Providing you were given a lot of advance notice what would you? This is a hypothetical poll so we are not factoring in the possibility of them lying and they just went with another photographer. This should be a no brainier but I'm wondering if everyone would do what I would.
The real question for the poll is what would you do if they canceled and gave you enough notice. I'll remove the second part because that does sound confusing.
In my contract, it states that if you cancel your wedding and there is more than 120 days until it, I will refund, in whole, your retainer and any additional money you have paid.
If there is less than 120 days, your retainer is forfeit, but ANY extra money is returned. My retainer is $200.00.
If there is a death of the bride or groom, or some serious accident, all money is refunded.
This is of course the paraphrased version. I'm not in the business to take anyone's money for nothing. I am in business to deliver the technically best images I am
Capable of at the time I shoot. I only have these policies in place so I don't have people willy nilly booking dates, me thinking I have work, then not getting the work.
RobertLynn wrote:
I will answer what I think are both questions.
In my contract, it states that if you cancel your wedding and there is more than 120 days until it, I will refund, in whole, your retainer and any additional money you have paid.
If there is less than 120 days, your retainer is forfeit, but ANY extra money is returned. My retainer is $200.00.
If there is a death of the bride or groom, or some serious accident, all money is refunded.
This is of course the paraphrased version. I'm not in the business to take anyone's money for nothing. I am in business to deliver the technically best images I am
Capable of at the time I shoot. I only have these policies in place so I don't have people willy nilly booking dates, me thinking I have work, then not getting the work....Show more →
Not to hijack the thread, but I just wanted to respond to this...
I don't think that anyone here is trying to take anyone's money for nothing. But what if a couple books you for a $6000 wedding that you're counting on. Maybe you turn down 5 other weddings for that date. Then the week before they cancel and you're suddenly out $5800 when you could've had 5 other weddings?
I'm certainly not intentionally trying to take people's money for nothing, but every year we have 2 or 3 cancellations and that's a lot of income to suddenly be out, especially if we've turned down other weddings. $200 seems extremely low to reserve your services.
RobertLynn wrote:
I will answer what I think are both questions.
In my contract, it states that if you cancel your wedding and there is more than 120 days until it, I will refund, in whole, your retainer and any additional money you have paid.
If there is less than 120 days, your retainer is forfeit, but ANY extra money is returned. My retainer is $200.00.
If there is a death of the bride or groom, or some serious accident, all money is refunded.
This is of course the paraphrased version. I'm not in the business to take anyone's money for nothing. I am in business to deliver the technically best images I am
Capable of at the time I shoot. I only have these policies in place so I don't have people willy nilly booking dates, me thinking I have work, then not getting the work....Show more →
Keeping a deposit is NOT about taking peoples' money for nothing. It is about protecting the income you have lost by the wedding cancelling. We had two weddings cancel last year. One of them was middle of June. We had booked that one a LONG time ago...at least 18 months before the date. Our payment part in our contract was not as shored up as it is now, and even though they cancelled the week before the wedding, we only were able to keep the initial deposit. We ended up with $700 on a prime June date on which I could have booked countless other brides and cleared many times that amount in profit. Because they cancelled, I lost money. If I had not been able to keep at least the deposit, I would have lost even more.
Tony Hoffer wrote:
Not to hijack the thread, but I just wanted to respond to this...
I don't think that anyone here is trying to take anyone's money for nothing. But what if a couple books you for a $6000 wedding that you're counting on. Maybe you turn down 5 other weddings for that date. Then the week before they cancel and you're suddenly out $5800 when you could've had 5 other weddings?
I'm certainly not intentionally trying to take people's money for nothing, but every year we have 2 or 3 cancellations and that's a lot of income to suddenly be out, especially if we've turned down other weddings. $200 seems extremely low to reserve your services....Show more →
It's the area I'm in. There's no one in our city getting 6k+ weddings.
My packages start at $1000 (minimal
Coverage and product) and work their way up from there. My average orders are higher than my base packages. Starting June 1, my reservations are $250, and I will more than likely increase again at Jan 1. I would rather shoot less for more, and spend any off time with my son.
I get exactly what you're saying though, and you are 100% correct.
Joel & Tony's point is very good. I wonder whether this comes down to if you do this full-time or not, if the income you could potentially lose out on would would effect you as much. I think I may have to re-think how much I take as a deposit in the future...
Guys, please don't think I'm suggesting keeping a deposit is not working for it. I apologize that it came off that way (I'm typing on my iPhone).
The way I see it is and you guys have this too i bet, you don't book every client you meet with. You've got time into it already. If they have booked you, you have more time into it. You did indeed work already.
All I was trying to convey was that I'm not booking people and just hoping to keep
Cash. I was only making my comment in reference to me, and trying to convey to you guys that my stance on it isn't just "keep their money, screw them". It is just, I have scheduled work...now I don't...so this gives you "something".
I hope this makes it a little clearer, and I hope you guys don't think I was trying to be offensive.
Robert
Your area in PA is probably similar to my area in Ohio.
Your packages and retainer is WAY to low!
My answer is no. I would not give the retainer back. Tony has the right idea. You could have turned down a massive # of weddings and then you find out that the money you were counting on is gone...!
You need that deposit to run your business bare bones. It covers your butt.
If cancelation happens (it does sometimes), I say that I will not refund the deposit, but if they decide to book any of my services in the future I'm willing to include that deposit for a future services. I think it's a nice way to say "I'm keeping your money", and not to burn bridges for the future.
Wow I'm pretty amazed people would book another wedding AND keep their deposit. If I can book another wedding I'd refund the money. I always have the couple pay 50% as their deposit. Now, if Bride A cancels on me and her package was $5000 which made her deposit $2500 and Bride B books my base which is $3400 which will make her deposit $1700 I will only refund $1700 not her full deposit though.
The first choice is my current policy. If you re-book the date, there is no valid reason to keep a deposit in the client's view. That said, if I've shot their engagement already, I keep the deposit to cover that session. This is why my deposit amount covers the amount of an e-shoot. (without deliverables)
I do see Tony's point about "loss" - and it is valid. For people making his kind of income, I can understand the reasoning for keeping the deposit. However, if the re-booking is on par, I would still stick to current policy.
If (like Tony) this was my primary income and I had lost several other potential bookings, I would probably keep all deposits based on his reasoning. Since I only take up to 2 weddings a month and have another income as my primary, I currently stick with the first choice as my policy.
I'm with Joel and Tony on this. We're already taking a huge loss on the wedding. I'm 99% positive that none of the other vendors will be refunding them there money. If I can rebook the date I'll refund the deposit, but it all depends on how much time I'll have to rebook the date.
I like the idea about taking 1/2 of the package they choose as the deposit.
A point of contention I have is, I was told by a lawyer and also have read it in no less than 2 books...you should call it a retainer. Somehow, people can argue a non-refundable deposit is refundable.
If we can rebook another wedding at equal or higher value I have no problem giving them their money back. If we can't then it's a completely different story.
We no longer takes deposits, we do take a retainer.
