Prepay? Good idea or not?

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saintkelley

Prepay? Good idea or not?

Postby saintkelley » Sat Nov 03, 2007 4:12 pm

For those folks that create shows professionally, do you make your customers prepay before you do their show or not?

Also, how do you handle the liability of handling and mailing their photos back to them...is there any special insurance that you carry to cover yourselves?

Finally, does anyone use Paypal to take online payments, or is there a better service that anybody recommends?

Thanks,
Kelley

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Postby czali » Wed Nov 07, 2007 6:46 pm

Keeley,

I do ask for payment upfront. I have had people want to pay a 50% deposit and then the remainder before delivery.

I do not think you really could get insurance that could cover the loss of sentimental value. I would just make sure you get a delivery confirmation when you send the photos back. Also, apply a disclaimer on your website about damage during transit.

I do use paypal for online. You could find someone else but unless you are doing high volume paypal is probably your best bet. With paypal you are not repsonsible for anyone's confidential information.

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Postby stickgirl » Wed Nov 07, 2007 8:15 pm

czali wrote:I do ask for payment upfront. I have had people want to pay a 50% deposit and then the remainder before delivery.


If you do this as a business, the answer may also depend on the state you live in. I have to collect my payment in installments and I have to give the customer three days to backout of the deal.

If you were a friend of mine, I wouldn't have a problem paying you upfront - then again, if we were friends, you probably wouldn't expect me to. If I didn't know you, I would not pay for something without seeing it first.

Kathy

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Postby BarbaraC » Thu Nov 08, 2007 6:08 am

Order anything online, and you'll be paying for it before you receive it. I don't blame any vendor for doing this because, as much as we'd like it to be otherwise, there are a huge number of dishonest people out there.

Business owners who've made it a habit of extending credit have often ended up victimized by their own generosity, losing their business to debt.

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Postby czali » Thu Nov 08, 2007 6:56 am

If I did not know you then I would not start the work until I rcvd payment or at least half. I post the finshed product on my website (hidden page) and then after their approval burn it.

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Postby flyrobynfly » Thu Nov 08, 2007 8:45 am

czali wrote:If I did not know you then I would not start the work until I rcvd payment or at least half. I post the finshed product on my website (hidden page) and then after their approval burn it.

Colleen
That's exactly what I do, I use PayPal and I require a 50% deposit. There's a lot of heart and hard work that goes into creating a show and I really don't want to do it and then not get paid.

Robyn
To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong. ~ Joseph Chilton Pearce

Photoshop CS2, PSG & PSP, Kodak C653

saintkelley

Postby saintkelley » Thu Nov 08, 2007 5:37 pm

Thank you for your comments. Some good info. I know that in this day and age you are "crazy" to extend credit, especially if you are small potatoes, but I wanted to see how others "do it".

I am just glad somebody finally responded to this post...I was starting to think that I had asked a really dumb question!

:)
Kelley

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Postby alcain » Wed Nov 21, 2007 2:07 pm

I typically require 50% down to begin the project, except in the case of a memorial show where I bill them at the end when things have settled down. Wedding shows are always prepaid because the show is part of my wedding photography package. I have been using PayPal for over 10 years now and have never experienced any kind of problem. Hope this helps... Blessings, ~al
Using Producer V4, PS CS5, and the Nikon D80, D90 & D7000 for all of my professional work.
BFA with a major in Communication Design, Texas State University, 1978
And now abideth faith, hope and love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

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