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|| SportsShooter.com: Member Message Board
Printroom problems again!
Brett Groehler, Photographer
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Duluth | MN | USA | Posted: 11:01 AM on 01.19.12 |
| ->> Well it has happened again- Printroom has owed me a profit check since November and despite many emails and phone calls no check yet. As a member with two different accounts for several years I've had it. For Photoshelter members- how easy is it to switch and how is their customer service etc? |
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Michael Ciu, Photographer, Assistant
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Lorain | OH | USA | Posted: 1:31 PM on 01.19.12 |
->> Photoshelter is great. Switching is easy and customer service is amazing. Same goes for SmugMug too, just as another option.
We were shooting more for print sales than for editorial and decided to switch to SmugMug based on their ability to customize each gallery to our clients and the unlimited storage with paid memberships (PS you need to pay a little extra for more storage). I loved PS while with them, but SM seemed to be a little better fit for the look and feel we were going for. You can try them both out to see which one will work better for you. I am pretty sure both give a 14 day trial. If you want, use the link below!
https://secure.smugmug.com/signup.mg?Coupon=vI93xps69uVg6 |
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Ian L. Sitren, Photographer
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Palm Springs | CA | USA | Posted: 10:21 PM on 01.19.12 |
->> I will be very blunt...
I once made the attempt to bring a huge level of business to Printroom, something nationwide that would have very simply created a level of business for them that would have made them beyond successful.
Knowing the CEO of Printroom I arranged a conference call between his selected representative and the President/CEO of a growing many hundred million dollar company and a primary decision maker. These guys are very tech savvy and brilliant and very trusting in me. Today they are owned by a many billion dollar company.
Well the Printroom VIP was a total buffoon. When he got off the conference call I was placed in the position of great embarrassment and apology. My client was accepting but I know I suffered in credibility and it killed the entire momentum of the project. My very poor decision in trusting in Printroom.
With that said, there are two absolutes in total trust I have in the world of photography and services for professional photographers. They are liveBooks and PhotoShelter. |
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Allen Murabayashi, Photographer
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New York | NY | USA | Posted: 11:18 PM on 01.19.12 |
->> one of the things to consider when using a service to sell photos is how you get paid. is the service collecting on your behalf and disbursing you a check (i.e. they are the "merchant of record"), or do you put in your own merchant info to collect at the point of sale.
photographers are usually cash flow sensitive -- it doesn't make sense to wait 30 days or more to get paid, so services that allow you collect directly are more suited to pros. this is a key point to consider from a business operations standpoint, and one that is at least as important as the features that an e-commerce cart might have.
photoshelter just added support for stripe.com today, which is a very cool, integrated payment system. no monthly/start-up fees. 2.9% + $0.30/transaction, and i believe they release funds after 7 days. if you're not high volume enough to get your own merchant account, and have mixed feelings about paypal, this is a pretty good solution.
disclosure: i'm the ceo of photoshelter |
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Rick Rickman, Photographer
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Capistrano Beach | CA | USA | Posted: 10:15 AM on 01.20.12 |
->> With the bad experiences that I and my business associates have had with Printroom in the last 2 years, I would never recommend Printroom to anyone for any reason.
They have held money owed for more than a year, continually said they sent checks when those checks were never sent, and said that they had fixed accounting errors.
None of those things happened and the problems continue to exist. If you're considering working with them, save yourself a lot of aggravation and don't. If you have accounts with them get ready for the continued run around.
Do yourself a favor and find another print service and save yourself a lot of headaches. |
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Brian Leddy, Photographer
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Gallup | NM | United States | Posted: 12:29 PM on 01.20.12 |
| ->> I defected from Printroom to Photoshelter about 2 years ago after similar problems. They still owe me about $50, which I doubt I'll ever see since I wont ever use their service again to cross that $100 threshold of getting paid. Like a lot of others have said here, save yourself the headache and make the switch. |
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Brett Groehler, Photographer
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Duluth | MN | USA | Posted: 1:56 PM on 01.20.12 |
| ->> thanks all...PhotoShelter sounds like the solution and not just for getting a check on time.. they seem like they understand professional photographers. |
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Gray Quetti, Photographer
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Jacksonville | Fl | USA | Posted: 7:10 PM on 01.20.12 |
| ->> I'm surprised anybody stuck with them. I left them 2 yrs ago for the same problems and went to Exposure Manager and never looked back. Checks are like clockwork and they have a live chat feature which has saved my butt a few times. I also use PhotoShelter and when they get the nested galleries I may be 100% with PS. When they wouldn't pay me I filed a complaint with the BB in their city and got almost instant relief. I have no idea if that would pull much weight now. |
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Bradly J. Boner, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Jackson | WY | USA | Posted: 8:28 PM on 01.20.12 |
->> "Well it has happened again..."
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice (especially when so many people have shared their stories about being fooled)... |
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Louis Lopez, Photographer
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Southern California | CA | USA | Posted: 7:29 AM on 01.21.12 |
| ->> No issues here with printroom... And no I have no vested interest in the company. |
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Mark Sutton, Photographer
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Herndon | VA | USA | Posted: 8:27 AM on 01.21.12 |
| ->> I haven't had any problems with Photoshelter since I switch to them last year. Easy uploads from both Photo Mechanic and Lightroom. I had an account with SmugMug a few years ago. Back then everybody's site looked the same with a few minor adjustments. I posted a thread last year asking Photoshelter folks to post a link to their sites and some of the sites BLEW me out of the water. Couldn't get a site like that on SmugMug back when I used them. Come to think about it, SmugMug still owes me money... |
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Mark Sutton, Photographer
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Herndon | VA | USA | Posted: 11:27 AM on 01.21.12 |
| ->> LOL!! After I give my endorsement to Photoshelter, they have been down to maintenance since 1 AM last night. So my site hasn't been available since then. |
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Ian L. Sitren, Photographer
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Palm Springs | CA | USA | Posted: 1:11 PM on 01.21.12 |
->> Mark Sutton....
PhotoShelter had a planned maintenance and as they usually do had been long announced ahead of time. The last thing I ever worry about is PhotoShelter. This message this morning:
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Dear Members,
We're very sorry for the inconvenience caused by today's extended site downtime. Our planned database maintenance resulted in a larger window of downtime than we originally expected.
As you know, this is a very rare and unexpected issue - one that we find unacceptable. We take great pride in delivering a service that you can rely on to keep your photo business running, and we will continue to do our best to avoid issues like this in the future.
All sites should once again be available and fully functional, and this maintenance has set us up for some very big feature updates which we'll be announcing soon.
Thank you for your loyalty.
The PhotoShelter Team
-------- |
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Ron Hawkes, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Rockland | ME | USA | Posted: 8:21 AM on 01.23.12 |
->> Brett I have used Printroom, Photoshelter, Zenfolio, Photo Reflect and Exposure Manager.
All have their upside and all have their downside. Photoshelter is a great avenue run by some great people that really care about their fellow photographers. Great Company.
I currently use Exposure Manager and am very happy with them. Yes getting checks can be slow, but they do have a set up with Paypal so you can get your money immediately. They also are in the middle of a huge makeover that promises to put them on the map as one of the leaders in the business.
They all have free trial periods and I would suggest you try a few, ask questions, really check them out.
Of all of them, those are the only ones I would recommend.
Good luck with your changing sites, it is always a pain to do.
When I left Exposure Manager last March I went with Zenfolio and while I liked it, my customers did not, sales fell dramatically and I received many calls from customers that they could not figure it out. Many of my customers asked me to go back to Exposure Manger because they liked it. One full month back and sales are back to normal. Hard not to pay attention to that. |
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Alan Look, Photographer
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Bloomington/Normal | IL | United States | Posted: 11:57 AM on 01.23.12 |
->> All you need to get started with PhotoShelter is right here. http://www.photoshelter.com/referral/AL5LX9WM74
It will take an effort to get it all laid out the way you want it, but it will be worth it in the end. |
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Joey Wilson, Photographer
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Savannah | GA | USA | Posted: 1:08 PM on 01.23.12 |
->> I switched from Printroom to Smugmug for my small little business several years ago and haven't had a complaint yet !!
I'm seeing "Photoshelter" mentioned often on this thread, so I should give it a look too ! |
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Jack McCoy, Photographer
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Baldwin | NY | USA | Posted: 4:17 PM on 01.23.12 |
->> Well I was with Printroom for seven years and just switched to Zenfolio last October. I had opened a Zenfolio account almost two years ago when Printroom was having financial problems. There was even a post on here here with a few SS members contacting me personally because I had mentioned I had just talked to the CEO and he assured me everything would be ok going down the road. original thread:
http://www.sportsshooter.com/message_display.html?tid=35561
That said I had to switch for financial reasons.. waiting almost 60 days to receive a check for an event I did was no longer tolerable. I wrote the CEO and my account rep a letter that I could no longer use them since there time period of issuing a check and actually mailing it (those are two completely different things) was not a way I could afford to stay in business. I did receive an email back saying I would be missed but by no means was there any conversation of what could we do better to make you stay.
I could go on but I won't...it really is a shame because I did like their product. |
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Mark Sutton, Photographer
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Herndon | VA | USA | Posted: 4:53 AM on 02.03.12 |
| ->> Photoshelter dude. Webinars are second to none... |
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Bert Entwistle, Photographer
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Colorado Springs | CO | USA | Posted: 11:55 AM on 02.03.12 |
->> Add me to the list of unhappy people. I quit the service all together and they confirmed I was no longer a member - then they stiffed my on my last check. My emails have gone unanswered.
I hope they read SS.
Bert Entwistle / Western Images Photography |
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Bradly J. Boner, Photographer, Photo Editor
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Jackson | WY | USA | Posted: 1:49 PM on 02.03.12 |
| ->> We left them almost a year ago and I think they still owe us money. |
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Jack McCoy, Photographer
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Baldwin | NY | USA | Posted: 2:13 PM on 02.03.12 |
->> Almost feel like sharing this post with them.
They owe me $60.86 from December sales and even though they have the $100 payout rule I was assured my check would be cut...I'm still waiting with every third email I send them answered saying they are still working on it.
Very frustrating after all the business I gave them, not just my own but hooking them up with a national company that brought Printroom in close to the seven figure mark in sales in a two year span a couple years back. |
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James Rickman, Photographer, Assistant
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Los Alamos | NM | USA | Posted: 10:46 PM on 02.05.12 |
->> I hung on to Printroom even after experiencing the same issues everyone here has already mentioned. The last straw came after they dinked around for about two months cutting me a check for a shoot that I did so all the proceeds could go to charity. The event was long over and the organizers were trying to close out their books so they could forward the money to the selected charity, but they had to sit around waiting for me to wait on Printroom to send me what they owed me.
I was extremely embarrassed, and when I sent a note to my "customer service rep," I felt as though he chastised me for my decision to leave and said what I interpreted as "don't let the door hit you on the way out!"
Great tactics for a company that seems to be staying afloat by nothing other than a fart bubble trapped inside a gauze swimming suit.....
Guess I'm switching to PhotoShelter now. |
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Jayne Oncea, Photographer
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Saugus | CA | USA | Posted: 10:50 PM on 02.07.12 |
| ->> I switched to Photoshelter a few days ago...great feedback from customers already..and the the tech support people actually ANSWER the phone in less than 4 rings! nice.. |
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