Pricing?

[reaction]

I'd also be interested how the competitor knew you were taking photos. were you displaying prints as the official tog, or did you seek them out and offer? this would affect their perceived value and possibly how much margin you could charge.

[kiwi]

If you shoot on spec though, as here, its difficult to pass through time and overhead costs as punters just see a volume type output product and value it accordingly in my experience.

But, the trick is where some will pay $50 for a 8x10 most will only value at $5

If you don't have a price list it would be nuts to offer $5 to someone who might pay $50

[JBuz]

I'd also be interested how the competitor knew you were taking photos. were you displaying prints as the official tog, or did you seek them out and offer? this would affect their perceived value and possibly how much margin you could charge.

I took my camera to the event, this particular dog and his owner stood out as I was wandering through the stalls. The owner and dog were sitting together having some time prior to their comp. I asked her if it would be ok to take her and the dog's photo and she said sure :-).

She mentioned that she didn't have any photos of her and her dog together, so I asked her for her email address and would send the link to them after I uploaded them to flickr. She gave me her address and I emailed her the next day with the links.

She loved the shots and said she would love to purchase :-)

[jasevk]

Wasnt sure The Supplier I would highly recommend is Brilliant Prints - and I can assure you that their service is amazing.

http://www.brilliantprints.com.au/

+1 for brilliant prints... They're incredible at what they do.

[ricktas]

If I took your argument about postage and related it to the cost of say burning a cd, you'd be pointing out the cost price of the blank cd then ?

No, cause the purchaser is not purchasing a blank CD, they purchase what is on the CD. I get adding on costs for say protective bubble wrap etc, but to double the actual cost of an express post pack, when all it needed was a sticker and sealing (1 minutes work), I think a lot of people get ripped off by postage 'costs'.

[ploveday]

Whatever price model you decide on, be careful to not under-price yourself. It is extremely easy to fall into the trap of being cheap in order to get your name out there and drum up business; but beware, your name will be known for being cheap.

Set yourself at a reasonable middle ground price, and people will assume you provide decent work. There are plenty of resources out there on effective marketing and business strategy; but as a simple rule, given three choices (one cheap, one middle road and one expensive), the vast majority of people will pick the middle one, regardless of any qualitative differences. Instinctively we like to think we're getting something a bit better than the cheap option, but without the cost of the expensive option.

Price yourself cheap, and people assume it is an inferior product. Price yourself too expensive without the prior reputation, and you won't attract new business.

Nothing ground breaking, but stuff to keep in mind.
- Peter

[Longshots]

No, cause the purchaser is not purchasing a blank CD, they purchase what is on the CD. I get adding on costs for say protective bubble wrap etc, but to double the actual cost of an express post pack, when all it needed was a sticker and sealing (1 minutes work), I think a lot of people get ripped off by postage 'costs'.

Sorry, but I disagree. What about the time involved to package and then deliver the post office for collection ?

1 mins work ? Nah.

OK lets assume that what is on the CD has already been paid for - so again you have the time involved in retrieving the images from your archive (lets assume that they were originally paid for a month or so previously, and your commercial client wants another copy), so you then have to burn the images to the CD/DVD, package it up in your standard style (which in my case involves printing of the DVD facia, as well as the individual CD/DVD case, which then has to be wrapped for delivery, packed so it wont be trashed in the mail, and then put into an Express Post envelope and then someone has to take it to be delivered).

Now I know you would have a you beaut computer, (as I do too ), but a cd burn doesnt happen in 1 min, and doesnt matter how good your image archiving is, again that retrieval process is also not "1 mins" work. Maybe addressing the envelope is "1 mins" work. But its got to get itself to a place where it can be picked up by the post office. And even if you have an Express Post box outside your house, its still not just "1 mins" work.

I dont think people get ripped off by postage costs. As I'm well aware that when it comes to supply by mail or courier, that unless its an integral part of your business and you are specifically set up to deliver and market by mail, costs in 99.9% cases I've had experience with are fair and reasonable.

[jeffde]

Wasnt sure The Supplier I would highly recommend is Brilliant Prints - and I can assure you that their service is amazing.

http://www.brilliantprints.com.au/

Not only is the service great but they also offer a 75 yr guarantee - which inlcudes accidental damage.

I had an artbloc replace recently - no questions - just redone and delivered...