Is it only me? I don't do a ton of on-line sales. I like to sell on-site but do post some galleries as a service. I've been with Printroom for several years (Pro account). Generally they've been ok, very easy work flow which was the main reason for sticking with them. However, this past year has been a nightmare! They now have a policy of not issuing a "profit" check unless they owe you over $100. I sat at $99.56 for a while..... I had some sales over the summer from some old galleries and haven't been paid since April. I emailed, left voice mails and all I get is automated replies.... They owe me over $400.....
I did not renew my Pro account. I'm actively searching for a new vendor! I wish I could find one with a similar workflow at a similar price (here goes you get what you pay for...)
Ralph: The writing has been on the wall for much too long with Printroom. I've moved to and am very happy with Exposuremanager. I believe they have a referral incentive, so let me know if you want to check them out.
There is an extensive thread on the subject at Sports Shooter that gives you a little of the history over the last two years. The last public forum contact by them was almost a year ago where they explained that they were receiving some additional financing to get them through the recession. Apparently though, diminishing online sales coupled with photographers jumping ship when they heard there were problems has caused them to sink deeper into debt.
Many are complaining that the photo sales of photos on printroom is being used to finance other things and that it should be kept in "escrow" for the photographer. Hello? That has never been the case. They have always robbed from Peter to pay Paul and depended on tomorrow's cash flow to pay photographers from yesterday's sales.
I won't get onto my soapbox again about online sales and where it's all headed... but naturally, if you have put your trust in online sales companies over the years, then it's time to rethink that strategy. If your online sales have suffered, so have the percentages/storage fees that these companies depend on. Now would be the time to take complete control of your business. Don't depend on outside vendors to do your POS and/or fulfillment like you have in the past.
Thanks Russ! Does Exposuremanager allow you to post process and crop an image when an order comes in? Some vendors require the image dimensions match the original exactly....
The only thing that kept me w/ PR was I could post process & crop very easily and then upload the full res file.... I almost went with photostock plus but they require the pixel count of the PP'd file to match the original.... Since I ride the short bus and didn't want to complicate the whole thing....
Paul,
I agree with you totally! I was getting lazy with PR. I really don't rely on my on-line sales..... It just pisses me off when Printroom take my customer's money and doesn't pay me! Yep, with the amount of on-line galleries I post these days (almost zero!) I'm headed in a different direction....
Ralph,
In that regard, it's very similar to Printroom: you upload whatever you want (very effective 'resizing' as an option so you don't even need to reduce size to in effect upload low-res files) and then deal with editing and cropping only once an order has been placed. I hear what Paul is saying. I've moved to a largely self-fulfillment model, but I still need the structure EM offers to make this work for me.
I left Printroom in the spring and haven't looked back. Smugmug has worked out very well for me. It sounds like it would work for the way you do things, too. Here's a link if you want to check it out (referral credit) - Smugmug
The better question is whether or not my customers are happy. Since I switched to smug mug, it's not unusal for me to get thank you notes from my customers. They love the prints.
I also like that they're continually making improvements in their product (meaning the website, not the prints). Printroom had been stagnant for quite a while. I felt like I was using old technology. Smugmug is light years ahead of them.
another vote for Exposure Manager. Like Russ said there is a referral program so if you want to try it out let him know and he'll guide you through it. I believe it's also a 15 day trial when you first start. I have upgraded my account to the Premium features and like it a lot.
Smugmug is the way to go. Very easy to customize and their customer service is great. You also have the option of using Bay Photo Lab for prints on Smugmug.
I've been using Zenfolio for a couple of years and am very happy with them. I use MPIX as my fulfillment company, and my customers couldn't be happier. JM2C...
Jumped from Printroom in the spring as well... Went to zenfolio and have been very happy as well. Really easy to use, would like to have a packages deal where I can package a few items, but we have been told its in the works. They have great backing and I feel they will be around a long time. Same $100 fee for pros but IMO its much better than printroom, much more flexibility on site design and you can integrate so much better.
I just cancelled my Printroom account and I've been there 6 years. I actually filed a complaint with the BBB in their area as it just wasn't right in what they were doing with the money. All this is well documented elsewhere. I moved my last event over to Exposure Manager and am going through a little learning curve but that shouldn't last long. Printroom gave my customers excellent service but not getting paid was the last straw. Good luck to any of you that stay.
Finally I've found a thread that deals with the Printroom problem! They have owed me over $200 since June and I'm in the same boat. Is there no recourse? I need the money right now (don't we all?) and wonder if the check will ever arrive. Guess I'll try the BBB complaint. Doesn't sound too promising though. Good luck.
Gray wrote:
I actually filed a complaint with the BBB in their area as it just wasn't right in what they were doing with the money.
Likely not a viable solution ... at best, the BBB can only try to embarrass a business into paying their debts ... you'd be better off lodging a complaint with the state attorney general's office both in your state and theirs if they are different ...point them to the documentation online ... they actually have the authority to order payment and impose punishment if they don't ...of course you have to convince the AG's to take up your cause ... but with so many affected ... I would think if enough complaints are filed, there would be at least some response ...
Russ Isabella wrote:
Ralph: The writing has been on the wall for much too long with Printroom. I've moved to and am very happy with Exposuremanager. I believe they have a referral incentive, so let me know if you want to check them out.
That's a great idea. Surprisingly, I received an email from Printroom support this morning saying my check has been mailed. I won't believe it until I see it but it does give me a glimmer of hope. If it doesn't arrive I'll be contacting the attorney general. Thanks for the suggestion.
