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Problems with stock cards
johnxe22
Registered Users Posts: 10 Big grins
I am creating stock cards that have certain information on the back and also inside - using specific types of fonts. As such to sell these i must create a jpg that follows certain specifications and displays all four sides facing up front.
So far so good but - i do not want to have people buying images of these cards (4 up) nor creating cards with these images. However, the way Smugmug is set up i must have prices setup only for cards in that gallery to avoid people ordering images and other merchandise of the 4 up images. Not a problem as this gallery is for stock cards only and no other type of image will be in it for people to use to create their own cards or order prints.
The problem is: once set up the customer can only buy the cards by selecting the buy photo button and then they see only the quantities of cards that they can order. They still have the option though to create a card with the 4up graphic which would be disastrous if they did.
I am wondering if there is a way to:
1. turn off the create card option in the gallery
2. replace the buy photo with buy cards
Thanks for you help,
john
So far so good but - i do not want to have people buying images of these cards (4 up) nor creating cards with these images. However, the way Smugmug is set up i must have prices setup only for cards in that gallery to avoid people ordering images and other merchandise of the 4 up images. Not a problem as this gallery is for stock cards only and no other type of image will be in it for people to use to create their own cards or order prints.
The problem is: once set up the customer can only buy the cards by selecting the buy photo button and then they see only the quantities of cards that they can order. They still have the option though to create a card with the 4up graphic which would be disastrous if they did.
I am wondering if there is a way to:
1. turn off the create card option in the gallery
2. replace the buy photo with buy cards
Thanks for you help,
john
0
Comments
1. A gallery setting/switch where selecting such turns off the availability of creating cards for that gallery.
2. A few lines of code that do the following:
Is only card pricing set for gallery?
Is creating cards for gallery turned off
If yes for both then
variable for 'buy this photo' equals 'buy this card' /*replacing the buy this photo button. You might also need to add a few more lines that say:
If yes and if no /*respectively */ then
turn on creating cards
That is the optimum solution - while preserving the functionality, i. e., not sure if turning off the create card will require turning it back on elsewhere in other galleries (whether the function is local to the gallery or global).
http://jeweledway.smugmug.com/My-SmugMug-Creations/Cards/4200992_CRZRP#864969229_BcteK
Hi,
Thanks for the detailed feedback. We've heard about this situation from many pros and it's totally logical to eliminate "create a card" when the card-ready image is already there in the gallery. I'll make sure this gets a sorcerer's attention.
-Anne
SmugMug Support Hero
Hi Anne,
Yes, and also - it doesn't make since to have 'buy this photo' when the photo is a card being purchased. There is a disconnect there for the client who may not recognize that the two are the same thing, i.e., buy photo = buy card.
Can you make sure that your person looks into that too? I have provided a suggestion as to how this might be done in terms of programming logic. Please see earlier comments.
Thanks SO much,
john
Jean Chang Photography
www.jeanachang.blogspot.com
Yes that is troublesome but i can live with that. If you look at the file you'll see i take care of it with some explanation text.
However the other two items are REAL show STOPPERS.
One gives people a crazy looking product if they order it thinking they are making a card.
The other tells the client they are ordering a photograph when in fact it is a card and hence disconnect, confusion and LOST sales.
---
Once again, i may leave smugmug after asking for cards more than two years ago. They didn't have them then and i left - i only came back because they finally had a place for stock cards. But, at last it doesn't seem to work.
I'll go back to manual one-offs and maybe even lower my web interface standards by using a competitor like DigiLabs - at east they can actually provide cards the right way as other more "canned looking" services do.
Hey Guys,
Thanks for the additional feedback. One limitation we have is that card-ready images aren't any different from other images except that they happen to have the specific pixel dimensions a card requires (and technically, any image might happen to have those dimensions).
So if we did limit buying regular prints when we see an exact pixel match, that may be an error in some cases.
Finally, we sell just plain 4x8 prints in any quantity, while our 4x8 cards come in a box of at least 20. We do have customers who order a regular print as a "proof" of their save the date cards, or whatever. I'd hate to exclude that use case.
One thing that may improve the current situation is pulling Cards out of the Prints tab in the cart (where they are buried) and put them in their own tab that would only appear when one is buying a card-ready image.
Again, we really appreciate your feedback and I can tell you that cards are a high priority for us to improve this year.
-Anne
SmugMug Support Hero
Anne,
That's a great idea to have cards with their own tab. I really hope it all gets resolved. Also, I hope you'll let us order them from Bay Photo. I've had a lot of trouble with EZ Prints printing them wrong. Anyone else have a problem with EZ?
Thanks for keeping up with this!:D
Jean
Jean Chang Photography
www.jeanachang.blogspot.com
That was not what i suggested. What you are saying has no relevance because the parameter is set that only cards are being sold and then the switch for not creating cards turned on. That unique combination then replaces the buy this photo with a buy this card graphic. Simple.
If you follow the logic presented at the beginning of this thread, then with only a few lines of code - it would not be an issue. It is an EASY fix.
My understanding when talking to Andy and from what i thought i read earlier in the thread was that the suggestion offered would be run by one of your programmer along with a request for a solution.
Now i hear that nothing is coming soon. . . .
With all due respect - hearing that something is a priority for this year doesn't provide a warm fuzzy. It sounds like a deep six in the water. I heard those exact words 'that cards was a priority' more than two years ago.
Am i left with no alternative than to leave Smugmug once again?
Please, can we stick to the real problem here in this thread was created for? Introducing other issues should be their own thread/request.
The REAL problem at hand is that the system is broken because:
1. Customers can create cards WHEN STOCK cards are already created, i.e., the four sides in on picture with certain dimensions. When a customer does that the results are disastrous.
2. When only STOCK cards, as defined above, are available customers are lead to think they are ordering a photo which is not correct and is confusing, i.e., NO SALES because who in their right mind is going to buy a photo with four different sizes facing up and two of them upside down?
1. A gallery setting/switch where selecting such turns off the availability of creating cards for that gallery.
2. A few lines of code that do the following:
Is only card pricing set for gallery?
Is creating cards for gallery turned off
If yes for both then
variable for 'buy this photo' equals 'buy this card' /*replacing the buy this photo button.
That was two years ago. Now two years later the reply is the same - "It's a Priority" but with no definite target in time. So sad when the fix is simply about four lines of code.
I think the truth about Smugmug is that it is a private (family owned) business that is comfortable. They may be good photographers but they are not an IT organization that has the ability to respond quickly and scale to customer request and demands in a responsive fashion.
So - I have cancelled my subscription to their services. Now i heading to their competitors for cards. DigiLabs seems like a good organization and they have a card system that works and even lets you select the fonts you want to use. Their lab will work directly with you when it comes to printing panoramas to the size you want and doing other custom work.
As for Smugmug, nice people but terribly unresponsive regardless of their quick turn around on e-mail - they just don't have the ability to respond to IT issues in an efficient and dynamic way.
I'm sorry you feel that way, and I'm sorry you're leaving us. Have a look at all the features we roll out, we're not comfortable, I can promise you that.
http://releasenotes.blogs.smugmug.com/
I'm sorry we couldn't do what you wanted, in the time you wanted. But we've not been loafing. There's always a tradeoff on projects and features and we wish we could do them all! I'm really sorry.
I and our Cards Sorcerer have been watching this thread, and discussing what you want. I wish you wouldn't leave, but if you are, I understand.
Best of luck to you, and thanks for the feedback - as always, it's really like gold to us.
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Really? Well, this thread has been going on for two weeks and there was no response back except that its a "Priority for this year". That is a pretty slow and nebulous response. There was no discussion of the proposed solution, no indication on if it can be fixed and when. Nothing taken off line either . . . Seems like it got submerged to me . . .
I'll continue to keep my eye on this - i have learned to look at what people DO rather than what they SAY. So far it has been more than two years since we discussed stock cards and you still don't have a solution.