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Prints/Products - Self-fulfilled
Overview
Self-fulfillment allows you to print or outsource orders yourself, rather than relying on the fully automated print vendor solutions. You will be notified by email and when you log into PhotoShelter if a self-fulfilled order has been placed. You must then choose to complete the order by handling it yourself offline or by forwarding the order to be fulfilled by a registered print lab within the PhotoShelter Print Vendor Network.
PhotoShelter assesses a transaction fee on self-fulfilled items at the point of sale. The fee is due on your next month's bill. We do not wait for you to complete fulfillment to assess the fee.
Self-fulfilled Products
To view or add a new item, click Sell -> Self-fulfillment. Click the "Create New Print/Product" button to add a new item. If you plan to have a print lab fulfill the item, we encourage you to check with this lab to see the range of sizes and products they have available.
Adding an Item
Adding an item is a two-part process. First, fill out the description section and specify the size of the item. Then, click "Continue to Shipping."
When you create a new print item, you must specify either height & width or a custom size. The print size is for your internal use only and is not displayed to buyers, so you should clearly indicate size in the print's name, e.g. "8x10 Signed Print" or "20x30cm Print," so buyers are clearly informed of their options when shopping. You may also place some detailed information about the item you are offering in the "Description" field, let your buyers know how long they should expect before the item ships using the "Estimated Production Time" field, and even upload a sample image of the product, if you so choose. (Again, if you plan to have a print lab fulfill your orders, you may want to see how the vendor describes their own products so you can use the same selling points to market yours. If you're using a lab in the Print Vendor Network, they may be able to provide you with a customized "Getting Started" packet that includes a lot of the information you might need.)
The print size may be specified in English units (height x width in inches), or you may enter a custom size description up to 20 characters long. This is useful if you prefer metric or special sizes, e.g. "A4" or "30x20cm." (Please note if the custom size field is used, the buyer will not be able to select his/her own crop when checking out.)
When a buyer selects a print size, the various print options will be listed in order of English units height, then width, then custom size by default. Note that although height and width are not required if you specify a custom size, they are useful for ensuring proper sorting of the options. For instance, if you are offering an "A4" self-fulfill print in addition to standard EZ Prints sizes, entering the correct dimensions for your print in inches (in this case, 8.3 x 11.7) will place your print after "8x10" prints, but before "11x14" prints.
If you are creating a self-fulfilled item defined as a product (as opposed to a print), you may opt to define the image's dimensions, but it's not required in this case.
It should be noted that both prints and products can also be custom sequenced. Please see the "Sequencing Self-Fulfilled Items" section below for further instructions on how to custom sort.
You may also optionally include a SKU for your database if applicable, and finish options you'd like to offer for your prints.
Shipping Options
The second part of the process is to define the shipping options. Because your self-fulfilled products can vary in size and weight, we give you the ability to create shipping options and destinations.- Pick a country that you will offer shipping to. You may create a separate shipping entry for each country you want to support, or you can choose "All other countries" to charge the same rate for all countries other than those you specifically indicate.
- Select the shipping method. Shipping vendors (e.g. FedEx) are listed with more generic options ("2-day air").
- Enter a base fee. The base fee is the initial fee for shipping the item. You can specify the fee for 1 or many items. For example, if the item is a signed 8x10, then you might offer 10 items in the base fee. But if the item is a book, you might only include one item given its heavier weight.
- Specify additional fees. If you want to offer a break in shipping fees for additional items you can do so here.
- Size Designation is an optional field to group shipping of items sharing the size you select. For example:
- If you have a book with a shipping price of $10 for 2 items and a size designation of "small", and
- A framed print with a shipping price of $15 for 2 items and a size designation of "small"
- A customer who orders both will have the shipping grouped because the size designation is the same. They will pay the higher of the two fees
Sequencing Self-Fulfilled Items
The order in which your self-fulfilled prints and products appear listed in your Photographer Area is the order in which they will display to buyers. You may choose to alter this sequence by dragging and dropping the products within the list.
Pending Print/Product Sales
When someone purchases a self-fulfilled item, you will be notified via email. The order will appear in your "My Sales" list with a status of "Pending Fulfillment". When you complete or ship your order, you can close it out by clicking on the invoice number, then clicking the "Complete Order" button at the bottom of the page. By default, this sends the buyer a shipment notification by email, but you can disable this by unchecking the "Email buyer shipment details" box. You can also choose to include a tracking number and/or other internal reference number.
Your other alternative is to forward your order to any lab in the Print Vendor Network, at which point the fulfillment is placed in the hands of the selected vendor.
FAQs
Why can a Print Profile have both auto- and self-fulfilled products?
You might create a profile where the smaller size prints (e.g. up to 11x14) are printed/delivered by a print vendor, but where larger prints are created by yourself to ensure a higher degree of quality.You might also offer a 4x6 in a finish not offered by the print vendors (e.g. art watercolor paper) as a premium choice. Having a hybridized profile gives you maximum flexibility because a single image can only have one print profile associated with it.
Can I add a Self-Fulfill product that is the same size as a print vendor size?
Yes. You might, for example, offer a 4x6 on watercolor paper. Or a signed 4x6 print. You would have to define these items as a Self-Fulfill item and the customer would see that as an option when they add it to their cart.