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Archive 2017 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking

  
 
DoubleDragon
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p.1 #1 · p.1 #1 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


Retainer fees...

Do you charge a fixed fee to retain the date? If so, how much?

Do you charge a percentage of your contract? If so, how much?

We have always had a low (fixed price not a percentage) retainer fee. I was thinking about making it higher, something like a retainer fee that's 30%—50% of the entire balance, but I don't want to induce a sticker shock effect when booking the new clients.

Assuming that there are advantages and disadvantages to both strategies (low retainer fee vs expensive retainer fee) I'm just curious about how everyone handles it and want to know your thoughts regarding having a higher fee vs lower fee.

Thanks y'all.



Jan 06, 2017 at 03:42 PM
BSPhotog
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p.1 #2 · p.1 #2 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


I take 25% of the pre-tax amount as a "non-refundable booking fee" at the time of booking (with contract), with the balance due before the wedding.


Jan 06, 2017 at 03:55 PM
InSanE
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p.1 #3 · p.1 #3 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


i do not charge a retainer
there is a 25% charge in the contract in case of cancellation
i also do not charge in advance meaning payment is due when images are delivered
never had a problem



Jan 06, 2017 at 04:04 PM
morby
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p.1 #4 · p.1 #4 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


I do a flat $1000. I used to do a percentage, but I found it delayed the booking for clients that hadn't figured out the package they wanted. Now couples can secure the date for $1000 and take their time to decide the package they want.


Jan 06, 2017 at 04:10 PM
azmerm
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p.1 #5 · p.1 #5 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


I do a fixed $995 regardless of whether it's an all day or hourly package.That's the amount I want in the bank to tell all others that the date is now unavailable.


Jan 06, 2017 at 06:59 PM
IrishDino
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p.1 #6 · p.1 #6 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


Flat fee of $1k

Less math the better.



Jan 06, 2017 at 07:38 PM
glort
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p.1 #7 · p.1 #7 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking



I get $500 to lock in the day. If they cancel it is non refundable unless I re book the day.

The balance of the selected coverage is due 2 weeks before the wedding at our confirmation meeting.
People always add into the coverage's and that is due before anything goes to the lab.

I'm surprised to see that people are charging $1000 up front but I think it's great. Not so long ago people were moaning about it being unfair to charge anything up front. It looks like the mentality is changing toward better business practices and I'm all for that. Kinda funny to be charging less than other people for something though!

Probably not something I'll change in the near future. $500 is enough to make people commit seriously and I don't get people pulling out with lame excuses ( or any cancellations really) so the $500 is effective in what I want it to do.

That said, I wonder if Charging a grand would be better from the POV that as money gets tighter toward the day and after when they order extras for the album if it would not make adding extra in easier through less money to find??

Hmm, got me thinking now!



Jan 07, 2017 at 12:18 AM
TTLKurtis
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p.1 #8 · p.1 #8 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


InSanE wrote:
i do not charge a retainer
there is a 25% charge in the contract in case of cancellation
i also do not charge in advance meaning payment is due when images are delivered
never had a problem


Username checks out


ZachOly wrote:
Flat fee of $1k

Less math the better.


I started doing this a year or two ago. Much easier to get them to book than my old 50% retainer. If you aren't sure if you want an album yet, we can figure that out later, in the meantime how about we get that date reserved eh? Balance paid either in thirds 6mo / 3mo / 1mo out, or they can split it up to monthly payments if they like.



Jan 07, 2017 at 10:44 AM
ckhagen
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p.1 #9 · p.1 #9 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


40% at booking and 60% 30 days out. Our market is drastically seasonal so it helps to spread out the cash flow.


Jan 07, 2017 at 11:23 AM
InSanE
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p.1 #10 · p.1 #10 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


TTLKurtis wrote:
Username checks out


Why? Because everyone else does it different?
All my clients love this policy and business is good.
I believe in good people, and if someone has to cancel a wedding something bad happened.
I am always happy for a free weekend (still pending), and do not want financial gains on others sadness.
What will happen if you do not charge a wedding in advance? People will give up their memories? Who are those people? How many times will this happen? I piss on all this imagined business practices!





Jan 07, 2017 at 12:57 PM
TTLKurtis
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p.1 #11 · p.1 #11 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


I am all about being polite and going above and beyond for my couples, but I'm not leaving anything to chance.


Jan 07, 2017 at 04:07 PM
IrishDino
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p.1 #12 · p.1 #12 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


Question for percentage people....

What is the percentage of exactly? Base coverage? Base + add-on sessions? Base + sessions + products?

What if I decide I want a smaller/bigger album? Or add/remove an add-on?

Doesn't the percentage based retainer just incentivise couples to book less initially?

Edited on Jan 07, 2017 at 05:17 PM · View previous versions



Jan 07, 2017 at 04:41 PM
Tony Hoffer
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p.1 #13 · p.1 #13 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


morby wrote:
I do a flat $1000. I used to do a percentage, but I found it delayed the booking for clients that hadn't figured out the package they wanted. Now couples can secure the date for $1000 and take their time to decide the package they want.


I like the idea of this, but doesn't $1000 seem low? A cancellation of a decent size package would really hurt at a $1k deposit I would think.



Jan 07, 2017 at 04:55 PM
StevenMI
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p.1 #14 · p.1 #14 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


I do a flat $1000 as well. Enough to keep them from changing their mind for some reason, and little enough that I don't feel terrible if something crazy happens and I decide to keep their money. A cancellation would definitely hurt but I have a hard enough time keeping the $1000 if someone has to cancel their wedding. Should probably have them pay more after an engagement session...but never actually do.


Jan 07, 2017 at 07:28 PM
Michael Beard
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p.1 #15 · p.1 #15 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


We do a fixed $1,500 currently!


Jan 07, 2017 at 08:17 PM
heikoM
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p.1 #16 · p.1 #16 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


we take 50% to retain the date.

the rest 2 weeks before the wedding.

They can always upscale even on the wedding day itself. So which package is never a question that might delay booking.


heiko



Jan 07, 2017 at 08:34 PM
morby
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p.1 #17 · p.1 #17 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


It does hurt, but thankfully we've only had a few cancellations. I feel like $1000 is just enough to get the booking and getting a large balance always feels good.

Tony Hoffer wrote:
I like the idea of this, but doesn't $1000 seem low? A cancellation of a decent size package would really hurt at a $1k deposit I would think.




Jan 07, 2017 at 09:11 PM
glort
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p.1 #18 · p.1 #18 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


InSanE wrote:
Why? Because everyone else does it different?


Not so much because they do it different, but WHY they do it different.
The answer to that is because they have been screwed over, some of us more than once, it's cost us money and has proven to be an unwise business practice not to get money up front.
Look around and you'll see pretty much every other business that takes bookings does the same...... Like the venue and the church and the florist and the celebrant and you lawyer and the guy fixing your roof or driveway and.......

All my clients love this policy and business is good.

Yeah, I'll bet they love it! You leave them free to pull out and change their mind on a whim. YOU are the one taking all the risk and letting them get away with no commitment or obligation at all. Why they hell wouldn't they love it?

As for business being good, can't comment on that without seeing your books but I can say there is a big difference between getting lots of booking s and having a good business.

I believe in good people, and if someone has to cancel a wedding something bad happened.

Yeah, pretty sure we all started out believing all people were good and trustworthy and bad things happened to others but then experience and time led us to very different conclusions.
In light of that experience we changed our policy's to cover ourselves and allow for the fact our faith in people was not always wise.

There are many stories on these boards of people cancelling bookings because of things OTHER than the wedding not going ahead. If you think that's the only reason people might cancel on you, I'm afraid you are going to be in for some big disappointments like most of us have had. IF it WAS the only reason people pulled out then I'm sure none of us would charge a deposit but those of us more experienced have come to learn painfully and at cost a lot different reality.


I am always happy for a free weekend (still pending), and do not want financial gains on others sadness.


You really think people that charge a deposit are heartless bastards that WANT to gain from others misfortune?
Let me tell you something..... 18 months ago almost to the day, I had a real kick in the guts and the people here, even those I had argued bitterly with and didn't know me from a bar of soap, gave me so much kindness, support and well wishes, I still can't get my head around it. I may be a lot of things but unappreciative or dismissive of people that were good to me is not either of them.
Some of those were people that have responded on this thread and for you to insinuate they are out for personal gain through others misfortune I take as a great personal insult.

I doubt there is anyone here that would hold a deposit for a cancellation through genuine tradgety or misfortune but to believe that no one is going to cancel for illegitimate reasons is as naive as you are offensive in your insinuations.
All good and well to make an alternative POV here but be real careful you don't go too far or cross any lines on your high horse. You might find some unpleasant person like me takes great exception to it and is in a position to do something about it.

Again, they are not only going to cancel because something bad happened. If you believe that you are going to get played for a Royal sucker and probably too many times before you wake up. They find cheaper shooters, friends and relatives want to play hero and do it for nix, get cold feet, decide they want to cut back on their wedding spend and a whole lot of other reasons other than something unfortunate happening that forces them to cancel the wedding.


What will happen if you do not charge a wedding in advance? People will give up their memories? Who are those people? How many times will this happen? I piss on all this imagined business practices!


These "Imagined" business practices are going to piss and shit all over you when you finally discover that you are giving people way too much credit. It's HAS happened far more than you seem to be aware of. Plenty of cases documented here.

I fully realise I don't have a hope in hell of giving you a heads up at this stage, but in time if you stick with this, You will come to see why people charge deposits and that people are not as wonderful as you have in your head now.
As dismissive of what I and others are saying now you are going to be, maybe one day when it happens ( and it is a matter of when rather than if) you might think back and say "Geez, they were right after all."

At that point you might want to do it just the same as everyone else because you understand WHY they do it the way they do.




Jan 07, 2017 at 10:53 PM
TTLKurtis
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p.1 #19 · p.1 #19 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


Tony Hoffer wrote:
I like the idea of this, but doesn't $1000 seem low? A cancellation of a decent size package would really hurt at a $1k deposit I would think.


I've had 4 or 5 cancellations total in the last 8 years (3 of which were all the same year!), and every time it was about 2 months from the date. By that point, they've paid us about 75% of what the total booking was, and we keep all of it. So it has worked out okay for us, but certainly it would suck big time if they booked a popular date a year out, we turn down a bunch of couples for that date, and then 7 months before the wedding they cancel before they've made any other payments with us. Granted, we have a decent shot at booking it still. But that would suck.



Jan 08, 2017 at 02:04 AM
nolaguy
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p.1 #20 · p.1 #20 · Retainer Fee: question about amount taken at time of booking


It's not uncommon for me to click directly to Glort posts to see what the soft-spoken Aussie has to say. So I did this time without catching up on all the latest in the thread. As I'm reading Glort's post my eyes are widening slowly, then I crest over into his final chewing and I'm thinking: wow, this is pretty strong even for Glort... I wonder what the guy did to irritate our Oz buddy so.

Then I found it...

InSanE wrote:
...I piss on all this imagined business practices!


...and almost blew scotch out my nose. Whoops, there it is. I get it now.

(I know Glort was taking issue with several matters but this is the one that I most enjoyed - no offense InSanE, but this is just too rich to pass up)


The funnier part is the quote above reminded me of a movie scene (as most things do) and once I found it I cracked up even more.


0:05 ...I blow my nose at you...


Good times



Jan 08, 2017 at 02:21 AM
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