The Online Insider Exposes SmugMug: It Gives Me Red Eye
Written: Apr 08 '04
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I have to admit that I was not aware of SmugMug prior to reading the first review posted here at epinions. Now that I know about it however, I have to say that I'm not impressed by them at all.
About the SmugMug Service
Sure, SmugMug has a cute name and a pretty well crafted site, but at it's essence it's a photo finishing and sharing site. That is not a bad thing at all. The problem is that they charge you for the service -- the same service that you can get for free with sites like ofoto or shutterfly.
SmugMug has 3 levels of service:
1. Normal -- $29.99 per year
2. Power User -- $49.99 per year
3. Professional -- $99.99 per year
Each of these levels basically offer the same service, but bulk users simply pay more. Perhaps there is some merit to the service for power or professional users, as they are going to be using this type of thing more often, and the free services don't work for them. If you're a normal user (read that as Pet Owner, Parent, or Grandparent), I can't see this additional cost making any sense what-so-ever.
Using the SmugMug Site
In order to use the site, you must give them your credit card as part of the free trial. You need to remember to cancel your trial within 7 days or SmugMug will then charge your card the full balance of the annual fee.
The site is easy to use. It makes the uploading of multiple photos fairly simply, and it does offer interesting ways to package and display these photos online.
In addition, your friends can change the display of your album to suit their tastes. So even if you input the photos as a custom album, they will still be able to browse your pictures as thumbnails for easier viewing.
One of the things that smug mug is very proud of is the fact that their service is designed to make displaying your photos easy and it will make them look better than they could anywhere else. Additionally, smugmug doesn't bombard users with ads or collect email addresses. Lastly, they let the users print through a high-quality lab or at home.
This is the main difference between them and Ofoto. Ofoto limits the size and quality of photos on their site and they sell ads and collect the email addresses of all their site visitors.
If you're a professional user, you obviously can't have your customers getting the third degree with email and ad solicitations.
However, the photo quality differences between SmugMug and the other sites don't make it worth the additional $29.99 cost to me.
Recommended:
No
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Epinions.com ID:
bhweb22
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Member: Brian H
Location: Northeast
Reviews written: 297
Trusted by: 110 members
About Me:
I'm an Internet GEEK.
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