Am I too cheap?

redmonkee

redmonkee

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PHILIP
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+++++++++++Thanks to those who replied. I have now updated my prices to reflect the quality of the prints on offer. I do feel that my original prices were far too cheap. I just hope I have not upset any previous customers with the price hike.++++++++++++++++++++


It's been suggested that I maybe underselling myself when it comes to my sports photography.

Now just to give you some perspective. I am shooting local sports in order to learn the art of sport photography and to build up a portfolio.

After my first couple of rugby games I decided to put the images on my website with the option for people to purchase them. I did a little bit of research re pricing, and seeing as I am not a pro I felt i prices right.

Here's a link to my latest images
http://www.philcarverphotography.com/portfolio104849.html

and here's my price list
http://www.philcarverphotography.com/page11245.html

judging by the standard of my work, do you think I have pitched my prices right?

Cheers

Phil
 
I'd say your prices aren't representative of your shots personally! For £2.50 I'd say it's a massive bargain, even at such a small size.

I guess it depends on your business plan, are you wanting to sell lots of photos cheaply, or more at a higher price? Do you get people buying lots, or do they buy one, and you never hear from them again?

I'd be tempted to ditch the 6x4 option entirely, and put up the others by a bit, but to be honest it depends on how you're doing currently! Without seeing all your cashflows it's hard to say.

Personally, I think your shots are worth more than you're selling them for, but I'm not the customer, so my opinion is pretty much worthless :D
 
you charge what ever you want TBH
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Can't be sure this is helpful or even correct. Surely you charge based on your customers, quality, reputation and competition? That being said, I can't offer advice I'm afraid (hello again Phil!)
 
midsnick said:
Are you getting sales?
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Yes I've had a few sales.

In total i've shot 4 games and had 9 sales totaling £147

my most successful event was this Rugby match http://www.philcarverphotography.com/portfolio99239.html

This made £73

the cricket match I only shot on Sunday and made my first sale tonight. Bear in mind that all these sales were made by word of mouth. Meaning I told the coach my name and website and he passed it onto the players.

I've just ordered some business cards so I will be passing these onto parents when I shoot my next cricket match. So I will if that helps bring a few more orders in.

Is it feasible to put my prices up a little now that I have sold some prints at those prices?
 
redmonkee said:
Cheers for the compliment Chris :thumbs:
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Your alot cheaper than me ..


But then I am far too cheap imho...


But cost comes down to alot of things IF I did togging full time my prices would be far far far higher...


MD
 
I am no market expert but these are my thoughts.

I think 6x4 could even lose you money. 2.50 would hardly cover for printing and shipping to you. Personally, I'd drop it. The other ones could do with a slight price increase. Particularly 18x12 are getting to a luxury class, and may cost a few times more elsewhere. Do you put the photos in mounts? That is a popular option, but increases the cost even further.
 
daugirdas said:
I am no market expert but these are my thoughts.

I think 6x4 could even lose you money. 2.50 would hardly cover for printing and shipping to you. Personally, I'd drop it. The other ones could do with a slight price increase. Particularly 18x12 are getting to a luxury class, and may cost a few times more elsewhere. Do you put the photos in mounts? That is a popular option, but increases the cost even further.
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No I don't use mounts. Just post the print. I do add on £3 for postage for orders under £10 and £4 for orders above.

What would you say is a good price for the 8x10 & 8x12?

would £5 for the 6x4 be too expensive?
 
daugirdas said:
I am no market expert but these are my thoughts.

I think 6x4 could even lose you money. 2.50 would hardly cover for printing and shipping to you. Personally, I'd drop it. The other ones could do with a slight price increase. Particularly 18x12 are getting to a luxury class, and may cost a few times more elsewhere. Do you put the photos in mounts? That is a popular option, but increases the cost even further.
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Does the cost not come down to where the op gets them printed...?


I know loxley charge alot more than photobox .... But would a customer notice the difference


MD
 
redmonkee said:
No I don't use mounts. Just post the print. I do add on £3 for postage for orders under £10 and £4 for orders above.

What would you say is a good price for the 8x10 & 8x12?

would £5 for the 6x4 be too expensive?
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I'd try £20 or even £30++ for 12x8. You could drop in a mount if you go for the more expensive option. It depends how good the photo is after all.

I would get rid of 6x4 if I were you. They should be quite happy with 5x7.
 
..MD.. said:
Does the cost not come down to where the op gets them printed...?


I know loxley charge alot more than photobox .... But would a customer notice the difference


MD
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If the customer orders 1x 6x4" I can see only one way round it - the local shop. All online places including our favourite DSCL will add postage. If there are more photos to order then it is not too bad...
 
the OP can charge what ever he feels is correct (not sure how that can be incorrect)


Digital_Clarity said:
Can't be sure this is helpful or even correct. Surely you charge based on your customers, quality, reputation and competition? That being said, I can't offer advice I'm afraid (hello again Phil!)
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Been assessing my prices, and maybe they are a little on the cheap side.

These are the new prices I am considering. What do you think?

4 x 6 inches = £4

5 x 7 inches = £7

6 x 9 inches = £10

8 x 10 inches = £15

8 x 12 inches = £18

10 x 15 inches = £22

11 x 14 inches = £22

12 x 16 inches = £27

A3 11.6 x 16.5 inches = £27

12 x 18 inches = £30

They pretty much reflect a 50% increase on my original prices.
 
I think that this is not far off.

What people need to understand is that this is not your primary job and that you are going to these events and just shooting. If it was a booking or a high profile match then you should charge more, but for a local team costs need to be kept to a minimum other wise you become a novelty buy.

Many people will not by a picture after every match.

I do a fair bit of sports and events and you see a lot of familiar faces, there are some people that will buy every picture that they are in (even out of focus in the background) and there are people who will pose and love having their picture taken but never buy anything.

I would like to step up and charge a lot more than i do but at the moment i do not feel that i can charge the earth because i want to get turn over and not risk spending a day shooting to only sell 2 pictures.....




Just my opinion though..!
 
I suppose a lot of it is based on expenses aswell, think of it this way;

expenses = £0.00
print = £4.00
profit = £4.00

expenses = £2.00
print £4.00
profit £2.00

this would mean that if your expenses are high you need to charge more to make the same amount of profit, so you have two options;

push up print prices

or

reduce expenses

and im guessing the latter would be much harder!
 
I think your new prices are in the right ball park, but I'd drop the 6 X 4 size completely. Just too small to look at all professional IMHO.

Also on your website I'd get rid of the crop factor info, 99% of customer would not notice any tiny change in the image you have on the website and the ratio changed one they receive.

I think 4 games and 9 sales for £147 is very good indeed.

As for the costs, remember to included everything
Printing
Postage
Packaging
PayPal Fees.
 
Sorry i meant the new prices.

9x6 is £10 work out the rest from that starting point..!

Mac
 
whiteflyer said:
I think your new prices are in the right ball park, but I'd drop the 6 X 4 size completely. Just too small to look at all professional IMHO.

Also on your website I'd get rid of the crop factor info, 99% of customer would not notice any tiny change in the image you have on the website and the ratio changed one they receive.

I think 4 games and 9 sales for £147 is very good indeed.

As for the costs, remember to included everything
Printing
Postage
Packaging
PayPal Fees.
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I'm very tempted to update to these prices now. Do you think my P&P costs are reasonable?

order £0-10 = £3 p&p
order above £10 = £4 p&p
 
I've rolled my P&P cost into the price for selling just one photo, this has 2 benefits.

I can advertise FREE post on all orders, and when someone orders multiple photos I get just that little bit extra profit overall.
 
Sorry to jump in on this a little late but I wouldn't offer so many varying sizes. When you start getting bulk orders your going to be pulling your hair out getting them ready. I learned this pretty quick and then narrowed down to 4 different sizes on one media type (luster). CD's are available for purchase if clients want other media types and sizes. They can get them printed on Walmarts time.

With regards to time you don't want to be spending hours pushing out 5 orders, there is no way you can recover that time in $$$. It needs to be concise, to the point and simple. The longer it takes on the production line the less money you'll make.

Again, sorry to jump in late. Feel free to disregard this if it isn't relevant.
 
Make it simpler and easier for all.

5x7 £10 posted
A4 £15 posted
Custom Canvas £50 plus postage

Folks can just post cash if they want. Size doesn't bear any real relation to your costs.

Inlcude a digital copy price, on CD or by email etc. Might make a nice screen saver.

Just my 2p.
 
HoppyUK said:
Make it simpler and easier for all.

5x7 £10 posted
A4 £15 posted
Custom Canvas £50 plus postage

Folks can just post cash if they want. Size doesn't bear any real relation to your costs.

Inlcude a digital copy price, on CD or by email etc. Might make a nice screen saver.

Just my 2p.
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I've thought about digital copies but never really knew what to charge, or what size/dpi they should be :thinking:
 
redmonkee said:
I've thought about digital copies but never really knew what to charge, or what size/dpi they should be :thinking:
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Not sure TBH, but I'm sure others will. From a customer's perspective, I would like a CD with a range of sizes, so I could put one on my lappy as a screen saver, print off a 5x7 for my mum, and maybe have a canvas for the wall. Tenner? You could include a few other options with different pre-printed borders on, maybe a club logo, that sort of thing, but keep it simple from the ordering point of view. Do you want a big one, a small one, a digital version, or maybe a custom-framed super jobbie? Three-for-two might be an idea as well, or buy three and get the chepest one free, that kind of thing.

I wouldn't worry so much about individual costs and % mark-up, but look at the whole business in the round, swings and roundabouts, and the final bottom line. But you need to do a bit of volume to make that work for you, so that at the end of the day you're left with a decent profit.

My thinking is really to simplify the whole process, making it easier for punters and therefore generating extra business if you can take the hassle out of it. Makes it easier for you, but that's a minor point.

The key to it all is to get people to visit the website, so a bit of marketing effort there, leaflets maybe.
 
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