I think that we can all agree MPix's shipping prices are absolutely out of line.  There is no way it should cost $6.45 (or whatever it is now) to ship one 5x7 and I'm going to lose print orders because of it, as will many of my friends on this site. This is the only drawback to Zenfolio's order fulfillment system.

1.  Can you somehow get the cost down?
2. If not, can you implement a feature like a coupon that enables us to reduce or eliminate the shipping cost if a customer's order exceeds a certain price (e.g., free shipping for orders of $50 or more)?

 I totally agree.  I have been using Mpix / Millers for several years now.  I was excited to hear that Mpix had teamed up with ZF so that I could streamline my ordering process, thus giving me more time other things.  However, now I have to tell clients (mostly sports action shots) that if they just want one, $6 4x6, email me direclty and I will order it for them.  Then, to cut down on s&h, I wait until I have several orders to process.  Which means it takes longer for the client to get his / her pics.  I end up mailing out some of the pics via USPS and I can tell you to ship a 5x7 (including pkg materials and delivery confirmation), it is usually between $1.50 - $3.  My point being, I went through al of the trouble of changing my website provider for no apparent reason as this is not the only issue I have with them right now. 

I also agree. I had a customer order 2 4x6's and 2 5x7's of the same print and ended up costing her 9.95 shipping for the two orders. I don't understand why these can't be combined and have just the shipping charge. I love everything else about the site but this item alone might force me to switch to another company. Please look into a cheaper solution. 

 i also agree, If you use millers then you know the shipping they do, and the prints arent that much different in price, your just buying in bulk, plus the more you buy the cheaper it gets on some, and thier shipping option is very friendly...  I have had a few people tell me they backed out at the cart becasue they werent paying that for 2 or 3 pics.

I understand that this cost is dictated by Mpix and not Zenfolio (ZF is passing the cost through), but I wholeheartedly chime in with the plea for Zenfolio to advocate on our behalf with Mpix to bring their shipping prices (especially for smaller orders) into some semblance of sanity.

The single most common reason that I have heard from potential but lost print customers was the "exhorbitant shipping cost" (direct quote from one such lost customer).  I've lost hundreds of dollars worth of print sales because of it.  And that's just from the angry customers who have actually talked with me about why they chose not to order.

Mpix's arrogant choice to only ship one print size per shipment is the most aggravating part of this.  Why on earth would one of my customers choose to pay $10 to ship a 4x6 and 2 5x7 prints?  I really can't blame them (my customers) for not ordering in the face of such naked greed.  Really, it makes me look bad.

The short of it is that Mpix is costing me business, which is extremely unfortunate.

A cardboard flat should only cost $1 or so through USPS to anywhere in the US - they use UPS, which charges more for longer distances and also has high minimums.

 I have been thinking about joining zenfolio - that or redbubble in order to sell a few photos --- redbubble being free appeals but I don't know about the quality of the prints. (Anyone know? have an opinion?)

 However, a very high shipping cost is a deterrent. I am puzzled, though. On reading here, I went to Mpix.com and found Mpix "... For your convenience there is a flat shipping charge regardless of the number of prints ordered. " Their mail shipping cost is $3.00. 

 What am I missing? And any opinions on redbubble versus zenfolio and should I ask this in a different forum?

 thank you! 

I too have been making excuses to clients about the shipping costs. A $6.00 print cost $6.45 to ship. I am trying to offer a $3.00 coupon to offset some shipping costs, but this also cuts into profit. Frustrating.

Has anyone from Zenfolio ever responded to this issue?

I really think that this issue and the ability to sell print packages are the top 2 needs for Zenfolio.

I've tried most of the others and I like Zenfolio.  I just wish we could get this done.

 Mpix just sent me an order for 1-10x15. Charged me 6.95 and shipped USPS Priority Mail. The interesting (amusing?) part of the shipment was the printed caution for the postman not to bend as "Multiple size prints may be enclosed."

Question: Do they or do they not group shipping?

Some time has passed since the original post, and Mpix has since made changes to their shipping options.

Prints sized 5x7 and smaller (up to 50 per package) now have a First Class shipping option that cost $3.50. And it even includes a tracking number from USPS.

For single prints larger than 5x7, Priority Mail is still the lowest cost option at $6.45. This is a flat shipping rate which may seem like a poor deal for a single print, but it is an mazing deal on any larger size order including mounted and framed prints and heavy gallery wraps which still cost the same $6.45 to ship anywhere in the US. This is hardly a bad deal.

We are constantly talking to Mpix about improving shipping and they have been listening. Including 5x7 print size in the First Class shipping option as well as introducing tracking for First Class and Priority Mail shipping without increasing shipping charges was a direct response to some of the requests made on this forum.

We are still hoping for a less expensive shipping option to Canada, and I know Mpix is actively looking into that.

Thanks for the update Alex.  Glad to see some progress is being made.

I have a followup observation on this. A customer recently purchased 20-4x6's. Shipping was billed at 3.95. I thought that was fair.

Charlie

Or simply up the print cost just slightly to compensate. A customer is not really going to care if the print is 25 cents more, but when they see that "shipping charge" it is just psychologically annoying!

Aaron, I agree 100%. I am in even worse of a situation. I slaved away for months to build my site and make it as user-friendly as the ZF software would allow, but NOT ONE ORDER. Even with my word-of-mouth visitors no one has bought a thing, nor even had the courtesy to email me with any complaints. ZF, of course, tells me they can find nothing on my site that would deter sales. Really? Even when I spent hours putting a price list of available sizes in the Caption area for every expanded picture among my 700 images, so they would know what to expect to pay before going to the cart, still no sales.

As I have not enabled Google Analytics on my site (because of the customer privacy concerns I read about), I have no way of telling what page they exited out of. Betcha they all bailed at the cart. And from what you and others have blogged, I can now see why! Who would buy a 2.00 print, then get jacked with 6.45, plus 9.5% Cal. Sales tax? Hell, I actually SOLD a number of prints when I shopped them person to person doing my own fulfillment (I took my jpeg to the lab, had it printed and physically handed it to my customer.) I'd hate to have to trash my whole site's work just because I can't sell with MPix's high shipping costs. Beginning to think I should abandon e-commerce altogether, and just sell person to person, where at least I was selling and making a decent profit to boot. What good is high traffic (no I haven't achieved that yet) but a 0% conversion rate?  I feel your pain. 

Could you have a look at my site at www.gonyeaneimages.zenfolio.com and see if there is some sales deterrent that is my fault? I would greatly appreciate it, and I hope you succeed in your online business.

Lynne