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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Software help for processing orders from football team
Armando Solares, Photographer
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Englewood | FL | USA | Posted: 4:04 PM on 06.24.11 |
->> I shoot a football team once a year. In the past to process the orders we have input the information, name, address, order in to a spreadsheet. It works OK, but I want to know if there is a better solution for this. Are there any programs that can make this more efficient and less time consuming?
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
A- |
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Chris Hunt, Photographer
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Seattle | WA | USA | Posted: 7:58 PM on 06.24.11 |
->> How are you presenting the images to the team and how are they placing orders?
If you setup an online commerce system and let the customers buy the images themselves, you'll need to do nothing but take your checks to the bank. If you setup direct deposit, you won't even need to do that.
SmugMug and PhotoShelter are two good e-commerce solutions. Most people here seem to prefer PhotoShelter. |
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Israel Shirk, Photographer, Assistant
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Boise | ID | US | Posted: 8:25 PM on 06.24.11 |
->> What Chris asked - How do you get the orders in the first place?
Are you on PC or OSX? Do you have any programming experience? (even just at an introductory level?) |
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Armando Solares, Photographer
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Englewood | FL | USA | Posted: 8:54 PM on 06.24.11 |
->> I'm sorry, I should have specified what I was looking for. The first year I did this, I used Photoshelter and I tried doing it that way. Despite the ease of use, the sales were not very good. People would look online and that was it. They filled carts and not many bought the photos.
Ever since, I print envelopes with an order form for 3 basic packages plus single items. Team members bring checks, cash and we will accept CC on the day of the shoot this year. Needless to say after trying this in the second year, sales were very good. And for those that like the web option the images are also available online using PS.
Israel, I'm on a PC. Programming not really. |
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Paul Alesse, Photographer
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Centereach | NY | USA | Posted: 8:59 PM on 06.24.11 |
| ->> Armando... in clarifying what you are doing, I'm still not understanding what you are looking to do. |
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Paul Alesse, Photographer
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Centereach | NY | USA | Posted: 9:02 PM on 06.24.11 |
->> Now, let me clarify my above with specific questions:
1) Are you looking for an efficient way to fulfill orders and drop ship to customer?
2) Are you looking for a way to fulfill orders and ship back to the league as a batch?
3) Or are you looking for a simple way to keep track of your customers, what they ordered, and handle the accounting? |
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Eric Canha, Photographer
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Brockton | MA | United States | Posted: 10:16 PM on 06.24.11 |
->> I'm lost too.... From the sounds of it you are doing envelope based T&I. As for streamlining the process, I don't understand where the spreadsheet comes in. Paul's questions are the same that I am wondering. A lot will also depend on what lab solution you use. If your T&I is limited to one team a year you are going to be limited to which labs will be available to you.
Maybe if you spell out your work flow we can give you better advise. |
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Armando Solares, Photographer
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Englewood | FL | USA | Posted: 12:28 AM on 06.25.11 |
->> Sorry guys,
Here is the way we currently do this team. We print envelopes, where people can place order and enclose payment.
To keep track of the orders, who payed, what they ordered and their contact information, we use a spreadsheet.
Then we print it out and either fulfill the orders online or we go to the local lab and print them there.
Once we have the orders (photographs) printed, we package and mail them to the clients.
So Paul to answer your questions #1 and #3 are pretty much what I'm looking to change.
I want to streamline the process. Thanks for keeping up with this thread. I appreciate it. |
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David Scott, Photographer
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Vancouver | WA | US | Posted: 1:35 AM on 06.25.11 |
| ->> I do T&I for only one high school and it is by far the most labor intensive thing we do. We do the order envelope thing, as you do. We don't do online sales. Each order is processed, printed and packaged. Then they are delivered to the head coach. The parent contact information is then input into a database (Bento) and used to send mailers out to market our sports portrait services. |
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Jim Pierce, Photographer
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Waltham | MA | USA | Posted: 9:38 AM on 06.25.11 |
->> Armondo,
For only one team a year the software might be expensive, Exress Digital would work but costs are high, say $1500 or so.
For only one team I would post process the teams images and crop as needed based on what was ordered, write the file number that was used on the order envelope, and save in seperate directories 4x6, 5x7 etc. If more than one size is ordered for a player save it twice with a slightly different name. Then send to a lab. When you get them back match each players prints up, and with football it is easy as they have numbers on the front, as long as your order form has a spot for this it will be simple if it doesn't use the file number you wrote down with the one printed on the back of the photo.
As far as order forms and tracking goes I use a duplicate order form, so when the customer fills out their form they keep the yellow, duplicate copy, and I get the white original. This white original also has a shipping label that they filled out that I peel off and place on the mailer. This makes packaging much easier, no writing and much less time, and I still have the persons info after peeling the label off.
No idea why you use a spreadsheet, the only spreadsheet I use is for the trading card orders that I send out.
T&I is labor intensive but worth it!!
Hope this helps.
Jim |
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Frank Lauri, Photographer
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Larksville | PA | USA | Posted: 4:47 PM on 06.25.11 |
->> I use MARCO Photo Lab for fulfilling my orders. I use pre-printed, pre-paid envelopes. The only thing I need to keep track of is the file number and transfer it to the envelope.
Once I get the files downloaded to the computer, I choose the image, write the correct file number on the envelope and once I do that to the entire league, I send the envelopes and a DVD with the images in to the lab. The come back packaged in individual windowed envelopes, separated by team and on each envelope is the players name, team and what was ordered. The lab also sends back the original order form/envelope so I can check each one before I give it to the league point of contact. |
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