pixel. The other stuff we got in the mail from friends this year all looked like clip art from a cheap website or Powerpoint
IMO, you get what you pay for, and then some.
Yes, it sure does come down to the designs, and what gets people excited, motivated, in the holiday spirit We hope to have LOTS more designs (all highest quality, 300dpi), and also more occasions, and more flexibility on text choices, too
You know I'm biased but we (my lovely wife and me) received holiday cards from friends, printed by Shutterfly, Costco, Walmart, CVS, Kodak, and others. Lots of comparisons here. There *is no* comparison IMO, from a quality standpoint. Reason? Our stuff is uniquely made, 300dpi high quality artwork and photos. We don't skimp on a single pixel. The other stuff we got in the mail from friends this year all looked like clip art from a cheap website or Powerpoint
IMO, you get what you pay for, and then some.
Yes, it sure does come down to the designs, and what gets people excited, motivated, in the holiday spirit We hope to have LOTS more designs (all highest quality, 300dpi), and also more occasions, and more flexibility on text choices, too
Thanks for posting!
I agree Andy, what I sent out was way better than anything anyone sent me, no where near the quality of the SM cards. I was very satisfied with my cards! Thanks to all who made this possible!!!
You know I'm biased but we (my lovely wife and me) received holiday cards from friends, printed by Shutterfly, Costco, Walmart, CVS, Kodak, and others. Lots of comparisons here. There *is no* comparison IMO, from a quality standpoint. Reason? Our stuff is uniquely made, 300dpi high quality artwork and photos. We don't skimp on a single pixel. The other stuff we got in the mail from friends this year all looked like clip art from a cheap website or Powerpoint
IMO, you get what you pay for, and then some.
Yes, it sure does come down to the designs, and what gets people excited, motivated, in the holiday spirit We hope to have LOTS more designs (all highest quality, 300dpi), and also more occasions, and more flexibility on text choices, too
Thanks for posting!
Andy, I looked and looked again...but didn't find my SM holiday card from you so I could directly compare it with Costco, Shutterfly, etc.
Just kidding....I'm sure you are correct--the SM cards MUST be much nicer since you and several others have now confirmed as much in this thread. I'll be using SmugMugs cards next year, I'm sure now.
Any plans to add Thank You cards, Birthdays, etc.??
It's available now, create a new card and download/save it. Photoshop a new
design on it and upload back to card gallery making sure you retain the exact
size, etc. It's just a 4x8 photo of a specified size.
Here's one I modified adding two photos, moving text around and adding some.
And feel free to keep kicking more suggestions on cards our way.
To elaborate a little on what Andy said, each of these cards are custom built for SmugMug, and that kind of awesome artwork doesn't happen instantly. The end result is awesome cards, but it does take time to design and build each card. We aren't just sitting around twiddling our thumbs.
You guys are AWESOME! Looks like I'll have to go to a different provider for Thank You cards this round because I'm too lazy to design my own, but hopefully SmugMug will have the options ready for the next occasion.
As long as you are adding new designs that's awesome. I would really like to see multiple photo designs - It was a pain doing some cards by myself in photoshop to achieve the same effect.
As long as you are adding new designs that's awesome. I would really like to see multiple photo designs - It was a pain doing some cards by myself in photoshop to achieve the same effect.
Yeah we want to get to that point, too - it'll be a while but it's in our plan.
It's available now, create a new card and download/save it. Photoshop a new design on it and upload back to card gallery making sure you retain the exact size, etc. It's just a 4x8 photo of a specified size. Here's one I modified adding two photos, moving text around and adding some.
Does this mean I can upload any picture to the 'My SmugMug Creations -> Cards' gallery (once I have one) and order cards, just as long as they are 2400 x 1200 pixels and 300 dpi?
PS: The gallery is created under 'Other -> Cards' on my SmugMug website, but I still get the option to order cards.
Comments
When this function is set up for my customers to order them, please let me know. I have over 100 families I have shot this summer alone that would love the options here. I do all my holiday careds through my printer but its not as easy as this would be. Definitely keep us in the loop.
Shawn
www.lighttouchphoto.com
http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=76819
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
My Images | My Lessons Learned and Other Adventures
Like many other SmugMug customers, I was very glad to see holiday cards become part of the product line, and applaud the SM team for getting it done.
The pricing, though, is nearly DOUBLE that of Costco, for example. The total cost for my 150 card order from Costco is $43.51 compared to about $75 (plus shipping) from SmugMug.
Both offerings (Costco and SM) are for cards and envelopes.
Differences:
Costco is 5x6 (30 sq. in.), a bit smaller than SM at 4x8 (32 sq. in.)
I do have to pick up my order from Costco (order Monday nite, pick-up Wed. morning)...a minor inconvenience, in my case.
I also have to upload my image to Costco separate from SM...again a minor inconvenience when dealing with a single image.
I'm sure there are more customization possibilities with SM over Costco, and I suspect the pro's will claim SM quality is superior, yaddah, yaddah...which may be true, but I've found Costco's "consumer" quality in previous years to be quite satisfactory for my holiday cards.
I don't mind paying a bit of a premium for convenience, or for presumably somewhat higher quality, choices, etc....but to pay nearly double the cost for what is, at the end of the day, a nearly identical product, is a disappointment.
I hope SM will re-visit the pricing model and end-up being more competitive so I can look forward to ordering next years holiday cards directly from SM.
Jay, I'm no smugmug employee, but I have had experience with both Costco and Smugmug holiday cards. I did my cards last year with Costco. In fact, I do a lot of my photo printing at my local Costco with good results. The Costco cards are nice for the money. They are more square and slightly smaller. The biggest difference to me is that the Costco paper is somewhat thinner than the Smugmug paper. I also find that my smugmug print colors are more vibrant than Costco.
Is it worth the price differential? Only you can decide. For me, it is. I'll be buying my holiday cards from Smugmug again next year. My biggest gripe is the lack of flexibility with text on the Smugmug cards. I'm sure they will work this out for next year.
http://clearwaterphotography.smugmug.com/
Mitch...apples to apples feedback is always noteworthy, and since you have had direct experience with both SM and Costco holiday cards, your feedback is especially noteworthy. For the record, I'm not tied to Costco (left them for Smugmug, in fact). The heavier paper comment does resonate with me (higher quality "feel"), so I'm swayed in SM's direction (but only slightly!....it's not yet enough to convince me that paying double is worth it). I'll revisit again next year to see if there's sufficient justification on a price versus value basis to switch.
Happy to help.
I just wanted to add another thought about my Costco experience. I've cultivated a relationship with the photo department at my local Costco. They all know me and the type of printing that I do. I use the printer profiles for their printer when I use them. Prior to all of this, my Costco prints were mediocre at best with haphazard results.
Smugmug has been much more reliable and consistent with less effort. If I've had a printing problem, the pros here have always taken care of me. My clients are also constantly impressed with the SM quality.
http://clearwaterphotography.smugmug.com/
Comments and constructive critique always welcome!
Elaine Heasley Photography
Andy et. al, Is there a way to add a little more text to the greeting? I did some mockup's earlier and it seemed like I was able to get a two line greeting in on some of the cards which I am unable to do now?
Thanks.
DS
Twitter: @steelephotoaz
There is a way. Create the card with no text and have it made so it goes into the cards gallery. Then go to the gallery, download the original file, open in photoshop, add all the text you want, where you want. Upload and order. A little extra work, but I have a customer who wanted 3 lines of text like one of the examples I showed her, but on a card with plenty of room, but only automated for one line of text. It worked fine.
I was able to order a set of cards for my daughter by using Firefox, but I was a little disappointed in the quality of the cards and envelopes. Greeting cards are normally printed on heavy card stock and are usually folded. These cards were simply odd size prints with some bordering and text layered on top. Not really what I was expecting.
But our guarantee: http://www.smugmug.com/prints/our-guarantee.mg covers anything - so if you wish, just holler to me at the help desk with the order number and we'll happily refund your order.
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Comments and constructive critique always welcome!
Elaine Heasley Photography
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
aktpics.smugmug.com
Since initially expressing a degree of displeasure about the higher cost of Smugmug's holiday cards over those from Costco, I feel obligated to share my latest experience...
I ordered my cards this year from Costco (3rd year in a row) rather than Smugmug (just couldn't "justify" the price differential). While stuffing the envelopes, my wife complained that the envelope flaps wouldn't stay "stuck", and that I should write a complaint letter to Costco. Then I remembered that we experienced the same problem with the envelopes last year!
This shouldn't be interpreted to mean I'm thrilled about paying nearly double the price to get a "quality" product, but I won't be buying my holiday cards from Costco next year!
Since I'll almost certainly be buying from SmugMug, I'd like to chime-in on a request others have mentioned....more text flexibility. I generally send a separate letter along with my holiday cards. A card I just received from a family member was a folded Shutterfly card with pictures on the outside, and which additionally allowed the sender to craft a nice, legible, holiday letter directly on the inside flap of the card...NICE!
IMO, you get what you pay for, and then some.
Yes, it sure does come down to the designs, and what gets people excited, motivated, in the holiday spirit
Thanks for posting!
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
I agree Andy, what I sent out was way better than anything anyone sent me, no where near the quality of the SM cards. I was very satisfied with my cards!
Smugmug site
Blog Portfolio
Facebook
Andy, I looked and looked again...but didn't find my SM holiday card from you
Just kidding....I'm sure you are correct--the SM cards MUST be much nicer since you and several others have now confirmed as much in this thread. I'll be using SmugMugs cards next year, I'm sure now.
design on it and upload back to card gallery making sure you retain the exact
size, etc. It's just a 4x8 photo of a specified size.
Here's one I modified adding two photos, moving text around and adding some.
My Website index | My Blog
Yes.
Any estimate as to when they'll be available? Before the end of this year perhaps?
Thank yous, birthdays, invitations, baby announcments, etc etc
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And feel free to keep kicking more suggestions on cards our way.
To elaborate a little on what Andy said, each of these cards are custom built for SmugMug, and that kind of awesome artwork doesn't happen instantly. The end result is awesome cards, but it does take time to design and build each card. We aren't just sitting around twiddling our thumbs.
Brian
http://photos.katzclix.com
blog - http://blog.katzclix.com
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
Does this mean I can upload any picture to the 'My SmugMug Creations -> Cards' gallery (once I have one) and order cards, just as long as they are 2400 x 1200 pixels and 300 dpi?
PS: The gallery is created under 'Other -> Cards' on my SmugMug website, but I still get the option to order cards.
www.marcoglasbergen.nl