Online print selection

[bob_estremera]

<p>I am starting to get print orders for my work. I work with a local printer who does a great job at a fair price for all. There are a couple of options for ecomm including FOTOMOTO for self-fulfilling and even my WP theme maker (Photocrati) has an ecomm gallery option. The problem is that my printer packages things very well and that charge will vary according to the order. Also, the actual shipping charges will vary. Does anybody know of an online ecomm solution that can take the order and have me add shipping charges BEFORE the invoice is sent to the client. OR, are their other ways of including variable shipping/handling costs that I haven't considered?<br>

Thanks, Bob</p>

[vincedistefano]

<p>I'm sure you'll get lots of other responses for viable solutions, but I can only speak to what I use - SmugMug.<br>

You upload your images, and set prices based on what profit you want per image or gallery. SmugMug shows you what it will charge you for an image, and you then add to that price to derive what you'll keep.<br>

For example, SmugMug might charge $1.29 for a 5x7, but you charge $3.00 and keep the difference. Customers never see your cost. SmugMug prints and ships the images. Oh, and you can totally control what formats and sizes of prints are available, from 4x6 all the way to wall canvas. When I cover events like marathons and stuff, lately I've been finding that more people are buying the full-sized digital downloads than prints, even though it's typically $10-$15 for a download.<br>

Only downside for low-volume photogs is that they hold funds until you reach a certain amount of sales ($300 I think), but there is an option to cash out earlier if you fill out a form or two. </p>