Rip Off Sites?

[creative_one]

Hi Everyone,

Are all these websites = Red bubble, Fotomoto, Photoreflect, Printroom, ETC all rip offs?
Do u actually make money from the photos you sell on these sites?
what's the estimate pay (monthly) u get from one of these sites?
Thanks

 

[robertwsimpson]

I'm pretty sure you would make money as long as people are actually buying your pictures...

 

[austinimagery]

I can speak for Photoreflect because I happen to use their site. We make money and I know a number of other photographers who make money with online sales. Of course there are fees with the good sites. There is a lot to pay for when you involve software, servers, hosting etc.

The more freedom you have with a site, the more fees are involved.

Some sites are truly offered by a photolab. This means they make their money off of the orders that you send them. They take the profits from the print orders and build a site. Downside- you can only do business with their lab.

Photoreflect is the only one (that I am aware of) where you can build a site and choose a lab, or print yourself. This means they need to charge you somewhere. Photoreflect is free to signup, free to setup, free to upload. They make their money off of the transactions that take place. With no signup fee, no monthly fee, no storage fee, no annual fee....it seems to be a win-win. They are also very helpful in the setup process. I believe because it is more of a partnership.

I wonder why this question is posted though? Rip off sites? What if someone posted on a wedding forum "Ripoff photographers?..are these photographers ripping us off?" Really?

I have been involved in photography since I was in Junior High. I undestand all the challenges of photographers past and present. But often, today's photographers want technology to make things work but don't want to pay for it. Face it, if you shoot digital, you are tied to technology and software....and it cost money to have a developer code software.

Find a site that works for you, upload your images, set your pricing and promote it to your customers. You just might make some extra dough! But don't be afraid of sharing with your technology company that makes it possible.

 

[loopy]

How much you make from these types of sites will depend on a couple factors.
- Quality of Work
- Promotion + Marketing

 

[damonb]

Hi creative one,

"Do u actually make money from the photos you sell on these sites?
what's the estimate pay (monthly) u get from one of these sites?"

How much money you make is largely going to depend on two factors:
1. The quality of your images.
2. How well your market and promote your images.

Since I work for Fotomoto, we are only providing a service for you to sell your work (printing, fulfillment w/no monthly fees); the actual selling and marketing is up to you. I am more than happy to give you some quick pointers on marketing, if you wish. The short answer is that you will want to learn about things like SEO, Marketing & Social Media marketing to increase your chances of making a sale online. And you would also want to make sure you're pricing your photographs in a manner that would make someone inclined to buy (don't underprice your work...but don't overvalue it either).