Options
Smugmug vs. Bayphoto print costs
delrusso
Registered Users Posts: 5 Big grins
Hello all. First post! 
I did some quick searching and didn't find a thread on this topic. If there is one, I don't mind just being redirected there.
My question is: Why is our print cost so much higher than that actual print lab cost? For example, the cost for a 4x6 print (Bayphoto) via Smugmug's pricelist is *over* 30% more than if that same print is ordered directly from Bayphoto.
I got caught off guard when I told my customer that they would get cost pricing for prints. My customer followed up with me, somewhat upset, when they realized that they were paying almost 30% over the print lab's internet price. (Note: They were ordering close to 1000 4x6 prints, so it adds up.)
Is this something Smugmug is going to address? Perhaps there was a recent price drop on the print lab side and Smugmug didn't catch up? What gives? We already pay 15% of our profits back to Smugmug, but we're also being told the cost is one thing when it really is much lower. The way the cost is presented to us in our pricelist leads us (at least me) to believe that this is the "print cost" and not a SmugMug price.
I think it's pretty obvious that Smugmug is extended a cost, from the labs, that would be *lower* than what the print lab charges to retail/web customers. Yet, as paying Smugmug Pro account holders, our print cost is greatly inflated.
Just looking for some justification or more info. on this since I/we are paying for it.
Roger
I did some quick searching and didn't find a thread on this topic. If there is one, I don't mind just being redirected there.My question is: Why is our print cost so much higher than that actual print lab cost? For example, the cost for a 4x6 print (Bayphoto) via Smugmug's pricelist is *over* 30% more than if that same print is ordered directly from Bayphoto.
I got caught off guard when I told my customer that they would get cost pricing for prints. My customer followed up with me, somewhat upset, when they realized that they were paying almost 30% over the print lab's internet price. (Note: They were ordering close to 1000 4x6 prints, so it adds up.)
Is this something Smugmug is going to address? Perhaps there was a recent price drop on the print lab side and Smugmug didn't catch up? What gives? We already pay 15% of our profits back to Smugmug, but we're also being told the cost is one thing when it really is much lower. The way the cost is presented to us in our pricelist leads us (at least me) to believe that this is the "print cost" and not a SmugMug price.
I think it's pretty obvious that Smugmug is extended a cost, from the labs, that would be *lower* than what the print lab charges to retail/web customers. Yet, as paying Smugmug Pro account holders, our print cost is greatly inflated.
Just looking for some justification or more info. on this since I/we are paying for it.
Roger
0
Comments
Hi Roger,
I am sorry that you are upset with the difference in prices between the print lab and what we charge. We negotiate contracts with the print labs as to how much we are charging and these do not change very often. The print lab has the ability to change and set their prices much more fluidly than we do. We are set to the prices that are negotiated at contract time. [/COLOR]
SmugMug Support Hero
That is upsetting. It's a 31% premium we're paying to Smugmug (in this scenario anyway), and that's before we're asked to pay another 15% of our profits, on top of our annual service fees.
Oh well.
Bay Photo 4x6 http://www.bayphoto.com/bayweb/pro_standardsizes.htm
Color Corrected: .49 Non color corrected: .29
SmugMug 4x6 printed at Bay: http://www.smugmug.com/prints/catalog/ABCP#BayPhoto
Color Corrected: .38 Non color corrected: .25
Portfolio • Workshops • Facebook • Twitter
Thanks for the followup. I stand corrected and should have spent more time comparing the prices. I'm trying to figure out how I and my client arrived at the conclusion that we on this topic. My only guess is that I failed to compare apples to apples. In this case, color corrected costs vs. non-color corrected.
Also, thanks for taking the time to link to the pricing pages.
BayPhoto prints ROCK!
Facebook ♦ Flickr ♦ SmugMug
SmugMug referral coupon code: ix3uDyfBU6xXs
(use this for a discount off your SmugMug subscription)
I don't want to carry all the products but I DO want to see all printed products on one page (e.g. spreadsheet) organized by product in rows and sizes in columns (or visa versa). If this is available as a single spreadsheet, awesome. If it's not available as a spreadsheet I'll reinvent the wheel but I really do NOT look forward to the problem I'm experiencing right now of just trying to get the data, before I can even get it into a spreadsheet.
"Chance favors the prepared mind." ~ Ansel Adams
"Light thinks it travels faster than anything but it is wrong. No matter how fast light travels, it finds the darkness has always got there first, and is waiting for it." ~ Terry Pratchett
The blog post is at http://news.smugmug.com/2013/04/19/new-bay-photo-products-to-buy-and-sell/.
To a Smug representative - are these pricelists current?
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
Email us
Support Hero
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
Support Hero
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com
Support Hero
--- Denise
Musings & ramblings at https://denisegoldberg.blogspot.com