Joseph Clemson Posted February 8, 2015 Author Share Posted February 8, 2015 I'm briefly resurrecting my old thread on potential hosts for photography websites to say I'm now more or less decided to have a go with Smugmug. Many thanks to all who offered their thoughts in this thread and similar ones. I've looked long and hard at all the options and concluded that none of them (Zenfolio, Photoshelter, Photodeck, Smugmug, Squarespace, Wordpress) ticked ALL the boxes for me, but Smugmug came the nearest. If anyone with a Smugmug site has a referral code for a new subscriber I will happily use it to get a discount for each of us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christian58 Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 Photoshelter! for sure! I have sold dozens and dozens of images there. I have even added two regular clients via photoshelter for commissioned work. There are many, many corporations and picture buyers visiting that place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I am about to pull out of PhotoShelter as it is not compliant with the 2015 EU VAT rules (which apply whatever country you are in!). That said I am not convinvced any of the stock photo platforms is any better. Or it wasn't when I looked and asked at the turn of the year. I have decided to remove online sales from my web site as the returns do not justify the extra administration and costs. As a result Photoshelter looks expensive for hosting my galleries (when I no longer need to store full size images for sale) so I will reengineer my web site and host the images (small: ~600-720px long side at mid jpg quality) myself at a fraction of the cost (actually zero marginal cost). I will save $30 a month as a result. If you need more information see: euvataction.org There is a major EU wide campaign to at least get a threshold so micro businesses are not hit with a disproportionate administrative burden. It has already killed many such businesses who can no longer comply or justify the resource demands. There is also a Facebook page. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 You make a most relevant point, Martin, re the EU VAT rules. I have re-evaluated the need for my own website in the light of these changes and have decided not to implement direct digital image sales because of them. I am looking closely at Smugmug and putting up a simple site soon, simply to give me a web presence with links back to Alamy for digital sales. I will then decide whether to make prints available from my website, providing the EU VAT rules are not going to extend to physical goods sold to other EU countries (I am seeing conflicting information about whether physical goods will come under the same rules in 2016). In the meanwhile, if anyone wants to give me their referral code for Smugmug I will happily use it to our mutual benefit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 I abandoned both physical and digital sales as all the evidence was that prints would fall into the same VAT regime by 2016. I have seen nothing to suggest that it is not still the intention. Progress on threshold or otherwise revisiting the rules for micro businesses is still very slow and uncertain. I will probably look at print sales using services provided by one of the big UK print shops (Loxley or similar) as they can provide added value such as framing etc so as to increase the sales value. That will wait until I have reworked my web sites and my new photographic direction is delivering suitable images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CM photo Posted February 9, 2015 Share Posted February 9, 2015 You make a most relevant point, Martin, re the EU VAT rules. I have re-evaluated the need for my own website in the light of these changes and have decided not to implement direct digital image sales because of them. I am looking closely at Smugmug and putting up a simple site soon, simply to give me a web presence with links back to Alamy for digital sales. I will then decide whether to make prints available from my website, providing the EU VAT rules are not going to extend to physical goods sold to other EU countries (I am seeing conflicting information about whether physical goods will come under the same rules in 2016). In the meanwhile, if anyone wants to give me their referral code for Smugmug I will happily use it to our mutual benefit. Hello Joseph. I don't usually do this but since no-one else has, here's a code you can use: https://secure.smugmug.com/signup?Coupon=Nsd9g8OMhMb9g I have been with Smugmug for several years but dropped out of the business plan last year because it didn't bring any sales. (Probably more to do with the type of photography I do than any flaw in the plan.) The "powerplan" gives me what I want at a reasonable price. My site is nothing fancy; the front-page is here: http://chrismattison.smugmug.com/ if you're interested and it's linked to a Blog. Good luck! Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Clemson Posted February 9, 2015 Author Share Posted February 9, 2015 Thanks Chris, I shall browse and learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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