What are people's opinions on listing prices on their website? Good or bad idea? I am thinking of starting to put them up for people to see (business is slow, might help), but I could see the advantages and disadvantages in both.

I personally do not because I feel as though if I do that it will be the first thing people look at and won't bother looking at my samples if they think it's a bit higher than what they expect. By not listing them if they like what they see they might consider the higher price if they feel they will get a good video.

But I'm not sure and would like to know what other people do.

What are people's opinions on listing prices on their website? Good or bad idea? I am thinking of starting to put them up for people to see (business is slow, might help), but I could see the advantages and disadvantages in both.

I personally do not because I feel as though if I do that it will be the first thing people look at and won't bother looking at my samples if they think it's a bit higher than what they expect. By not listing them if they like what they see they might consider the higher price if they feel they will get a good video.

But I'm not sure and would like to know what other people do.

I don't list on my site for specifically that reason. Really you want your site to peak thier interest and then send them a rate card once you have a dialogue going. At least thats how I go about it.

I used to list all of our prices on the site and I felt that it was more beneficial at the time. People did like seeing everything right up front. I still have all of the information listed so they can see it, but have taken the prices off as our services have gotten much more expensive. I simply say that your investment in our services begins at $xxxxx . It hasn't negatively affected anything and this way people know what ballpark we're in right up front. I get a few more inquiries about pricing than I used to but I wouldn't go back to putting everything up on the site.

Matt

What are people's opinions on listing prices on their website? Good or bad idea? I am thinking of starting to put them up for people to see (business is slow, might help), but I could see the advantages and disadvantages in both.


Hi Daniel,

I have friends, whom I highly respect that do list their prices on their website, however, we do not list our prices openly. Our prices are password protected. We want the bride to watch our clips first. Our concern is that if our prices are listed they will look at the prices and then not even watch our work.

If you are selling your product based on the low price, then you need to list your prices as a selling point.

I see the middle ground as using the "prices from $xxxx", but our starting price is $3500, so we do not list our starting price.

I see the middle ground as using the "prices from $xxxx", but our starting price is $3500, so we do not list our starting price.

OK Mark...how many weddings do you book at those kind of starting prices? I'm in the 4th largest city in the country and book maybe 15 $2800 gigs a year. I'm considedred the best in Houston and we use camera cranes and steadicam systems as well as a cinematic presentaion that rivals some of the big boys, yet brides don't value the service. How do you get over that hurdle?

I list my prices on my website. Being only my second year in weddings, my prices are still low for this area. They aren't so low that I'm undercutting the business around here, and it saves me from dealing with the "Would you do it for $400?" people. Plus my website is in a blog format, so all my samples are up front and hard to get around.

T

Mark already said this, but I'll say it again since I agree. If you're benefit to the bride is your low price, then you might as well list your prices. If you're benefit is your work, then I wouldn't list them.

Interesting discussion. I'm now reconsidering my practice of having my prices right out front. In a related story, I've also been considering doubling my prices. The two might go hand in hand.

I too have been thinking about this, in my area about 50% list their prizes and they are all in the same price range as I am, I'm also sure that the ones who don't list are much more expensive.
It's like Mark said that if they are listed people might first look at them and then not even look at the demo's, that's why I was planning to take the price list off and just mention that prizes start from...
I will get much more price inquiries but at least I know they contact me because they like what I have to offer.

OK Mark...how many weddings do you book at those kind of starting prices? I'm in the 4th largest city in the country and book maybe 15 $2800 gigs a year. I'm considedred the best in Houston and we use camera cranes and steadicam systems as well as a cinematic presentaion that rivals some of the big boys, yet brides don't value the service. How do you get over that hurdle?

Hi Tom,

Good question. We do about 25-30 a year. When we started our business twleve years ago we had small children and did not want to work every weekend. We set a goal to keep our volume lower, which meant we had to figure out how to produce a product that would allow us to do a lower volume of weddings. It's not easy to produce those number in a city where the metro area is less than a million, so we do travel for some weddings.

I have a friend in Houston who starts around $4000 and does several in the $7000-8000 range and he stays very busy. In that price range it has a lot to do with how you are marketing and who you are networking with. At the same time I have several video friends in the Houston area that do not get those prices.

I do not know a lot about the Houston market, but the one thing I do know is that there is a lot of money down there...much, much more than Tulsa, so I say go for it. You have the quality in your work and your market has the population and money to support higher prices.

Thanks for your answers. What people have been saying is pretty much what I have been thinking, so I guess I am on the right track.

I have not been doing weddings for that long, so what would people say is a fair price to start with? My basic package I have as $2200, which includes a montage and closing credits. Some people may think it's a bit high because there are people in the area who will do the same (very poorly) for about $1500 or so, maybe even less, but I make it clear to everyone that I am a professional editor, have high standards for my myself and do not just copy and paste what everyone else is doing. Would people say that is a good approach or that I am pricing myself kind of high?

If people will pay the $2,200 and your do quality work, I'd say "go for it."

I have heard of a technique some photographers have used to find their price point. Start low (let's say $2,000 for an example), and as soon as you book an event, raise your prices by a bit - $150 for example. Then, when you book your second, raise it by another $150 until your bookings start to slow down. Then, reduce by $150.

So by that logic, your first would be $2,000... second would be $2,150... third would be $2,300... That way the market will let you know when you've gone too high.

I was half asleep this morning when I checked out this thread...

And promptly removed our prices from our site.

We're new to the business aspect of this industry and are still building our clientele and do not want to do anything to prevent us from reaching our maximum bookings. We def don't want to scare people away before they have a chance to see what we are capable of.

Thanks for the topic, Daniel!

Matthew thats a great technique, i like that idea.

This method can also give you a chance to tap into the higher market segment and give you a perspective of how much are people willing to spend without committing to a price list on your website.

Thanks for the info

In this neck of the woods, prices matter to about 97% of the people here. The video is usually the last thing budgeted for. Sad but true.

At first I didn't list my prices. The thought rationale was that if a potential bride called, I could sell them first on me... the guy shooting the wedding. Price would be the last thing to talk about.

Mrs. Cavett said that not listing prices might be scaring potential brides away because the thinking is that this guy is going to be too expensive if he's not listing his prices. (Kind of how a new Chevy will have the price on the windshield... but not so at a Ferrari dealership).

So I put the prices up. I'm practically giving them away...

Hey... I'm in Chevy-land. Right now!

I'm sure as business picks up (Good Lord willing) prices will increase.

You have to do what works best for you & your business.

I say post em! Sooner or later they are going to find out how much you are. As far as I know we are the most expensive service in our local market, so there isn't really much sense in trying to hide that to lure brides in before they find out about our prices. If they don't see your prices up front, they'll just ask you on the phone or via e-mail... not too many brides are going to setup an appointment with you without some expectation of price.

We also do not do packages such as "gold, silver, bronze, etc." It took a few years to figure that one out. You give the brides a cheeper option, they're just going to choose the cheapest option.... they don't care about equipment, high tech gadgets, or any of that crap. You can use lingo like cinematic, film like, artistic, bla bla bla all you want.... it's not going to sway too many brides. We do the whole "starting at $3,000" thing. It's worked out really well for us. By doing cookie cutter packages you are putting a cap on your pricing. You are pretty much limiting the amount of money you're ever going to get from a single event.

Also, you're not fooling anyone with Walmart pricing. What I mean by that is $2,995... just say $3,000. Seriously folks, you're not selling paper towels, you're selling a PROFESSIONAL service... that whole "people only see the first digit is BS! Do yourself a favor and round your price up to the nearest 100 dollars!

What ever your price is you need to be confident. Whether you post your pricing or not, at some point you have to tell the potential client your pricing. The best thing you can do for yourself is sound confident. Be clear, make it simple, after all you're worth every penny, in fact you're a bargain! right? The worst thing you can do is dance around the subject, stall, be unclear. If you doubt yourself and your pricing the client will see that. If you find yourself trying to convince the client of anything, you might as well give up, you lost the sale.

Moral of the story,what do you think you're worth? Don't worry too much about what everyone else is charging. Don't be afraid to raise your prices.... if you start loosing bookings you can always lower your price back down. I'll get off my soapbox now.

I say post em! Sooner or later they are going to find out how much you are. As far as I know we are the most expensive service in our local market, so there isn't really much sense in trying to hide that to lure brides in before they find out about our prices. If they don't see your prices up front, they'll just ask you on the phone or via e-mail... not too many brides are going to setup an appointment with you without some expectation of price.

We also do not do packages such as "gold, silver, bronze, etc." It took a few years to figure that one out. You give the brides a cheeper option, they're just going to choose the cheapest option.... they don't care about equipment, high tech gadgets, or any of that crap. You can use lingo like cinematic, film like, artistic, bla bla bla all you want.... it's not going to sway too many brides. We do the whole "starting at $3,000" thing. It's worked out really well for us. By doing cookie cutter packages you are putting a cap on your pricing. You are pretty much limiting the amount of money you're ever going to get from a single event.

Also, you're not fooling anyone with Walmart pricing. What I mean by that is $2,995... just say $3,000. Seriously folks, you're not selling paper towels, you're selling a PROFESSIONAL service... that whole "people only see the first digit is BS! Do yourself a favor and round your price up to the nearest 100 dollars!

What ever your price is you need to be confident. Whether you post your pricing or not, at some point you have to tell the potential client your pricing. The best thing you can do for yourself is sound confident. Be clear, make it simple, after all you're worth every penny, in fact you're a bargain! right? The worst thing you can do is dance around the subject, stall, be unclear. If you doubt yourself and your pricing the client will see that. If you find yourself trying to convince the client of anything, you might as well give up, you lost the sale.

Moral of the story,what do you think you're worth? Don't worry too much about what everyone else is charging. Don't be afraid to raise your prices.... if you start loosing bookings you can always lower your price back down. I'll get off my soapbox now.

Andrew - while I don't agree with all your points to the letter, I can say that it was fun reading a blunt post from a plain spoken guy.

As far as offering packages goes I can only give you the opinion of someone who has only offered packages, so take it for what it's worth. I've found that people do not gravitate toward the cheapest option, but rather the middle choices.

Ethan -
Thanks. Packages can work... if they work for you great. I did packages for a while and I got by, but I think the trick is to be smart about the way in which you structure your packages. If it's just extra time you add on or maybe an extra camera or something, you might not have much success selling that higher package, I didn't.

I have had a lot of success with custom pricing. I have a base price of $3,000 for weddings that can be built upon. I also do not go into too many details, number of cameras, etc. $3,000 gets you your wedding film. I use Steadicam, I use 35mm adapters, I use Indiesliders, I use wireless mics, I use all that crap... but I don't try to explain it to bride, they really don't care. Plus it just raises more questions like... "if i don't want those things, can I get a cheeper price?" I don't want that. It's also nice not going into too many details about equipment, because come the wedding day you have a problem with a certain gadget, you're ok! They weren't expecting it, so they're not going to question why you are not using your steadicam, or why you only had 3 cameras and not 4. The less promises you make, the less promises you have to keep, the less chances you are giving yourself to screw things up. I don't think it's your equipment you should be selling, it's YOUR ABILITIES! I'm going to repeat that....

It's not your equipment you should be selling, it's your abilities as a professional videographer!

With that said, I would never want a bride to think that I'm compromising quality with a bronze, silver, gold, package scale. That's my reasons for not doing packages. But, if it works for you, it works for you. If it's not broke, don't fix it! :)

Andrew Waite
Higher Definition Media
www.higherdefinitionmedia.com

I agree completely about selling yourself based on what you use. 99% of the people you deal with have no idea what all the different equipment you use is, so what difference does it make to them what you use? Why confuse them?

I hate it when people make a big deal that they use a 3CCD camera. Who doesn't? Or what program they edit with. Final Cut or Avid? I hate Final Cut, I think it's the work of the devil, but at the end of the day it doesn't make a difference what you edit on. It's the skill of the cameraman and editor that determines how good the video is. I make it a point to tell people this when I speak with them and it helps me because they see I'm going to be honest with them and they like that.

I hate Final Cut, I think it's the work of the devil

Them's fightin' word round these parts mister.

Final Cut saved my life, made me thinner, gave me fuller thicker hair, and lowered my taxes. I'd slap a dress on that bundle of code and marry her if I could.

HAHAHA... it's not the size that counts, it's how you use it, right? or how often you use it!

I happen to love FCP. For years I used Premiere Pro and even tried Vegas before falling in love with FCP.

But, I agree with you in that brides don't give a flying rats ass about CCDs and NLEs.

I don't want to turn this into any kind of war or anything because I know there are people who really like Final Cut, but there are just things in it that make no sense to me such as...

-the inability to copy individual key frames
-instead of importing a file into the program, it just references it
-whenever you do a video fade, 99% of the time you do an audio fade of the same exact length, but yet audio and video fades are considered 2 separate effects that can not both be done together with one keystroke
-it is always in what avid calls "segment mode"
-the keyboard is not mapped for speed. I can do everything (almost at least) on an avid without having to move my hand from the JKL position.
-Apple, which has made billions of dollars with IPods, does not support mp3s for Final Cut

Like I said, I know people like it and I admit the ability to make chyrons and credits in it are really cool and easy, but the things I mentioned just drive me crazy.

Once again, don't want to start anything and understand that everyone has their own preferences.

And back to the original topic, I have seen someone on their website say to potential customers that if they upgrade their package then instead of doing fades, they will do dissolves. Insane!

-Apple, which has made billions of dollars with IPods, does not support mp3s for Final Cut

They can give us DVDSP, Soundtrack Pro, Motion, Color, incorporate some Shake goodies and they still haven't fixed this. That's the only point I'll give you out of your list, the rest comes with being familiar with the program. I was trained on Avid myself, used a media composer for 3 years, and am still a convert to the Church of Apple. Just so you know where I'm coming from.

Like I said, I know people like it and I admit the ability to make chyrons and credits in it are really cool and easy, but the things I mentioned just drive me crazy.

You said chyrons! How old school. I've actually used a Chyron when I worked in TV, talk about something to hate. Thank god technology has gotten us past that hell.

...What ever your price is you need to be confident. Whether you post your pricing or not, at some point you have to tell the potential client your pricing. The best thing you can do for yourself is sound confident. Be clear, make it simple, after all you're worth every penny, in fact you're a bargain! right? The worst thing you can do is dance around the subject, stall, be unclear. If you doubt yourself and your pricing the client will see that. If you find yourself trying to convince the client of anything, you might as well give up, you lost the sale.

Moral of the story,what do you think you're worth? Don't worry too much about what everyone else is charging. Don't be afraid to raise your prices.... if you start loosing bookings you can always lower your price back down. I'll get off my soapbox now.

Hi Andrew,

You hit the nail right on the head. I could not agree more. Great post. Do you have any other soapboxes? I would love to hear them.

Thanks Mark,

Yeah, I didn't mean to get so preachy, it's just that I'm very passionate about video production and I want nothing more than for the industry to improve. At least in my market, video is not very popular. I'm working very hard in my market to change the way brides look at wedding video.

With that said... I'm done soap boxing, but I do have a few pet peeves when it comes to the way some videographers choose to market themselves. For example, I can't stand when certain phrases are used in marketing materials such as: cutting edge, state of the art, best quality possible, broadcast quality, EXCLUSIVE, industry leading, etc.

Who are you fooling? You might be fooling the bride, you're definitely fooling yourself. Unless you are shooting weddings with a prototype Red Epic you probably shouldn't be using any of the those phrases in your marketing materials... with the exception of broadcast quality, however, if you are using HDV cameras, some would even argue that point as well. Phrases like cutting edge and state of the art get tossed around all to easily these days, much like the word "gourmet" with microwaveable TV dinners. Again, unless you are using the absolute (emphasis on the ABSOLUTE part) best equipment out there, then just leave it at professional. Even then, most of us are using "pro-sumer' equipment. Either way, it doesn't matter, as I stated before, equipment is not important, it's how you use it.. or better put, what you can do with it! And I'm sorry, but if you think you offer something that is exclusive, think again.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Hopefully I'm not pissing off too many people in this forum. Anyone who knows me personally, knows I'm blunt.

Thanks Mark,
And I'm sorry, but if you think you offer something that is exclusive, think again.




Aww, come on. Everybody has an exclusive product to offer. The difference is, it's either exclusively good, or exclusively BAD! it's exclusive one way or the other ; )

Thanks Mark,

Yeah, I didn't mean to get so preachy, it's just that I'm very passionate about video production and I want nothing more than for the industry to improve. At least in my market, video is not very popular. I'm working very hard in my market to change the way brides look at wedding video.

With that said... I'm done soap boxing, but I do have a few pet peeves when it comes to the way some videographers choose to market themselves. For example, I can't stand when certain phrases are used in marketing materials such as: cutting edge, state of the art, best quality possible, broadcast quality, EXCLUSIVE, industry leading, etc.

Who are you fooling? You might be fooling the bride, you're definitely fooling yourself. Unless you are shooting weddings with a prototype Red Epic you probably shouldn't be using any of the those phrases in your marketing materials... with the exception of broadcast quality, however, if you are using HDV cameras, some would even argue that point as well. Phrases like cutting edge and state of the art get tossed around all to easily these days, much like the word "gourmet" with microwaveable TV dinners. Again, unless you are using the absolute (emphasis on the ABSOLUTE part) best equipment out there, then just leave it at professional. Even then, most of us are using "pro-sumer' equipment. Either way, it doesn't matter, as I stated before, equipment is not important, it's how you use it.. or better put, what you can do with it! And I'm sorry, but if you think you offer something that is exclusive, think again.

That's my story and I'm sticking to it! Hopefully I'm not pissing off too many people in this forum. Anyone who knows me personally, knows I'm blunt.
Sounds like you've got it all figured out.

just my two cents. maybe it might help someone just starting out, maybe it will rub others the wrong way, but maybe it will cause someone to rethink the lingo used their marketing materials. i don't know. just my opinion, i'm happy to give it to someone when asked (i'd like to know what you thing mark). i'm no marketing genius... just a wannabe cinematographer.

Aww, come on. Everybody has an exclusive product to offer. The difference is, it's either exclusively good, or exclusively BAD! it's exclusive one way or the other ; )

good point william. you are right there! it's hard to be original, it's even harder to do something that hasn't been done before with so many brilliant minds out there in the video world. for example, i came up with this great idea to superimpose the loch ness monster in to one of my wedding highlights, but someone else beat me to it. YouTube - Who Needs a Movie? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC0sR5_NTFo)

If you list all your prices and packages on your website then it could be argued that you're missing out on a opportunity to connect with a potential client, show them a bit more of your personality etc ...

It's a chance to build on a relationship with your client that started with them visiting your website and liking your work enough to give you some more of their attention by sending you an e-mail or calling you.

In a lot of ways it's not just about selling your 'work' or your 'product' - it's so important to sell yourself as well. A client making contact with you is great opportunity to do that.

That's why we only list our starting price on the website.

Something I've seen a few people do (mainly photographers) is to actually list the range of prices they have. i.e. starting from $2,800 and going up to $10,000. Not sure what I think of that approach yet but it's something to consider.

Cheers,

Matthew.

If you don't list any price information on your web site, you're definitely losing those people who figure that no price = high price. Even expensive luxury cars usually have some starting price available, and some will walk you through pricing options online. Not listing prices wastes your time and that of potential customers, unless you plan to "upsell" struggling couples into an expensive video they can't really afford. That said, mystery pricing apparently works for some who are good at selling themselves to clients willing to wait to the end of a sales pitch for pricing.

P.S. So-called "Wal-mart" pricing looks better to most customers, so unless you're doing a video for Andrew don't round up to $3000 from $2995.

Kevin - It might be wise to remember that what works for some, doesn't always work for others. We all have unique styles in our products and how they're marketed and different segments react to those styles in their own way.

The people who are turned off by a particular pricing scheme might not be the people I'm tailoring my product towards, just as there is a segment of the client base who is not interested in the style of video I produce.

You're not going to book 100% of the people who look at your work be it due to style, marketing, or budget but as long as your particular combination of product, price and marketing lands you the number of weddings you want in a given year then you've done something right.

There is no magic formula and I highly doubt that rounding a number by $5 either way makes one bit of difference when someone is about to shell out $2000+ for a video. At least it wouldn't matter to me since it's $5 for goodness sake but then again... I might be the guy who that type of pricing speaks to... or doesn't speak to... you get my point.

P.S. So-called "Wal-mart" pricing looks better to most customers, so unless you're doing a video for Andrew don't round up to $3000 from $2995.

Thanks Ethan for backing me up. Kevin, it wasn't my intention to ruffle any feathers. Let me ask you, do you poll your clients after your sales pitch with a question like: "Had my price been $2000 and not $1999, would that have changed your mind?" Or do you have some data from a national consumer spending report that I don't know about? Because where I made my statement as matter of opinion you seem to make a statement as a matter of fact. I "feel" that most consumers are smart enough to not be fooled by digit increases. I'm sure it's fine with deodorant or toothpaste, but we're talking a couple bucks there... wedding videos are in the thousands.... THOUSANDS. I "feel" $1 or $5 is not going to make a $3,000 investment "look" any better. Matter of opinion.

I'm sorry if I insulted you, Wal-Mart, or your pricing strategy... that wasn't my intention.

Well, just another opinion... I personally like round numbers, as apparently do several others <wink> who are not so easily "fooled" by marketing tricks.... and I tend to price that way...

BUT, let's not ignore a LOT of marketing research, (yes, that means companies with the wherewithall to DO marketing studies as to whether things sell better for 1.99 or 2.00), and that research DOES indicate that somehow the AVERAGE buyer is in fact, like it or not, subconsciously or otherwise, swayed by insignificant differences in price...

I don't know that all that research applies specifically to the wedding video market, but it would make sense that a consumer is a consumer, and at least when a consmer sees "2995" they PERCEIVE it to be somehow a better deal than "3000". I'm not saying one way or the other, but it's at least worth considering...


And another thought, from earlier in the thread... ask yourself how you shop for something?? If you go looking online for a product or service and the site says "click here for a quote" (presuming that unlike Amazon you have to respond and they don't get an instant response), and the next site gives you a range of prices, most of which are affordable, and the last site gives you a good description of EXACTLY what you are looking for, quotes a price that's fair and reasonable and mentions that you can customize to your needs... which site will you buy from? The last one you can jump on it and make a purchase knowing you're getting what you wanted for the price you wanted...

Admittedly, selling a specialized personal service is a different animal, but generally speaking the easier and more comfortable the client is from the very beginning, the more likely they will follow through towards the end of the transaction...

I've seen some "snobby" photogs that I'm sure have extrememy high prices be very secretive about their pricing - it's a turn off to me, maybe someone else likes the secret agent sales approach, I'll walk away immediately, because to me it's the kissing cousin to the "NY camera store" bait and switch boogie...

How many others here are in the "give me the price, if it's acceptable, I'll buy right now, don't try to 'play' me" camp?

This discussion makes me want to price my stuff at $2,732.48 just to see what would happen. Or for even more fun, since I'm in the US, price my stuff in Yen, then when meeting with clients convert the 20,000 Yen down to the American sum of 2,000 to make the price sound better.

What I also seen happening here is they exclude taxes and mention that in very small print somewere on the other side of the webpage. I just wonder how many clients would appreciate that if they find out afterwards.

Noa, you bring up an interesting point on taxes. I know it's a state/local government thing, but at least in California where I'm from you do not charge tax for a service (which videography is considered we are not "reselling" anything and the DVD-Rs we use WE payed sales tax on already), but it may not be that way in other states... or I could be wrong about it all together, but who here charges tax? I noticed my friend Kevin Shaw mentions charging sales tax on his site and got me thinking. Anyone care to chime in and clarify?

Andrew - From your post count I can see you're relatively new. The tax question gets brought up a couple times a year and it usually ends in bloodshed. It's safe to say that it varies from state to state and from personal interpretation of laws within a given state.

Oh, and so you know, if the tax question ends in bloodshed, the music copyright topic tends to end in all out thermo-nuclear war. I'd avoid both of those topics here and take them up with proper legal council in your area.

**EDIT**
I see your profile thing has you joining sometime last year, so you're not right off the boat, but maybe you haven't been around long enough to know which topics to avoid like the plague.

No need for bloodshed.. just check with the Board of Equalization. It's not a gray issue at all. It's only a gray issue if you make your own interpretation of the law. So check with the Board of Equalization if you have a question about this, not your accountant, your lawyer friend or some guy that 'knows stuff'.

In California, if you are doing wedding videos, the clients gets back a tangible good. Therefore, you must charge sales tax for the package that they purchase. You can't side step the issue, because if you recorded footage that ends up on the DVD they get back (or any other media form), then you must charge sales tax for the entire purchase price of the labor as well.

the DVD-Rs we use WE payed sales tax on already
Wedding Videographers in California can apply for a resellers license (that is for legitimate businesses with a California Business License). This license allows you to go to places like Costco and NOT pay sales tax for items that you are re-selling.

That being said, unfortunately, I don't think Costco carries the DVD-R's most of us use, and I don't know of any place where you can use your re-seller's license that would benefit us to get blank DVDs. My advice is to just buy them online. No sales tax for out of state purchases and shipping is minimal.

Ok.... got one more for ya.. Look at any big newspaper car ad.. Not the one liners, but the full page ads (The ones that cost the big bucks). Count the number of 9's in that ad.. Automakers spend a ton of money on market research. If it's good enough for them...

Thanks Tim. See, you learn something new every day. Book keeping is not my cup of tea.

Ok.... got one more for ya.. Look at any big newspaper car ad.. Not the one liners, but the full page ads (The ones that cost the big bucks). Count the number of 9's in that ad.. Automakers spend a ton of money on market research. If it's good enough for them...A better example would be radio or tv ads. They're paying by the second, and apparently taking that extra time to say "twenty-nine-nine-ninety-nine" rather than a quick "thirty-thousand" is worth it.

Plus it allows them to be able to say "A luxury car for under thirty thousand" - even though it's only a buck under.

On the Sales Tax issue:
For What its worth, here is a reply from the State of Washington Department of Revenue


"If you edit, add titles, combine the tape with other video materials, etc., so that an original work is created, retail sales tax is not due. The sale of a one-of-a-kind master tape for a customer is subject to tax under the service and other activities classification of the business and occupation (B&O) tax. In your example, the $1500 would not be subject to additional taxes. However, sales of additional copies would be subject to retail sales tax and retailing B&O tax."

I asked this question direct and got this reply, I know Its not Cali. but I would guess they have a similar policy

Ben

I asked this question direct and got this reply, I know Its not Cali. but I would guess they have a similar policy

Ben
Nope. Not similar at all. Like I said...

In California, if you are doing wedding videos, the clients gets back a tangible good. Therefore, you must charge sales tax for the package that they purchase. You can't side step the issue, because if you recorded footage that ends up on the DVD they get back (or any other media form), then you must charge sales tax for the entire purchase price of the labor as well.

Well it pays to go direct to the Department of Revenue and ask no matter what state your in. That way you know for sure. Message board info is a lot of times far from accurate.

Well it pays to go direct to the Department of Revenue and ask no matter what state your in. That way you know for sure. Message board info is a lot of times far from accurate.Yes.. Like I said a few posts ago... (as it relates to California)
...just check with the Board of Equalization. It's not a gray issue at all. It's only a gray issue if you make your own interpretation of the law. So check with the Board of Equalization if you have a question about this, not your accountant, your lawyer friend or some guy that 'knows stuff'.

Hey Tim,
I just walked around the block to our Board of Equalization and Assessors office. They said I'm good not charging tax. Like ben said, I explained to them what I do and they considered it a "service" even though I deliver that service on a DVD. I'm paying taxes already on the DVDs and I'm not reselling the dvds, just delivering. I'm good with that answer.

Maybe it's a county thing. But I got names and cards just incase the feds come nocking on my door.

Hey Tim,
I just walked around the block to our Board of Equalization and Assessors office. They said I'm good not charging tax. Like ben said, I explained to them what I do and they considered it a "service" even though I deliver that service on a DVD. I'm paying taxes already on the DVDs and I'm not reselling the dvds, just delivering.

And that's the problem. Two guys from the same state both talked directly to "officials" from that state and got two different answers.

And that's the problem. Two guys from the same state both talked directly to "officials" from that state and got two different answers.hmm.. I see. Well, that's unfortunate that we can't all get the same answers. Good luck to everyone on this one.