terry_cribbs Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 We are a professional photo studio that does about 35 weddings a year. Because of client demand we have begun the process of putting wedding proofs on line for out of town family to view and ostensibly purchase. We looked into services such as Pictage, etc, but were not pleased with the lack of creative control over images (ie, they require UNTOUCHED jpegs, allowing no cropping, curves, retouching, etc.) and the cost outlay. We know many photogs who have stopped doing Pictage because they weren't seeing enough sales to justify the expense. So we thought, if we might not make much money from it, we might as well do it ourselves. We have an established site, an in house programmer, and would like to use paypal since they don't charge any fees. However, we have upwards of 500 imags per wedding, and pay pal requires you to add html button tags to EVERY ITEM you wish to sell. WAAAAY too time consuming to be worth it. I know there ar many many plug ins and alterations for the paypal checkout system, ie through dreamweaver etc, and wanted to know if anyone out there has used them or modified them to their satisfaction. We'd be willing to pay a reasonable amount for a good solution. Any suggestions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce_rubenstein Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Breeze Browser can make web pages with a shoppping cart with a link to Paypal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rich_dutchman1 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 I have a really great system for online sales, but it requires a small amount of understanding coding. I have combined a Photoshop web gallery with shopping cart service from www.mals-e.com. The basic mals-e cart is free, and very customizable. At the end, the buyer can choose to pay via credit, debit or with a check. If they choose credit or debit, a Paypal window opens for their information. The entire system is free, except for Paypal's charge. If you're interested, e-mail me and I'll send you the files I use with a small list of instructions I created. Don't have time right now to list everything here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timberwolf1 Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 35 weddings a year is not unmanagable. By using a slower method of ordering, this forces family members to "batch order". By using an easy "buy one at a time" you may be mailing out more frequently, even to the same person. I would simply take checks. You just don't have the volume to make such a sophisticated system necessary. I give my jobs a number, and they order for that customer order #: very simple. Some people don't have a purchase order, but if they have the customer number, and the picture number, we can do business unless I require they use a purchase order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
casey mcallister Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Did you look at printroom.com or photoreflect.com ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmahler5th Posted June 9, 2004 Share Posted June 9, 2004 Miva Merchant is a very robust shopping cart solution, which requires little or no programming experience to maintain. It even has a PayPal module, so upon final checkout, the user goes to PayPal to submit payment, and then is redirected to your site at order completion. <shameless plug> I have designed and implemented several such sites, most notably my wife's jewelry website. http://www.camilee.com I can provide web hosting, Miva merchant hosting, set-up and configuration, and integration with PayPal for you. In fact, another frequent Pro photog contributor here on PN has inquired about me doing this same exact thing for him. Rates are very reasonable. Depending on the level of customization you require, you could up up and running in just a few days, for anywhere from $500 - $1000 (which inlcudes 1 whole year of hosting.)</shameless plug> With that being said, as an amateur photography enthusiast, and professional Web developer by trade, I have a lot of experience and insight to help you accomplish your goals. If you have any questions, or would like a more detailed quotation, shoot me an email at steve@stevetout.com Miva Merchant is highly customizable, and very robust. Combined with PayPal payment gateway, is a very powerful and simple solution. Hope that helps! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chris_ladoulis Posted June 10, 2004 Share Posted June 10, 2004 You can write a script with many of the web gallery / image database programs that will support the Paypal shopping cart. Basically you'd load the template HTML text and replace the image name as a variable on each page created. I've seen this done with AlbumCreator and heard others have done it with iMatch and iView. This could be a solution if you don't want to use a 3rd party solution like Pictage or Printroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tim_mcpain Posted June 11, 2004 Share Posted June 11, 2004 I use DreamWeaver (web design program) and FireWorks (graphic program). They work together to make online web album with a few steps. On my web page, I ask them to email me with the file name. Most clients already know me, because we've met at the wedding. So, process is personal. We email back and forth and they get the pictures. But I only do about 25 weddings a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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