While I'm certainly not happy about the increase, I do understand the need to run a business. In the grand scheme of things, $100 extra per year is minimal to a professional photographer who is selling prints. I pay less than that for a park photography permit.
Considering I have 102,000 photos / 555GB stored on their site which is safely being backed up in three locations plus mine and I've made over $300 in profit the past couple of days...I'm ok with it.

To me, it sounds like SM is going after the real professionals who want more than what they're getting now. I'll definitely be looking forward to some new features though, increased cost means higher expectations. I'm not paying for a Quarter Pounder anymore, I want a Five Guys. They're more expensive, not outrageous, but worth it. Make it worth it, SM

Sellis, I hope they do - but they haven't displayed anything in the last 7 years that indicates they can deliver a big improvement. Everything has been baby steps.

I feel trapped, I have a lot of time and customisation invested in Smugmug so I don't want to move, but I really feel springing this massive increase in one hit without grandfathering is hugely disrespectful to their clients.

They can't have taken this step lightly and that's what worries me most - this is clearly a desperate move and they know it's going to cost them a lot of customers (not a big deal) and a lot of respect (possibly a big deal).

Are they stable?

N

My renewal isnt until Nov 2012 so if I renew now would I have to pay the increase? I understand they have to do what they have to do but for me this sucks . If I do have to pay the increase then for sure I will be moving on.

Originally Posted by sellis To me, it sounds like SM is going after the real professionals who want more than what they're getting now. I

The problem is that us professionals aren't getting what we are paying for now let alone after the price goes up. Everyone outside of the US isn't getting the level of service that would be expected for that price. I don't want to jump ship either as I like my site with smugmug but I'm simply losing sales as it not being able to self fullfil or have an Australian lab on offer while smugs competitors do. The pros are now outweighing the cons.

If they gave me a date for these 2 things I would stick around (unless that date is never).

A price increase is one thing. Doubling the price is another. 100% is ridiculous. At my day job I'm asked to take a "pay freeze"....but everything around me goes up? I'd happily pay 35 bucks a year more but doubling my current rate is sodomy.

Normally, I'd walk away from this without making any noise but since I also just dumped $300 into customization I'm now invested for much more than my return and needless to say......livid. This is not what I singed up for.

Originally Posted by clenny Been a smugmug pro user since 2004 and was grandfathered in at $99 until now :(. My renewal date is 4 days before October 15 though. I'm not a "professional" at all but at $99/year back then I thought it was a good deal for my hobby but now I guess I'll get another year to think it over.

I'm in the same boat - similar situation - not selling much but liked the availability to sell and set prices. SM since 2004 but not so sure about the future.

Maybe a solution would be to only charge a 'business' rate once you hit a certain level in sales. Say $1000.00
I do this for fun and like having the pro account for the odd sale. I have only sold a few thousand dollars in prints on SM in the past couple years.

For me the price just doubled with zero net gain. I will not keep the business level and actually downgrade to Power user as the new Portfolio level is senseless.

I think I may drop to the portfolio level. I have too many photos here to go anywhere else, and I love it. Being able to sell through SM was only really useful to me for sports leagues, and I'm not really doing that anymore. Most of the money I make now comes from flat session fees.

I'm not surprised though. With the ever increasing resolution of cameras and the numbers of photos we take, the storage and IT costs have to be huge. I just wish the price increase could have been incremental over the years.

I have to come out and say I am upset. I have just spent a lot of resources re-doing my smugmug site, despite the recommendations of my web designer who said I should just host my own website and leave smugmug. I have always been a staunch smugmug supporter and I had to justify it in all sorts of ways. Printing, setting prices, unlimited hosting... Things I could not have (or so I thought) running the website on my own.

Boy do I wish I had spent my resources on a more permanent solution now... It's been a long process and now the work that was done over months has to be re-done in... less than a month. That's right, I have until October to decide if I want to stay or not, and it looks like I don't. It's upsetting because my favorite smugmug feature has always been the peace of mind... Now I am having to (within a month) figure out if smugmug is the right thing for me. In the case that it isn't (which seems to be my impression right now) I have to upload tons of photos to a new site, have it designed, I have to recover files I may not have in my own backup that are still in smugmug. I have to try out new labs... This is far from that peace of mind. And I know the answer is easy, pay an extra $100 to make all this go away, but I would not be gladly playing like I always have been. I feel like I am being bullied into paying the extra $100, because it would require an extraordinary effort on my part to make a move in a month.

Did you simply feel that 1 month was enough for anyone to make the move to another site or were you banking on us wanting to avoid the headache and simply shelling out $100 extra?

I can understand an increase , but for existing user's it works out to 66.67%, and average that out over seven years = 9.52 % per year. I think is kind of steep from a business perspective , the prices must have been too low to begin with. I am surprised by a sudden increase, but the new price $ 250.00 per year is a good value for what you get. I wonder why a 2 or 3 year deal isn't available, and maybe sweeten the pot a bit.

What is most frustrating is that the price increase isn't being at all spread to other levels. Why? If it is truly about image size and pixels as you say, then why not bump everyone? After all, even your basic plan gets unlimited uploads and image file sizes of 50mb. (http://www.smugmug.com/photos/photo-sharing-features/) Are you saying that people that are just posting family pictures aren't needlessly wasting server space but your "Pros" are???

I think the real B.S. is that you are trying to pawn all of your expenses on the people and business that were and should be the most profitable for you already, without really offering much in the way of better customer service to them. (I'm sorry, but I don't consider e-mail and forum posts to be quality customer service…Cheap yes, but not quality) Not to mention an antiquated CMS system and customization tool.

I was already on the edge of leaving, so I am guessing this will just facilitate that decision. Too bad, when I first started here I really thought it was going to be something better than the others. But without really improving the infrastructure itself you really have fallen flat. If you were offering new and improved tools and streamlined workflows…maybe I would see this another way, but I just see it as a backhanded slap to your top level users. Whatever.

Oh…and don't think I am foolish enough to think that any of the ranting going on here or on YouTube or Facebook will really change anything…

Originally Posted by Rogue 1 I (we) hear ya, Skorri - I've been a customer since '03 - and an employee since late '07. As OT posted here, http://www.dgrin.com/showpost.php?p=...6&postcount=33 - "Tiny little bits and pieces have been leaking out around the edges - the gallery preview, the new search interface, Pricelists, and the new Account Settings. They're all tiny little echoes of a much bigger product shift." What's coming will be worth the wait - and we're grateful (I REALLY wish I could think of better words) for you're loyalty, understanding and patience.

You have been touting new gallery changes since may or june of 2011…are you kidding me? If I did this in my business I'd be dead…and your little nit picky changes have all been rather useless for most by all accounts that I am seeing.

A better business decision would have been to have things ready and in place…then launch everything all at once…new tools, new price structure, ease of use…right now it just looks like you guys have run aground trying to get your "NEW" and well past due updates finished, and now need to raise capital to see it through…that's my take.

I as well will have to find alternatives, as this is simple too steep to consider staying. You raise prices after you provide a change, not before. They have just gone Netflix, and it it will cause many people to leave this site in search of alternatives.. . .

Originally Posted by Robertk Good luck. I have been waiting over two years. From the very start I problems with corrupted uploads and downtime at the most inopportune times. The it was promises of all of these amazing new features that were just right around the corner. Do a trial a Zenfolio and I bet you will switch. $120 for what Smug calls "business". Lower commissions and more features.

I also got my email: 67% price increase. I'm due for renewal in April 2013. Will I renew? That will depend on SmugMug. At this price, you are the same price as Photoshelter and more expensive than Zenfolio. Both are more flexible and only Zenfolio has the unlimited bandwidth/storage like SM.

The problem is "Where's the beef?" It's a very steep increase and let's face it, so will this price increase will this solve my problems? My site is: http://photos.foto-biz.com

1. I want control over the thumbnails, and having the customization for increase it to 150 pixels is not good enough. I want 200 to 400 pixels thumbnails, Photoshelter does it.
2. I need something that works over smartphones. Right now, it's terrible.
3. The templates look old, I need a refresh.

For me the deadline is January 2013. Will these things being delivered in my timeframe? I only hear trust us, we will deliver something good, but I don't know what will be delivered. What about publishing an actual roadmap with timeframes? This winter this, next spring that... Then the question become is it worth waiting? No roadmap, no timeframe, no info...


Thanks for letting me rant

I think I totally get where many posters/subscribers are coming from.

But if you're a working Pro I think SM does have value even at the new price point. If you're a working Pro, you ought to be out working. According to many that work involves a ton of business-work such as marketing yourself and obviously doing actual shooting.

When I first started pursuing my photography interest and wanted to turn it into a viable business, SM was THE place to be as far as I could tell. And the reasons why are still relevant: http://www.smugmug.com/about/story/

I needed to have a place to send my clientele so they could do what they are supposed to do (if I did my work). And that work I did was aided by these things I care about: Beauty; in aesthetic design, simple interface, no Ads(!), Shopping Cart, And I never have to handle a darned thing after I have done my part of the job: Priceless!

That last part is especially important because if like me, you were just falling-into Digital Photography, there was tons to learn and absorb. And if a customer had an issue with the way you did or did not edit their photo, SM would make it right, re-send it and eat the cost of doing so. Priceless!

Many People complain about this new pricing and actually have the audacity to put the blame for their own poor planning onto SM. I understand if you just came aboard last week or last Month and now this huge increase is startling you, that makes sense. Adding to what I wrote above, the peace of mind of knowing all the other aspects of my business decision was being taken care of the moment I uploaded the clients photos was again; priceless!

So new-comers, take heart. Go out and do what you planned to do in the first place and let SM take care of the rest of it the way you envisioned to begin with. You obviously read what they were offering service wise. And for me at least Service ought to be spelled with a capitol S. Because I believe SM, me, any entity has really only that one thing to offer. There are tons of photographers, plenty of photo sharing sites and other places to sell your imagery. Service trumps it all! Oh, and for the folks that don't like an e-mail CS, I say think about it. They respond quickly, can escalate it quickly and if there needs to be detailed instructions, I'd rather have them written in an e-mail versus waiting and having to take notes over a phone.

My renew comes up in October, past the deadline. I was already in the reassessment phase. I have other hosting and other Websites and now-a-days (a-ton-of) other interests and plans that do not revolve around still-photographs. So from a business standpoint, I need to move on. If I stay or if I go, it is not SM's fault at all. My business is about me.

And if my post weren't long winded enough, let me say something else. A website is a tool. FB liking is a tool. A Camera and gear are tools. Great marketing tools sometimes, but really at max tools, all of them. They cannot grow your business. Only you can do that.

It is very easy to be led down a path of thinking that with our present-day Internet that somehow all these social media gathering places are going to make us the go-to choice of the clientele searching for a photographer. I think there are very few folks that are truly getting most of their leads from such places. I think many of the old rules still apply. The first that comes to mind and many say the most important is, Who do you know? And I mean physically, not digitally. There is a difference, and you know it.


Long winded enough~

Originally Posted by angevin1 I think I totally get where many posters/subscribers are coming from. But if you're a working Pro I think SM does have value even at the new price point. If you're a working Pro, you ought to be out working. According to many that work involves a ton of business-work such as marketing yourself and obviously doing actual shooting.

I am a professional photographer, I have been a SM user for 8 years, and to suggest that I object to a price increase because I am not working hard enough is insulting and ridiculous.

I have put up with the silly "work around" solutions (look at page 1 for SM answer to redirects) as well as the clunky backend, endless CSS and Javascript customization, slow roll out of features, and that unprofessional green grin on my pricing page and whenever site work is being done.

This is the final straw - Zenfolio is cheaper, and will help you migrate your SM data over to their site.

What SM really needs is a marketing department - someone who can work with what clients actually want, and roll those out in meaningful ways while communicating their desire to maintain existing customers.

This is crap... Smugmug is already getting paid in every print one of our customers order, we get a small slice, and now they want to be paid on top of all that? Not all people on smugmug are fashionable photographers who can afford higher overhead costs. I don't even have a 300 dollar profit a year on smugmug, and I just started to do some cards. That looked very very promising. Up to where I saw the new price ranges... I think if we all draw one line and leave, it might have a strong signal function that at times little people do have power over CEO's... I am not asking for all the customisation... All I want is a space online where I can add a little markup... I am not in the big money, I am happy if my sales are good enough to get a new lens or another camera when I need it. I probably can use my 300 dollar to put straight into camera fund pot... Bad move from smugmug. I enrolled in 2004, but am now leaving... unless we get the word that the 67 percent is off the table....

Originally Posted by BeccaDilley I am a professional photographer, I have been a SM user for 8 years, and to suggest that I object to a price increase because I am not working hard enough is insulting and ridiculous. I have put up with the silly "work around" solutions (look at page 1 for SM answer to redirects) as well as the clunky backend, endless CSS and Javascript customization, slow roll out of features, and that unprofessional green grin on my pricing page and whenever site work is being done. This is the final straw - Zenfolio is cheaper, and will help you migrate your SM data over to their site. What SM really needs is a marketing department - someone who can work with what clients actually want, and roll those out in meaningful ways while communicating their desire to maintain existing customers.

I never suggested YOU weren't working HARD enough. No, not at all.

And if you've been with SM for 8 year's and didn't like the service, is that SM's fault? Hell no!

Originally Posted by wicketman What is most frustrating is that the price increase isn't being at all spread to other levels. Why? If it is truly about image size and pixels as you say, then why not bump everyone? After all, even your basic plan gets unlimited uploads and image file sizes of 50mb. (http://www.smugmug.com/photos/photo-sharing-features/) Are you saying that people that are just posting family pictures aren't needlessly wasting server space but your "Pros" are??? I think the real B.S. is that you are trying to pawn all of your expenses on the people and business that were and should be the most profitable for you already, without really offering much in the way of better customer service to them. (I'm sorry, but I don't consider e-mail and forum posts to be quality customer service…Cheap yes, but not quality) Not to mention an antiquated CMS system and customization tool. I was already on the edge of leaving, so I am guessing this will just facilitate that decision. Too bad, when I first started here I really thought it was going to be something better than the others. But without really improving the infrastructure itself you really have fallen flat. If you were offering new and improved tools and streamlined workflows…maybe I would see this another way, but I just see it as a backhanded slap to your top level users. Whatever.

Originally Posted by Risingmoonphotos I as well will have to find alternatives, as this is simple too steep to consider staying. You raise prices after you provide a change, not before. They have just gone Netflix, and it it will cause many people to leave this site in search of alternatives.. . .

Originally Posted by pgman I also got my email: 67% price increase. I'm due for renewal in April 2013. Will I renew? That will depend on SmugMug. At this price, you are the same price as Photoshelter and more expensive than Zenfolio. Both are more flexible and only Zenfolio has the unlimited bandwidth/storage like SM. The problem is "Where's the beef?" It's a very steep increase and let's face it, so will this price increase will this solve my problems? My site is: http://photos.foto-biz.com I want control over the thumbnails, and having the customization for increase it to 150 pixels is not good enough. I want 200 to 400 pixels thumbnails, Photoshelter does it. I need something that works over smartphones. Right now, it's terrible. The templates look old, I need a refresh. For me the deadline is January 2013. Will these things being delivered in my timeframe? I only hear trust us, we will deliver something good, but I don't know what will be delivered. What about publishing an actual roadmap with timeframes? This winter this, next spring that... Then the question become is it worth waiting? No roadmap, no timeframe, no info... Thanks for letting me rant

Originally Posted by BeccaDilley I am a professional photographer, I have been a SM user for 8 years, and to suggest that I object to a price increase because I am not working hard enough is insulting and ridiculous. I have put up with the silly "work around" solutions (look at page 1 for SM answer to redirects) as well as the clunky backend, endless CSS and Javascript customization, slow roll out of features, and that unprofessional green grin on my pricing page and whenever site work is being done. This is the final straw - Zenfolio is cheaper, and will help you migrate your SM data over to their site. What SM really needs is a marketing department - someone who can work with what clients actually want, and roll those out in meaningful ways while communicating their desire to maintain existing customers.

Originally Posted by photocat This is crap... Smugmug is already getting paid in every print one of our customers order, we get a small slice, and now they want to be paid on top of all that? Not all people on smugmug are fashionable photographers who can afford higher overhead costs. I don't even have a 300 dollar profit a year on smugmug, and I just started to do some cards. That looked very very promising. Up to where I saw the new price ranges... I think if we all draw one line and leave, it might have a strong signal function that at times little people do have power over CEO's... I am not asking for all the customisation... All I want is a space online where I can add a little markup... I am not in the big money, I am happy if my sales are good enough to get a new lens or another camera when I need it. I probably can use my 300 dollar to put straight into camera fund pot... Bad move from smugmug. I enrolled in 2004, but am now leaving... unless we get the word that the 67 percent is off the table....

Well I agree with you all. While I do not have a Pro account here, I was planning on upgrading from Power to Pro. This will not happen for many of the reasons you stated above, and through out this thread. I see this as nothing more than a money grab by them, and they are hosing the Pros, which in my opinion is stupid. I looked at the new Portfolio BS Level, and really $150 and you cannot set prices. Are you guys smoking something? Here is a clue to you first you roll out the improvements then, you increase the price. You people act as if you were not making a profit here, if that was true then this site would have been gone long ago. Your new business model will be the death nail for this site. I see a huge Exodus from Egypt in your future. Next you will raise the lower end to make up for it. Plain stupid. This coming from a 9 year customer, who unless I see something that is actually come out will be gone as well. Also anytime I have had problems with the stupid new features you put out such as Pic Collecting, and allowing printing of my images by SM (claiming you make nothing from it, yeah right) which is a work around my security, I get the facetious remark that you can opt out. Excuse me! Why should we as customers have to opt out of something that goes around our base settings? My suggestion was it should be opt in, at which point I was told I was wrong. Now that is customer service, go around your settings to allow people access to your photos. But I will not dwell on that. Unless there is a real change in the service I am gone too.

Originally Posted by angevin1 I never suggested YOU weren't working HARD enough. No, not at all. And if you've been with SM for 8 year's and didn't like the service, is that SM's fault? Hell no!

Maybe it was fine at its price point as it was. The problem is not totally the service aspect, but that the price increase reflects no major improvement is service. But then that point has evaded you.