OH what to do..!!!!

..MD..

..MD..

Helen Shapiro
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MonkeyDave
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I did a shoot for someone the other week " there 2nd time in a year or so"

They made a big order . I ordered the photos spoke to the lady via text tonight and she asked if i knew how much the order was...

I text her the price This was followed by a woooops....!!!!!! I guess its too late to stop the order now....!!! " photos will be here in the morning."


OH WHAT A TO DO..!!!!!!!


If they cannot afford them I wont make them pay .. small town word spreads fast.. BUT they will be no good to me...


Anyone have any thoughts apart from HA HA HA


MD
 
Let her buy what she can afford, and put the rest down to experience.
 
small town word spreads fast.
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In a way that's almost a reason to be a little tougher and stand firm with the order. If word gets around that you behave more like a mate than a business it could make life harder for you in the future.

Venture do most of their sales via credit agreements, perhaps you could look at a direct debit or hold some card details for a monthly payment. Perhaps a good time to dust off a referral scheme too??
 
I was going to suggest coming to a financial agreement - buy some now on the understanding that they settle up in three months or so. If they don't pay in three months then you're no worse off than if you'd let them pay what they can afford.
 
Had they based their order on your previous prices and have you increased them substantially?

If not, just explain that you have ordered the prints in good faith. If someone is prepared to order without knowing the cost, then really they need to grow up and take the responsibility.

I personally would have sent her the cost beforehand, but that is just so I don't get into this sort of situation.

Graham
 
Guys she had been before the price's have not changed..


I will put it down to the learning curve . She still wants photos but about half the cost of what she ordered..

I will make sure EVERYONE knows the price's before any orders from now on...


MD
 
gazedd said:
Are they useable for demo's?
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Well there bloody good phots if thats what you mean... " Question is would she allow me to.."

MD
 
Some excellent advice there guys, just right too IMHO.

Standing orders are not difficult to set up so give them time to pay for their "Investment"
If there are some that you can use for demo, you could perhaps take them out of the order. (Take 80% off those specific items so you have a 20% subsidy for your demo stock)

Don't apologise :) Your garage does not apologise for repair costs, your dentist does not apologise..... oh you get it! lol
 
Always, always specify costs before placing the order!

But, I agree, small town talk could be costly if you take a hard line. While she should have checked the prices, you should also have specified those to her at the time, so I would say the blame is 50/50. Maybe do her a special deal on this occasion, split the difference?

If you ordered a carpet and did not check costs, and the guy turned up a week later with it and said its £1k and you thought it would only be £400, would you expect to pay?
 
cambsno said:
Always, always specify costs before placing the order!

But, I agree, small town talk could be costly if you take a hard line. While she should have checked the prices, you should also have specified those to her at the time, so I would say the blame is 50/50. Maybe do her a special deal on this occasion, split the difference?

If you ordered a carpet and did not check costs, and the guy turned up a week later with it and said its £1k and you thought it would only be £400, would you expect to pay?
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I hear what your saying.....But as she had been before and HAD a price list then . AND my prices have not changed.


I went with she knew what she wanted...

Dont worry I will not make the same mistake twice....


Regards


MD
 
..MD.. said:
Well there bloody good phots if thats what you mean... " Question is would she allow me to.."

MD
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Well, I reckon you could probably incorporate that into your "deal" ;). I'll cut the costs but can use the shots for XYZ...
 
karmagarda said:
Well, I reckon you could probably incorporate that into your "deal" ;). I'll cut the costs but can use the shots for XYZ...
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When she answers the phone I will ask.... It would be nice to show some of my work on here also...

" I never show paid shoots only private work.. Hense always my kids Lol
"

MD
 
..MD.. said:
I hear what your saying.....But as she had been before and HAD a price list then . AND my prices have not changed.


I went with she knew what she wanted...

Dont worry I will not make the same mistake twice....


Regards


MD
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you could probably push that she knew the prices before hand, what about offering installments or somat to seem reasonable

In a non harsh way, thankyou so much for sharing this as its something I can avoid, its a trap I might have fallen into else :p
 
david1701 said:
you could probably push that she knew the prices before hand, what about offering installments or somat to seem reasonable

In a non harsh way, thankyou so much for sharing this as its something I can avoid, its a trap I might have fallen into else :p
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THATS why I posted it mate ... It was not just to make myself look like a prat.....


Hope other will learn and not make the same mistakes.....

Regards

Dave
 
Thats a tough situation to be in Dave, personally I'd say get what you can for them and put the rest down to experience. I'd deffo not allow her to have the full set though, use the others around the studio or as demo/example pieces.
 
I have done many prattish things, just not too many in my photography yet, though clipping feet ect really ****es me off when its an AMAZING shot asides from that :bang:
 
digitalfailure said:
Thats a tough situation to be in Dave, personally I'd say get what you can for them and put the rest down to experience. I'd deffo not allow her to have the full set though, use the others around the studio or as demo/example pieces.
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Thats the plan buddy.... Also i'll ask if i can show some here for crit....



regards Dave...
 
If she'd been smart enough to check the cost before hand, she wouldn't have ordered half as many. That's one figure. What is the actual cost to you (ie not much) of the prints she can't afford? That's another figure. Add them together and you're no worse off, and she's presumably got what she needs for very little extra - a cancellation/admin fee?

Plus if you can get permission to use them for other things, sounds like a deal.
 
Why not take payments up front, thats what I do...no problems then, the customer only gets what they paid for.
 
..MD.. said:
I did a shoot for someone the other week " there 2nd time in a year or so"

They made a big order . I ordered the photos spoke to the lady via text tonight and she asked if i knew how much the order was...

I text her the price This was followed by a woooops....!!!!!! I guess its too late to stop the order now....!!! " photos will be here in the morning."


OH WHAT A TO DO..!!!!!!!


If they cannot afford them I wont make them pay .. small town word spreads fast.. BUT they will be no good to me...


Anyone have any thoughts apart from HA HA HA


MD
Click to expand...


I am going for the overly early festive version, HO HO HO...

In reality, use some of the photos as promo pictures, hang them around the studio (presuming you have ones hanging round a studio, or that you have a studio). Sell a few to her. Make it clear in future that any photos ordered will be paied for by the client.

Make a bonfire?

Spare Toilet Roll?

Possibilities are endless for stupid answers.
 
Dave
If you haven't already, get Ts&Cs on your website (and printed out) With copyright info and use for marketing/advertising, make up a prints order form with a tick box that they have read and understand them, including order details contact details and price with a total at the bottom. Once order form received with payment (cleared if by cheque) prints are ordered. It makes book keeping so much easier too:thumbs:
 
If you're making a bob or two profit on the prints, maybe you could make sure that the client at least covers the costs? And remember that small town chit-chat works both ways, if she starts saying you're expensive, you're well within your rights to say that she can be slow to cough up.

If sha provides a service you can use, maybe you could take some payment in kind?
 
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