Undercutting & Underpaying: is the short term gain worth the long term loss?
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kenneth76 said:
I think the ratio of IT companies is much much more than photographers in Singapore......?
So it's time you should start charging at least a minimum of a $1,000 for Actual Wedding Day. I have friends (IT line as well) who charges $1,200 for Actual Wedding Day photoshoot and above. And they are only doing it on freelance basis.
You market yourself well, you get paid well. Not only for photography industry.
dawgbyte77
New Member
ckuang said:
Thinking of charging $3000 for 6 hours with my benq camera... you just undercut me. :thumbsd:
ckuang said:
to be honest, don't know if i m the right person to answer,
but here is my opinion,
1. the advertising and actual sales pitch by a 'pro' sales person would be nice.
you know? if i m a good marketing guy, i would have be in sales rather than here
TG!2. if not mistaken, someone else answered, trust, as its tough to monitor. but maybe
impose a strike-one and you are out penalty.
3. a select members committee to decide?
if ever you are forming such a grouping,
do keep me inform, ok?
jude
Jemapela
New Member
Hi all,
I agree with a fellow ClubSnap member that this topic of undercutting and underpaying has been discussed a lot in CS. This topic cannot be put to rest easily, and the cause may have its roots in the way we were raised and conditioned by society and culture.
It appears that Singapore is not the only society to have this problem of underpaying and undercutting.
Being in Melbourne, I observe that many Asian businesses here also engage in ways to sell/charge less and also pay less. Comparatively, Asian businesses sell for less and pay employees less than their Caucasian/western counterparts. One of the ways they do this is by not contributing to the the employees income tax and superannuation (something like CPF), which is technically illegal in Australia. However, many Asian businesses continue to do so.
These businesses may have kept their labour cost down but in the long run, their employees suffer without superannuation. True, they sell their goods and services cheaper than the white men but to make good enough money, the Asians work 24/7. The whites tend to work 5 or 6 days only, and close shop by 6pm. (Hence we have many Asian tourists complaining that Australia closes shop too early.) It's really a simple case of working hard but not working smart.
Australia is a continent apart from Asia and Singapore but yet the Asians here are conducting business in the same way. It's something in our Asian culture to sell low and buy cheap.
Previously, I wanted to suggest that ClubSnap could be some kind of governing body or association to help regulate the prices charged by S'porean photographers but kept quiet (until now that I have said it). Instead of making ClubSnap become a forum to find freebie or cheapie photographers with more and more threads reading "Looking for actual day photographer", post a sticky somewhere that says "Pricing guide for wedding photographers" according to different levels of skill and experience.
I'm sure there are many avid, passionate, serious, hardcore, unrepentant photographers in this forum. The numbers could be quite large compared to just a group of friends forming some small alliance. If such a pricing guide was posted in ClubSnap, it gives members a clear guide how to price themselves, and also gives wedding photographer hunters (wedding couples) a rough idea how much money they will need to spend on immortalising their wedding memories (as opposed to showing off their wealth with 30 tables at Some Hotel to later crap it out into a toilet bowl 6 hours later).
Don't flame me. I'm just giving my ideas and my observation of Melbourne Asians.
I agree with a fellow ClubSnap member that this topic of undercutting and underpaying has been discussed a lot in CS. This topic cannot be put to rest easily, and the cause may have its roots in the way we were raised and conditioned by society and culture.
It appears that Singapore is not the only society to have this problem of underpaying and undercutting.
Being in Melbourne, I observe that many Asian businesses here also engage in ways to sell/charge less and also pay less. Comparatively, Asian businesses sell for less and pay employees less than their Caucasian/western counterparts. One of the ways they do this is by not contributing to the the employees income tax and superannuation (something like CPF), which is technically illegal in Australia. However, many Asian businesses continue to do so.
These businesses may have kept their labour cost down but in the long run, their employees suffer without superannuation. True, they sell their goods and services cheaper than the white men but to make good enough money, the Asians work 24/7. The whites tend to work 5 or 6 days only, and close shop by 6pm. (Hence we have many Asian tourists complaining that Australia closes shop too early.) It's really a simple case of working hard but not working smart.
Australia is a continent apart from Asia and Singapore but yet the Asians here are conducting business in the same way. It's something in our Asian culture to sell low and buy cheap.
Previously, I wanted to suggest that ClubSnap could be some kind of governing body or association to help regulate the prices charged by S'porean photographers but kept quiet (until now that I have said it). Instead of making ClubSnap become a forum to find freebie or cheapie photographers with more and more threads reading "Looking for actual day photographer", post a sticky somewhere that says "Pricing guide for wedding photographers" according to different levels of skill and experience.
I'm sure there are many avid, passionate, serious, hardcore, unrepentant photographers in this forum. The numbers could be quite large compared to just a group of friends forming some small alliance. If such a pricing guide was posted in ClubSnap, it gives members a clear guide how to price themselves, and also gives wedding photographer hunters (wedding couples) a rough idea how much money they will need to spend on immortalising their wedding memories (as opposed to showing off their wealth with 30 tables at Some Hotel to later crap it out into a toilet bowl 6 hours later).
Don't flame me. I'm just giving my ideas and my observation of Melbourne Asians.
haha!
wow! 6hrs to crap it out?
mine i served hard to digest food so it should last 24hrs.
btw, take a look here
http://www.styleweddings.com.sg/forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=711
price seems normal,
but look at what he gives.
work my sums n it seeems
he need to work for at least 3 days after the big day.
if ever getting married again,
will look at his portfolio.
wow! 6hrs to crap it out?
mine i served hard to digest food so it should last 24hrs.
btw, take a look here
http://www.styleweddings.com.sg/forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=711
price seems normal,
but look at what he gives.
work my sums n it seeems
he need to work for at least 3 days after the big day.
if ever getting married again,
will look at his portfolio.
Jemapela
New Member
judeseah said:btw, take a look here
http://www.styleweddings.com.sg/forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=711
price seems normal,
but look at what he gives.
work my sums n it seeems
he need to work for at least 3 days after the big day.
if ever getting married again,
will look at his portfolio.
Hmm... I'm not sure what you mean but I guess he has to toil/labour for 3 days after the wedding to deliver all those prints, DVDs, etc?
Yea, it appears to be a very generous offer for only $868. Hmm... appears to be another case of working hard but not working smart?
Or maybe I'm just too lazy?
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