A lesson WELL learned ..

[Brian C. Idocks]

Go where the money is. If you make the same profit on a t-shirt and a 4x6, which one do you think you should sell? By the way, your prices are actually fairly cheap (at least in my market). I charge a little more than that for this particular school I do only because my business partner started the whole "cheap" thing with them years ago and it's hard to raise them quickly without too many complaints.

Did everyone complain about the 4x6 price? or just one or two? There will always be one or two. When everyone says it, that's when you're too much. Remember what I said in my earlier post:

30% say too high
10% say too low
60% say nothing either way
100% you are right on in pricing

Brian
--

I want to be able to charge $1,000 for my signature on a print. Not to actually charge that much, just to be able to do it.

 

[yldan]

Hi Dan...

You're absolutely right my friend. In fact, on my $119.00 order,
the one I came off with $13.05 after my messed up mark ups.. the
school gets $23.80, so they did better than me!! :-((

see... that's what's ridiculous.

go back on it. just talk to someone. they'll understand.

you just can't do it like this, dave. don't take the money out of your CUSTOMERS' pocket!

where is the money going exactly? the athletic dept? general operating expenses? because i'm going to guess it's not much money for them, but it IS for you (comparitivey).

talk to someone. see what you can do.

-Dan

 

[DOrtiz]

I won't raise my prices than what they are, so I'm in the process of bumping the gift items which is where I got burned. I think if I leave the prices as they are (what do you think), I'll do fine. The school will get their percentage, they keep me adbertised on their site, and I'll make a beter profit. Nothing to get rich over, but in prints at least I won;t come off with 13 bucks.

Do you feel $6 bucks is to much to ask for a 4x6 print taking into account processing, ordering, shipping (OK I won't add the 20% school thing because that's my problem).

Noticed the revised price sheet which no longer has "gift items" listed: http://dortizphoto.com/prices.htm

Regards,
Dave
--
http://pbase.com/dortiz

 

[Juli Valley]

These people knew what to do, however.
--
Juli
http://www.pbase.com/julivalley/galleries
Canon 2oD, Canon Gee3, and Canon S7o.

I keep trying to find an artist's eye in the B & H catalog

 

[yldan]

6 bucks is fine.

i charge 5.

anywhere between $4-6 is resonable, i think.

i think it's great to give the school a cut, but why from your GROSS??? i mean, that is just total nonsense. i can't believe it!!! tell them it's 20% of your net, and that is still quite a bit.

i also don't understand why you would pay shipping.

you seem like a very nice guy, Dave, and in this case... it seems to be impeding your business.

I won't raise my prices than what they are, so I'm in the process
of bumping the gift items which is where I got burned. I think if
I leave the prices as they are (what do you think), I'll do fine.
The school will get their percentage, they keep me adbertised on
their site, and I'll make a beter profit. Nothing to get rich
over, but in prints at least I won;t come off with 13 bucks.

Do you feel $6 bucks is to much to ask for a 4x6 print taking into
account processing, ordering, shipping (OK I won't add the 20%
school thing because that's my problem).

Noticed the revised price sheet which no longer has "gift items"
listed: http://dortizphoto.com/prices.htm

Regards,
Dave
--
http://pbase.com/dortiz

--
-Dan

 

[DOrtiz]

Add a shipping charge that will cover most prints. Would you say a $5.00 shipping charge will cover print shipping. Also I have it shipped to me and then I deliver it "locally" to them. Hmmmmm...

The reason I give the school a % of gross is because how do I don;t they'll believe I only made 13.05 .. ok add the 23.00 for the school... that would be $46.05 and 20% of that would be around $5.20 for a $119.00 order. Seems lower than 10% when the average person looks at it. :-(

Regards,
Dave

PS: I need to make some final re-ajustments (get it right then leave it) because this is causing me a headache that has been with me since Friday.
--
http://pbase.com/dortiz

 

[Rob Kircher]

Dave,

Sorry if this comes of curt but I think you need to set your prices and stop worrying about it. I think you need to adjust you profit margin on your T's and cups and definitely pass a shipping cost onto you clients. Remember NOTHING FOR FREE.

As to the 20% deal to the school, not too sure why this deal exists but I'll assume it's to contribute to some fund raising. That's cool as long as you getting something in return. As I said previously, tell the school you need some sort of exposure for a part of that 20% or you'll have to rework the numbers because you aren’t making enough to make it worth the time and effort. If it is fund raising related remember that the money should be tax deductible. Any money I spend in relation to my volunteer time is deducted.

LASTLY, remember that this is a business of volume. One 119 order doesn't make much but 10, 20, 30 orders do. You're just starting out so don't expect to make huge bucks. Give it some time for the referral business to start coming in and then re-evaluate everything. If no referral business comes in then, you suffer from 3 possible problems. You’re too expensive, you don't have the right advertising/work of mouth happening, or no one is interested. It's going to take a while to figure that out so give it some time.

--
Rob Kircher
My Stuff: http://www.pbase.com/rkircher

 

[DOrtiz]

Hi Rob...

Have a look now.. I dropped the 4x6s back to $5.00 from $6.00 (they were $4.00, so I figured I'd settle somewhere in the middle).

I eliminated all gift items .. just doing prints now, and also added a flat shipping cost (one-time per order) of $5.00 whic certainly will help. Now I hope someone doesn't blow a fit and say, "Well, that 4x6 isn't $5.00 it's $10.00 and that's too much!!" I can almost hear it now, but you're right why should I pay the shipping. If it wasn't for a few prints in my first order I would have been in the negative, so thank God for those little 4x6s even at $4.00 which is what I honored the order for before I made the change.

Here's the prices site: http://dortizphoto.com/prices.htm notice how I worded the shipping section as well. Hope this works (fingers crossed).

Thanks for the valued feedback Rob.

Regards,
Dave
--
http://pbase.com/dortiz

 

[Rob Kircher]

Dave,

Since I don't do photography for a business I can't comment directly about the prices for your photos. As a consumer they seem fine to me if not a little low but I’m in a high cost of living area so I may not be a good judge. At this point I’d stick with what you have for a while and see how it goes.

Anyway, I'm just trying to give some good business advice from my experiences dealing with schools and starting a business, most of which should cover any startup business.

Regarding shipping, make sure your charge covers both shipping and shipping materials. Glad to see the note regarding express shipping. You should also note that shipping costs are subject to change w/o notice. I do a lot of shipping and prices have been like a rollercoaster with all the oil and gas price changes.

BTW: your website is very well done... Very professional looking and simple. This helps a lot with your credibility which will help your growing business. When I look at your site I get the feeling of establishment which is very important. Fill in those empty gallery places w/ photos like the ones you are selling; subject mater, etc. And you need to check out the gallery page in Netscape or FireFox. The menu is not right.

As I said before, hang in there and relax and enjoy. IIRC you have a regular job so it’s not like your lively hood depends on this little venture. Gives yourself plenty of time to tweak things and build the business slowly. Then when it really takes off you’ll struggle with the thought of making you hobby your living. ;-)

--
Rob Kircher
My Stuff: http://www.pbase.com/rkircher

 

[DOrtiz]

Hi Rob..

Thanks for having a look and for the kind words. As I write this I'm reuploading the images into the new template with the eliminated specialty items and updated prices.

I'm sooooo glad you agree with the outcome my friend, as I was really getting byurned out with this. Now I can leave it, add photos and hope for the best. Glad to hear the prices aren't considered expensive. Out area here is no NYC but the COL is getting there.. what people paid $3,500 for a 1/4 acre piece of property they're selling now for $40k. Housing is booming and the area is getting quite expensive.

Thanks again my friend, I'll certainly kjeep you and the other great folks here posted on any new happenings.

I'll need to d/l the other browsers to see what you mean.

Thanks again.

Regards,
Dave
--
http://pbase.com/dortiz