Portrait shooters -print or trust the printers?

Markjay

I have a question that dgriner pro photogs who have been supplying portraits can probably answer...... please.

If you supply the finished prints yourself, you at least have control over the quality of the product to the point of knowing what the customer is receiving, with confidence. You know the colors are right, you know the processing is done right..... there's no question. Of course if you are doing a high volume of work, it's not practical to try and keep up printing on your own.

If you use Smugmug's back end printer EZ Prints or any other print lab and have the images drop shipped / sent directly to the customer....
how do you know if the customer is really happy or not and/ or if the images sent are as good as they? Yes you can ask for feedback after the sale of the prints but, customers are not always comfortable if the results are negative.

What I mean is: customers are not always forthcoming with their honest opinion of your supplied quality of result (the prints in this case). Like some people who go to eat out at a nearby restaurant and, the food was terrible and... they simply don't say anything BUT: they never come back there again!!

Also: does the average consumer KNOW what the quality of the photos should be? This comes to mind after years of seeing "snapshot" images I did not take (taken by family or friends) and they are drooling over them and they are actually BAD!!

I hope I'm expressing myself clearly on this one? Thank you in advance for your input / responses. Please excuse me if this subject has been approached before.

Happy NEW YEAR! tommorow :-)
Markjay

kara*

Normally, I order the prints from my pro lab then package them myself and deliver them to my clients. I don't like having my name & business attached to something that I haven't checked over first. However, I let friends & family order from smugmug when I'm basically giving them cheap prints. They have loved it so far and I was pretty happy with the quality. They don't turn out*quite* the same as my regular lab but they're pretty good... It's much cheaper and more convenient for stuff like that. I use and love the proof delay option of course. :

Edited to add: I really don't think most people realize the difference in quality until they hold two prints of the same image (a pro print and an icky print) to see and feel the difference... it's nice when clients already understand and appreciate professional prints!

leaforte

I've been my own, and only customer, for too long, and I've loved my smugmug (EZPrint) deliveries.

Markjay

Send them to me first?
Would it make any sense to have the EZ prints shipped to ME first, then pass them along to my customer? Give myself the opportunity to be the quality control, maybe package them my "own way"?

Again, if I start to get into serious volume.. that might be too time consuming and delay the abillity to get the product to my customer in a timely manner. Too much volume.... a problem I look forward to :-)

My commercial work is a whole different story and does not require a "pick your prints from the gallery'" system. It's these consumer sales that I'm working on now.

Thank you for your input (all of you so far). Would love to hear from others on this subject.

Markjay

kara* wrote:

Normally, I order the prints from my pro lab then package them myself and deliver them to my clients. I don't like having my name & business attached to something that I haven't checked over first. However, I let friends & family order from smugmug when I'm basically giving them cheap prints. They have loved it so far and I was pretty happy with the quality. They don't turn out*quite* the same as my regular lab but they're pretty good... It's much cheaper and more convenient for stuff like that. I use and love the proof delay option of course. :

Edited to add: I really don't think most people realize the difference in quality until they hold two prints of the same image (a pro print and an icky print) to see and feel the difference... it's nice when clients already understand and appreciate professional prints!

leaforte

(X) + more hands=lower profit

~Jan~

I would never have Smugmug drop ship something to a client. I did so once or twice in the past, but now I realize the value of nice, personalized packaging. I'm not saying Smugmug's packaging isn't nice, but it doesn't exactly have my logo on it.

With every order, I have the pictures in clear plastic bags inside black boxes that have my logo on them, with a receipt in he bag. Everything is in bags/gift bags, too. I think presentation means a lot. If someone wants it shipped, I re-package it myself and then re-ship it. This does cost me,obviously, but I want to show quality of service and nice packaging is one way to do that.

It's also important to me to be there when they see the pics for the first time so I can make sure they are okay with eveything. If not, it would be easier to make a change right there!

ShepsMom

Jen, i like your idea of packaging.

Now, i would love to have prints shipped to me as well, so here is the question (probably a stupid one). Do you charge your customer for prints ahead of time? After they're delivered, how? What if they order prints, you get them, bring them to the customer and they refuse to get some of them, do you give refund? Do you think if they got prints delived to them in the first place, they would keep all of them, because you weren't there.
Things like this happens, ya know. Just wondering.

Markjay

Paid up front?
I will assume the prints / products are already paid for in advance, prior to your shipping / delivering the products to their door. Anything less, would leave you open for..... potential trouble.

Potential trouble such as:
refusing to pay for the product after it's been printed, packaged in nice personalized packaging with your logo on it, etc. Or suddenly, they don't have the money (buyer's remorse).

The other problem I forsee with having Smugmug backend printer, EZ prints shipping right to the customer...... you are giving away your source, the labeling and all is going to say EZprints.com

I called their directly asking if they do "blind shipping" and the answer was:
nope

Thanks for continuing the dialog on this, I'm sure this type of discussion will lead to more clear thinking on those who are considering doing this one way or another.

Markjay

~Jan~ wrote:

I would never have Smugmug drop ship something to a client. I did so once or twice in the past, but now I realize the value of nice, personalized packaging. I'm not saying Smugmug's packaging isn't nice, but it doesn't exactly have my logo on it.

With every order, I have the pictures in clear plastic bags inside black boxes that have my logo on them, with a receipt in he bag. Everything is in bags/gift bags, too. I think presentation means a lot. If someone wants it shipped, I re-package it myself and then re-ship it. This does cost me,obviously, but I want to show quality of service and nice packaging is one way to do that.

It's also important to me to be there when they see the pics for the first time so I can make sure they are okay with eveything. If not, it would be easier to make a change right there!

~Jan~

I require 50% pre-payment before I'll order. This covers MY costs (and more). The other 50% they pay upon picking up the prints.

ShepsMom

Ok Jen, thank you for replying.
Let me understand your process here, you shoot, you upload, you let them proof and choose, you place an order....

You said they pay 50% before you order, do you actually go and see them to collect money?
I'm trying to figure out the system here . If you don't feel comortable discussing this, you can PM me.

Thanks!!

~Jan~

ShepsMom wrote:

Ok Jen, thank you for replying.
Let me understand your process here, you shoot, you upload, you let them proof and choose, you place an order....

You said they pay 50% before you order, do you actually go and see them to collect money?
I'm trying to figure out the system here . If you don't feel comortable discussing this, you can PM me.

Thanks!!

I shoot, I edit and proof, let them choose. They e-mail me or sometimes call me with an order. They can either paypal me the 50% or mail me a check. Once I receive that, I send off for the pics.

ShepsMom

Ahhh, i gotcha! Something i might consider doing.
Do you have a place where you get your packaging stuff? I really like the idea!

~Jan~

ShepsMom wrote:

Ahhh, i gotcha! Something i might consider doing.
Do you have a place where you get your packaging stuff? I really like the idea!

I get everything from Rice Studio Supply. I think you might have to have a tax ID to order from there...to be honest I can't remember! You might be able to use your SS #.

I LOVE them. They are so friendly!!

Edited to add I get my stickers w/ my logo on them from White House Custom Color. It's $12 for a pack...maybe there are 50 in there? They are shiny and super nice! Rice will actually imprint your studio logo on stuff but I really like the stickers because they are colored & glossy. I stick them on the bottom right of all of my boxes.

ShepsMom

Thanks Jan, good info. Do they have a website? I'll check them out.

~Jan~

ShepsMom wrote:

Thanks Jan, good info. Do they have a website? I'll check them out.

Yep: http://www.ricestudiosupply.com/ You have to request a catalog to get the price list, but you can see online what they offer. I think I have a pricelist somewhere, so if you want to know a specific thing I'll look it up for you.

ShepsMom

Thanks Jen, i ordered the catalog and got pricing. Woohoo!