I have a lot of respect for your point of view but all the data we see indicates that being human and less corporate and emotionless is a key to our growth, which is many times what Pictage's is. All our customer research points that way.
And this is why I chose SmugMug. I love the verbiage. I love the feeling I get. And I love that you guys listen to feedback from us! Can't wait to see the new cart update. And experience coupons when the time comes!
Wow, that was a long thread. But I really appreciate you guys sharing this with us before launching - I'm only sorry I came to this so late. Anyway, I think the changes look great, I think True/Auto should be set by the gallery settings (yes, I know it's not now, but I think it's a change from the present that makes perfect sense), and I think the following catch is hilarious and I noticed that no one else commented on it, so I figured I'd mention it. I'm sure it's been fixed by now, though... Well, that's all, thanks guys!
Thanks for the heads up
I appreciate the heads up on the changes. Many of my customers are luddites, and any changes tend to scare them into wearing dependz.
I really like the idea of coupons. I read the first five pages of responses, and didn't see anything about what form(s) coupons would take. Would we be able to discount multiple orders of a photograph? That would be terrificus :ivar If I just didn't look long enough, I appologize for reasking a question.
The new cart looks very nice. I don't have any tech-no voodoo to add or request on that front.
I appreciate the heads up on the changes. Many of my customers are luddites, and any changes tend to scare them into wearing dependz.
I really like the idea of coupons. I read the first five pages of responses, and didn't see anything about what form(s) coupons would take. Would we be able to discount multiple orders of a photograph? That would be terrificus :ivar If I just didn't look long enough, I appologize for reasking a question.
The new cart looks very nice. I don't have any tech-no voodoo to add or request on that front.
Sara P.
oriellysdaughter.smugmug.com
Coupons aren't in this release...but the next thing cart-wise that is getting worked on.
Setting pricing at cost
Will the new cart allow us to set print pricing on a gallery to our default cost even if we are using Portfolio pricing?
I ran into this limitation a couple weeks ago, and couldn't figure out what was going on until I found the smugmug help page note about it. I set up a photo booth at my son's 9th grade school party. I donated the time and I am allowing the parents to download their kids photo from this one gallery for free. I was originally going to turn on print ordering at my cost and mention to them that they had the option to order quality prints at cost if they chose rather than downloading and taking in the photo themselves, but I had to abandon this idea and turn off print ordering because I could not set prices at cost.
I know that the standard answer to this is to just set it at a penny above, but there are two problems with this. First of all, I told them that I was not profiting off of these pictures, which is not true if I even make a penny, but the other problem is because I am in Washington state where we have a state sales tax. As soon as I make a profit off of the sale, even if it is a penny, I must charge sales tax on the delivered goods. This means that I would be losing money charging a penny above, and I would have to increase each print price by at least the sales tax just to break even, then track and submit this money to Caesar with the rest of my pro sales.
Thinking about it, it was also smugmug that lost out in this case because I was not able to send some print business their way...
There was some awesome feedback right in this thread and we really appreciate it - some of it got right into this release.... thank you, thank you, thank you
Is it possible for you to place some prominent text on the order confirmation page that states something like this?
"(Insert studio or account name) will be fufilling your print and merchandise order through Smugmug, a premium order fufilment partner. Please note that charges related to this order will show as Smugmug on your credit or debit card statement.
Confirm Order?"
Something along those lines...???
Excellent suggestion! Seems to cover all the bases/concerns. Should be on the short list for future modifications, but should NOT hold up the current change.
Thanks Baldy and Andy and everyone else. It looks great! I just played around with it and I may have found one bug: I added a 4x6 to my cart of a 2x3 photo (i.e. no crop necessary). I then tried to crop it from my cart, the LB came up to crop, but all the crosshairs for cropping were stuck in the top-left of the picture and I could move any of them out from the corner.
Just to be clear, "Who loves ya baby?!" is an email from us to you, not to your customers.
I can certainly understand your concern and if I were a Pictage customer coming over my eyebrows might go up too.
But we do a lot of testing on these words and can say with a lot of confidence that corporate language has really become ineffective on the Internet over the last 5 years or so.
Unknown brands like Google burst on the scene with buttons that say, "I'm feeling lucky" on their homepage and won hearts. Amazon's cart says, when it's empty, "Your cart lives to serve. Fill it with books and DVDs to give it purpose." Companies with names like International Business Machines are considered stogy, but companies with names like Yahoo! become Internet darlings (until they screw up and let even more irreverent brands like Google take over).
Apple was once considered an embarrassment and it's jean-wearing CEO was unprofessional (I used to work for him and know how painful it used to be). Now its attitude has made it the coolest and most respected brand, even ahead of the other non-corporate but great brands like Nike, Annie Liebovitz, Google, etc.
I have a lot of respect for your point of view but all the data we see indicates that being human and less corporate and emotionless is a key to our growth, which is many times what Pictage's is. All our customer research points that way.
I have to agree. In one major sense, my job isn't photography, but a connection with my client. Anything that emphasizes the human-ness of that transaction is fine with me. I think Smugmug's text actually helps that. If someone just wants a picture, they can go to Wal-Mart for $5. (I'm afraid I'm a little blunt about that: more than once, when someone finds out I'm a photographer, they ask, "Are you cheap?" I give a simple answer: "No.") If they want a connection and experience, they come to me. Smugmug helps me carry that through.
Looks Good!
Looks pretty good to me. Seeing the photos in that format and what you ordered is nice. Yes I would like to see some of the things, like links to our labs implemented, but so far so good. I do wish smugmug would NOT put so much of their information on the packages they send out. They are a service and a lab, but we don't want our customers going to them. If they were photographers, they wouldn't be buying our pictures. Why not keep us, the pros up front. Even the copyright on the back is so light its hard to see. Thats my only complaint.
The new cart looks great. However, like the old one, I will be unable to use it unless it allows for other currencies and self-fulfillment (assuming a European lab is not on the immediate horizon).
So, does it have a multi-currency, and self-fulfillment capability (even if these will not be available initially) ?
Bugs?
While I love the new look and feel... two things, starting w/the small:
1 - Using FF3, the +/- buttons/images on the initial order page are about 2px higher than the display of the quantity being ordered. Just a little UI ugliness; no functionality is impacted.
2 - I noticed that all users seem to now have the option of choosing True/Auto. Maybe I just remember incorrectly, but I thought once I set my (pro) gallery to default to 'True', the other options weren't available to non-admin users? Regardless, I see this as a real issue -- first, there is no explanation of what true/auto means, so I would presume most would change it to 'auto', and second, I really need a way to keep people from changing it 'Auto'. In the tests I've done, printing under 'Auto' can yield some pretty ugly results on already contrasty photos.
Thanks Baldy and Andy and everyone else. It looks great! I just played around with it and I may have found one bug: I added a 4x6 to my cart of a 2x3 photo (i.e. no crop necessary). I then tried to crop it from my cart, the LB came up to crop, but all the crosshairs for cropping were stuck in the top-left of the picture and I could move any of them out from the corner.
While I love the new look and feel... two things, starting w/the small:
1 - Using FF3, the +/- buttons/images on the initial order page are about 2px higher than the display of the quantity being ordered. Just a little UI ugliness; no functionality is impacted.
2 - I noticed that all users seem to now have the option of choosing True/Auto. Maybe I just remember incorrectly, but I thought once I set my (pro) gallery to default to 'True', the other options weren't available to non-admin users? Regardless, I see this as a real issue -- first, there is no explanation of what true/auto means, so I would presume most would change it to 'auto', and second, I really need a way to keep people from changing it 'Auto'. In the tests I've done, printing under 'Auto' can yield some pretty ugly results on already contrasty photos.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Mark
Hi, the FF isse we're aware of, it'll be addresed soon.
The other issue is not a bug, that has been in the shopping cart for years and years. This discssion thread has brought out some voices that wish us to change it and we'll see what can be done
Hmm seems to be working now, having revisited my cart. When I tried to crop the photo this time, the handles were at the four corners instead of at the top-left and I could move them around and crop just fine. However, before they were all bunched on top of each other in the top-left.
The only reason I could imagine it didn't work at first might have to do with the fact that the photo is "hidden", though I was logged in to my account so I can see the photo of course. Perhaps that may have caused an issue? Using FF3 btw. Thanks guys!
WOW....I love it!!!...the cropping feature ROCKS!!!!
I did not read all 20 pages of this thread...the only suggestion I would have is to put some more help on the page....like what is Auto or True..where they don't have to leave the shopping cart page.
I noticed the change when I received an order and thought my eyes were playing tricks when I saw the customer's address
Without Smugmug....and the efforts you guys put in...plus the free camera strap/stickers ;-)...is what makes the difference to me....thank you again!!!!
This is the ONLY reason I was contemplating switching vendors -- the poor placement of the shopping cart. It just wasn't "in your face" enough, or intuitive for some people to know how to order. As a professional, I need to make money on print sales, and so you have just done me a HUUUUUGE service for doing this, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart!
I'm having an issue (firefox 2 and IE) with the crop tool too. I haven't tested it thoroughly, but i can't seem to change the crop size (i can move it) for a T-shirt.
I'm having an issue (firefox 2 and IE) with the crop tool too. I haven't tested it thoroughly, but i can't seem to change the crop size (i can move it) for a T-shirt.
Dave
its possible that your crop is already at the minimum required resolution for the t-shirt.
we goofed and forgot to put a minimum resolution notice in the crop tool....we'll get that taken care of this week.
Eliminating Sizes
The button that used to work so well for me in the past, that of eliminaing sizsss that need to be cropped, doesnt work any more. I click on it, but the sizes for which the photo would need to be cropped are still showing in the cart. By the way, the button looks normal in Safari, but in Firfox and IE, it looks very funny. Please help.
Eliminating Sizes
<hr style="color: rgb(87, 87, 87);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> The button that used to work so well for me in the past, that of eliminating sizes that need to be cropped, doesn't work any more. I click on it, but the sizes for which the photo would need to be cropped are still showing in the cart. By the way, even though it isn't functional, the button looks normal in Safari, but in Firfox and IE, it looks very funny. Please help.
Eliminating Sizes
<hr style="color: rgb(87, 87, 87);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> The button that used to work so well for me in the past, that of eliminating sizes that need to be cropped, doesn't work any more. I click on it, but the sizes for which the photo would need to be cropped are still showing in the cart. By the way, even though it isn't functional, the button looks normal in Safari, but in Firfox and IE, it looks very funny. Please help.
- bob
I'm sorry, can you be a bit more specific? I don't understand what you are asking.
I'm sorry, can you be a bit more specific? I don't understand what you are asking.
Go to BUY THIS PHOTO
then go to SIMPLIFY THIS PAGE
you will see CATALOG OPTIONS
there is a box for HIDE PRODUCTS THAT NEED TO BE CROPPED
that is what I am referring to. That box looks funny on my system in Firefox and IE. And it does not work; it does not hide products that need to be cropped.
there is a box for HIDE PRODUCTS THAT NEED TO BE CROPPED
that is what I am referring to. That box looks funny on my system in Firefox and IE. And it does not work; it does not hide products that need to be cropped.
Comments
I appreciate the heads up on the changes. Many of my customers are luddites, and any changes tend to scare them into wearing dependz.
I really like the idea of coupons. I read the first five pages of responses, and didn't see anything about what form(s) coupons would take. Would we be able to discount multiple orders of a photograph? That would be terrificus :ivar If I just didn't look long enough, I appologize for reasking a question.
The new cart looks very nice. I don't have any tech-no voodoo to add or request on that front.
Sara P.
oriellysdaughter.smugmug.com
Coupons aren't in this release...but the next thing cart-wise that is getting worked on.
SmugMug API Developer
My Photos
Will the new cart allow us to set print pricing on a gallery to our default cost even if we are using Portfolio pricing?
I ran into this limitation a couple weeks ago, and couldn't figure out what was going on until I found the smugmug help page note about it. I set up a photo booth at my son's 9th grade school party. I donated the time and I am allowing the parents to download their kids photo from this one gallery for free. I was originally going to turn on print ordering at my cost and mention to them that they had the option to order quality prints at cost if they chose rather than downloading and taking in the photo themselves, but I had to abandon this idea and turn off print ordering because I could not set prices at cost.
I know that the standard answer to this is to just set it at a penny above, but there are two problems with this. First of all, I told them that I was not profiting off of these pictures, which is not true if I even make a penny, but the other problem is because I am in Washington state where we have a state sales tax. As soon as I make a profit off of the sale, even if it is a penny, I must charge sales tax on the delivered goods. This means that I would be losing money charging a penny above, and I would have to increase each print price by at least the sales tax just to break even, then track and submit this money to Caesar with the rest of my pro sales.
Thinking about it, it was also smugmug that lost out in this case because I was not able to send some print business their way...
www.CreativeFlashes.com
Great idea. Should most certainly be kept on the to-do list.
And another loud Amen.
We didn't get the feature for hiding the color button in there, but we hope to change that in the not-too-distant future when we catch up on sleep.
However, we did add complete contact info for customers now in your reporting.
http://blogs.smugmug.com/release-notes/
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
Excellent suggestion! Seems to cover all the bases/concerns. Should be on the short list for future modifications, but should NOT hold up the current change.
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I have to agree. In one major sense, my job isn't photography, but a connection with my client. Anything that emphasizes the human-ness of that transaction is fine with me. I think Smugmug's text actually helps that. If someone just wants a picture, they can go to Wal-Mart for $5. (I'm afraid I'm a little blunt about that: more than once, when someone finds out I'm a photographer, they ask, "Are you cheap?" I give a simple answer: "No.") If they want a connection and experience, they come to me. Smugmug helps me carry that through.
www.RichardBerryPhotography.com
Looks pretty good to me. Seeing the photos in that format and what you ordered is nice. Yes I would like to see some of the things, like links to our labs implemented, but so far so good. I do wish smugmug would NOT put so much of their information on the packages they send out. They are a service and a lab, but we don't want our customers going to them. If they were photographers, they wouldn't be buying our pictures. Why not keep us, the pros up front. Even the copyright on the back is so light its hard to see. Thats my only complaint.
So, does it have a multi-currency, and self-fulfillment capability (even if these will not be available initially) ?
Thanks, Frank
http://photos.frankcourtney.com/
Wedding Photographer Dublin
While I love the new look and feel... two things, starting w/the small:
1 - Using FF3, the +/- buttons/images on the initial order page are about 2px higher than the display of the quantity being ordered. Just a little UI ugliness; no functionality is impacted.
2 - I noticed that all users seem to now have the option of choosing True/Auto. Maybe I just remember incorrectly, but I thought once I set my (pro) gallery to default to 'True', the other options weren't available to non-admin users? Regardless, I see this as a real issue -- first, there is no explanation of what true/auto means, so I would presume most would change it to 'auto', and second, I really need a way to keep people from changing it 'Auto'. In the tests I've done, printing under 'Auto' can yield some pretty ugly results on already contrasty photos.
Thoughts?
Thanks,
Mark
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
The other issue is not a bug, that has been in the shopping cart for years and years. This discssion thread has brought out some voices that wish us to change it and we'll see what can be done
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
The only reason I could imagine it didn't work at first might have to do with the fact that the photo is "hidden", though I was logged in to my account so I can see the photo of course. Perhaps that may have caused an issue? Using FF3 btw. Thanks guys!
I did not read all 20 pages of this thread...the only suggestion I would have is to put some more help on the page....like what is Auto or True..where they don't have to leave the shopping cart page.
I noticed the change when I received an order and thought my eyes were playing tricks when I saw the customer's address
Without Smugmug....and the efforts you guys put in...plus the free camera strap/stickers ;-)...is what makes the difference to me....thank you again!!!!
Thanks
Ed
http://ergphoto.smugmug.com
Everything looks great.
Thanks...
Bill
Dave
we goofed and forgot to put a minimum resolution notice in the crop tool....we'll get that taken care of this week.
The button that used to work so well for me in the past, that of eliminaing sizsss that need to be cropped, doesnt work any more. I click on it, but the sizes for which the photo would need to be cropped are still showing in the cart. By the way, the button looks normal in Safari, but in Firfox and IE, it looks very funny. Please help.
- bob
Hello, is any body out there?
Again,
Eliminating Sizes
<hr style="color: rgb(87, 87, 87);" size="1"> <!-- / icon and title --> <!-- message --> The button that used to work so well for me in the past, that of eliminating sizes that need to be cropped, doesn't work any more. I click on it, but the sizes for which the photo would need to be cropped are still showing in the cart. By the way, even though it isn't functional, the button looks normal in Safari, but in Firfox and IE, it looks very funny. Please help.
- bob
Go to BUY THIS PHOTO
then go to SIMPLIFY THIS PAGE
you will see CATALOG OPTIONS
there is a box for HIDE PRODUCTS THAT NEED TO BE CROPPED
that is what I am referring to. That box looks funny on my system in Firefox and IE. And it does not work; it does not hide products that need to be cropped.
CAPICHE?
Just to add to the browser check list:
in FF 2.0 they look and work great...
in Safari 3.1.1 see attached...:cry
(on an iMac G5 1.8g)
rich56k
Big thumbs up for what happens when you check those boxes!! re: 'hide lustre' etc WOW!!
Member: ASMP; EP; NPPA; CPS