Do Your Package Payments Ever Expire?

I'm a la carte now, but I previously experimented with a few approaches to offering packages. They were a little different than the norm in that people didn't commit to purchase a preconfigured bundle of stuff; in exchange for a $ commitment, they would receive a discount off my price list which could then be applied any way they wished. It was a sliding scale so larger $ commitments yielded a higher discount. I protected myself from slow moving couples by guaranteeing price for only 6 months after the date of their wedding at which time it adjusts to whatever my existing prices are.

So here's my question; I've got a couple of brides who've dropped package money on me, their wedding was over a year ago and I've sent a few follow-up e-mails to them and have never heard a thing. Have you had couples just walk away from their package purchases? Do you ever have them "expire"?

All of my packages have a certain number of days that their gallery will stay live on Instaproofs. I explain that once their gallery has expired I can no longer make prints for them unless they pay to renew the gallery. I charge $50 for every 30 days. This has only been requested once... and they paid it!

My packages offer galleries that last anywhere from 60-120 days.

In my case, I have a client who has prepaid $1500+ to spend on albums or whatever else she wants. A year later and not a peep. For all I know, the young marriage didn't survive. If they were to come to me another year from now and want to use that money, I suppose it's not a big deal, but I hate the idea of a financial obligation hanging open possibly forever (one of the reasons I don't work this way anymore).

*popping out of the closet*

Shoot me now, but I took 7 years to choose pictures for my pre-paid wedding album. My gracious photographer charged me a nominal fee for the rise in costs of physical albums (we're talking film here), but I was very thankful that she didn't just trash my photos. What can I say, I'm indecisive and a bit of a procrastinator.

I'll go hide now.

I have in my contract a clause that says if they do not make their selection after 18 months, they are basically SOL. It gives a breakdown too, saying that after 6 months and 1 year, they can recieve different studio credit. Say they paid $1500 for an album, but now my albums are $3000, they get a $1500 credit. (These numbers are bogus by the way, just making things up).

Hrm... that's a tough one. Have you tried contacting her?

Maybe this is something else that needs to go in the contract. Mine says the gallery expires in XX number of days but I guess it doesn't specifically say anything about prints no longer being available after that time.

Three months, then I get to choose all the images for the album. I got tired of the odd straggler.