Author Topic: selling on Shopify (Read 27345 times)

gameover · « **on:** March 31, 2022, 02:32 »

In my blog I begin a series of articles about selling on Shopify and the differences between hosting a personal stock images website on WordPress and using the Shopify platform.
The first one is an introduction to the argument
https://luisafumi-digitalart.com/blog/2022/03/30/shopify-first-look-from-inside-with-a-big-thank-you-to-jacob-lund/

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #1 on:** March 31, 2022, 13:47 »

Sounds good and I'm looking forward to how this goes. I started a WP site, couldn't even get the gallery to show. And then there are people who said, you have to re-write the code to make the Marketplace work. I still have a site which is nothing but the front page... the gallery is invisible. $:-\$ Somehow I missed how to get it to populate onto the website.

My experience with WP and Symbiostock was that WP would update and the site would crash and Leo or someone else would have to rewrite some of the code. That happened a number of times. I'm just skeptical of how well WP functions as a business site?

So maybe this will work out? I know it will be better for me, except the costs. So please document that part as well?

Part one questions. Jacob says the SEO is easy and works well, and he gets visitors. That's very positive.

Why? "To make life easier he developed a dedicated app to bulk-upload images stripping the keywords and the other metadata to fill and optimize the pages." Why do I want to strip the data, or do you mean extract the data for entry to the Shopify pages? Dedicated app? Where can I get it if I need to do that?

Milleflore · « **Reply #2 on:** March 31, 2022, 19:02 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on March 31, 2022, 13:47

Sounds good and I'm looking forward to how this goes. I started a WP site, couldn't even get the gallery to show. And then there are people who said, you have to re-write the code to make the Marketplace work. I still have a site which is nothing but the front page... the gallery is invisible. $:-\$ Somehow I missed how to get it to populate onto the website.

My experience with WP and Symbiostock was that WP would update and the site would crash and Leo or someone else would have to rewrite some of the code. That happened a number of times. I'm just skeptical of how well WP functions as a business site?

So maybe this will work out? I know it will be better for me, except the costs. So please document that part as well?

Part one questions. Jacob says the SEO is easy and works well, and he gets visitors. That's very positive.

Why? "To make life easier he developed a dedicated app to bulk-upload images stripping the keywords and the other metadata to fill and optimize the pages." Why do I want to strip the data, or do you mean extract the data for entry to the Shopify pages? Dedicated app? Where can I get it if I need to do that?

As you know Pete, I set up a Shopify store some months ago for my husband's collectibles that he used to sell on eBay. And he loves it. It has a wealth of features, lots of historical and analytical data, really good shipping features, ability to send out monthly newsletters, and lots more. Plus it looks good and very professional, which a few of his close contacts/buyers have commented on.

On the downside it costs him $40 AUD a month, but he compares that to the fees that he used to pay on eBay - and having a shopify store is much more profitable. He gets a lot of traffic without any effort on his part - but he does have some very sort-after items, and several return buyers.

gameover · « **Reply #3 on:** April 01, 2022, 00:37 »

Quote from: Annie on March 31, 2022, 19:02

Quote from: Uncle Pete on March 31, 2022, 13:47
Sounds good and I'm looking forward to how this goes. I started a WP site, couldn't even get the gallery to show. And then there are people who said, you have to re-write the code to make the Marketplace work. I still have a site which is nothing but the front page... the gallery is invisible. $:-\$ Somehow I missed how to get it to populate onto the website.

My experience with WP and Symbiostock was that WP would update and the site would crash and Leo or someone else would have to rewrite some of the code. That happened a number of times. I'm just skeptical of how well WP functions as a business site?

So maybe this will work out? I know it will be better for me, except the costs. So please document that part as well?

Part one questions. Jacob says the SEO is easy and works well, and he gets visitors. That's very positive.

Why? "To make life easier he developed a dedicated app to bulk-upload images stripping the keywords and the other metadata to fill and optimize the pages." Why do I want to strip the data, or do you mean extract the data for entry to the Shopify pages? Dedicated app? Where can I get it if I need to do that?

As you know Pete, I set up a Shopify store some months ago for my husband's collectibles that he used to sell on eBay. And he loves it. It has a wealth of features, lots of historical and analytical data, really good shipping features, ability to send out monthly newsletters, and lots more. Plus it looks good and very professional, which a few of his close contacts/buyers have commented on.

On the downside it costs him $40 AUD a month, but he compares that to the fees that he used to pay on eBay - and having a shopify store is much more profitable. He gets a lot of traffic without any effort on his part - but he does have some very sort-after items, and several return buyers.

Hey Pete, happy to hear you again!
Sorry, I mean extract keywords in order to fill your product pages for the SEO optimization.

As Annie says at Shopify you pay a monthly fee, but the basic plan give you all you need to sell and you don't have to pay a hosting for your website.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #4 on:** April 01, 2022, 08:40 »

Interesting reading. Yes if I thought I could recover the $29 a month for basic USA, I'd jump in. Not sure I can do that with just photos? As for collectibles, I have very little high end, just things that I like that are fun.

With any volume at all, I can see why $29 a month would be less than the 15% that eBay takes.

Paulie Walnuts wrote about trying this maybe that was last year. Maybe he'll pass through the forum and add some more.

Right now, I'm just watching and evaluating. Sure would be nice to have a "self hosted" store. I'd still like to read some more about digital asset fulfillment? Is it automated or manual? If someone pays for an image, do I have to manually approve, or does Shopify handle that? In the Summer I'm sometimes unavailable for a day or two or might miss an order. I don't think that would be good business to be unresponsive.

Milleflore · « **Reply #5 on:** April 01, 2022, 16:03 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 01, 2022, 08:40

Interesting reading. Yes if I thought I could recover the $29 a month for basic USA, I'd jump in. Not sure I can do that with just photos? As for collectibles, I have very little high end, just things that I like that are fun.

With any volume at all, I can see why $29 a month would be less than the 15% that eBay takes.

Paulie Walnuts wrote about trying this maybe that was last year. Maybe he'll pass through the forum and add some more.

Right now, I'm just watching and evaluating. Sure would be nice to have a "self hosted" store. I'd still like to read some more about digital asset fulfillment? Is it automated or manual? If someone pays for an image, do I have to manually approve, or does Shopify handle that? In the Summer I'm sometimes unavailable for a day or two or might miss an order. I don't think that would be good business to be unresponsive.

After I set Shopify up for Nick, I wanted one for my digital downloads but didn't get around to it. It works really well for his physical products, but after I posted above, he reminded me that a friend introduced him to some Facebook groups where he posted links to his Shopify store, and that drives a lot of traffic to his shop. I forgot about that.

So it looks like you may still need to do some of your own marketing in social media or similar. Getting people to sign up for the monthly newsletter, and sending those out regularly with new listing updates, helps too. Also, I used to drive a lot of visitors to my current website by writing related blogs and posting them to social media. In fact I've noticed that since I stopped doing that, my current website's views have dropped by nearly 1/2.

But Shopify's basic monthly account definitely has all the features you need, and the rest is up to the individual.

And yes, I am interested in how the digital downloads side of things work in Shopify as well.

gameover · « **Reply #6 on:** April 02, 2022, 06:13 »

Yes, Shopify is principally designed for selling material goods, but the essential to sell digital with automatic download after checkout is there and free. I verified also the possibility to have different range of prices for different kind of licenses (web, print, merchandise). Today I sent a message to the Shopify people to clarify some last points. Usually they answer quick.

Quote from: Annie on April 01, 2022, 16:03

Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 01, 2022, 08:40
Interesting reading. Yes if I thought I could recover the $29 a month for basic USA, I'd jump in. Not sure I can do that with just photos? As for collectibles, I have very little high end, just things that I like that are fun.

With any volume at all, I can see why $29 a month would be less than the 15% that eBay takes.

Paulie Walnuts wrote about trying this maybe that was last year. Maybe he'll pass through the forum and add some more.

Right now, I'm just watching and evaluating. Sure would be nice to have a "self hosted" store. I'd still like to read some more about digital asset fulfillment? Is it automated or manual? If someone pays for an image, do I have to manually approve, or does Shopify handle that? In the Summer I'm sometimes unavailable for a day or two or might miss an order. I don't think that would be good business to be unresponsive.

After I set Shopify up for Nick, I wanted one for my digital downloads but didn't get around to it. It works really well for his physical products, but after I posted above, he reminded me that a friend introduced him to some Facebook groups where he posted links to his Shopify store, and that drives a lot of traffic to his shop. I forgot about that.

So it looks like you may still need to do some of your own marketing in social media or similar. Getting people to sign up for the monthly newsletter, and sending those out regularly with new listing updates, helps too. Also, I used to drive a lot of visitors to my current website by writing related blogs and posting them to social media. In fact I've noticed that since I stopped doing that, my current website's views have dropped by nearly 1/2.

But Shopify's basic monthly account definitely has all the features you need, and the rest is up to the individual.

And yes, I am interested in how the digital downloads side of things work in Shopify as well.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #7 on:** April 02, 2022, 09:36 »

Quote from: gameover on April 02, 2022, 06:13

Yes, Shopify is principally designed for selling material goods, but the essential to sell digital with automatic download after checkout is there and free. I verified also the possibility to have different range of prices for different kind of licenses (web, print, merchandise). Today I sent a message to the Shopify people to clarify some last points. Usually they answer quick.

Nice and I'm looking forward to future articles.

Quote from: Annie on April 01, 2022, 16:03

After I set Shopify up for Nick, I wanted one for my digital downloads but didn't get around to it. It works really well for his physical products, but after I posted above, he reminded me that a friend introduced him to some Facebook groups where he posted links to his Shopify store, and that drives a lot of traffic to his shop. I forgot about that.

So it looks like you may still need to do some of your own marketing in social media or similar. Getting people to sign up for the monthly newsletter, and sending those out regularly with new listing updates, helps too. Also, I used to drive a lot of visitors to my current website by writing related blogs and posting them to social media. In fact I've noticed that since I stopped doing that, my current website's views have dropped by nearly 1/2.

But Shopify's basic monthly account definitely has all the features you need, and the rest is up to the individual.

And yes, I am interested in how the digital downloads side of things work in Shopify as well.

Posting updates also helps your page rank, which will bring more visitors. I have a few Cobweb Sites, that I haven't updated in years. Some even have broken links. When the search engines check pages, new data and changes will move us up. Old stale sites will get checked less often and soon drop down and down.

I'm sure that posts and reminders will bring people back, especially for interesting topics. People just discovering and finding the site, is more reliant on search position.

That also relates to Shopify which is always active. I think most of us has searched for something and we see Etsy and eBay or Amazon on the results bar on top. Vintage map shows, Kohls, Wayfair, Allposters, and others. I'd like it if Shopify was appearing.

gameover · « **Reply #8 on:** April 09, 2022, 05:05 »

Here my second post about the differences between Shopify and WordPress with the aim of selling images by yourself.
https://luisafumi-digitalart.com/blog/2022/04/07/wordpress-versus-shopify/
Honest, maybe brutally honest citing Alex Rotenberg

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #9 on:** April 09, 2022, 13:23 »

Quote from: gameover on April 09, 2022, 05:05

Here my second post about the differences between Shopify and WordPress with the aim of selling images by yourself.
https://luisafumi-digitalart.com/blog/2022/04/07/wordpress-versus-shopify/
Honest, maybe brutally honest citing Alex Rotenberg

Bulk Uploading? You mean I'd have to enter each image, one by one?

Can I embed Shopify items into my own web pages, or just links?

OK waiting for next week, good reading. Thank You

gameover · « **Reply #10 on:** April 10, 2022, 02:49 »

Nice pic uncle Pete! appreciated.
it seems that with Shopify you can reach a high ranking without marketing. I hate marketing, you know and I am curious enough to give a try. How? I'll write some ideas in my new post.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #11 on:** April 10, 2022, 11:12 »

Quote from: gameover on April 10, 2022, 02:49

Nice pic uncle Pete! appreciated.
it seems that with Shopify you can reach a high ranking without marketing. I hate marketing, you know and I am curious enough to give a try. How? I'll write some ideas in my new post.

Can I embed my Shop in my websites?

What about uploading. Say I have 5,000 images to start with. No bulk upload or is there a pay app to do this and populate the data?

gameover · « **Reply #12 on:** April 11, 2022, 01:43 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 10, 2022, 11:12

Quote from: gameover on April 10, 2022, 02:49
Nice pic uncle Pete! appreciated.
it seems that with Shopify you can reach a high ranking without marketing. I hate marketing, you know and I am curious enough to give a try. How? I'll write some ideas in my new post.

Can I embed my Shop in my websites?

What about uploading. Say I have 5,000 images to start with. No bulk upload or is there a pay app to do this and populate the data?

I think could be possible, I have to dig a little more to investigate.
Bulk upload: Jacob Lund will launch his app this year.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #13 on:** April 11, 2022, 10:29 »

Quote from: gameover on April 11, 2022, 01:43

Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 10, 2022, 11:12
Quote from: gameover on April 10, 2022, 02:49
Nice pic uncle Pete! appreciated.
it seems that with Shopify you can reach a high ranking without marketing. I hate marketing, you know and I am curious enough to give a try. How? I'll write some ideas in my new post.

Can I embed my Shop in my websites?

What about uploading. Say I have 5,000 images to start with. No bulk upload or is there a pay app to do this and populate the data?
I think could be possible, I have to dig a little more to investigate.
Bulk upload: Jacob Lund will launch his app this year.

I never move too fast anyway, so waiting for Jacob, I hope his price is reasonable and worth the time and complex entry effort.

The other part I did some searching. This is not comprehensive, just an example, from Shopify forum: (bold is mine)

1) You can create products in Shopify and use the Shopify Buy Button to add your products to your current website. For each product or collection, you create a buy button with, a code will be generated that you add to the theme of your website in the area that you would like your products to appear.

When a customer visits your website and sees your products, they can add products to a cart directly on your website. When they're ready to pay for their order, they'll be brought to your Shopify checkout. The customers' order information will appear in your Shopify admin under Orders.

The Shopify Lite Plan is a good option if you're wanting to use the buy button on your already existing website and manage your store information in the Shopify admin. Since the plan doesn't come with a website (because you already have one) it's $9 USD/month.

2) The second option is to create a separate website for your online store with Shopify. Next, create a spot on your website that says something like Store or Shop that links to your Shopify store where you sell your dropshipping items.

So that answers my basic question and yes I could create Buy Buttons using Shopify which will take them to checkout on Shopify. I don't understand a cart on my site and then switching someone to the checkoput, but that's not the question. Just if we could sell from our own websites... yes!

gameover · « **Reply #14 on:** April 12, 2022, 02:50 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 11, 2022, 10:29

Quote from: gameover on April 11, 2022, 01:43
Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 10, 2022, 11:12
Quote from: gameover on April 10, 2022, 02:49
Nice pic uncle Pete! appreciated.
it seems that with Shopify you can reach a high ranking without marketing. I hate marketing, you know and I am curious enough to give a try. How? I'll write some ideas in my new post.

Can I embed my Shop in my websites?

What about uploading. Say I have 5,000 images to start with. No bulk upload or is there a pay app to do this and populate the data?
I think could be possible, I have to dig a little more to investigate.
Bulk upload: Jacob Lund will launch his app this year.

I never move too fast anyway, so waiting for Jacob, I hope his price is reasonable and worth the time and complex entry effort.

The other part I did some searching. This is not comprehensive, just an example, from Shopify forum: (bold is mine)

1) You can create products in Shopify and use the Shopify Buy Button to add your products to your current website. For each product or collection, you create a buy button with, a code will be generated that you add to the theme of your website in the area that you would like your products to appear.

When a customer visits your website and sees your products, they can add products to a cart directly on your website. When they're ready to pay for their order, they'll be brought to your Shopify checkout. The customers' order information will appear in your Shopify admin under Orders.

The Shopify Lite Plan is a good option if you're wanting to use the buy button on your already existing website and manage your store information in the Shopify admin. Since the plan doesn't come with a website (because you already have one) it's $9 USD/month.

2) The second option is to create a separate website for your online store with Shopify. Next, create a spot on your website that says something like Store or Shop that links to your Shopify store where you sell your dropshipping items.

So that answers my basic question and yes I could create Buy Buttons using Shopify which will take them to checkout on Shopify. I don't understand a cart on my site and then switching someone to the checkoput, but that's not the question. Just if we could sell from our own websites... yes!

Hi Pete,
I have heard of the Shopify Lite Plan, but I don' t know if it works for images to download automatically after the checkout. Sure it works for physical goods.

gameover · « **Reply #15 on:** April 21, 2022, 12:26 »

Here my last post about Shopify and selling images
https://luisafumi-digitalart.com/blog/2022/04/21/stock-images-on-shopify-how-to-sell-them-some-ideas/
Enjoy

cascoly · « **Reply #16 on:** April 21, 2022, 13:57 »

Pixify looks like a great solution

gameover · « **Reply #17 on:** April 21, 2022, 14:27 »

Quote from: cascoly on April 21, 2022, 13:57

Pixify looks like a great solution

Yes, I think so

Milleflore · « **Reply #18 on:** April 21, 2022, 15:39 »

Quote from: gameover on April 21, 2022, 12:26

Here my last post about Shopify and selling images
https://luisafumi-digitalart.com/blog/2022/04/21/stock-images-on-shopify-how-to-sell-them-some-ideas/
Enjoy

Hi Luisa,

Re your blog:

but lacks the means to automatically upload images in bulk, even by using the apps they recommend.

So, are you saying that we cannot use something like this to bulk upload?

https://apps.shopify.com/bulk-images-upload

Is there a reason why?

ETA: Its ok. I think I found your previous reference to it:

"At Shopify the same additional functions are performed by “apps”: they are neither transparent nor open-source and most of them store your data “somewhere” , irrelevant perhaps as long as it’s about physical goods, but if you’re selling digital goods those uploaded files are your wealth.
More’s the pity that in such a way you can’t import/export in bulk your products to/from your shop – no backups, no certainty that they get really deleted if you decide to withdraw them.
Those apps come at a monthly fee and are generally quite expensive when compared to the corresponding WP plugins – without offering more (sometime actually they offer less…) and the choice is very limited. Only very few of them are free or offer a free plan."

gameover · « **Reply #19 on:** April 21, 2022, 16:19 »

Quote from: Annie on April 21, 2022, 15:39

Quote from: gameover on April 21, 2022, 12:26
Here my last post about Shopify and selling images
https://luisafumi-digitalart.com/blog/2022/04/21/stock-images-on-shopify-how-to-sell-them-some-ideas/
Enjoy

Hi Luisa,

Re your blog:

but lacks the means to automatically upload images in bulk, even by using the apps they recommend.

So, are you saying that we cannot use something like this to bulk upload?

https://apps.shopify.com/bulk-images-upload

Is there a reason why?

ETA: Its ok. I think I found your previous reference to it:

"At Shopify the same additional functions are performed by “apps”: they are neither transparent nor open-source and most of them store your data “somewhere” , irrelevant perhaps as long as it’s about physical goods, but if you’re selling digital goods those uploaded files are your wealth.
More’s the pity that in such a way you can’t import/export in bulk your products to/from your shop – no backups, no certainty that they get really deleted if you decide to withdraw them.
Those apps come at a monthly fee and are generally quite expensive when compared to the corresponding WP plugins – without offering more (sometime actually they offer less…) and the choice is very limited. Only very few of them are free or offer a free plan."

Yes indeed, I wouldn't recommend to use most of them

Milleflore · « **Reply #20 on:** June 29, 2022, 15:50 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 01, 2022, 08:40

Interesting reading. Yes if I thought I could recover the $29 a month for basic USA, I'd jump in. Not sure I can do that with just photos? As for collectibles, I have very little high end, just things that I like that are fun.

With any volume at all, I can see why $29 a month would be less than the 15% that eBay takes.

Paulie Walnuts wrote about trying this maybe that was last year. Maybe he'll pass through the forum and add some more.

Right now, I'm just watching and evaluating. Sure would be nice to have a "self hosted" store. I'd still like to read some more about digital asset fulfillment? Is it automated or manual? If someone pays for an image, do I have to manually approve, or does Shopify handle that? In the Summer I'm sometimes unavailable for a day or two or might miss an order. I don't think that would be good business to be unresponsive.

Pete, I just wanted to give you more feedback on my husband's Shopify store: yesterday he looked at his stats there and he is now in the top 18% of sellers. Yes, he has a good product with high prices, but he hasn't done anything with his shop for months now. No new listings, no promoting on social media groups, no monthly newsletter, nothing (he's been too busy with his work), and his traffic and sales are going up. Just new buyers out of nowhere. So that is a good indication of how well their search performs, I guess.

gameover · « **Reply #21 on:** June 30, 2022, 03:10 »

Quote from: Annie on June 29, 2022, 15:50

Quote from: Uncle Pete on April 01, 2022, 08:40
Interesting reading. Yes if I thought I could recover the $29 a month for basic USA, I'd jump in. Not sure I can do that with just photos? As for collectibles, I have very little high end, just things that I like that are fun.

With any volume at all, I can see why $29 a month would be less than the 15% that eBay takes.

Paulie Walnuts wrote about trying this maybe that was last year. Maybe he'll pass through the forum and add some more.

Right now, I'm just watching and evaluating. Sure would be nice to have a "self hosted" store. I'd still like to read some more about digital asset fulfillment? Is it automated or manual? If someone pays for an image, do I have to manually approve, or does Shopify handle that? In the Summer I'm sometimes unavailable for a day or two or might miss an order. I don't think that would be good business to be unresponsive.

Pete, I just wanted to give you more feedback on my husband's Shopify store: yesterday he looked at his stats there and he is now in the top 18% of sellers. Yes, he has a good product with high prices, but he hasn't done anything with his shop for months now. No new listings, no promoting on social media groups, no monthly newsletter, nothing (he's been too busy with his work), and his traffic and sales are going up. Just new buyers out of nowhere. So that is a good indication of how well their search performs, I guess.

That is very interesting, thanks for sharing

I just opened (yesterday!) a stock image shop on Shopify with Pixify beta and it is incredible easy to manage!
More to come, I'm writing a post about.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #22 on:** June 30, 2022, 13:22 »

I'm in process of setting up Shopify to sell prints through an automated print on demand app like Printful or Printify. Currently working through some obstacles.

gameover · « **Reply #23 on:** July 06, 2022, 09:02 »

New post on my blog:
https://luisafumi-digitalart.com/blog/2022/07/05/i-am-public-on-shopify-with-a-big-thank-you-to-pixify/

cobalt · « **Reply #24 on:** July 07, 2022, 00:44 »

Following with interest.

I never developed a store with photodeck, maybe shopify is an interesting add on.

I need a place that automatically handles all the International VAT issues and tax requirements for Germany.

If prices on most agencies keep dropping then having our own stores, or at least one store about a specialized subject we love, is a good add on.

What is the advantage over having a shop at photoshelter?

gameover · « **Reply #25 on:** July 07, 2022, 02:58 »

Quote from: cobalt on July 07, 2022, 00:44

I need a place that automatically handles all the International VAT issues and tax requirements for Germany.

The EU to EU VAT taxes for digital goods are quite a nightmare. The good news is that Shopify handles automatically them to consumers already in the basic plan.
For B2B VAT reverse charge the EU company has to login for the validation. I''ll write a post about the handling of VAT taxes on my blog.

Quote from: cobalt on July 07, 2022, 00:44

If prices on most agencies keep dropping then having our own stores, or at least one store about a specialized subject we love, is a good add on.

This is my idea, I make a bet on

cobalt · « **Reply #26 on:** July 07, 2022, 09:29 »

I am still trying to understand what is the advantage over using Photoshelter or Photodeck?

Or Smugmug?

I think personally I would prefer a place that is officially an agency, lets me set my own prices and upload whatever I want, but does all the billing under their own system with the customer, so I just get my monthly summed royalty.

I was thinking of maybe using my pond5 exclusive account for a specialized theme for photos and videos. But I just learned that only video is treated exclusively.

Most important I need a defined subject with at least 1000 files.

And if they are good enough, they should probably go to higher end agencies, like stocksy.

But I will follow your project with interest.

The advantage of a shop would be if it can be integrated into my own website, so that longterm people bookmark my site without being dependent on an agency.

gameover · « **Reply #27 on:** July 07, 2022, 14:27 »

Quote from: cobalt on July 07, 2022, 09:29

I am still trying to understand what is the advantage over using Photoshelter or Photodeck?

Or Smugmug?

I think personally I would prefer a place that is officially an agency, lets me set my own prices and upload whatever I want, but does all the billing under their own system with the customer, so I just get my monthly summed royalty.

I was thinking of maybe using my pond5 exclusive account for a specialized theme for photos and videos. But I just learned that only video is treated exclusively.

Most important I need a defined subject with at least 1000 files.

And if they are good enough, they should probably go to higher end agencies, like stocksy.

But I will follow your project with interest.

The advantage of a shop would be if it can be integrated into my own website, so that longterm people bookmark my site without being dependent on an agency.

I can only say that years ago I discarded these websites, because there were not enough automatism to upload quickly many images at once and populate the pages accordingly. You have a lot of hard boring work to do without the time to concentrate on what you want to do. The difference using Pixify is striking.

cascoly · « **Reply #28 on:** July 08, 2022, 18:35 »

Quote from: gameover on July 06, 2022, 09:02

New post on my blog:
https://luisafumi-digitalart.com/blog/2022/07/05/i-am-public-on-shopify-with-a-big-thank-you-to-pixify/

wonderful to see your debut!

is it simple to switch from the xxx-shopify.com to your own domain? does the shopify domain then automatically forward?

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #29 on:** July 08, 2022, 20:32 »

Quote from: cobalt on July 07, 2022, 09:29

I am still trying to understand what is the advantage over using Photoshelter or Photodeck?

Or Smugmug?

I think personally I would prefer a place that is officially an agency, lets me set my own prices and upload whatever I want, but does all the billing under their own system with the customer, so I just get my monthly summed royalty.

I was thinking of maybe using my pond5 exclusive account for a specialized theme for photos and videos. But I just learned that only video is treated exclusively.

Most important I need a defined subject with at least 1000 files.

And if they are good enough, they should probably go to higher end agencies, like stocksy.

But I will follow your project with interest.

The advantage of a shop would be if it can be integrated into my own website, so that longterm people bookmark my site without being dependent on an agency.

Shopify seems to have an SEO advantage with Google so I'm giving it a try to see what happens. Like with any personal website, success lies in getting your own traffic and having something unique buyers want.

Photoshelter - I just dropped them after having a website for over ten years. I no longer have any confidence in their longevity. Long time ago they tried to launch an agency and abandoned it. Then they did a much advertised platform update (named Beam?) which seemed half baked. Then they shifted their business away from photographers/artists to chasing corporate clients with digital asset management. Then they went back to chasing photographers/artists so I'm not sure if DAM is still a core part of their business. Then a few years ago they made a highly promoted announcement of massive platform updates. During this time my sales went from okay to nothing. Their platform isn't overly customizable and the user interface is a cobbled together bandaged mishmash of UI designs from different time periods. Now they seem to only spend time on writing posts on their blog which I really dont care at all about. They just seem to be struggling to find their way as a business but that's only my perception.

Photodeck - My main website is with them and overall I'm happy. It's a small UK based company so there's always a concern with them deciding to exit the business. However, they post somewhat regular updates about new functionality they've added. Platform is highly customizable, SEO capabilities are reasonably good and I get decent traffic and regular sales. Performance is very fast and the user interface is well organized and intuitive but probably leaning a little more toward techie than the bubbly friendly UI of Shopify. The licensing options include prints, RF and RM. I totally customized the RM configuration to meet my needs. I get a mix of higher dollar RM licensing sales and print sales. They also have a handful of print integration partners for automated fulfillment. Overall a very nice website platform for artists who are a bit more into customizing.

Shopify - Just setting up my site now. I want a platform I dont need to worry about spending a ton of time on and then them going out of business. And I want more traffic and sales. My Photodeck site gets decent traffic but I seemed to have hit an SEO wall where I'm not able to increase traffic any further. As a test I did a bunch of Google searches to see which art websites showed up toward the front. After getting past the big sites, usually next up were independent artists with Shopify websites. The Shopify user interface is very slick and intuitive with a ton of apps you can add for SEO, customer live chat, stock licensing, and even fully automated POD fulfillment such as through Printful. With Printful, Printify and other POD apps, customers can place orders and you dont need to do anything. The Shopify order automatically goes to Printful and they print and ship.

Smgmug - Tried it for a while and didn't like the platform and had zero sales.

cobalt · « **Reply #30 on:** July 09, 2022, 01:45 »

Thank you so much, that is a great explanation!!

Yes, this sounds like shopify is a good solution for single artists.

I will keep following here, if I ever feel comfortable with the German VAT and data compliance issues, then I might try shopify.

I would love to have a place that is all mine and where I can set my own prices.

For now though, I a, focussing on regular uploads again and growing my ports. I haven‘t done much in the past years.

gameover · « **Reply #31 on:** July 09, 2022, 02:36 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on July 08, 2022, 20:32

Quote from: cobalt on July 07, 2022, 09:29
I am still trying to understand what is the advantage over using Photoshelter or Photodeck?

Or Smugmug?

I think personally I would prefer a place that is officially an agency, lets me set my own prices and upload whatever I want, but does all the billing under their own system with the customer, so I just get my monthly summed royalty.

I was thinking of maybe using my pond5 exclusive account for a specialized theme for photos and videos. But I just learned that only video is treated exclusively.

Most important I need a defined subject with at least 1000 files.

And if they are good enough, they should probably go to higher end agencies, like stocksy.

But I will follow your project with interest.

The advantage of a shop would be if it can be integrated into my own website, so that longterm people bookmark my site without being dependent on an agency.

Shopify seems to have an SEO advantage with Google so I'm giving it a try to see what happens. Like with any personal website, success lies in getting your own traffic and having something unique buyers want.

Photoshelter - I just dropped them after having a website for over ten years. I no longer have any confidence in their longevity. Long time ago they tried to launch an agency and abandoned it. Then they did a much advertised platform update (named Beam?) which seemed half baked. Then they shifted their business away from photographers/artists to chasing corporate clients with digital asset management. Then they went back to chasing photographers/artists so I'm not sure if DAM is still a core part of their business. Then a few years ago they made a highly promoted announcement of massive platform updates. During this time my sales went from okay to nothing. Their platform isn't overly customizable and the user interface is a cobbled together bandaged mishmash of UI designs from different time periods. Now they seem to only spend time on writing posts on their blog which I really dont care at all about. They just seem to be struggling to find their way as a business but that's only my perception.

Photodeck - My main website is with them and overall I'm happy. It's a small UK based company so there's always a concern with them deciding to exit the business. However, they post somewhat regular updates about new functionality they've added. Platform is highly customizable, SEO capabilities are reasonably good and I get decent traffic and regular sales. Performance is very fast and the user interface is well organized and intuitive but probably leaning a little more toward techie than the bubbly friendly UI of Shopify. The licensing options include prints, RF and RM. I totally customized the RM configuration to meet my needs. I get a mix of higher dollar RM licensing sales and print sales. They also have a handful of print integration partners for automated fulfillment. Overall a very nice website platform for artists who are a bit more into customizing.

Shopify - Just setting up my site now. I want a platform I dont need to worry about spending a ton of time on and then them going out of business. And I want more traffic and sales. My Photodeck site gets decent traffic but I seemed to have hit an SEO wall where I'm not able to increase traffic any further. As a test I did a bunch of Google searches to see which art websites showed up toward the front. After getting past the big sites, usually next up were independent artists with Shopify websites. The Shopify user interface is very slick and intuitive with a ton of apps you can add for SEO, customer live chat, stock licensing, and even fully automated POD fulfillment such as through Printful. With Printful, Printify and other POD apps, customers can place orders and you dont need to do anything. The Shopify order automatically goes to Printful and they print and ship.

Smgmug - Tried it for a while and didn't like the platform and had zero sales.

Thank you very much for sharing your quite valuable experience!
I was impressed by the Shopify fast loading pages and a fast website is now absolutely important for traffic and sales.

Milleflore · « **Reply #32 on:** August 21, 2022, 06:20 »

Thanks for all your info re. shopify, guys. Its given me a lot of food for thought. I was seriously thinking of setting up a Shopify store to sell direct but also looked at other alternatives.

However, I decided to trial Pattern, the website powered by Etsy. Its half the cost of shopify, you can easily customise it, add blogs, etc, and add your own listings (other than what you have listed on Etsy) and very easy to set up. I set up my husband's shopify account and Pattern, compared to Shopify, is a a breeze to set up. It has a nice clean shop front, and picks up all your listings from Etsy, as well as gives you the ability to add other listings to Pattern direct.

It may not be a solution for everyone, but if you have an Etsy shop, then it looks like a hassle-free way to sell digital downloads, rather than worry about extra apps and add-ons, etc. All of that is already done for you.

https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/360000343188-Getting-Started-With-Pattern?segment=selling

Quote

Pattern helps you build a website as unique as your brand and expand your online sales beyond the Etsy marketplace.

If you create a website through Pattern, we’ll automatically import most content and inventory from your Etsy shop. You’ll be able to customize the imported content and listings for your website.

Pattern provides you with a personalized, separate website for your business. Although inventory is synced and managed centrally through Shop Manager, your Pattern site is not connected to the Etsy marketplace

somewhere · « **Reply #33 on:** August 21, 2022, 12:07 »

Any chances of getting regular stock sales on these sites (Photodeck, Shopify, Smugmug, etc.) by organic traffic only, without doing any promotion (ads, social networks, blogs, etc.)?

Milleflore · « **Reply #34 on:** August 21, 2022, 19:22 »

Quote from: somewhere on August 21, 2022, 12:07

Any chances of getting regular stock sales on these sites (Photodeck, Shopify, Smugmug, etc.) by organic traffic only, without doing any promotion (ads, social networks, blogs, etc.)?

My husband's shopify account gets very good 'organic' sales - but he is not a photographer. He sells collectible highly sought-after physical items - so he gets sales via search engines.

I think its like everything else, it all depends on what you're selling, how sought after it is, and how much competition you have for your product.

However, on my old website (powered by Simple Site) I was getting a lot of traffic by posting to social media, writing blogs, etc. When I stopped that, the traffic died down to about half. I was still getting some traffic by not doing anything, but not as much, obviously. It was not an online shop though, and only had links to where my photography and video were sold.

When I was on Smugmug a few years ago, I never promoted the site, and never made any sales.

cascoly · « **Reply #35 on:** August 21, 2022, 19:49 »

Quote from: Annie on August 21, 2022, 19:22

Quote from: somewhere on August 21, 2022, 12:07
Any chances of getting regular stock sales on these sites (Photodeck, Shopify, Smugmug, etc.) by organic traffic only, without doing any promotion (ads, social networks, blogs, etc.)?

My husband's shopify account gets very good 'organic' sales - but he is not a photographer. He sells collectible highly sought-after physical items - so he gets sales via search engines.

I think its like everything else, it all depends on what you're selling, how sought after it is, and how much competition you have for your product.

However, on my old website (powered by Simple Site) I was getting a lot of traffic by posting to social media, writing blogs, etc. When I stopped that, the traffic died down to about half. I was still getting some traffic by not doing anything, but not as much, obviously. It was not an online shop though, and only had links to where my photography and video were sold.

When I was on Smugmug a few years ago, I never promoted the site, and never made any sales.

one of the reasons i went with pixify/shopify is that S has a good reputation for SEO - i'm getting ready to open my store soon, So we'll see. pixify has been incredibly easy to use and is optimized for photography. bought a new domain & getting google analytics going

i'm also pairing it with a WP blog at http://cascoly-images.com, while building a base in twitter - adding about 800 followers this month using links to my FAA site

somewhere · « **Reply #36 on:** August 22, 2022, 00:29 »

Quote from: cascoly on August 21, 2022, 19:49

Quote from: Annie on August 21, 2022, 19:22
Quote from: somewhere on August 21, 2022, 12:07
Any chances of getting regular stock sales on these sites (Photodeck, Shopify, Smugmug, etc.) by organic traffic only, without doing any promotion (ads, social networks, blogs, etc.)?

My husband's shopify account gets very good 'organic' sales - but he is not a photographer. He sells collectible highly sought-after physical items - so he gets sales via search engines.

I think its like everything else, it all depends on what you're selling, how sought after it is, and how much competition you have for your product.

However, on my old website (powered by Simple Site) I was getting a lot of traffic by posting to social media, writing blogs, etc. When I stopped that, the traffic died down to about half. I was still getting some traffic by not doing anything, but not as much, obviously. It was not an online shop though, and only had links to where my photography and video were sold.

When I was on Smugmug a few years ago, I never promoted the site, and never made any sales.

one of the reasons i went with pixify/shopify is that S has a good reputation for SEO - i'm getting ready to open my store soon, So we'll see. pixify has been incredibly easy to use and is optimized for photography. bought a new domain & getting google analytics going

i'm also pairing it with a WP blog at http://cascoly-images.com, while building a base in twitter - adding about 800 followers this month using links to my FAA site

Thank you very much for your detailed answers.

Quote

When I was on Smugmug a few years ago, I never promoted the site, and never made any sales.

This is my experience as well, when i was on Photoshelter years ago.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #37 on:** August 22, 2022, 15:59 »

My favorite part: "Your Pattern-only listings don’t need to follow our handmade, vintage, or craft supply policies."

Neither do Etsy listings.

Milleflore · « **Reply #38 on:** August 22, 2022, 17:29 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on August 22, 2022, 15:59

My favorite part: "Your Pattern-only listings don’t need to follow our handmade, vintage, or craft supply policies." Neither do Etsy listings.

Let me help for anyone who doesn't know. You can buy these for $1 at the bank.

Unless 2000 is now "vintage"? As in 2000 was a good year for coins, it's a vintage crop?

Pete, that's about the 3rd or 4th time you've dragged out those g-dam coins every time someone mentions Etsy.

(Apologies to the OP for getting off-track on an otherwise very good and helpful thread).

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #39 on:** August 23, 2022, 12:30 »

Quote from: Annie on August 22, 2022, 17:29

Quote from: Uncle Pete on August 22, 2022, 15:59
My favorite part: "Your Pattern-only listings don’t need to follow our handmade, vintage, or craft supply policies." Neither do Etsy listings.

Let me help for anyone who doesn't know. You can buy these for $1 at the bank.

Unless 2000 is now "vintage"? As in 2000 was a good year for coins, it's a vintage crop?

Pete, that's about the 3rd or 4th time you've dragged out those g-dam coins every time someone mentions Etsy. (Apologies to the OP for getting off-track on an otherwise very good and helpful thread).

Because Etsy doesn't abide by their own rules and if I'm working someplace with cons, fakes and lies, I'm not happy to be associated with that group of sellers.

I realize that you have some special and individual content and Etsy words for templates, design bundles and quality specifics. General images, like I make, are not going to do it on Etsy. Maybe on Shopify?

I'm looking at Shopify as possibly a best answer to self hosted at a reasonable cost. When I looked at software, from a place that did digital download sites, it was out of this world, I mean $5,000 a month and they wanted to do the hosting because of speed. For a shop?

I hope that Pattern works out for everyone that finds it useful and a place to sell their honest and creative products.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #40 on:** August 23, 2022, 15:49 »

Quote from: somewhere on August 21, 2022, 12:07

Any chances of getting regular stock sales on these sites (Photodeck, Shopify, Smugmug, etc.) by organic traffic only, without doing any promotion (ads, social networks, blogs, etc.)?

Photodeck has good SEO in my experience. If you know SEO, how to structure SEO content, and have something unique buyers need, you'll get organic traffic. For me it's mostly Google with a distant second being organic social media sharing.

If you just take your ports from the micros and dump them in something like Photodeck or Shopify, I doubt many, or any, sales would come from this. I separated my ports. The stuff I have in micro is totally different from what I have on my personal website. The prices on my personal site are macro-level starting at $100 and going into the thousands. I make fewer sales but one sale can equal months of micro sales.

cascoly · « **Reply #41 on:** August 24, 2022, 13:00 »

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on August 23, 2022, 15:49

Quote from: somewhere on August 21, 2022, 12:07
Any chances of getting regular stock sales on these sites (Photodeck, Shopify, Smugmug, etc.) by organic traffic only, without doing any promotion (ads, social networks, blogs, etc.)?

Photodeck has good SEO in my experience. If you know SEO, how to structure SEO content, and have something unique buyers need, you'll get organic traffic. For me it's mostly Google with a distant second being organic social media sharing.

If you just take your ports from the micros and dump them in something like Photodeck or Shopify, I doubt many, or any, sales would come from this. I separated my ports. The stuff I have in micro is totally different from what I have on my personal website. The prices on my personal site are macro-level starting at $100 and going into the thousands. I make fewer sales but one sale can equal months of micro sales.

major reasons i decided to try pixify:

"Shopify online stores have SEO built in and features to help you optimize your content. Some SEO is taken care of automatically: auto-generated canonical tags are added to pages to prevent duplicate content from appearing in search results, your website’s sitemap.xml and robots.txt files are automatically generated, and themes automatically generate title tags that include your store name. Also, themes are required to have social media linking and sharing options to make it easier for you to market your store".

https://help.shopify.com/en/manual/promoting-marketing/seo/seo-overview

unlike etsy, ebay,etc there is no central shopify host, your viewers can't wander to another store - instead you have a site such as cascoly.myshopify.com and can shift to your own domain eg cascoly.photography (these are pwd protected while i test

finally, shopify has an extensive test mopde for complete checkout thru actual downloads, and also can test for particular errors

•   Use credit card number 4000000000000002 to generate a card declined message.
•   Use credit card number 4242424242424241 to generate an incorrect number message.
•   Use credit card number 4000000000000259 to simulate a disputed transaction.
•   Use an invalid expiry month, for example 13, to generate an invalid expiry month message.
•   Use an expiry year in the past to generate an invalid expiry year message.
•   Use a two-digit security code number to generate an invalid security code message.

Diana Herrmann · « **Reply #42 on:** August 27, 2022, 10:02 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on August 22, 2022, 15:59

My favorite part: "Your Pattern-only listings don’t need to follow our handmade, vintage, or craft supply policies."

Neither do Etsy listings.

I thought this was a Shopify subject not Etsy?

cascoly · « **Reply #43 on:** August 28, 2022, 14:14 »

Just opened my pixify/shopify store - comments/suggestions appreciated.

http://cascoly.photography

Topics include:
   Elements of design
   Vintage art
      Maps
      Victorian fashion
      Military
   Nature
   Travel
   Videos

trek · « **Reply #44 on:** August 28, 2022, 14:30 »

Quote from: cascoly on August 28, 2022, 14:14

Just opened my pixify/shopify store - comments/suggestions appreciated.

http://cascoly.photography

Topics include:
   Elements of design
   Vintage art
      Maps
      Victorian fashion
      Military
   Nature
   Travel
   Videos

Your license agreement requires credit. Is that gonna to work for advertisers/licensees? Was the license language Pixify boilerplate or is it custom to your account?

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #45 on:** August 28, 2022, 16:20 »

I did a quick look-around and here are a few things I noticed. Good luck with the site.

I can't see the image dimensions in pixels (or if it's there, I couldn't find it). To know if an image is large enough for certain projects, that information is important (and provided by all the agencies)

It's nice that you can zoom in to see details, but it's a rather hidden feature. I just clicked to see what would happen and then I did get a zoomed in view with a minus-magnifying-glass cursor showing I could zoom out. (Mac OS 12.5.1, Chrome). It would be nice to have a visual cue that zoom is possible.

The license is quite different from a typical agency license in a number of ways. The requirement for credit was noted above, but it also says you can't use more than 20 of your images in one project. Not sure how important that is, but the overall tone of the license is such that I'd be worried I'd inadvertently mess up and violate it. Most people will be honest, and those that aren't probably won't read the license or worry about violating the rules anyway. I'd simplify/streamline it.

Images aren't marked as editorial or commercial use - as a buyer, I'd like to know which is which.

The advertising in the license was very distracting. I assume it's because the license is in another part of your blog/history site which carries ads, but I think it'd be better for the license to be on the pixfy part of the site and ad-free. Shutterstock ads showed up multiple times, so clicking on that takes me away to license someone else's images.

I tried clicking on keywords underneath an image to see if they'd do a new search on that keyword - they don't, but that'd be a nice thing to have IMO.

If you have zoomed in on an image and then click on one of the drop-down menus at the top, the menu goes behind the zoomed-in image. You can select the half-seen menu item (if it's on the side, and it works), but most menus are completely obscured.

Milleflore · « **Reply #46 on:** August 28, 2022, 17:02 »

Quote from: Diana Herrmann on August 27, 2022, 10:02

Quote from: Uncle Pete on August 22, 2022, 15:59
My favorite part: "Your Pattern-only listings don’t need to follow our handmade, vintage, or craft supply policies."

Neither do Etsy listings.

I thought this was a Shopify subject not Etsy?

That's partly my fault. Whenever I mention Etsy, its like a red flag to a bull to Pete

I wanted to post my alternative to Shopify above in case it helped others find quick alternative websites. When I set up my husband's shopify account, I found it very time-consuming. All I want at the moment, is something that is quick and easy to set up, the licensing and payment provisions are all ready taken care of, and I just have a shop plus a place for my blogs.

Shopify is great! But to me its like buying a new whiz-bang smart TV with a huge amount of features, but when you get the new remote - there's about 200 buttons and you think, all I want are my old 6 buttons to navigate.

Milleflore · « **Reply #47 on:** August 28, 2022, 17:13 »

Quote from: cascoly on August 28, 2022, 14:14

Just opened my pixify/shopify store - comments/suggestions appreciated.

http://cascoly.photography

Topics include:
   Elements of design
   Vintage art
      Maps
      Victorian fashion
      Military
   Nature
   Travel
   Videos

Well done on getting it all set up so quickly! Kudos.

Jo Ann has some great suggestions on the technical side of things.

My suggestion is, if you have the ability to include several photos, then I highly recommend that. I know that is moving away from what we are used to on microstock agencies, but compare it to say, FAA and such. For example, you may want to show your photo in a frame on a wall. (Mockups are available for that).

I learnt quite a lot of things from selling direct: how to grab the attention of customers who are just browsing, how to use each listing as marketing tools, for cross promotions, store promotions, and more recently for avoiding customer dissatisfaction. Its a lot more work - but its really boosted my direct sales, and reduced the number of buyer messages, questions, and irritable customers.

My sales just come through now, a lot of multiple sales from individual customers because its part of my promotions, with very little else for me to do. Not having to answer buyers questions or fixing their mistakes is a big deal. Trust me!

cascoly · « **Reply #48 on:** August 28, 2022, 18:50 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on August 28, 2022, 16:20

I did a quick look-around and here are a few things I noticed. Good luck with the site.

I can't see the image dimensions in pixels (or if it's there, I couldn't find it). To know if an image is large enough for certain projects, that information is important (and provided by all the agencies)

It's nice that you can zoom in to see details, but it's a rather hidden feature. I just clicked to see what would happen and then I did get a zoomed in view with a minus-magnifying-glass cursor showing I could zoom out. (Mac OS 12.5.1, Chrome). It would be nice to have a visual cue that zoom is possible.

The license is quite different from a typical agency license in a number of ways. The requirement for credit was noted above, but it also says you can't use more than 20 of your images in one project. Not sure how important that is, but the overall tone of the license is such that I'd be worried I'd inadvertently mess up and violate it. Most people will be honest, and those that aren't probably won't read the license or worry about violating the rules anyway. I'd simplify/streamline it.

Images aren't marked as editorial or commercial use - as a buyer, I'd like to know which is which.

The advertising in the license was very distracting. I assume it's because the license is in another part of your blog/history site which carries ads, but I think it'd be better for the license to be on the pixfy part of the site and ad-free. Shutterstock ads showed up multiple times, so clicking on that takes me away to license someone else's images.

I tried clicking on keywords underneath an image to see if they'd do a new search on that keyword - they don't, but that'd be a nice thing to have IMO.

If you have zoomed in on an image and then click on one of the drop-down menus at the top, the menu goes behind the zoomed-in image. You can select the half-seen menu item (if it's on the side, and it works), but most menus are completely obscured.

thanks for some great comments - several of the items are limits of shopify or pixify, so i'll pass them on to the pixify developers
eg, one thing i cant do is make keywords clickable, tho i agree that would be great add

cascoly · « **Reply #49 on:** August 28, 2022, 18:59 »

Quote from: Annie on August 28, 2022, 17:13

...
...
My suggestion is, if you have the ability to include several photos, then I highly recommend that. I know that is moving away from what we are used to on microstock agencies, but compare it to say, FAA and such. For example, you may want to show your photo in a frame on a wall. (Mockups are available for that).
...

thanks for the quick response!

pixify doesnt have that option
currently pixify is digital only, so i link to FAA for prints, etc

Quote

I wanted to post my alternative to Shopify above in case it helped others find quick alternative websites. When I set up my husband's shopify account, I found it very time-consuming. All I want at the moment, is something that is quick and easy to set up, the licensing and payment provisions are all ready taken care of, and I just have a shop plus a place for my blogs.

Shopify is great! But to me its like buying a new whiz-bang smart TV with a huge amount of features, but when you get the new remote - there's about 200 buttons and you think, all I want are my old 6 buttons to navigate

that's why i hadn't previously considered etsy or shopify. (zazzle & FAA pose similar problems)

- the power of pixify is ability to upload batches of images and create product pages for the entire batch with 1 click. pixify extracts the details for each image.

everest · « **Reply #50 on:** August 29, 2022, 06:26 »

Thank you Paulie for your description and experience.

I also was with Photoshelter many years and left them. I have a similar thought of them like you described. I am now with Zenfolio but also not so happy. I went with them because the unlimited video but the clips get so compressed that they cannot be sold . I also find their site not intuitive neither the selling option so I will ditch them for sure.

I was thinking of Photodeck. Like their options, they seem quite fast. I though they were french. Yes they are a small company and the risk the close door is always there but as you say they seem committed as the post regular updates and improve their service. Also they don't take a cut of your sales like Photoshelter or zenfolio does.

You got me really intrigued with shopify. I know many people use it, and it seems it is the independent port for many small sellers. I thought it was much more complicate to sell many thousands of items (photos) there. Specially as I need RM because I am RF exclusive so selling as RF is not an option for me. I also thought that once you got all the extras and complements of shopify it would end much more expensive every month than Photodeck. Is this your experience?

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on July 08, 2022, 20:32

Quote from: cobalt on July 07, 2022, 09:29
I am still trying to understand what is the advantage over using Photoshelter or Photodeck?

Photoshelter - I just dropped them after having a website for over ten years. I no longer have any confidence in their longevity. Long time ago they tried to launch an agency and abandoned it. Then they did a much advertised platform update (named Beam?) which seemed half baked. Then they shifted their business away from photographers/artists to chasing corporate clients with digital asset management. Then they went back to chasing photographers/artists so I'm not sure if DAM is still a core part of their business. Then a few years ago they made a highly promoted announcement of massive platform updates. During this time my sales went from okay to nothing. Their platform isn't overly customizable and the user interface is a cobbled together bandaged mishmash of UI designs from different time periods. Now they seem to only spend time on writing posts on their blog which I really dont care at all about. They just seem to be struggling to find their way as a business but that's only my perception.

Photodeck - My main website is with them and overall I'm happy. It's a small UK based company so there's always a concern with them deciding to exit the business. However, they post somewhat regular updates about new functionality they've added. Platform is highly customizable, SEO capabilities are reasonably good and I get decent traffic and regular sales. Performance is very fast and the user interface is well organized and intuitive but probably leaning a little more toward techie than the bubbly friendly UI of Shopify. The licensing options include prints, RF and RM. I totally customized the RM configuration to meet my needs. I get a mix of higher dollar RM licensing sales and print sales. They also have a handful of print integration partners for automated fulfillment. Overall a very nice website platform for artists who are a bit more into customizing.

Shopify - Just setting up my site now. I want a platform I dont need to worry about spending a ton of time on and then them going out of business. And I want more traffic and sales. My Photodeck site gets decent traffic but I seemed to have hit an SEO wall where I'm not able to increase traffic any further. As a test I did a bunch of Google searches to see which art websites showed up toward the front. After getting past the big sites, usually next up were independent artists with Shopify websites. The Shopify user interface is very slick and intuitive with a ton of apps you can add for SEO, customer live chat, stock licensing, and even fully automated POD fulfillment such as through Printful. With Printful, Printify and other POD apps, customers can place orders and you dont need to do anything. The Shopify order automatically goes to Printful and they print and ship.

Smgmug - Tried it for a while and didn't like the platform and had zero sales.

cascoly · « **Reply #51 on:** August 29, 2022, 11:12 »

Quote from: everest on August 29, 2022, 06:26

... Specially as I need RM because I am RF exclusive so selling as RF is not an option for me. ..

where are you exclusive? most agencies don't stop you from running your own site

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #52 on:** August 29, 2022, 17:04 »

The only one I know of that has that requirement is iStock. From their help page for those considering going exclusive:

"Being Exclusive means that, for the file type(s) that you are Exclusive for, you agree that you cannot license any of that type of content on a royalty-free basis elsewhere. For example, if you are Exclusive for Photos, you can’t license any Photos with a competitor on a royalty-free basis, even for images that you’ve never submitted to iStock."

everest · « **Reply #53 on:** August 30, 2022, 03:56 »

Istock Getty photo exclusive. I tried ditching the crown but did not work for me. I can sell RM but not RF even on my own site.

Quote from: cascoly on August 29, 2022, 11:12

Quote from: everest on August 29, 2022, 06:26
... Specially as I need RM because I am RF exclusive so selling as RF is not an option for me. ..

where are you exclusive? most agencies don't stop you from running your own site

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #54 on:** August 30, 2022, 07:04 »

Quote from: everest on August 29, 2022, 06:26

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on July 08, 2022, 20:32
Quote from: cobalt on July 07, 2022, 09:29
I am still trying to understand what is the advantage over using Photoshelter or Photodeck?

Photoshelter - I just dropped them after having a website for over ten years. I no longer have any confidence in their longevity. Long time ago they tried to launch an agency and abandoned it. Then they did a much advertised platform update (named Beam?) which seemed half baked. Then they shifted their business away from photographers/artists to chasing corporate clients with digital asset management. Then they went back to chasing photographers/artists so I'm not sure if DAM is still a core part of their business. Then a few years ago they made a highly promoted announcement of massive platform updates. During this time my sales went from okay to nothing. Their platform isn't overly customizable and the user interface is a cobbled together bandaged mishmash of UI designs from different time periods. Now they seem to only spend time on writing posts on their blog which I really dont care at all about. They just seem to be struggling to find their way as a business but that's only my perception.

Photodeck - My main website is with them and overall I'm happy. It's a small UK based company so there's always a concern with them deciding to exit the business. However, they post somewhat regular updates about new functionality they've added. Platform is highly customizable, SEO capabilities are reasonably good and I get decent traffic and regular sales. Performance is very fast and the user interface is well organized and intuitive but probably leaning a little more toward techie than the bubbly friendly UI of Shopify. The licensing options include prints, RF and RM. I totally customized the RM configuration to meet my needs. I get a mix of higher dollar RM licensing sales and print sales. They also have a handful of print integration partners for automated fulfillment. Overall a very nice website platform for artists who are a bit more into customizing.

Shopify - Just setting up my site now. I want a platform I dont need to worry about spending a ton of time on and then them going out of business. And I want more traffic and sales. My Photodeck site gets decent traffic but I seemed to have hit an SEO wall where I'm not able to increase traffic any further. As a test I did a bunch of Google searches to see which art websites showed up toward the front. After getting past the big sites, usually next up were independent artists with Shopify websites. The Shopify user interface is very slick and intuitive with a ton of apps you can add for SEO, customer live chat, stock licensing, and even fully automated POD fulfillment such as through Printful. With Printful, Printify and other POD apps, customers can place orders and you dont need to do anything. The Shopify order automatically goes to Printful and they print and ship.

Smgmug - Tried it for a while and didn't like the platform and had zero sales.
Thank you Paulie for your description and experience.

I also was with Photoshelter many years and left them. I have a similar thought of them like you described. I am now with Zenfolio but also not so happy. I went with them because the unlimited video but the clips get so compressed that they cannot be sold . I also find their site not intuitive neither the selling option so I will ditch them for sure.

I was thinking of Photodeck. Like their options, they seem quite fast. I though they were french. Yes they are a small company and the risk the close door is always there but as you say they seem committed as the post regular updates and improve their service. Also they don't take a cut of your sales like Photoshelter or zenfolio does.

You got me really intrigued with shopify. I know many people use it, and it seems it is the independent port for many small sellers. I thought it was much more complicate to sell many thousands of items (photos) there. Specially as I need RM because I am RF exclusive so selling as RF is not an option for me. I also thought that once you got all the extras and complements of shopify it would end much more expensive every month than Photodeck. Is this your experience?

Yes Shopify has a lot of possibilities for extra costs. There are free apps that have upgrade options that have a cost. Then there are apps that don't offer a free version. Adding a bunch of fee based apps can increase costs a lot. But, the apps can add a lot of value where Photodeck doesn't really offer apps. There are apps for everything. Live chat, SEO, email marketing, and a lot more.

Here's the app store https://apps.shopify.com/
Here's an overview of selling stock photos on Shopify https://www.shopify.com/sell/photography

everest · « **Reply #55 on:** August 31, 2022, 11:08 »

Thank you very much. Yes I was making a quick calculation Shopify + Pixify plus other compliments and it quickly turned to 120$ every month. too much for me. I think that Photodeck looks better for me at the moment but with a good amount of sales Shopify might be well worth it if a better SEO brings a higher number of high RM sales.

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on August 30, 2022, 07:04

Here's the app store https://apps.shopify.com/
Here's an overview of selling stock photos on Shopify https://www.shopify.com/sell/photography

cascoly · « **Reply #56 on:** August 31, 2022, 12:45 »

Quote from: everest on August 31, 2022, 11:08

Thank you very much. Yes I was making a quick calculation Shopify + Pixify plus other compliments and it quickly turned to 120$ every month. too much for me. I think that Photodeck looks better for me at the moment but with a good amount of sales Shopify might be well worth it if a better SEO brings a higher number of high RM sales.

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on August 30, 2022, 07:04

Here's the app store https://apps.shopify.com/
Here's an overview of selling stock photos on Shopify https://www.shopify.com/sell/photography

basic shopify + pixify as $29 x 2 and is all i'm starting with. - what other apps were you considering?

everest · « **Reply #57 on:** August 31, 2022, 13:34 »

39.44Shopify (paid yaerly) By law I need to collect VAT if sales happen in Spain. It does not have this option in the basic account+ Pixify 39$ (without videos) with video it would be 99$+ SEO Optimizer 30$ Free Trust Badge Free +Outfy 15$ This are the ones I was looking for.

Quote from: cascoly on August 31, 2022, 12:45

basic shopify + pixify as $29 x 2 and is all i'm starting with. - what other apps were you considering?

cascoly · « **Reply #58 on:** August 31, 2022, 15:01 »

Quote from: everest on August 31, 2022, 13:34

39.44Shopify (paid yaerly) By law I need to collect VAT if sales happen in Spain. It does not have this option in the basic account+ Pixify 39$ (without videos) with video it would be 99$+ SEO Optimizer 30$ Free Trust Badge Free +Outfy 15$ This are the ones I was looking for.

Quote from: cascoly on August 31, 2022, 12:45

basic shopify + pixify as $29 x 2 and is all i'm starting with. - what other apps were you considering?

thanks - i wasn't considering video costs, but agree that certainly makes a difference.

a minor point is additional SEO optimizer likely isn't necessary as google analytics, tags & indexing can be done within shopify

cascoly · « **Reply #59 on:** September 05, 2022, 12:39 »

Quote from: trek on August 28, 2022, 14:30

Quote from: cascoly on August 28, 2022, 14:14
Just opened my pixify/shopify store - comments/suggestions appreciated.

http://cascoly.photography

Topics include:
   Elements of design
   Vintage art
      Maps
      Victorian fashion
      Military
   Nature
   Travel
   Videos

Your license agreement requires credit. Is that gonna to work for advertisers/licensees? Was the license language Pixify boilerplate or is it custom to your account?

missed this earlier -- i've updated license to request not require credit and simplified overall based on suggestions from Jo Ann and others

jacoblund · « **Reply #60 on:** September 06, 2022, 03:38 »

Hi guys!

I'm only seeing this discussion about Pixify now. We started the Pixify project out of need - as I was looking for a solution to sell my content directly. I don't believe any other platform offers photographers with a fully customizable platform where no one takes a cut off your sales.

Pixify is precisely that, and I don't think it compares to existing platforms. We've chosen to piggyback on a solid e-commerce engine that keeps getting better. It's a platform where you can start small and you can grow big as there are endless possibilities for designing and customizing your store.

If there's interest here on the forum, I'd be happy to host a demo + Q&A session. Let me know!

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