Industry Low Prices on Photo Prints Offer Consumers More Options
As modern consumers we are challenged with walking the line between needs and wants on a daily basis – all with an eye towards our household’s bottom line. It is a difficult challenge to say the least; especially when you consider all of the conveniences afforded to us – some of which provide a much easier way to accomplish those tasks that once cost us so much time and money. But there is such a thing as false economy and those consumers who are attracted by the opportunity to save money by taking on a project themselves often find the reward to come up quite a bit short. The do-it-yourself movement – having put tools in the hands of home renovators, amateur mechanics, and part time interior designers – is one such example where, unless you know for sure that the savings will be worth it, it is very often best left to the professionals.
One industry that has offered consumers a world of time and money-saving options is that of photo printing. After all, there are few among us who do not own a digital camera; and the industry has taken note – offering consumers low prices on photo quality printers. But those who have taken the bait and bought the high-end printer understand better than anyone that their financial investment was far from over. In order to continue to produce high-quality photo prints and the myriad projects that the average consumer wishes to do with their photos, there requires a continued investment in photo quality paper and ink. The result? A staggering .30 to .50 average cost per print!
Such prices are even more out of line when you consider what the average amateur photographer does with their photo prints. Keeping in mind that photos taken are generally used for everything from holiday photo cards to photo albums, it is not difficult to see how the industry is making their money.
Super retailers, understanding this trend – and their customers’ need for fast, inexpensive photo prints – are offering what has been considered rock bottom prices on photo prints; many under .20 cents a print. And online retailers are keeping pace. Some of the most well-known online photo services currently offer their customers rates as low as .10 cents a print.
Photo Fun, however, offers customers the comprehensive, high quality services they have come to expect from online photo services at the lowest prices available - .5 cents a print.
Faced with the expensive materials, the time spent on creating photo prints that are of the quality consumers have come to expect, and the unpredictability of the equipment, consumers are largely abandoning their hopes of creating an efficient at-home photo lab. With photo giants such as Photo Fun offering high-quality, fast printing for everything from photo gifts to photo books – at industry low prices – consumers know they just have to logon to have everything they need shipped straight to their door – at the lowest prices available.
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Two things bother me about this site.
1st. There is no mention of an ability to upload photos directly from Apple’s iPhoto program or any program on a Mac, or PC for that matter, that stores photos online such as the old iViewMediaPro that is not owned by MS and called something else I can’t remember.
2nd. No where on the website do I see a link for contacting the company. Any time a website wants my money it better have a way to make contact in case something goes wrong. The absence of one will keep me from ordering no matter how low the price is.
Comment by Tim McBrayer — March 20, 2008 @ 6:19 am
Hey Tim,
I am sorry that you found a couple of things that bother you about our site… I do appreciate the input and want to thank you for your comments.
I also want to take this opportunity to say that we welcome all comments both good and bad… only through your input will we create a site with functionality that meets your expectations.
To answer your questions:
1st. There is no mention of an ability to upload photos directly from Apple’s iPhoto program or any program on a Mac, or PC for that matter that stores photos online such as the old iViewMediaPro that is not owned by MS and called something else I can’t remember.
Response: At this time we only accept jpeg files. Uploads of photos to our site are simple – First sign in, then click on “Upload/Manage Your Photos” – create a folder, double click on the new folder, the click on the “Click Here to select/upload photos;” a browser window will appear and you can then search for any jpeg files that are located on your computer or on any device attached to your computer. I personally have done this on both a PC (using IE as my browser) and on a MAC (using Safari as the browser) and have been able to upload pictures.
Please try to upload your photos and follow up with your experience!
2nd. No where on the website do I see a link for contacting the company. Any time a website wants my money it better have a way to make contact in case something goes wrong. The absence of one will keep me from ordering no matter how low the price is.
Response: Our contact information is in several places: On the home page when you scroll down to the bottom of the page you can click on “Photofun – an online Photo-sharing company” in the new window that appears there is a short overview of the company and our street address and a general email address to contact us. The contact info is also listed in our terms and privacy statements. However, to make it clearer – we are going to add another link at the bottom of the page called “Contact Information” and will list our name, street address, email and our office phone number.
Terry Rayner, President Photofun
Comment by Photo Sharing Editor — March 21, 2008 @ 7:09 am