Sell Photography Online (website reviews)

Comments (113)

• 

  clara martin

  December 28, 2010 at 1:55 pm | #

  Hello,

  I love your reviews. Next time, please include step-by-step instructions on uploading at sites like FAA. It is so frustrating and tiresome posting one’s art.

  Thanks,

  Clara

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    January 12, 2011 at 9:06 pm | #

    It’s hard to give step by steps,, because they often change. I don’t want bad or outdated advice on the blog.

    but if you have specific questions please feel free to ask. I usually respond very quickly. I was just away for a while so this one took some time.

    Reply

• 

  Terri

  January 2, 2011 at 2:02 pm | #

  WOW !!!, what an awesome article and review! Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise.
  I have a question, and after reading your article, I thought you would be the perfect person to ask
  Anyhow, I am a professional photog. who mainly specializes in portrait & wedding work.
  I do have a website , http://www.ronconestudio.com , with image galleries, etc. & and we also have a PickPic cart as well. It is the original PickPic cart that we actually purchased, as opposed to their monthy fee that you must pay if you are a new PickPic
  User. Anyhow, I use the pickpic cart for my image galleries that are put up their for clients, but I also have fine art prints that I took in Italy that I’d like to sell as well.
  The problem Im having is that I don’t like the interface that PickPic has to offer as far as my being able to sell fine art prints , with options that would include framing and matting . I would like to use a company like FA for example, but I do my own printing in house. I have canon 44″ and 17″ printers. I print my own giclee canvas gallery prints and would prefer to still be able to do my own printing, however, I would like to find a company like FA, where I could use the services they provide, but then take care of the printing, shipping, etc. I realize there would addt fees ( if this is even a possibility)
  Can you offer any advise or possibly point me in the direction of a company that would allow me to do something like this?
  I REALLY appreciate any advise or information that you could offer
  Thanks in advance,
  Terri Roncone
  (330) 509-3888

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    January 12, 2011 at 9:51 pm | #

    Terri:

    Sorry for the delayed response.. was out of town.
    And per your remark I’ve made my RSS more prominent so you can find it.

    Now about your issue:

    If I were you I would go with PhotoShelter and here is why.

    - you do weddings and have “clients”. Without a doubt PhotoShelter is going to provide you with the best tools to deal with clients. From creating password private galleries, to allowing free download samples at specific resolution to lightboxes that allow entire families to arrange and sort and select what they want to purchase. It’s the way to go hands down for a photographer who is not just selling artwork.

    - One of my biggest issues with PS for “fine art” is their lack of options (no framing, no previews for customers, etc),, but since you wish to print your own work anyway, this becomes a non-issue. So you are more interested in workflow and client account management. For that PS is king.

    Hope this helps.

    Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    January 23, 2011 at 12:05 pm | #

    P.S. I checked out your work. VERY nice wedding photography. I’m super impressed.

    Reply

• 

  Franziska San Pedro

  January 9, 2011 at 1:59 pm | #

  You have just made my day with your very thorough research and by comparing all these providers. Thank you so much!
  I think I have made a decision,

  Franziska
  @FlavorDesigns

  ..I’d subscribe to your RSS if you had it, or maybe I just couldn’t find it?! Guess, I’ll just bookmark. Happy 2011!

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    January 12, 2011 at 9:55 pm | #

    I now have a prominent RSS feed to sign up to if you’d like. Glad I could help. Who did you go with and why? Just interested.

    Reply

    • 

      Franziska San Pedro

      January 21, 2011 at 9:23 pm | #

      Found your RSS, thank you.
      I went with Fine Art America (http://franziska-san-pedro.artistwebsites.com/) and I love it, especially that it offers your own website (and $30/year is not much for what they offer). Also, I like their forums, made some good connections. Will see how it will pay off -but in this case I know it’s up to me how much I showcase and spread the word about my site.
      I am thinking about using an additional site, maybe redbubble, will see.

      Thanks again for all the work, will spread the word,
      Franziska
      @FlavorDesigns

      Reply

      • 

        Big Sun

        January 21, 2011 at 10:44 pm | #

        Red bubble is good, though it doesn’t provide much difference in products than FAA does. You might try doing like i do and using FAA as your “fine art” place. This is where you direct anyone looking for prints, frames, canvases…

        Then use Zazzle as your “gift store”. Where you can send people for mugs, t-shirts and other related things.

        Keeps your prints looking a little classy and yet allows you to also get into all those low priced gift type items.

        Reply

• 

  Deanne

  March 2, 2011 at 12:38 pm | #

  Thank you so much for taking the time to put this article together.  I'm just getting started with selling online and this has been hugely helpful advice.  
  When you use two sites for selling (like FAA and Zazzle), can you direct a visitor on one site to your work on the other?  If not, how do you make them aware of the other option?
  Thanks,
  Deanne
   

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    March 4, 2011 at 9:13 pm | #

    Sure you can. There are several ways to link and promote whatever you want on these sites. I definitely cross promote my sites. For instance you might want people on the FAA site to be aware that you also sell “mugs, t shirts, etc” on your Zazzle site. In fact I do that very thing on this site if you look at “portfolio”. The “prints” I send to FAA because they have the best options for quality prints, but for “gifts” like tshirts and mugs I send them to Zazzle.

    Note: you might also want to consider have a “real website” with your own domain name to be the central location for your art/business. That way you can give people a single clean url (using your personal domain) to get information and stuff about you. From there you send them to whatever appropriate location for purchasing. (which is essentially what I do).

    The easiest way to do this is to buy a prebuilt photography site and then post your basic information, updates, and of course your best work in a good looking gallery. You can get “turnkey” websites for photographers and artists here: I’ve used these many times in the past. They are as easy as it gets to put up a website and the galleries are way cool.

    Reply

• 

  Kevyn

  March 15, 2011 at 4:42 pm | #

  Thanks for the great reviews.  I am just entering this arena to sell photographic art on-line and I was wondering why you don't have a review of Photoreflect.  They adverstise themselves as the top photography sales site, but I'm wondering how true that is…. Any thoughts?

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    March 22, 2011 at 5:16 pm | #

    I have “photo reflect” on my list to review again this summer; however, the last time I checked I felt that it had no advantage that the others could not provide for a great deal less money. It’s not until you are paying for their $500 or $1,400 plan that you start getting options that the others may not provide (and as of last summer, none that Photoshelter was not already providing). And even at the high end price, you still are confined to specific print sizes which is completely unacceptable. It’s one thing to have that restriction for cheap or free options, but to have that restriction at their prices is absurd.

    With that said I will be giving them a full review eventually to see what’s changed in the past year. But honestly, people who can drop $1,400 on their online storefront are most likely not reading my reviews in the first place.

    Reply

• 

  susan stone

  March 23, 2011 at 7:59 am | #

  Thank you for taking the time to share your experiences.  I'm always amazed when I plug in a few words into Goggle and get back
  exactly what I am looking for.  Wow, you must have invested a lot of time into this research.  Did you fine any better at bringing in new sales?  One thing that I noticed on these sites is that the pricing for prints is all over the place.  How do you price your work so that it sells on these sites but is still consistent with the prices that you have to offer in brick and mortar stores that take up to a 50% commission? 
  Thanks again for the useful information. 
  Susan
   

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    March 23, 2011 at 9:52 am | #

    Susan, I actually am very slack about pricing. I have no “deep” or well researched method of pricing. I generally just say I want to make “x” amount on the smallest size, then “y” amount on the largest… then I simply fill the in betweens evenly. Not well thought out at all… Basically I look to make $10 on an 8x? and about $100 on a 100x? inch print.

    I’m not being greedy since there is simply too much competition out there… When I get on Oprah and have a “name”, then I’ll try selling for “inner pain and torment of the artist”..

    To be honest, I am just happy if someone is hanging my art on their wall… The main focus of my photography is not about selling so much as teaching and photography tours – USA and abroad.

    Reply

• 

  valerie

  May 12, 2011 at 11:55 pm | #

  Thank you so much for your research. I am just starting to offer reproduction of my paintings online and I fully came to conclusion that FAA seems to be the best option, offering the best marketing tools. Your information is very helpful. One issue is the lack of technical support. It has been a week and I unfortunately cannot get a correct answer to one of my question. Maybe you could help:
  - for print on demand, how to upload files that are bigger than 25MB? I have file of 8000×8000 pixel file (professionally shoot) that, saved as JPEG maximum quality, is over 67MB.
  What is the best way to upload the best file size for the best quality/largest canvas print?
  So far I have downsized my file size and compressed the JPEG at quality 10(not 12 which is the best), which make the file just under 25MB but limit the quality and the size print from what I could offer. Thank you if you have any suggestion.

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    May 13, 2011 at 10:37 pm | #

    Valerie:

    FAA is not very good about support via email (at least not in my experience); however their forums are pretty active and you can get answers from people in the company faster through the forums usually.

    With that said, 25MB is the max upload they allow at this time,, so yes you will have to downsize your file either by quality or dimensions or a little of both.

    The best way to do this? Well, that depends on what’s more important to you.. print size or qualilty. It also depends on how FAA decides to work with dpi. While 240 dpi is often considered standard print quality for photography, that is often downgraded as the image gets larger. Often a very large image may be reduced to only 100 dpi (I personally don’t understand the science behind that, but it happens).. So if they in fact do this (which I do not know) then you will be able to get a much larger image than if they keep dpi at 240 regardless of size.

    1) quality priority: If image quality is your primary concern then you must output your jpg at maximum quality and simply take what you can get as far as print size. You could use a calculator (http://www.rapidnet.com/~rernster/information_about/print_size_calculator.htm) like this one to help you figure out the size you must downsize to. If you use Lightroom you can set a “maximum file size” in the export and LR will create the largest image possible at quality “x” within that file size maximum.

    2) Print size priority: In this case you’ll have to reduce jpg quality until you reach the 25M max. (I calculate 8000×8000 at 240 dpi at about 33×33 inches) As you’ve noted then you will loose quality.

    3) Combo: go with the jpg 10 as you’ve already done (usually hard to tell the difference between 10 and 12 anyway). Then if necessary resize your image until you’ve reached the 25M cap. It sound like you say jpg 10 gets you there without downsizing. Personally I think this is your best option (unless you don’t need large prints).

    Keep in mind that if FAA does in fact reduce dpi with print size, then you’ll be getting much larger print options than these calculations would suggest.

    One last thing to keep in mind is that FAA only prints canvass to 40 inches anyway.. So depending on your image dimensions,, you may be totally at your maximum print size anyway and a simple jpg of 11 or 10 is all you need to do.

    Hope this helps.. I’m not a printing expert so hopefully I explained that all well enough.

    Reply

• 

  valerie

  May 14, 2011 at 11:28 am | #

  Thank you for your answer, it’s the most comprehensive that I got so far. I actually came to the same conclusion and started downsizing as well as reducing the jpeg quality. I am just worried that going from 12 to 10 will affect the quality output but if you think it will be minimal, that is good.
  It’s puzzling because they actually recommend up to 12000 pixel for their largest prints. But there is not way to upload that large of file size. That’s why I keep wondering how it’s feasible. And their tech support is responding but not clearly regarding this issue. Thank you for putting some light in this matter. Your blog is most helpful:)

  Reply

• Big Sun Photography » Updated Photography Store Reviews

  June 4, 2011 at 1:43 pm | #

  [...] Written by Big Sun on June 4th, 2011. Posted in Business Tips The most popular article on this site is my in depth reviews of all the leading photography hosting sites w/ ecommerce.  You can find the article here: http://www.bigsunphotography.com/archives/598. [...]

  Reply

• 

  Rebecca

  July 27, 2011 at 11:42 am | #

  I am a member of both Redbubble and FAA though just recently to the latter. You are spot on from what I can see, Redbubble is extremely active and offers so much in the way of growing and learning as an artist, though many there feel it isn’t the best place if you only want to make money. Then again, if you are a photograoher, you are doomed anyway if all you want to do is make money. Thanks for sharing, gives a lot of insight to the other sites I haven’t explored much. P.S. I joined Deviant art for about 2 days a left, NOT worth the time, IMO.

  Reply

• 

  Nadia Korths

  August 11, 2011 at 2:15 pm | #

  Great review! Thank you so much for making the time to sign up with most of these and go through the experiences. Though a printmaker rather than a photographer, your review is the best I have been able to find re: these sites.
  I love the way you can insert fotomoto buy button under each of your images on your own website. I see you discontinued that option on your site. For what reason? Can’t wait until that option is available with all these sites.

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    August 11, 2011 at 11:54 pm | #

    I stopped doing the photomoto for a couple reasons. Mostly due to it’s somewhat “Jinky” nature in deciding what it can and cannot sell. By that I mean. It will sometimes try and insert itself in to “design” objects in the site,, OR maybe you post images which are not yours to sell (you want to show someone elses work, or you are simply referencing another site with an image, etc… It’s still a great service for sure, but just did not meet my particular needs. Oh, and also, I tend to put images on my blog using the NextGen gallery plugin,, and FotoMoto is unable to integrate with that.

    Reply

• 

  Curtis Cunningham

  August 14, 2011 at 7:01 pm | #

  Does FAA have a contact email/phone number? I’ve looked on their site, but can’t find it anywhere.

  Thanks also for the reviews of the different options for artists. I appreciate it.

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    August 14, 2011 at 10:43 pm | #

    FAA claims they have phone support (312-238-9009) on weekdays (I think it’s more just sales to be truthful). You can email them at “customerservice@fineartamerica.com” and “technicalsupport@fineartamerica.com” (they hide this pretty well).
    Their support however is pretty lame so do not expect quick responses if at all. They do most of their support “unofficially” through their forum.
    Zenfolio and Smugmug fairly good email support.
    Photo Shelter is the only option with an actual phone line (and they actually answer too).

    Reply

• 

  cybersparkle

  August 17, 2011 at 7:19 pm | #

  Thank you so much for this thorough comparison! So kind of you to share all this hard earned info!

  I have a question about one of the cons for FAA.
  “No Private Galleries: They allow for private galleries which you can share with specific customers (good for weddings, etc).”

  With the wording “they allow”, I didnt know if this was a typo and you meant “they dont allow”?

  Besides traditional watercolors, I will be making watercolor paintings from clients photos to be either put on an FAA product or to sell as a digital download in the private gallery. So, I guess I have two questions. 1) Does FAA allow private galleries of some kind, to deliver just to one client?
  2)Can you sell digital downloads on FAA?

  Thanks again so much the best art site selling comparison I have found so far

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    August 17, 2011 at 9:14 pm | #

    Thanks for spotting that typo. As far as I’m aware there are no private gallery options in Fine Art America as of this date. I just checked into my account again to make sure nothing had changed and still see no such option. They also do not have any digital download option at all,, and my guess is that they never will. FAA’s focus is artwork as “fine art”. From the description you give of your direction, I think Zenfolio would probably be your best option (they allow you to sell “custom products”) so you can sell your watercolors, plus a large selection of products you can put images on. (plus a digital download option as well). (Free Trial Zenfolio…)

    Reply

• 

  cybersparkle

  August 18, 2011 at 1:31 am | #

  I appreciate your prompt response! I think zen is a little pricey for me. I have weebly pro & will create a “hub- main site” of my own and link all other art selling sites to it. I figured out a way to sell downloadable image files after they have been completed and a way for clients to upload the photo they want turned into a custom portrait with weebly features; You get 10 sites w/ a weebly pro account and I use one of them for client downloads only. I password protect the site and each page. When I have completed the portrait, I create a download link on a page. Send the password protected link and password to the client & they download the image file of the portrait.
  Honestly, weebly alone seems to offer amateur-ish basic sites. I discovered really professional templates around 25$ here http://www.weeblytemplate.com/motion.html and http://www.weeblytemplate.com/mobi.html
  I can put any of these templates on any of my 10 sites and change it back & forth with the touch of a button.
  Otherwise, I would have tried ejunkie 5$ or ecwid shopping cart 17$ for selling digital downloads.
  They are unfinished but here are links to a site with mobi
  http://vibranttresses.weebly.com/
  and with the motion theme http://yourhairisart.weebly.com/. With the easily changeable background anyone can show off their photos/art beautifully. I hope this info helps others looking for no code, low cost ways to create a hub and sell digital downloads as well.
  ( Your article really has helped and you took us right there with you on your journey. I wish there was a forum on your site to continue the dialog in a community exploring many different options in one fell swoop saving so much time. Thank u again & sorry for the long post!

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    August 18, 2011 at 8:22 am | #

    Well, good luck with that option. Just my opinion however (not just as a photographer, but as an eleven year web design project manager, having dealt with countless startup businesses)…. “You will always regret pinching pennies”. If the price is not that much different (in this case you save around $80 your way),, you are going to end up spending so much more time, effort and energy in an attempt to save those few dollars that it’s like paying yourself $1/hr over the next year. Then by next year you’ll be so fed up you’ll end up moving your entire store anyway and having to start all from scratch again (more wasted time and money).

    Reply

• 

  cybersparkle

  August 18, 2011 at 1:04 pm | #

  It’s not all about the price, you mentioned Zenfolio has slow shipping- a deal breaker for me. Your review totally sold me on FAA- I definitely will give it a try- I like that FAA allows you to make your own discount codes; a nice way to promote your art. However, I couldnt be happier with weebly & div tag templates as my hub/main site- the flexibility & ease of site customization & that I was able to quickly figure out how to digital downloads. So, in a year, we’ll see if your predictions are correct, but for now I have saved so much time with my choices so far, I couldnt be more pleased.

  Reply

• 

  Darcy

  August 21, 2011 at 11:36 am | #

  This is a fantastic article! Thanks a bunch. I have been using fotomoto since I started my site almost a year ago and have sold nothing. I was looking into Red Bubble and FAA when I stumbled across your article. I found it extremely informative and helpful.

  Reply

• 

  Irvin

  September 14, 2011 at 2:39 pm | #

  Very awesome and informative article. Just the perfect collection of information that I've been looking for so long. THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH from the bottomless pit of my digital heart
  Now things are very much clearer than before.
  I am currently using FAA for my favorite portraits and Graphics Manipulations.

  Now I plan to get PhotoShelter for my clients as I work freelance and usually deal with models and random people.
  Again, Thank you and your article is very much appreciated. 
   

  Reply

• 

  Maru

  September 26, 2011 at 4:19 pm | #

  Boy, am I glad I found this. This is good, thorough information, and I appreciate you having put in the time to share this with us
  This will be very helpful in the near future

  Reply

• 

  Bridget

  October 17, 2011 at 12:49 am | #

  I haven't noticed any comments on this site about the anonymity of the ones who buy your work when they sell through these websites as opposed to their own.  I contacted FAA via e-mail and they got back to me the next day.  I asked whether there was a way of knowing who bought your work so they could be added as a contact.  The answer I got was that was that they don't share their customers information.  Thinking of this from the standpoint that they are not buying from you, but FAA, I guess this makes sense, but if I exclusively sell from their website, then know nothing about my buyers that seems to be a major "con".  Being able to contact your clients through e-mail marketing, etc., seems extremely important in marketing  artwork.  Is there any way around this, or am I the only one who thinks this is important?

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    October 21, 2011 at 2:39 pm | #

    You’re quiet right. This is a major problem (and thank you for pointing out that I overlooked that feature on my review).
    Off hand I know that Zenfolio and PhotoShelter will both allow you to track your customers. I don’t know offhand about the rest, but I’ll make a note to look into it next time I update those sites.

    Reply

• 

  bob

  October 28, 2011 at 8:12 pm | #

  Hi.. and thanks for al of the most useful information… one thing I didn't see covered is the type of files allowed.. such as TIF, PSD, as well as JPG.. I would have thought that JPG would not even be an option for a professional photographer or artist, especially where large prints are involved.
  The other point relates to the previoius comment… so any have an option for limited edition prints.. something like drop shipping the print to you for signing then forwarding it on to the buyer?
  Thanks again
  Bob

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    October 29, 2011 at 11:17 am | #

    Bob,

    All of the options allow for TIFF and JPG file (most allow png as well). If my memory servers (don’t bet your house on this),,, only PhotoShelter is going to allow psd uploads.

    As far as drop shipping so you can sign your prints.. Zen and PS both have this option built in…. however you can of course do this with anyone simply by shipping to yourself and then re-shipping… but Zen and PS actually have it built in as a real option.

    Reply

• 

  Kristin Moore

  November 16, 2011 at 4:03 pm | #

  Thanks so much – what a great and generous blog post, just starting our summer project of attempting to get some kind of income (no doubt small) from all the images we have on the hard drive that my partner has shot on his own time! Just one or two questions/comments.
  I note that you praise the Smugmug (I think it was) Flash galleries – I'd actually say since the ipad/iphone revolution that the use of Flash on any website is becoming a massive drawback? Which brings me to the question – do you know if any of the sites you reviewed have ipad apps or ipad viewable versions? I've had a look around and can't see anything.
  I think I'll go with FAA – it looks very good, and maybe one or two others for other products such as t-shirts, calendars on Redbubble etc and try to pull it all together through a facebook page and a page on our site. Has anyone tried using more than one? Is it too difficult?
  Also – I want to offer 'sets' of images.. you know, like a tripdytch of canvassess or prints that work together.. you see them in many interiors, they seem quite fashionable these days and many of our images would work like this. I'd also like the option for people to create their own sets of cards by mixing different images.. I can't see a way to do either of these things on FAA. I wonder how you could do this?
  I need to find a way to represent the images that go together as a set – even if they have to order them individually. Any ideas?
   

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    November 16, 2011 at 9:13 pm | #

    Yes, it’s true that the Flash issue can cause problems; however SmugMug can allow you to set up your store in a fashion without the Flash if you wish,, Plus it actually has an Ipad app. Not sure how it works, but I know they have one.
    Additionally Zenfolio has solutions for Ipads and related devices also.
    FAA has no flash so no issue there at all.

    I don’t believe FAA has any option in which you can bundle images (plus they don’t offer “products” in the first place… they only do prints, canvas and cards) together. Zenfolio has this ability, So that might be your best option.

    Reply

• 

  Roberta

  November 21, 2011 at 8:59 am | #

  I was a fan of Fine Art America until Friday when I went to order a print on behalf of a customer. I am a pictorialist photographer and most of my work is impressionist and abstract. Shortly after placing my order I received a very condescending email about how the quality of my artwork was not good enough to print – it was too blurry. Now I've printed this image myself at the same size I was ordering. I do most of my own printing and have a pretty good art career. I know a thing or two about quality. I also know the difference between impressionist and blurry. So I wrote back and tried to explain that.
  The second email was even more condescending and ignorant than the first one. The person completely failed to understand the image is supposed to look like that, despite me telling them exactly that. What business is it of theirs to be questioning an artist's work? What business is it of theirs to question art if they have no knowledge of art?
  I've since found other people who have had similar problems and no longer deal with Fine Art America.

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    November 21, 2011 at 10:08 am | #

    Hmmmm interesting. I’ve not experienced this myself and I guess I cannot comment on the validity of the FAA comment nor their politeness, without actually seeing what the employee saw and reading the letter.
    As far as “what business is it of theirs”?…. you have to remember that MOST people don’t know a thing about proper printing and therefore it really is FAA’s duty (and in their best interest) to try and prevent artists from making mistakes with their print orders. The majority of people will appreciate Fine Art Americas attempts to make sure the print quality is at it’s best.

    Reply

• 

  DJ Paine

  December 12, 2011 at 7:25 pm | #

  Hey there Big Sun! – just discovered your site when i was googling for news on PhotoMerchant. First let me say – GREAT THOROUGH REVIEWS! on the most part i totally agree with you. it's a little different for me because i am based in Australia so some of your higher reviewed sites don't have some of the same attraction for us outside the USA….
  anyway – i just wanted to encourage you and your readers to give the amazing http://www.PhotoMerchant.net another go. As a pro photographer for the last 17 years & portrait and wedding studio owner we have signed up to ALL of those sites you listed above and have used them at different levels over the past 6 years… we were never happy with any of them until we found PhotoMerchant about a 18 months ago. IT CHANGED OUR LIVES! you can take a look at our site on PM here: http://studiopromise.photomerchant.net/categories {we don't use it as our main website, just as our client galleries at the moment} 
  Anyway, we've had such a great experience with PhotoMerchant, their customer service is AMAZING, they really listen and they have grown so much on the past 12 months, we are so happy with  them… i am just writing as a business person who has fallen in love with them, i'd hate for you to write them off… seriously get in touch with the team and i am sure they will be more than happy to walk you through it all…
  - Great post! keep up the great work Big Sun! please give the PhotoMerchant team another shot, they have come a LONG way in 12 months!! 
  cheers from Down Under!
  DJ

  Reply

  • 

    Big Sun

    December 13, 2011 at 8:42 am | #

    OK DJ:

    I see that you work there. Please reactivate my account and i will make another go at it.

    Reply

• 

  Debbie Young

  February 7, 2012 at 8:09 pm | #

  Thank you for reviewing these services.  Regarding fotomoto, I'm stuck implementing their service since they removed the "fit option" for the greeting cards.  This forces cropping of images that don't fit into the 5×7 aspect ratio.  They've told me to reformat all of my images with white boarders for the cards and have a separate gallery for them.  This seems way out of line.  I like the way Fine Art America handles the cards, but I like the website integration of fotomoto.  Have you heard anyone else concerned about the cropping of images for cards? Here's a link to the conversation so far.http://getsatisfaction.com/fotomoto/topics/return_the_fit_option_for_greeting_cards

  Reply

• 

  Sam Lindner

  March 8, 2012 at 4:31 pm | #

  Many many thanks, awesome and very helpful review! Just one question, where does someone like Photocrati sit? Any good?

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    Big Sun

    March 9, 2012 at 9:58 am | #

    I don’t have a review of Photocrati as I’ve never actually built a website using their templates. Unlike the others on this list, photocrati is more of a self built personal website. While it may be a great setup, it doesn’t really fall into the same category as the rest of these services.

    I have looked over their features and spoken with their team. It seems pretty good, but it falls way short of the features your get from many of these full service sites.

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  Daniel

  March 10, 2012 at 6:16 am | #

  This is exactly what I was searching for. Thank you.

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  Bev

  April 2, 2012 at 5:36 pm | #

  I am a part-time photographer, mostly capturing school functions, posting online and letting customers buy online.  I like the simplicity of using a website that would have the capability to let them view, pick, order and then receive their prints directly from the site.  I need access to have separate albums- aka the activity I am shooting, with privacy and no access for others to see unless they have the password.  Was using a site, and now I am experiencing several issues with them.  I don't have a website and right now it is not something I am looking at doing.  Of course I am looking at making a little money for my time.  I have read your reviews(by the way thank you for them) but I am still not sure what would be the best option for me.  What do you suggest?  Thank you

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    Big Sun

    April 2, 2012 at 7:06 pm | #

    Zenfolio, Smugmug and Photoshelter will all offer you what you are asking for.
    If you want the most flexibility photoshelter will work best for you; however, if you you plan to sell the images to your clients as prints,, I would go with Zen or Smug.
    UNLESS you wish to use your own printing service (maybe a local service who’s work you prefer,, or you just wish to be able to visit the printer yourself), in this case PS has a very good 3rd party system which allows you to take orders and delivery those orders electronically straight to your local printer).
    NOTE that PS has the lowest commission rates and so will give you better profits.

    My suggestion would be to follow my links above in the article to visit the Free trial signup pages and create an account on all three and see which one you like working with best.

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  Catherine Martin

  April 4, 2012 at 7:17 am | #

  This is a totally amazing review. I've been spending days trying to figure out how to have a website and sell some of my photography. How do you integrate your Fine Art America galleries where you have photos for sale into your current website? I noticed you have your own domain name – does FAA provide an easy way to incorporate it into a current wordpress blog website? Thanks for your help. I want to have a wordpress blog website, but make some of my photos available for sale – I don't want to deal with the printing, shipping etc. 

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    Big Sun

    April 29, 2012 at 1:20 pm | #

    I don’t actually integrate my FAA gallery into my site. They do have a basic module which you can use to integrate into a wordpress site, but it’s clumsy and not attractive. Since they do provide you with your own white label store, you can easily just link to it from your website.

    The only full store integration into WordPress by any of these options is photoshelter (However, it does require you to use a specific brand of WordPress template to do this).

    Reply

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  Nikita

  April 6, 2012 at 1:04 pm | #

  Great review! Thank you for taking the time to look into all these services. You should take a look at 500px.com They have some amazing fine art photographers.

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  Joseph

  May 1, 2012 at 7:04 am | #

  This is an excellent write-up and comparison of the different services out there!I went with Zenfolio about a year ago and am very pleased with them overall.  I'm a portrait photographer, so I really don't have the cropping issues you described above since all of my prints are standard sizes.  As far as shipping times, prints ordered through the Zenfolio shopping cart take about two days to process and are then shipped USPS Priority as standard.  If the photographer has the "approve all orders" option checked in their settings, the process can be delayed until he/she approves the order.  I think a five day turn around (from order to receipt) is pretty acceptable for all of my clients. With the Premium and Business level subscriptions, Zenfolio has the option to self-fulfill orders, so you can always upload an order to Miller's and they can turn around the order in a day or two with overnight shipping.  That's what I would do for prints that need to happen on a tight time-frame. Cheers! Eternal Forms Photography

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  Kevin

  May 11, 2012 at 12:05 am | #

  Fantastic reviews and information.  Thank you for doing this.  As a result of reading the above, I've subscribed to your RSS feed.Do you know if there are any websites similar to the ones described above that operate/ship out of Canada?  I live in Canada and the majority of my potential customers will be Canadian.  I really like the layout of the Fine Art America site but if I can avoid having my customers pay duty on their orders, I would prefer to go that way.Thanks again!

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    Big Sun

    May 11, 2012 at 8:44 am | #

    I’m not aware of any which come out of Canada. so i’m afraid I can’t help you there.

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  Martona

  May 12, 2012 at 8:04 pm | #

  Thanks Big Sun,I read this comprehensive review about a week ago and so signed up for SmugMug and Zenfolio to trial them both. However I have to say, I prefer the look of Zenfolio so far. That said, I migh try a third, given I'm in Australia I might give PhotoMerchant a tril too. Great work..yep, I'll be following your RSS feeds too!.

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  Rainer

  May 18, 2012 at 2:38 am | #

  Hi BigsunI came across your reviews and find it very helpful and interesting. I appreciate your effort and guidance.I found another store front, what i would like you to have a look at, if you don't know that already.It is called Silhouetteapp.( http://www.silhouetteapp.com ). I found it interesting, but don't have the background knowledge to determine, if it is good or not.Somehow you are doing a great job and keep up with the good work.By the way I am just starting to build a website / store.RegardsRainerPhotofacette

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    Big Sun

    May 24, 2012 at 10:38 am | #

    I’ll take a look into that site. If it seems to have potential I’ll review it.

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  Bill Losey

  May 24, 2012 at 9:32 am | #

  Thanks for sharing all of this valuable information.  Before finding your reviews I had narrowed my decision down to either PhotoMerchant on PhotoShelter.  You made my decision very easy.  I have been using FAA for my digital water colors and will now be using PhotoShelter (I still have to do my trial) for my digital downloads.  Actually, I wish FAA would add digital download capability to their site.  That would make things so much simpler.

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    Big Sun

    May 24, 2012 at 10:37 am | #

    Yes, FAA could be great,, but sadly they have so many faults in usability. It’s really only useful for people who create a few works of art a month and only sell prints.

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  scott a smith

  June 4, 2012 at 5:54 pm | #

  Of all the sites you have reviewed which would be the best to use if i preferred to post my pix's but let the company handle sells and delivery without me having to try and keep up with the minor details while holding down two different jobs? 

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    Big Sun

    June 5, 2012 at 8:15 am | #

    Scott: Most all of these have the option you are looking for. That’s really the point of the article. What you need to think about is the mediums you want to provide. If you believe downloads are going to be your big selling point (like a stock site), then Photoshelter is the way to go. If wall prints (canvasses and framed prints) are your target, then Fine Art America (or Image Kind). If you want a little of both worlds but not the best of both worlds, then Zenfolio or SmugMug. And of course their are others, but those are the best options. Point is, they all allow you to just upload your work and never have to interact with your customer if you so choose.

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  Mark

  June 27, 2012 at 6:24 am | #

  Hi there,  great reviews.  Tow questions if I may please:1. You didn't review Viewbook which I have just started using and I wondered why not.2. Fotomoto looks the choice for me (it integrates nicely with Viewbook) but, since I live and work in Australia, I am concerned about the shipping costs from the USA to Australia and the environmental impact. I cannot seem to find an alternative in-country equivalent in Australia and wondered what your views or suggestions on this might be please.ThanksMark

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    Big Sun

    June 27, 2012 at 7:35 am | #

    Mark: I have never seen viewbook before so I cannot comment on it. (maybe I'll look it over when I get time, but the fact that you said it integrates with Fotomoto would imply that it's not a store itself, which would exclude it from my review). As far as Fotomoto, my main reason for not loving it is it's expensive. Meaning the pricing of the prints themselves are much higher than my recommended options. Red bubble ships out of Australia. So possibly that would be a good option for you.

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  Sakari K

  July 8, 2012 at 3:51 pm | #

  Thanks for your excellent review. I joined FAA to find out that they actually have a commission. If I set a price to $26, for example, they display it as $31 (not including printing and framing). So they take $5 and I'll get that $26. 

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    Big Sun

    July 9, 2012 at 7:10 am | #

    Really? Hmmm that must be something new they have added. I will check into this and make changes to my page if I find it to be so. Thank you for the head’s up.

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    Big Sun

    July 9, 2012 at 9:21 am | #

    I’ve looked into it. There is still no commission charged by FAA. I believe you are not understanding the pricing structure and settings. When you set a price of $26 in the backend, you are NOT setting the actual selling price. You are setting YOUR PROFIT. But FAA still has to produce the product. They are charging you $6 to produce that particular print at that size. Thus total cost to the customer is $31. Obviously they must make their money somewhere, and they do that in the printing costs; however unlike all the other store options (who also charge you for the printing), FAA does not tack on additional costs in the form of commissions.

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  Sakari K

  July 12, 2012 at 1:38 pm | #

  Hi,For example for the image:http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sea-lions-on-monterey-breakwater-sakari-kouti.htmlI have set my mark-up to be $26. When I go to see that as a customer and select a standard print, I see 1) Print: Sea Lions $31 and 2) Material: Matte Paper $7, so a total of $38 (not including shipping).I thought that $7 includes the work of preparing the print, so $31 would be only royalty and commission. But of course, you could also think that $7 is just the paper, and $5 out of $31 is the printing work.It's nice that they have this breakdown, but I would also like to have the photographers royalty on its own line. 

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  Stan Parry

  July 16, 2012 at 9:58 pm | #

  I am the author of "Great Gothic Cathedrals of France, A Visitor's Guide" (Penguin/Viking 2001) I am married to an Art Historian and for many years we have been spending several months a year in France photographing Medieval architecture, sculpture and stained glass windows I have created a fairly extensive archive of photographs and have sold some of them to academic publishers (Wylie) both foreign and domestic as well as individuals. I use Flickr and SmugMug (with my own domain name) and am interested in reaching a broader audience. I find SmugMug has a good layout, but not a good system for marketing (don't really understand dGrin and SmugMug marketing) I have been tempted by Zenfolio and Photoshelter for their search engine features, but not sure which one is better. I would consider hiring a marketing consultant or agent, but don't know where to look. Any advice? Love your blog. Very thorough and clear. Thanks – Stan

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    Big Sun

    July 18, 2012 at 5:27 pm | #

    Photoshelter is better suited for search engines than any other option. However, be advised (investing your time in SEO as an individual selling photos is a loosing game). Your time would be much better spent driving traffic to wherever you are hosted through other means. I used to do SEO for a living and it’s a MASSIVE draw on your time, it is never ending and you need to know a lot. SEO is the type of game where you either go BIG or go home. Don’t bother hiring anybody unless you’re ready to invest thousands of dollars into someone who really knows what to do. DO NOT waste your money on most online “seo experts”. The world of photography is so bloated with billions of everything, that any attempt to get noticed via seo is doomed to failure for the most part. Again, spend that time and money directed toward more direct marketing tactics. That’s my take.

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  Stan Parry

  July 20, 2012 at 10:27 am | #

  Thanks so much. I think I was moving to toward doing what you recommend, finding potential marketing targets and you have helped my focus my thoughts. Many, many thanks. PhotoShelter seems like a good choice for this.  Stan

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  Jody

  July 20, 2012 at 12:49 pm | #

  First, thanks for providing all of this extremely useful information.  On the issue of whether FAA charges a commission, I think they do but just describe it differently.  I've spent my time so far researching the FAA and SmugMug options so those are the two I'll focus on.  SmugMug, as you you've noted, will retain 15% of the selling price minus the print cost.  For example, if the base print/paper cost of an 8×10 photo is $10, and I want an $85 dollar profit, I can either set the sell price at $110 and I will get $85 and SmugMug gets $15, or I can accomplish the same result by telling SmugMug what percentage markup I want (850% in this case) and let them calculate the actual sales price (still $110).  At FAA, say there is the the same base print/paper cost of $10 for an 8×10, and I want the same $85 profit.  FAA will add their $5 or $10 markup, and the sell price of the print will be $100 or $105.  So in this example SmugMug is taking a larger cut, but FAA also takes a cut, whether you call it commission or mark-up.  

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    Big Sun

    July 21, 2012 at 1:42 pm | #

    The difference is quite clear. FAA charges you for their materials (of course, they must make money), Smugmug however will charge for the materials AND a % on your profit.

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  Jody

  July 22, 2012 at 12:06 pm | #

  FAA and SmugMug each take a cut of the profit for themselves on top of materials costs.  First, they both charge a base cost for paper/prints.  On top of that, they are both taking a cut of the profit above the cost of materials.  SmugMug takes 15% and FAA takes $5-$10.  The only difference between the two is the amount.    Perhaps my original example was confusing because I used $10 as the sample materials cost.  Say instead that the materials cost is $20.  Then, if I wanted an $85 net profit at SmugMug, the total sales price for the customer would be $120 (20 paper + 85 for me + 15 for SmugMug).  If I wanted an $85 net profit at FAA, the total sales price for the customer would be $110 – $115 (20 paper + 85 for me + 5 – 10 for FAA).  No matter what you call it, FAA is also taking a piece of the profit.  FAA says their $5 to $10 markup doesn't come from your profits because it is charged to the customer.  But as my example demonstrates, you could say the same thing about SmugMug.  In both cases, I am able to make the same $85 profit.  It is the customer who pays extra.  Obviously the price to the customer is relevant, but my point here is that FAA does indeed do the same sort of profit taking that SmugMug does.  

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  julie

  July 27, 2012 at 4:16 pm | #

  I love your site and keep referring back to it trying to make the leap to selling my photos.  I've done team pictures and game photos for so long I'm ready to charge for them.  Plus, as I get better and better I spend more time processing – work!  None of the choices seem best!Zenfoilio seems awfully confusing.  SmugMug, not so much.Shutterfly is where all my free pictures have been with their share sties but I know their quality of printing is far less than some of the other labs.HELP!!  and thanks for all you do!Oh, and I clicked on the sites for you!!

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    Big Sun

    July 28, 2012 at 10:45 am | #

    - Never heard of printroom.    I’ll give printroom a look and see if it’s worth reviewing.

    As far as “helping”,, I’m not sure what to say.  If you find SmugMug to be the easiest for you, then I’d say go with them.  They are not significatly different than Zenfolio in features.   You could decide to simply create your own gallery website using a pre-built photography template (Webistes & Gallery Templates for Photographers) and then simply let people contact you for sales (print locally yourself and ship directly to customers).  You will loose out on a lot of features the above stores provide, but at least it’s your own.

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  julie

  July 27, 2012 at 4:21 pm | #

  Any comments on a company called Printroom?

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  Intrepidstace

  August 3, 2012 at 5:02 am | #

  Hi  I'm really impressed with your reviews. Thanks for making such a huge effort.  I read all of your reviews thoroughly but, since this is all new to me, the more I read the more confused I got (through no fault of yours). I just don't know where to start… I'm an amateur photographer (focus is mainly on nature/wildlife photography) wanting to have a go at selling some of my images.  I'm just not sure which site or sites would be best for me to start.  What would you suggest?Also, could you tell me how payment is made to the photographer from these sites? Is a PayPal account needed? I have an Australian bank account but I do not live in Australia or the US, UK or anywhere where any of these sites are based… Would that be an issue?I appreciate any advice you can offer.thanks.     

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    Big Sun

    August 3, 2012 at 8:41 am | #

    All the options offer payment through various methods including check, bank deposit, and paypal… so that should not be an issue. 

    As far as which one to choose,,, I’m not sure I can state it much more clearly than in the reviews…  There are simply too many options (on your end) which will determine which store is best for you.   In general however I recommend people start by doing a free trail of (smugmug, photoshelter and zenflio – Use links above in article).   Just play around with them and see which one you like best.  If you think downloads are important to your sales, then photoshelter should be your focus, if not, then smug/zen).

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      Intrepidstace

      August 7, 2012 at 5:33 am | #

      Hi, thanks very much for your advice. I will give it a go…!

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  weshenry

  August 8, 2012 at 12:00 am | #

  First off, Big Sun, this is the best information I have come across yet to compare all options to sell prints online. I have tons of web experience and I feel that the FAA path is the way to go. I want to be able to create a simple theme to wrap around the store and change some of the css but I guess no big deal. I am thinking of creating a gallery of my work on one site and linking each image to the FAA site where they can purchase. This way my entire portfolio can remain just a simple gallery…but…if someone does want to purchase a high quality print they can go to my store in FAA and do just that. This is a touch more work on my end but that is ok because I see no other option and need to keep 'my world' intact for showing my work…the purchase world can be separate since the POD thing is preeeety easy. I am not really interested in mugs and t's and if I do anything like that, it would be design work in zazzle (later). I know I could find a printer to do this for me there will always be costs…I figure if this starts to really spark some interest then I could look into automating it myself in the future…but that is the future. Does that seem like a good way to go about this? 

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    Big Sun

    August 8, 2012 at 8:06 am | #

    That will work fine,,, in fact I used that method myself for a while.  If however, you start to take/upload a lot of images, you’ll start to find it all tiresome because there is so much extra work involved in managing your own gallery and then linking each image to a duplicate on FAA.  So I’d say if you only add a dozen or so images a month,, sure that should work,  If you add lots more a month, then I’d say you’d better stick with PS as it has the ability to totally re-work it’s CSS and some of it’s structure.   That way you can re-work the PS gallery to match your own site.

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  Greg Smith

  August 22, 2012 at 5:13 pm | #

  Very thorough reviews. Thank you for your thoughts. Did Exposure Manager ever show up on your radar? I'd be interested to know your thoughts, particularly in relation to SmugMug and PhotoShelter.

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    Big Sun

    August 22, 2012 at 9:26 pm | #

    I have run across them before, but they have so little information on their site about features and function,, no sample sites to view, etc…   

    I just blew them off…  If they can’t provide a solid site for me to research them, then I’m not going to bother to take the trouble to test them out.  Especially when they want my credit card just to try their “free” test drive.  

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  Lesley Smitheringale

  September 1, 2012 at 3:24 am | #

  I am lazy when it comes to leaving comments on websites but I simply had to thank you for this extremely informative overview of websites to sell photography on.  I particularly appreciated your honest opinions and often I found myself agreeing with your observations. So often reviews are written by people who are not genuinely interested in using the product or site but you come across as having a working knowledge of what you are writing about here and it shows.  You introduced me to several sites I had never heard of and those that I had, you managed to reveal the pros and cons so expertly that this article has been invaluable to me.  I already have accounts on more than one site you mention in this article. One slight, very slight annoyance is that it would have been good to know if the sites you review here are for residents in the USA or International as I reside in Australia. Thanks again:)

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  Matt McGuire

  September 2, 2012 at 12:16 pm | #

  Great information thanks for the write up.   Looking for options after smugmug doubled their prices.

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  Santhosh

  September 13, 2012 at 6:58 pm | #

  Great post with so much detailed info! My experience with smugmug has been very bitter, but now I have a few good options thanks to this post…

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  Skyler

  September 16, 2012 at 7:46 am | #

  Very informative article, thank you, I am on FAA and Redbubble, you also mentioned some ones I hadnt heard. I recently came across artflakes.com and so far, seem impressed. Have you ever heard of that one? Its actually based in Germany and they ship worldwide. I have a few on there now and we'll see how it goes, but it is free and with the economy's as they are today, I believe I will stay on there as I believe the extra overseas market is beneficial

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  Elsy

  October 2, 2012 at 7:52 am | #

  Very informative!  An update to your massive review:  Fotomoto just announced that it is imposing a tier-based subscription fee (no more free participation) and increased transaction costs.  This is not great news for low-volume sellers (although it could be argued that this announcement creates an opportunity for self-assessment), and it seems that with this switch, Fotomoto brings its business plan in line with the competition.  Adapt or die!

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  Josh

  October 9, 2012 at 7:20 am | #

  Haven't even finished reading the article, and had to leave a "jeez, thanks for the terrific summary of what's out there" comment.Mainly, we design & make custom photobooks for people. But I've found that taking hot shots of cool things happening here in SF drives up traffic, gives us Google juice, etc.And I'm such crack businessman, that after years of people asking to buy my pix, am finally getting off my duff to create some sort of convenient store. With sales tools better than "read my mind to know what I'm selling."Am an engineer by training (yes, it shows in my photography for better or worse) that I can't stand not doing thorough research. And then here you went and did it for me, in gorgeous, useful detail.

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  Susanne Fairfax

  November 1, 2012 at 10:48 am | #

  Thank you so much for researching and creating this page of useful info! Have there been significant changes since January on any of these platforms?  Like you, I am not fond of the end-user's ability to crop images, as this is a significant aspect (pun intended) of creating an image. Have any of the platforms changed with regard to this?  How do you deal with that issue when selling your work? Thank you!

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    Big Sun

    November 1, 2012 at 4:46 pm | #

    PhotoShelter and fotomoto are the two which have changed drastically since January.  My PhotoShelter review has been updated with most of the changes; however the photomoto has not.

    As far as the cropping issue.  As far as I can tell there has been no change in that for any of the platforms at all.

    What I usually do to deal with this varies with the options given to me, but in most cases I will either turn off the crop ability completely (if available) or I allow cropping but turn on an “approve order” optoin to ensure that they have croppe properly, if not I’ll change it.

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  gil feliciano

  November 4, 2012 at 1:12 pm | #

  This is EXACTLY what I was looking for – thank you thank you thank you!

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  Sandy

  November 7, 2012 at 12:46 pm | #

  Thank you for your information!  What do you think of livebooks? 

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    Big Sun

    November 16, 2012 at 11:03 am | #

    Live books really is not in the same vein as the sites listed in this review so I have not dug into it.

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  Rey

  November 23, 2012 at 10:38 pm | #

  I think that you should take Photoreflect off the list. Really, Photoreflect is the online component that is integrated with Express Digital Darkroom (EDD), and it is like adding a tablesaw in with a bunch of circular saw reviews. The prices you list in your review reflect the prices of the Core and Pro versions of EDD and not the Photoreflect standalone software, which is free. So total cost is $9 a month and they take 15% commission and 3% transaction fee if a credit card is used.
  Now, if you had a review that put EDD, Proselect, ShootQ and SuccessWare against each other, it would be a more level playing field.
  All that said, I am not a photoreflect or EDD cheerleader. They are the best in class of a very specific market, and have been for the last decade. I have been using EDD for the last seven years because no one else provides software that will do what it can, and as long as you are using EDD, you might as well be using photoreflect because once you have your images in an EDD catalog, you just hit the lightning bolt and your images are published in an online store. Easy.
  If you have taken pictures with Santa, the Easter Bunny, Thomas the Train, or at Kiddie Kandids, chances are that they were using EDD. Mainly because EDD is studio management software more than it is an online selling tool. You can set it up to recieve from a tethered camera, and output to everything from a inkjet to a Fuji Frontier. It even has a kiosk mode so that people can self-serve their print selections and it will send it to your printers and print reciepts and act as a point of sale machine that will do end of day sales reports and all sorts of business type things. The sales reports can go to a physical printer, or just output to pdf with all sorts of things like profit/loss reports, comps, wasted paper, etc.
  You can also have multiple point of sale kiosks that send to the same printers/cash registers. Or have a photographer tethered to one machine that sends it back to a sales machine to do the final review/order at a sales kiosk or with a sales person so that the photographer can remain doing photography.
  For as long as I've used EDD, it has made me money. So there is that. But the interface sucks, it hasn't kept up with the times, and I've always felt that there is a huge opportunity for someone to do an Android version of their product that lets a shooter use an eye-fi card to send to Android tablets that act like sales kiosks. I'm starting to find myself thinking of using Shuttersnitch on iPad in this manner ever since they added the ability to use air-print within the app, but EDD is already paid for, so I might as well get as much out of it as I can.
  BTW, I would love to see someone do a review that compares Express Digital Darkroom, Proselect, ShootQ, SuccessWare, Studio Plus and Highrise.

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  Charles

  January 6, 2013 at 6:10 pm | #

  Just curious what your thoughts are regarding Printroom.comThanks for a very informative blog.  

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    Big Sun

    January 8, 2013 at 8:09 am | #

    I’m afraid I’ve never looked in depth at printroom’s services so I can’t offer any opinion about it.

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  Valerie

  January 20, 2013 at 4:51 pm | #

  Would you mind giving ArtisitRising a quick look, and compare it to your faves?  It seems like it should be in the running.  Thanks!

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  Kami

  January 24, 2013 at 5:42 pm | #

  Amazing info!  Truly insightful and very informative!  I've worked with fototime, imagekind, and artistrising, and really am not happy for various reasons.  Wish I had seen your reviews before I wasted all that time and energy into those platforms.  

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  Doug

  February 8, 2013 at 9:48 am | #

  Very nice, thank you.  Off to review two sites based on your review.  Key to us is that we want to fulfill our print orders personally preparing (cropping) prints ordered to their size.  You've helped us hone in on a few 'choices' to look at more carefully.  One suggestion, it would be nice if each review started with the date you posted it so we'd know how 'fresh' it is.Thank you again.

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    Big Sun

    February 16, 2013 at 9:36 pm | #

    yes, I probably should add dates to each one,,, but I tend to forget…      I’d say right now they’re about six months old for most of them….  

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  chi flat iron canada

  February 13, 2013 at 2:48 am | #

  I’m pretty pleased to discover this web site. I need to to thank you for ones time for this particularly fantastic read!! I definitely appreciated every part of it and I have you book-marked to look at new information in your site.

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  Naomi

  February 22, 2013 at 12:46 am | #

  Thank you for this very informative article, i found it very helpfulI wanted to ask if any of the sites that offer the customer a varied selection of papers and frames and mats, etc, would allow me to limit some of those options for specific photographs. So that I can offer Abstract #1 in only photo rag and velvet, while Landscape #2 will be offered only in luster or metallic. I also want to only sell my prints matted.I do fine art photography, and I am pretty specific about the types of paper, matting and framing that i want specific photos to be. For instance, I know some of my photos will look good with photo rag mat, and not good on a metallic paper, while other photos will look better with luster or metallic paper. And I probably dont want any of my photos printed onto canvass. I want everything matted because it protects the photo better during shipping, and handling by the customer upon receipt.I might end up just fulfilling the orders myself by doing my own printing, or sending it to a third party printer through the Photoshelter type system, but I'm just wondering if the online store can offer the options I want to offer, so the customer knows the option, and the order will be clear. I also like the preview function that Fine Art  America has, for the customer to be able to visualize the print with different types of mats and frames.Thanks so much for any information you can provide.    

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    Big Sun

    February 22, 2013 at 2:19 pm | #

    Each website has different abilities to control what mediums you can offer.  I know that Photshelter, Zen and Smug all allow you to do this.  I cannot recall if FAA or IK allow you to control this.  You’ll just have to go check it out  yourself.

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  Rogan

  March 4, 2013 at 7:13 am | #

  Hi, Thanks for all the info. I'm with PS at the moment but looking to move on. Been looking at Zen and PhotoDeck – not mentioned here yet. PD seems to fall somewhere between PS and Zen – as in big and bold gallery presentations similar to Zen's and FWIW, seems to have a better digital pricing module than Zen's but falls a little short of PS's offering. Had to smile at this – "I’d say right now they’re about six months old for most of them….  ". 6 months is a long time out there in the virtual world. Things seem to have changed out there since – as in some of the prices quoted here and that FAA now seems to offer "unlimited images and galleries".Still looking – the info here has given me more food for thought. Thanks again. 

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    Big Sun

    March 5, 2013 at 9:58 am | #

    Yep,, well,,  keeping up with these website’s ever changing stats is not a paying gig,, so I can only put so much effort into it.  And while changes do happen, I’ve found that none of the these entities change very much over each year.  Sadly,,,  since they all have issues and features which could be greatly improved.

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  Corey LaMar

  March 4, 2013 at 11:42 am | #

  Thanks, very much for these reviews!!!  I was looking to find a new site to sell, and this came in VERY useful!!!  I am setting up my FAA page today!!!Thankfully,CL

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  Melody

  March 25, 2013 at 11:50 pm | #

  Your reviews are insightful, refreshingly concise, and invaluable.  Any thoughts on Instaproofs?

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  premium plugins

  May 6, 2013 at 6:12 am | #

  it seems like ages that i heve been searching for a completesite like this one? i am glad i found it,some great information here, i am new and just starting out, anyway thanks for some great tips..

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  M Doss

  May 17, 2013 at 1:39 pm | #

  Thank you for your comprehensive review of the websites. I appreaciate the time you spent, and I accessed the ones I was interested in through your link. At this point I condiser myself a semi-professional photography (as in, I haven't quit my day job), and your insight has been extremely helpful.

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  complete websites

  May 22, 2013 at 8:38 am | #

  finally i found someone who knows how to provide relevant information on the subject i have been searching for? thanks, at last i can study with pleasure..

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  James Berman

  June 8, 2013 at 7:09 am | #

  So, brass tacks here. At the end of the day, which site do you think, overallis the best place for an artist to go?

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    Big Sun

    June 9, 2013 at 3:14 pm | #

    Well James,

    As noted in the review.  It depends on your needs.

    If you’re a “fine art” person then I’d say Fine Art America is your best option with Image Kind a close 2nd.

    If you’re a photographer It would have to go to Photoshelter (though Zenfolio wins if the look of your store takes priority).

    If you’re a photojounalist, then there is zero debate, Photoshelter is what you want. 

     

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