I need a professional web site for selling images!

[Bucephalas69]

I need to find a good web host/developer or package to sell images on-line for an event photography business.

I want something where i can display a number (200+) of folders, one for each event (such as Gymnastics, football etc) then have sunfolders within these.
I need some to be password protected and want to make the buying experience as clear and simple as possible.

I've looked at Smugmug which is one possibility.

Can you recommend anyone else please?

Richard

[Joel]

I know of Zenfolio. I was going to ask the same question.

[peterst6906]

When I began reading I was going to recommend Smugmug, but I see you've already looked.

Having a Smugmug account myself though, I can say that according to what you've indicated, the pro account seems like the perfect solution. Very customizable, protected, great support and good sales service to your customers.

Regards,

Peter

[dsp]

Check out Exposure Manager
ExposureManager - Focus on Sales

[PetersenPhotography]

I've also heard of pictage.com, but they are very expensive.

[Dacoda Image]

I would suggest Instaproofs.com: Online photograph sales and proofing you get to pick your lab set your prices etc

[evoryware]

another vote for smugmug pro.

[Bucephalas69]

Thanks All.
I wish SmugMug was suitable because i really like what they do, but alas not.
All the site's print the photo's for you and send them out and i plan to do my own printing. That way i can QC the final print and not have to give yet another company a slice of my profit on an ongoing basis.

I'm thinking that the only answer is to have one developed myself.
OI know there is one suitable one out there somewhere as I had it bookmarked some weeks back but have manager to screw up my Firefox and lost that.

I guess i'll get some quotes while i'm searching.

Thanks All

[gwynemark]

I agree with Dave on this one. Exposure Manager is a great site. We use it and do very well with photo sales. The site is easy to use and the lab itself is fantastic. Their prices are unbeatable. We pay 12.95 a month for the service and a small commission %. Could not be more pleased.

[John Scott]

Take a look at Eventpictures.com,I just started using it and uploaded 4,000 event pics with no problem.You can link it to your site or use it independent.It also has a shopping cart with pay pal if you want.It takes time to upload a big event,but they all do.

[Songman45]

How about photoreflect dot com. They offer storefront, image hosting (virtually unlimited) and shopping cart. You can choose to produce and ship or they have alied labs to do drop-ship sevice.

[evoryware]

You can customize smugmug, use google checkout and do your own printing.

[Bucephalas69]

Event pictures.com looks OK, but it took me a while to work out how it worked, so it's probably not the easiest experience for potential customers.
I am going to take a closer look at Smugmug and take a pop at the free trial.

Exposure Manager is another possibility. I'll be using Express Digital Darkrrom software for the business which has Exposure Manager built in to make uploading easier. It's just a pain finding products that are aimed at European market as well as America's.

I'm pretty sure that Photo Store is the best product for my needs though. It's $300 with no other ongoing fees and looks pretty good to me ( Ktools.net | Sell Photos Online | Complete web based store for online proofing and sales ). It's easy to navigate and deals in Euro's, Sterling etc.

Thanks for the advice peeps, I am getting there slowly.

[Joel]

Originally Posted by evoryware

You can customize smugmug, use google checkout and do your own printing.

Can you set your own prices and do they take some of the selling price?

[Scribe]

Richard,

Keep in mind that, while SmugMug (which I use and like very much) may take a small percentage of your profit on each print sale, there are at least two offsets to consider: The first is that you set your prices so you can make whatever profit you want on each print....and....secondly, if you are producing your own prints how would your expenses compare to what you pay SmugMug to do the printing for you? Keep in mind that they not only do the printing and have an excellent color management system, but they handle everything in dealing with the customer including credit cards, shipping, returns (should it be necessary), etc. So, when you are comparing the expenses of you doing the printing, be sure to factor in what your time is worth handling all of the details that SmugMug (or whomever) takes care of for you.

Just my two-cents worth.

Peter

[Scribe]

Richard, one other note to consider about SmugMug - if you prefer it, you can have them not do any color management, or processing, at all. You would make any and all color, etc. adjustments and they would simply print as is. They even have an ICC profile you can download and apply.

Peter

[jzrclark]

Hi Richard Try fotki.com you can either have them print for you at a ridiculously low price or you can download back to your computer and print yourself. You may or may not have pricing on your site, but think you will be supprised at options you have. Hope this helps.

[Julio]

I would suggest Exposure manager
Excellent customer service and many options

[m.b.]

Check out the Online Proofing and Sales thread in the Wedding Resources Forum.