tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4311182517542039829.post6217039947399227683..comments2023-05-30T04:39:28.410-07:00Comments on Justuff: Thoughts for New Photographers - a Big Boy Pants Post - Read with Caution.Jim Collinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15993999268801563294noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4311182517542039829.post-22011232249624042662010-05-04T09:51:58.052-07:002010-05-04T09:51:58.052-07:00Gosh, I love this. You are so right, about everyth...Gosh, I love this. You are so right, about everything.<br /><br />The thing is, you have to be in photography because you LOVE it. If you love it, you will want to learn and hone your skills...the work will not be so much work as a means to do what you love.Chelsea Patriciahttp://www.cpmacphotography.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4311182517542039829.post-42471931607309698142010-05-01T15:07:48.944-07:002010-05-01T15:07:48.944-07:00Hey Jess,
Great question. This is something we...Hey Jess,<br /><br />Great question. This is something we've been thinking about a lot and we'll be making some changes in the near future. With this said, the percentage of the commission, when applied to the cost of the print equates to very little on a per order basis. Here's an example. About 90% of a Pictage photographer's post event print sales come during a 2 for 1 promo period. This makes the effective price of a 4X6 print $1 (~.67 for the print itself and $.33 for the post processing, QA, etc). In the mid tier plan, where more photographers seem most comfortable, that boils down to a $0.15 commission on a per print basis. Since the average photographer order is in the $85 range the commission against costs ends up being a very small part of the sale price overall.<br /><br />However, for Pictage, with thousands of sales per day, these amounts are meaningful.<br /><br />Since you got me on the subject, lots of folks are curious what the commission is for. It's easiest for me to explain it in the context of a typical order. Most orders occur during post event marketing periods. (Thankfully, photographers can see this now in the new interface). A registered guest or owner gets and email with a offer they decide to take advantage of. They log on to the galleries and try to make some selections. (Or commit an order against pre-selected prints). In about 30% of the cases, they reach an impasse and they need help so they call customer service. These can be short calls, taking credit cards, etc., or longer calls where a Pictage customer service rep actually walks the customer through the order, selecting prints and sizes, etc. The average cost of a call is about $6 and the average order amount when a customer calls customer service rises to about $100, though there are times when even our great customer service team can't pull a client over the finish line. <br /><br />The cost of the marketing team that manages the promotions campaigns, the additional product or discounts that are a part of the campaign and the customer service interaction is offset by the commission charge levied against the order. <br /><br />Of course, it is possible for a photographer to turn off all of these services and simply use Pictage for online proofing, community, etc., ordering product wholesale through the photographer portal. In these cases there are no commissions. However, our surveys suggest that Photographers who do this diminish their post event revenues by as much as 40% since they focus all of their efforts only on their direct clients.<br /><br />At any rate, as I have said, here and elsewhere, we're looking at a whole series of new services and we're also looking at new pricing for the services in place. By asking the questions you keep these issues front of mind for us and that's a big help. I know I probably haven't given you an answer that makes you feel any better, but at least you're getting the truth...<br /><br />Feel free to write anytime. My email is just jim@pictage so I'm pretty easy to reach.<br /><br />Onward!<br /><br />JCJim Collinshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15993999268801563294noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4311182517542039829.post-88763458367481625892010-04-30T18:32:29.146-07:002010-04-30T18:32:29.146-07:00Pictage is alright and is helpful, but I don't...Pictage is alright and is helpful, but I don't understand how someone can make half one's profit in post-shoot sales if Pictage takes such a large commission rate. At the very least, take the commission AFTER you deduct the cost of prints rather than before. Since you take your commission before you take out your print costs, you're making commission on your own fees--which isn't right.Jessnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4311182517542039829.post-87828338949378403562010-04-30T04:41:22.262-07:002010-04-30T04:41:22.262-07:00There are people who have been in this industry fo...There are people who have been in this industry for years who don't get it as clearly as you do. Thanks for being so transparent, for being you, for having such an impact at Pictage and for our community.emiliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391068998578947594noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4311182517542039829.post-11053731439783004612010-04-29T14:08:33.970-07:002010-04-29T14:08:33.970-07:00I love how you just get it and throw it out there!...I love how you just get it and throw it out there! Thanks for wearing the big boy pants!Jillhttp://www.jilljohnsonphotography.comnoreply@blogger.com