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As a businesswoman, I set my prices for what I think I’m worth. I’m not one of those photographers who price pretending to offer a “discount” later on. I’m up front, frank, and honest about all aspects of my personality and product with my clients from the start. I think you’ve seen that candidness on this blog as well.
Some vendors do price for a discount, but most don’t. I hope you’ll keep this video in mind when you approach someone to hire them for their services.
I'm a mid-twenties SAHM/part-time photographer currently living in Chicago. My husband is from Poland, my son was born in April of 2010, and I'm LDS. I write frequently about parenting, adventures in the kitchen, my faith, and photography. I post daily because I love checking my inbox for new comments, so please take a moment to say hello!
You can also find me over at Jenna Cole, my photography site. If you like to smile and laugh then I would love to take your picture!
August 21st, 2009 on 11:05 am
I wish more vendors took your approach, Jenna. Several times in our wedding planning, I wrote off a vendor because the price list they sent me was out of our budget. I always followed up by thanking them for the information and explaining that their prices were outside our budget range. I honestly expected that to be the end of my contact with these people — I wasn’t trying to score a discount by being passive-aggressive, I was just trying to say “thanks for your time but it won’t work.”
But several times, vendors called me up after getting my e-mails, said they could “work with” my budget, and offered me discounts based on weird things like “we want to expand our business in your area.” (Uh, you’re a Denver-based company, and you want to expand to … Denver?) Honestly, I found this really off-putting and confusing. All of the vendors I booked had listed straightforward prices in my budget.
All by way of saying a) I think your approach is the right one, it’s honest and customer-friendly, and b) don’t judge the passive-aggressive discount seekers too harshly, because other vendors are probably teaching them bad lessons!
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August 21st, 2009 on 11:14 am
That video applies everywhere. I see it in retail constantly. Good for you! Stick to your prices!
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August 21st, 2009 on 11:36 am
I’m so happy that no one has tried to pull that on me. I tend to charge just what I think my paintings are worth and I don’t just charge depending on how much more work I have to put into it to reach my standards.
Instead just go with the flat fee and challenge myself. Though I have been known to give random upgrades because I may not have the right size canvas or I really feel a dress needs a different size.
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August 21st, 2009 on 12:26 pm
Looking at that video makes me feel so awkward. In fact I had to stop watching it because it made me cringe so much. I’m not really one to barter (except when petitioning for our condo and helping my mum buy a car, but that’s a different type of service), so seeing people blatantly rip another person off is uncomfortable. We didn’t really barter with anyone for our wedding as we discussed whether or not the service was worth the amount they were charging and paid it if we thought it was reasonable.
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August 21st, 2009 on 12:28 pm
When we were checking out vendors for our wedding we interview several for each need. One photographer came recommended from a friend but was a bit out of our price range. We found a great guy for HALF of what she was charging, so went with him. When we called the friendor she said “I wish you had told me there was a cost issue, I could have worked with you” My reaction to that was that if she could have done it cheaper because we came through a friend, why didn’t she offer us the lower price to begin with?
I admire your honestly with your clients and I’m sure they appreciate that you are so easy to work with. Keep it up!
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August 21st, 2009 on 12:30 pm
Oh…. that video is hilarious and awful. I agree that more people should be respectful of the hard work done by vendors and more vendors should be up front about their “real” pricing. I guess we’re just testing the boundaries - on both sides - of supply and demand pricing.
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August 21st, 2009 on 12:39 pm
awesome!! What amazing timing! Just had a conflict with a client where she wanted me to drop my price by 20% .. after she hired me. In the end, we broke up since I refused to de-value my services.
Awesome.
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August 21st, 2009 on 12:55 pm
I totally know how you feel! I’m the same way. I had a potential client tell me (the morning of the appointment, after I called her to confirm since she didn’t answer my previous confirmation calls) that if I came out, she wouldn’t be able to pay me. Um, then I’m not coming out! Especially since she was an hour and a half drive each way!
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August 21st, 2009 on 2:54 pm
Hahahahaha, I showed this to Nick and he couldn’t stop laughing. It happens to him ALLLLLL the time.
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August 21st, 2009 on 3:57 pm
Hahaha, love that video. I recently lost a potential wedding client due to budget issues (well, I guess that happens a lot) and I completely understood and there are no hard feelings. She found a friend of her sister that offered a much cheaper package (and probably didn’t have to fly her in). Didn’t bother me in the least and I didn’t try to start a bidding war.
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August 21st, 2009 on 6:18 pm
Much like the first commenter Bride in Exile, several times when planning my wedding I wrote off vendors because I knew I couldn’t afford them. Specifically with my DJ, he didn’t have prices on his website so I had to contact him directly. And when I found out his prices I knew I couldn’t afford it, so I delayed getting back to him. When I finally told him I couldn’t afford his fees, he knocked like $350 off the price for the same services (he ended up doing a terrific job). But I never expected that to happen, because the previous DJ I contacted just said ok when I told him I couldn’t afford his prices. I don’t know how, or if there is a way, to really tell if a vendor is firm on their prices.
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August 21st, 2009 on 8:24 pm
I agree with Bean- this makes me cringe. Part of this is working with customer service, part of this is tackling my own wedding planning.
Attempting to weasel out of paying someone what they or their service is worth is inexcusable and disgraceful. It’s one thing to bargain down a older model TV or a car or a home, but the lengths some go to makes me sick!
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August 22nd, 2009 on 5:48 pm
This video got passed around with my co-workers a few months ago. We work in advertising, and we get these kinds of ridiculous comments all the time from clients. And these are major businesses, wanting something on the cheap, or trying to devalue our services because they could “get this for less from so and so’s brother in law in college.”
Where I’m headed is - each group or person should be proud of their work and stick up for what it’s worth. If it’s the price that is ultimately the sticking point, then that person should go to the cheaper option. I know from experience that someone trying to use the “I can get this cheaper from” line as a bargaining tactic is likely going to be difficult in other ways down the road, so it’s probably better to cut them lose sooner, instead of later.
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August 23rd, 2009 on 7:46 pm
While I think that it would be unreasonable to wait until after the bill came to say “well, it’s too high,” I think that there is nothing wrong with saying to a photographer, “We really love your work and we would love to have you photograph our wedding but our budget is pretty tight - we can’t really afford an album right now, and we don’t really need to hire you for six hours, so can we work something out?”
But it seems like most of the people who commented here would find that insulting - so should I not bother asking that?
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Kelli Nicole Reply:
August 23rd, 2009 at 10:12 pm
I don’t think that’s really what people are talking about. What it sounds like you’re saying, fewer hours or not getting the album or something like that change the service. I believe most people on here (the video included) are talking about the same service for a lower price.
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