Cost of photo replacement

Alexander

True Grumbler
Joined
Sep 17, 2019
Posts
51
Location
Norway
Lately I had a customer come with a photo 30x40 cm to be framed, during which my nearest and dearest made a mark on it when trying to remove a piece of debris. We informed the customer of the damage and instructed to get a replacement and we would subtract the cost. Having received the new copy which was mounted onto foamboard unlike the original, the customer informed that the copy cost 1500 NOK ( about $160 US).
Yes things are a bit more expensive here in Norway, but is this typical? That a photographer would charge the same for a copy as it was for the original (portrait)?
In my logic it would cost X amount for the original portrait and then every additional copy would cost a fraction of that price.
Needless to say we ended up making a loss on that job.
 
A replacement would cost the same as if it was the original.
It doesn't matter whether it was the first one or the 21st one. That is what they charge for a print.
Remember, the photographer is in the business of shooting and printing photos. That is how he makes a living.

Also remember, you are most likely being charged for it being mounted onto foamboard as well.

Lesson learned..keep your nearest and dearest away from...well..everything!! :beer:
 
In my photo store multiple quantity discounts would only apply when quantities were ordered and printed together.

Same policy in the frame shop.
 
They might extend a wholesale price if they were dealing with the framer, but probably not the retail customer.

I'm sorry to hear of this :(
 
In a similar situation, a photographer once charged me almost double the original price (charged to the customer) for a replacement print. The photographer's reasoning was that she could charge as much as she wanted, because somebody other than her customer (me in this case) would have to pay the price. And so I did.

As it happened, I was regularly doing framing for this photographer at that time, so I called to ask for a fair price. She politely refused, saying that I should be more careful or get better insurance to cover accidental damage.

Believe it or not, she was angry when her framing discount disappeared, and I never heard from her again. Sad but true. :fire:
 
Unfortunately, this is not unusual. In fact, Jim's experience has actually become more common. The concept of helping each other out seems to be slipping. So many business people seem to be only focused on the moment.

But it isn't universal. Some years ago I had a photograph damaged in my shop. When I contacted the photographer, rather than charge me the full price I was prepared to pay, she had the print shipped to me from the lab she used, then later billed me for the exact amount of her cost. We had never met before, but we have many times since. Although she took a small risk by not demanding payment in advance, it actually didn't cost her anything except the time it took her to call the lab and order the print.

She is my go-to photographer for portraits and though she is a half-hour away, I still send her new clients with some regularity. When she downsized her studio and eliminated framing, she began to send all of her clients to me.

We have had a friendly relationship for over a decade now, and we have sent each other business many times. It has made up for the loss of that $100 profit on that print many times over.
 
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