Advice on SmugMug for selling fine art

I received a free Portfolio account (1 year)

Before I even bothered to set it up, I thought I would see if there were any SmugMug users out there and what their comments were.

The site would be used totally for selling fine art photography and paintings.

The site would probably not be promoted on social media.

Any comments, good or bad, would be greatly appreciated.

How would the site be promoted? It's a nice enough gallery site but it's not really much of a marketplace.

gonzogolf wrote in post #18962483
How would the site be promoted?

This ^

Any site is good for selling fine art if you let people who buy fine art know about it. How do you intend to do that?

I host my website on Smugmug. They have made some not so pleasant changes over the past several years and have not really added anything new in just as long. Overall, I do prefer it over other sites like Zenfolio, Squarespace or Wix. Or even Fine Art America for that matter. The nice thing about Smugmug is that it is fairly easy to use once you overcome the learning curve of how their interface works.

Smugmug also allows you to outsource the printing to some very reputable print houses. Since Smugmug handles all the order processing, it frees you up to do your own thing. The only thing is, you have to pay the top tier to be able to set your own price. That's where all the perks are, in the top tier. Discount codes, custom price lists, and a few more perks. If you feel you can make sales, then yes, Smugmug is a good choice. Like others have said, though, you have to do your own marketing. A sales site is only as good as the sales strategy behind it. No one site will guarantee you sales, no matter how clever their advertising is.

Some down sides to Smugmug fortunately aren't too many but a lot of users find them very annoying, including myself. For one, the format options for the templates are cumbersome at best and lacking variety of options. Unlike sites like Squarespace with their 'context blocks', Smugmug offers very few useful elements and even those are limited. I have resolved to using HTML and CSS blocks to force Smugmug into creating usable content blocks. Another downside is the limited types of files Smugmug can process. For example, I'd love to be able to deliver TIFF files to some of my clients. Unfortunately Smugmug doesn't allow them. Neither can they handle 360° spin rotations.

-Duck- wrote in post #18962520
I host my website on Smugmug. They have made some not so pleasant changes over the past several years and have not really added anything new in just as long. Overall, I do prefer it over other sites like Zenfolio, Squarespace or Wix. Or even Fine Art America for that matter. The nice thing about Smugmug is that it is fairly easy to use once you overcome the learning curve of how their interface works.

Smugmug also allows you to outsource the printing to some very reputable print houses. Since Smugmug handles all the order processing, it frees you up to do your own thing. The only thing is, you have to pay the top tier to be able to set your own price. That's where all the perks are, in the top tier. Discount codes, custom price lists, and a few more perks. If you feel you can make sales, then yes, Smugmug is a good choice. Like others have said, though, you have to do your own marketing. A sales site is only as good as the sales strategy behind it. No one site will guarantee you sales, no matter how clever their advertising is.

Some down sides to Smugmug fortunately aren't too many but a lot of users find them very annoying, including myself. For one, the format options for the templates are cumbersome at best and lacking variety of options. Unlike sites like Squarespace with their 'context blocks', Smugmug offers very few useful elements and even those are limited. I have resolved to using HTML and CSS blocks to force Smugmug into creating usable content blocks. Another downside is the limited types of files Smugmug can process. For example, I'd love to be able to deliver TIFF files to some of my clients. Unfortunately Smugmug doesn't allow them. Neither can they handle 360° spin rotations.

Appreciate your reply. Useful info.

However, this bothers me:

-Duck- wrote in post #18962520
The only thing is, you have to pay the top tier to be able to set your own price.

I had read this elsewhere but thought it was only a user misunderstanding. So this is true? Unless you get the top plan (Pro) you cannot set your own prices? You cannot sell at a profit? Why would one bother?

As to marketing, basically the reason I cannot is because I am already selling and promoting on another POD, and the pricing would conflict. I have not conceived of any way where I can promote the same print on two different sites at two different prices.

I just figured that because I paid nothing for SmugMug, even a single sale thru their own search would be a profit. However, as stated in the OP it takes time to configure, upload, etc. If I cannot set / determine my profit, it is not worth the time.

Again, thanks for taking the time to respond and for the info. Very helpful.

Edit: I see now how pricing works and know there can be a profit.

Don't count on sales via users discovering your work via smugmug.

gonzogolf wrote in post #18963009
Don't count on sales via users discovering your work via smugmug.

Yea, that's the way it works with all PODs and galleries. Unfortunate. If you sell via more than one, and promote more than one, and the prices are different, it makes you look really bad.

And I cannot figure a way around this dilemma.

Thanks.

If you have the Portfolio plan ($180/year) at SmugMug you can sell photos as downloads or prints and set your own prices for them. You can select each and every size and type of print you want to sell. They deduct the actual cost of the print and 15% before they pay you. For prints you can set the price for each size and paper type (glossy, semi-gloss, luster, metalic, etc) so you can match other sites you may sell at on the retail side, your profit may vary based on SmugMug charges vs the other site.

I have been selling photos at SmugMug for years and it works as long as you promote it. I've sold over 3,200 prints and downloads since 2012.

If you are picky, like I was, setting up the site can be complicated but not undoable.

I agree with some of the comments above that site improvements to the service come very slowly, if at all, but what they offer works.

bpalermini wrote in post #18963232
If you have the Portfolio plan ($180/year) at SmugMug you can sell photos as downloads or prints and set your own prices for them. You can select each and every size and type of print you want to sell. They deduct the actual cost of the print and 15% before they pay you. For prints you can set the price for each size and paper type (glossy, semi-gloss, luster, metalic, etc) so you can match other sites you may sell at on the retail side, your profit may vary based on SmugMug charges vs the other site.

I have been selling photos at SmugMug for years and it works as long as you promote it. I've sold over 3,200 prints and downloads since 2012.

If you are picky, like I was, setting up the site can be complicated but not undoable.

I agree with some of the comments above that site improvements to the service come very slowly, if at all, but what they offer works.

Thanks. Useful info. I still have the dilemma of conflicting prices on the same print if posted on more than one site. I'll have to figure it out