# Parent complaining about my print prices...



## Destin (Dec 11, 2011)

Just thought you guys might enjoy seeing the comment I just got on my facebook profile... Love when customer complain that my prices for sports photos are outrageous. $7 for a 4x6, $9-10 for a 5x7 and 8x10's are $15. Is that terrible for a "professional" sports photo?

Here's the link for your entertainment... anyone wanna send her a facebook message or chime in? It's the first status on my fan page..

https://www.facebook.com/destindanserphotography


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## CCericola (Dec 11, 2011)

I bet in her day, cabbage cost a nickle!


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## Majeed Badizadegan (Dec 11, 2011)

In these situations just try to stay as professional as possible. Validate the clients concerns and then respectfully explain your reasoning.


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## cgipson1 (Dec 11, 2011)

<wink!> lol!


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## BastiaanImages (Dec 11, 2011)

Exactly, stay professional and explain why your image is priced in that way.


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## Robin Usagani (Dec 11, 2011)

Why argue.  Simply say..  Then don't buy it.


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## Destin (Dec 11, 2011)

Schwettylens said:


> Why argue.  Simply say..  Then don't buy it.



Good Point.


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## bentcountershaft (Dec 11, 2011)

I don't know how you sleep at night, extorting people like that.  :lmao:


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## gkinney (Dec 11, 2011)

I don't think you need to justify your prices. They [clients] tend to forget that you have thousands of dollars in equipment, countless hours of time in your profession and all they think of is "Gee I can print this at {drugstore} for xxx.xx? If you feel your prices are in line with the type of photography you do, then move on. 

Just my 2c.


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## MLeeK (Dec 11, 2011)

You are just fine where you are at for pricing. Don't defend. Simply say I am sorry, that's the price. 
Either she wants it or she doesn't.


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## Derrel (Dec 11, 2011)

"Tough ***** said the kitty when the print was dry!"

"THAT'LL BE NINE DOLLARS, MA'M!"

You are selling lifetime MEMORIES, not just small pieces of photographic paper sprayed with ink from micro-fine nozzles...you need to emphasize that...these are "Memories" of their child, in their sport activities. Sometimes it's a tough sell to the cheap ba$$A@Ds that populate so many American communities these days.


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## pgriz (Dec 11, 2011)

This story comes to mind:  Articles: Expert Website Development Columbus, OH ColumbusWebMakers.com

I'm in the contracting business.  My prices are sometimes up to 300% higher than my direct competition.  Yet somehow, my competitors' clients come to us to fix the things that they were left with.  We use the same materials as our competitors.  But the end result is not the same.  Some clients understand this from the beginning.  Some have to learn it the hard way.  Some never learn (and are not our clients).  I deal with the people who understand.  The others just prove the point that education isn't free.


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## KmH (Dec 11, 2011)

Your prices are to low if fewer than 1 out of every 4 of your clients are complaining about your prices.


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## Destin (Dec 11, 2011)

KmH said:


> Your prices are to low if fewer than 1 out of every 4 of your clients are complaining about your prices.



Seriously?


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## naptime (Dec 11, 2011)

Schwettylens said:


> Why argue.  Simply say..  Then don't buy it.



when i first opened my pizza shop, i had every school, church, and organization calling and wanting FREE pizza for every little event they were doing. 

at first we did it. just to get our name out there. we thought the advertising would be good. as these kids would go home and tell their parents to order from us. or the adults would order from us because we supported the community.

after a while, we discovered that they were ONLY calling on us when they needed stuff donated. and i'm talking 30-50 pie orders.. for free. but when it came time to BUY pizza, they were going to my competitior. so i talked with a fellow shop owner/friend. and he said, next time they call, tell them you can't do FREE anymore. but you can do $4 a pie, because the competitor is doing $5 a pie. they will still save money.

i said.. "no, i can't do that. they'll be upset. i've been giving them pizza three years for free. if i charge them now, i'll lose their business."

my friends response..

"WHAT business? they don't BUY anything from you!"


sometimes you just have to realize that you CAN'T satisfy everyone. and folks who are going to complain about a fair market price, are just poeple that are going to complain period. trying to make them happy does no good, because they will use it everytime.


as for your prices, just looking at your first post, they sound right in line with walmart to me. but i might be wrong. either way, the first thing that came to mind was approximate same price, but one is going to assumabley be a professional print, and the other is going to be a print from someone making a minimum wage that has no interest in photos.


for my prices in my screen print job.. i check out what others in my area are charging, and i charge the same. this gives me room to negotiate as well.

charge too much, you get no one because they can go elsewhere for cheaper.
charge too little, you get the business, but you don't make any money.

of course, i am referring to charging the same as other in your area IN YOUR CLASS. don't compare your prices to the walmart lab. anymore than i would compare my prices to the guy with a kiosk at the mall, doing inkjet iron on transfers, compared to my silk screening.

if "your area" is facebook, then i would compare my prices to whatever your facebook competitors are charging.


though, always remember, the value of quality work. i am not always the cheapest price. but i assure my customers of quality work, and a strict dedication to meeting THEIR timelines.


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## Big Mike (Dec 12, 2011)

Why Hire a Professional Photographer? ~ Mike Hodson Photography


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## fjrabon (Dec 12, 2011)

notice you got a nice little bump in likes for your page here.


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## Destin (Dec 12, 2011)

fjrabon said:


> notice you got a nice little bump in likes for your page here.



Yes, but I don't see how that's relevant. It wasn't the point of it, and all the likes are from fellow photographers... nice to have but not exactly going to make me any new sales. I think I've been around TPF long enough to post a thread like this and do so without getting accused of spamming for fb likes...


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## fjrabon (Dec 12, 2011)

Destin said:


> fjrabon said:
> 
> 
> > notice you got a nice little bump in likes for your page here.
> ...



just joking with you man (thought the smile got that across).  I actually liked your page too.


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## o hey tyler (Dec 12, 2011)

I wish I got to see what it said


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## Tee (Dec 12, 2011)

o hey tyler said:


> I wish I got to see what it said



It's still there.  You might have to expand the comments to see what was posted.


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## Diddy2theJJ (Dec 12, 2011)

Great posts guys. I think that this is something that every photographer and probably every business owner comes across at some point. 

I have a booth in one or two big wedding shows in town, and one potential client/bride to be came up to me and was looking for a wedding package that was under $1,000 that included the CD with all the image rights. She looked at my prices and package options and said, "I don't like that they don't include the CD for under $1,000!". I was a bit surprised that she was so blatant, and I just responded, "I'm sorry you feel that way, let me know if you have any other questions."

People love to hear "I'm sorry..." so I will say "I'm sorry you feel that way..." because I'm certainly not apologizing for my prices because they are more than fair just like yours are. And quite honestly, I really don't want people like this for a client anyway because if she's getting this upset over this and 'putting her foot down', think about what she would be like to work with on her wedding day!


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## o hey tyler (Dec 12, 2011)

Oh, I see it now! Didn't realize it was posted as a comment on a status. That's pretty silly. She must be getting her prints at walmart.


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## GooniesNeverSayDie11 (Dec 12, 2011)

Who is she anyway? Is she an actual customer, or just some flake that WANTED to buy pics but can't break her $2 budget ceiling?


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## IgsEMT (Dec 12, 2011)

shish, I thought I was cheap 
your prices are WELL below market price, at least my area/market


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## rub (Dec 12, 2011)

Yes, well below market price. Double them for 2012.


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## Destin (Dec 12, 2011)

Are my prices really that low?! I don't really have anyone local to compare them to as nobody else sells high school sports photos near me


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## GeorgieGirl (Dec 12, 2011)

I think lesson learned for the future. If your FB page is open to customers then it might be best to filter what you post there.


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## fjrabon (Dec 12, 2011)

Yeah, I'd definitely delete the entire post at this point.  Regardless of how dumb she looks, that's just not something you want on your site's facebook page.


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## Rephargotohp (Dec 12, 2011)

What are people compairing? Sports Price to Portrait price,? Because you are competitively priced for Sports action Shots, High if we were talking Team Pics and Low compaired to Portrait. So you need to compare apples to Prints


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## KmH (Dec 12, 2011)

Destin said:


> KmH said:
> 
> 
> > Your prices are to low if fewer than 1 out of every 4 of your clients are complaining about your prices.
> ...


As serious as a heart attack. Actually, I was taught it should be 1/3 of your clients complaining about your prices being to high.


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## Rephargotohp (Dec 12, 2011)

Rediculous, It's OK to be known as expensive, You don't want to be known as overpriced


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## CCericola (Dec 12, 2011)

It's not ridiculous. It is marketing.


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## Rephargotohp (Dec 12, 2011)

I was referring to Keith remark, If that is what you thought I was referring to then...

So you say that your marketing campaign is to be known as Overpriced? 

You market to be known as Expensive but worth it


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## CCericola (Dec 12, 2011)

It's actually a old general sales idea you learn in any beginning marketing or business class in college. Like when you learn that putting the word "Repeat" at the end of shampoo instructions was one of the most successful marketing decisions ever made. The idea Keith posted is not about quality, it is about understanding people and demographics.


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## KmH (Dec 12, 2011)

Rephargotohp said:


> Rediculous, It's OK to be known as expensive, You don't want to be known as overpriced


Clueless.  It's only overpriced if you can't deliver the goods.

Just because 1/3 of your cutomers complain about the price, does not mean that 1/3 of your customers don't buy anyway, and as repeat buyers too.

I'll tell you another secret successful sales people know. The happiest customers are the ones that pay the most.



> Sell the sizzle, not the steak



People that can afford it _*LOVE*_ the exclusivity


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## Rephargotohp (Dec 12, 2011)

CCericola said:


> It's actually a old general sales idea you learn in any beginning marketing or business class in college. Like when you learn that putting the word "Repeat" at the end of shampoo instructions was one of the most successful marketing decisions ever made. The idea Keith posted is not about quality, it is about understanding people and demographics.



I hope you understand that that off sited example of marketing genius was in fact fiction from Mr. Cheever's novel

And what we may have been taught 30 years ago in Collge when you actually ge into business you go Are Fin kidding me, that doesn't apply anymore

Although looking at K's reply we may be on tha same page.
But inThis current market the last thing you want to be thought of is Overpriced. This market people buy on Value or  Prestige, there isn't much in between. 

The point I'm trying to make is people are going to drive this guy into thinking he is under-priced , which is coming from portrait shooters and in their market he is.In the Action Sport Market he isn't. Comparing him to a friend who is big in the So Cal area is right smack on. The only thing I would tell him is to not sell 4 x 6's instead sell 5 x 7's because it is harder for consumers to price shop against because 5 x 7 are not something they buy themselves as often as 4  x 6's so there is less complaing of  Why I can get  a 4 x 6 for 19 cents at walgreens why are your $7 (even though it's not the same thing)

and the whole idea of "Doubling your prices" that get bantered around everyone of this forums...is well quite ridiculous...gee, that seems to be my word today


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## CCericola (Dec 12, 2011)

Dude, I graduated college in 2001


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## KmH (Dec 13, 2011)

Rephargotohp said:


> CCericola said:
> 
> 
> > And what we may have been taught 30 years ago in Collge when you actually ge into business you go Are Fin kidding me, that doesn't apply anymore
> ...


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## shootermcgavin (Dec 13, 2011)

I agree people should  be complaining about prices, any type of buyer knows to pull the flinch move when purchasing something.  I complain unless I think I'm stealing it, you definitely don't want people to think that because then their guard will be up more and scrutinize the photos.  I think KmH is right on, a good number of people should complain about the price.  If they complain and purchase that means it was all just smoke and mirrors.  I think your prices are really low personally, you're just charging for the photo.  Most amusement parks charge like $30 for 8x10 and you get some crap photo of you about to die.


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## Destin (Dec 13, 2011)

Alright, so per the advice in this thread I've stepped my prices up a bit. 

4x6 =$9
5x7= $13
8x10=$22
11x14=$30

Didn't want to make the increases crazy, but we'll see how they sell. I've also got a few ridiculously expensive priced items just as a trial run to see if anyone buys them.


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## DiskoJoe (Dec 13, 2011)

Derrel said:


> "Tough ***** said the kitty when the print was dry!"
> 
> "THAT'LL BE NINE DOLLARS, MA'M!"
> 
> You are selling lifetime MEMORIES, not just small pieces of photographic paper sprayed with ink from micro-fine nozzles...you need to emphasize that...these are "Memories" of their child, in their sport activities. Sometimes it's a tough sell to the cheap ba$$A@Ds that populate so many American communities these days.



I tried to get this message through to my wife when she booked me a wedding gig with one of her friends at work. I told her I wanted to charge $800 but she thought it was too high and her friend would freak out. So she told her friend $500. Of course she jumped at it like it was on fire having seen my work. Then my wife found out that she was going to pay some half ass dj $300 to play the wedding. This is when she finally understood my point I was making. Having dj'ed parties and also photographed wedding I can definitely say that being the photographer is a lot more work and more stressful then djing ever was. 

So seriously if people dont like that you are selling them a product that is worth what they are paying for then make them understand. Dont cut your prices - ever.


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## gsgary (Dec 13, 2011)

They are way too cheap, over here an 8x6 is £10 which is $15.4


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## pgriz (Dec 13, 2011)

There are usually two ways of pricing, cost + hoped-for profit, or what the perception of value is.  Commodities are priced the first way, quality items the second.  Commodities implies also lots of competition which can supply the same product.  If you are in a market with minimal competition, then economic theory says you price at the highest point you can still get sufficient business.  But if you do price things that way, your clients have got to feel they are getting premium, quality service and product.  So a lot of the "cost" goes into the "customer experience".  Ever notice that the high-end always includes pampering?  Whether it is a restaurant, an auto shop, personal grooming services, haberdashery, or other service provider, the client is enveloped in "extras" that elevate the experience into something very desirable, and this generally loosens the purse-strings.  So what is it that you are providing your clients?  Prints or a service they can't get anywhere else?


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