HOW can I sell images for download?

Okay I've been working on this for almost 2 weeks now and I am getting pretty frustrated now! I cross my fingers, that someone in here have found a solution which works for them.

What I need: a gallery with a password, containing 10-150 pictures. This can be for 1 person or for several persons. I am trying to offer 2 things: personal photography, for this just 1 person get the password. And group photography, where say 6 people meet up with their dogs, to be photographed during training. So its not groupshots, its personal shots but just... many of those.

At the beginning I would just create packages for personal pictures, but people keep asking me if they can see and buy more.


Tried Zenfolio, Squarespace and Smugmug.


At Zenfolio: I can create a gallery, people can checkout through Paypal. Great.

I created my own products which made it possible to use danish currencies, they contain a file for download (print too, but this isnt a problem (yet, lol)). BUT, in the galleries where people should see their images, if I chose "download not allowed, people dont get the file for download! I have to manually mail it myself. If I chose "download allowed", people can just right-click and download all the pictures, without paying.
Also, so far I havent been able to mail myself (pretending to be a costumer) an automatic email containing the chosen files.. You see my problem, if 7 people want 15-25 images each?


At Squarespace I cannot use their integrated shopping cart as they use Stripe, and Stripe do not work with my country. Then I myself can create a Paypal bottom - but again, people can just right click and save the images, without paying. Also, again, I get an email saying they ordered different images, but I have to manually email them...


Smugmug, hmm I forgot. For once, I thought it was pretty expensive. And I think I ran into the same problems...


Gah! How in the world can this be so hard??

•

Hi there,

It seems you are meeting the same problems they had in the
middle-age and still today in the web-age:

How to create an unattended shop?

Some one must create an internet vending machine! Maybe you?

Have a good time!

I use zefolio premium and I can set the price for each digital download or bundle them such as $120 for 5 digital images.

Kodiak said:

•

Hi there,

It seems you are meeting the same problems they had in the
middle-age and still today in the web-age:

How to create an unattended shop?

Some one must create an internet vending machine! Maybe you?

Have a good time!

Click to expand...

Not really.

gqtuazon said:

I use zefolio premium and I can set the price for each digital download or bundle them such as $120 for 5 digital images.

Click to expand...

And your costumers cant right-click and download? And do they get them automatically emailed?

gqtuazon said:

I use zefolio premium and I can set the price for each digital download or bundle them such as $120 for 5 digital images.

Click to expand...

Okay maybe I see why, I think it only works with Euro/dollars. I finally recieved a download link now, changing it all to Euro.

wud said:

And your costumers cant right-click and download? And do they get them automatically emailed?

Click to expand...

They can right click with their mouse and it will take them to the shopping cart (LOL!). They have 30 days to download the digital copy. You are always welcome to try and order from my website to see how it goes.

gqtuazon said:

They can right click with their mouse and it will take them to the shopping cart (LOL!). They have 30 days to download the digital copy. You are always welcome to try and order from my website to see how it goes.

Click to expand...

My account is the same way. You pay and then go to the cart and pay THEN it will give you a link to download only the ones you paid for. Email is not a good option since you are limited by size there.

Sorry.. don't have much experience, but the issue seems to be that options for 'digital sales' are limited.
not many developers see this as a very lucrative field (photography) to develop a quality system.
​
so folks who have some knowledge or seen the need AND a way to make money have produced fairly similar systems that will give you a 'all in one' solution, but not necessarily to completely fit everyone's individual needs...

I created my own products which made it possible to use danish currencies, they contain a file for download (print too, but this isnt a problem (yet, lol)). BUT, in the galleries where people should see their images, if I chose "download not allowed, people dont get the file for download! I have to manually mail it myself. If I chose "download allowed", people can just right-click and download all the pictures, without paying.

Click to expand...

Wud,

You don't want to allow download. You want to add "download" as a digital product. See below.

What Glenn and Don said is absolutely right with Zenfolio. You can charge for the download, or you can issue it free (I think they still allow that). If it's listed as "free", the client still has to put it in the cart . . . but it will show as a "no charge", in other words, 0$. You have to set up the "digital download product" (Add Products menu) and then add it to your price list. I charge for downloads, so it's easier to just issue a coupon for free downloads.

All your galleries can be "password protected". You can either issue a "password" or assign emails to the list of allowed users.

It sounds like you are almost there.

​Hope this helps.

ohkphoto said:

Wud,

You don't want to allow download. You want to add "download" as a digital product. See below.

What Glenn and Don said is absolutely right with Zenfolio. You can charge for the download, or you can issue it free (I think they still allow that). If it's listed as "free", the client still has to put it in the cart . . . but it will show as a "no charge", in other words, 0$. You have to set up the "digital download product" (Add Products menu) and then add it to your price list. I charge for downloads, so it's easier to just issue a coupon for free downloads.

All your galleries can be "password protected". You can either issue a "password" or assign emails to the list of allowed users.

It sounds like you are almost there.

​Hope this helps.

Click to expand...

Exactly correct. I added some for free download recently and tried it for myself. I had to add them to the cart and checkout for $0 before it would let me download them.

WUD, PM me if you would like to test it on my site.

Thanks for all your answers! I did do it all correctly, made download and password and all this - what went wrong, was me using danish currency. This isn't possible somehow (or, it is but then different features ass no right-click dont work).

I'll stick with prices in euro, as this is working. Cant do no more of this website stuff :/


Funny story - while trying to get a more danish friendly shopping place, I also tried configuring this in Squarespace. I made my own design for the Paypal buy bottom and uploaded this in on of my galleries, not my private but 1 I was starting to configure for someone i photographed monday.
A few hours later, I get a mail that someone bought this bottom??? What? A little while later, I get an email from one of the girls from monday, have no idea how she found the gallery as I didnt give them the link, but she did and then she thought she should buy the bottom to get access to the gallery, lol. Oh well, now I know credit card payment works too.

Do you know if its possible to let people chose 10 pictures for 1 price, and then picture 11-forever will be cheaper?

Its not possible to change the amount after they finish their order, in Premium account, is it? I am talking download pictures for using online, print I got working.

Maybe some of you have tried this, but probably I should just - again - simplify my needs I will, if this isnt possible.

wud said:

Do you know if its possible to let people chose 10 pictures for 1 price, and then picture 11-forever will be cheaper?

Its not possible to change the amount after they finish their order, in Premium account, is it? I am talking download pictures for using online, print I got working.

Maybe some of you have tried this, but probably I should just - again - simplify my needs I will, if this isnt possible.

Click to expand...

Simplify your needs. You are thinking you photos don't have the value we know they do. How much are these people spending on training these dogs. What are they charging for breeding or pups from these dogs. I would bet it is a lot of money and they are using YOUR photos to make money. Charge them while thinking about this.

Tracsoft - Don Kuykendall said:

Simplify your needs. You are thinking you photos don't have the value we know they do. How much are these people spending on training these dogs. What are they charging for breeding or pups from these dogs. I would bet it is a lot of money and they are using YOUR photos to make money. Charge them while thinking about this.

Click to expand...

If only there were no money and we all just exchanged work! Would be easier - for me, at least

Simple is good.


Got my first 2 galleries now, very exited to see what people think. 1 gallery is with both files for download and files for print, takes a long time to upload since I want my logo on the downloads so I have to upload it all twice. But I think it will be worth it for advertising.

so which one are you using...Zenfolio? I have been looking to do the same thing for my photos.

gqtuazon said:

They can right click with their mouse and it will take them to the shopping cart (LOL!). They have 30 days to download the digital copy. You are always welcome to try and order from my website to see how it goes.

Click to expand...

Tracsoft - Don Kuykendall said:

Exactly correct. I added some for free download recently and tried it for myself. I had to add them to the cart and checkout for $0 before it would let me download them.

WUD, PM me if you would like to test it on my site.

Click to expand...

Forgot this, would love to see yours - pm's on the way

RogerThat99 said:

so which one are you using...Zenfolio? I have been looking to do the same thing for my photos.

Click to expand...

I only came across what gqtuazon is writing about, where you can make packages. Maybe creating 2 packages, for different prices buuuuut... think this will be pretty confusing for the costumers.