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p.15 #5 · p.15 #5 · Hobby photographers eroding value of professional work? | |
chez wrote:
Bottom line, we see these types of threads all the time...the amateur taking away the business from the pro. So rather than joining into a group whine about it...what are you doing to deal with being undercut?
Is your work so poor that someone with a hobby can come and take away your business? I've seen people blame the "ignorant customer" who just wants cheap goods as one of the problems. Are these your customer base...ignorant and cheap? How about educating them on why your product / service is worth the money you think it is...if you can't then blame your sales skills or maybe your lacking product.
If a weekend warrior can come and affect your business in any drastic way...that tells me a lot about your business...and maybe you need to be out of business.
Now let the whining continue as I'm sure the weekend warriors will not decrease...but in fact will increase....Show more →
My work is darn fine I can assure you.
And there is nothing to say that an an amateur is not as atalented as I am - many are more so.
Talent is not the issue. Payment is. The amateur who gives their work for free because they can and with no regard to how it hurts the professional industry as a whole is undermining a wealth of hard working professionals - just because they want to.
I'm merely suggesting that if an amateur is good, then they charge suitably for their services. We will keep a healthy playing field where talent and hard work is rewarded and no one loses their homes or income. I'm not blessed with a benefactor or other employer to carry my costs.
If an amateur is not providing a professional service due to time limitations (real job gets in the way), or lack of insurance or no backups, or priority to the client - then at least these things are highlighted so the client knows they're notr quite getting the same as a pro.
And I'm asking for a wider view of the world. You know when we all get rightly upset when a large supermarket comes in and kills off a whole bunch of smaller independants by artificially reducing prices to an unsustainable low - just because they can... well it's a similar thing when the low-balling amateur comes along and offers a "pro" service for free.
Just because we can, doesn't mean we should. I like to think that morality and care for how society should function matters more than "well I can, so I will."
I owuldn't dream of doing something to put someone out of business just to satisfy my own personal interests. The people I associate with are the same.
And it's not about taking the whole business away. Many businesses are running a tight ship, and skimming the top 10% off their margins can be enough to reduce a business model so that it no longer functions.
The claim is that everyone else can do it so it's just the way things go and I find that appalling. We look to ourselves for what is right not find an escape in what others may be doing.
My product is not lacking. Look me up - you'll find some fine work there. But whilst many clients value quality, dependability and service - many do not. The freebee amateur gives these clients the illusion that all "pros" are the same - but some are cheap or free. The reality is that all "pros" are not the same, but the professional market is sullied by the freebee approach.
It never ceases to amaze when I'm told I should polish up my sales skills, or market myself better, or improve my professional skills, when I get this from people who have never actually had to do such in my profession.
Walk in my shoes for 10 years, and then lecture me about how better I should do things.
Armchair viewing and critiquing is an easy thing to do - doing it... somewhat more tricky.
I'll battle market forces - I have been for 25 years. But let me battle peole with the balls to charge for what they do - or are they so bad they've got to lowball everyone to get any interest.
I don't expect a bricks and mortar shop to beat an internet price, but I have the brains to understand the difference. There is enough of a market out there who don't. And the people who will lowball just to get a whiff of feeding their hobby without regard to how that effects other people - well don't make use use words to describe them.
Remember - some pros only need a small reduction in their income to fold. Are you comfortable being part of that small percentage who'd rather feed their hobby than let a pro keep his margins. I'd hope not.
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