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Official Photos - What a rip off!
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Runing FLM was one of the greatest moments of my life. My first marathon took me right through the range of the emotions and crossing that line was an unforgettable moment.
Like most, I was keen to see my race photos which Marathonfoto were compiling as official photographers and like a good boy I had pre-registered some time ago.
When the notification finally came through today that they were ready to preview, I clinked on the link to see what they had come up with and I have to say I was disappointed. Im not a pro photographer but there was not a single decent finish photo.
Disappointment then turned to outrage when I looked at the costs. £12.95 for a single 7x5 print plus shipping. £34.95 to download one, yes one digital image. Initially I had 3 digital images in my basket till I went to the checkout and realised the total cost was in excess of £100.
In the end I opted for two 7x5 standard photos and the order with shipping is nearly £32. Am I being tight fisted? What do you think?
I ran GNR in 2006 and the official photos were much better and much cheaper. The marathon was the experience of a lifetime and I want something to remember it by. Ive got to say though, I will look at the photos when they came through and remember that somebody somewhere made a lot of money at runners expense.
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Comments
At the Amsterdam marathon you get the photos taken in the olympic stadium at the end for free.
Yes, free.
Wilkie do you get a nice cake as well?
Glad I'm not alone!!!!
I just started a thread called "Photo Rip off"
Like you this was my first Marathon. I was going to bite the bullet and pay the whopping £60 for the CD but when they tried charging me £7.95 to post it out, I cancelled it! It is just outrageous profiteering!
I emailed them to ask how they can justify such a high postage cost...andd guess what??? That's right...no reply!
Cabhad, as time passes, your desire for these piccies will fade as the post FLM euphoria wears off.
Don't waste your money....it just encourages them. And anyway, you've still got a year to decide before they threaten to delete them from their site. Think about it; will you still be keen to have them in 6 months ??
Or though i don't vindicate this at all, they do have a if you're not satisfied with our product, please return for a full refund, 100% money back guarantee on all photos (not CD or flash drive). Hmmm... so they send you your photos you show them to your friends and maybe your scanner and then you send them back.
Think they'll still sting you for the postage though!!!
i feel the sam. it was my first marathon so i qued at the end to have photo taken under finish board so i had photo to show and guess what that one got lost somewhere not even in the lost photos folder. so now now photo of crossing the line which would have been the dream one and noe finish photo.
After looking at the price it makes me think i need to retrain and start a company selling photos to runners at prices we can all afford!!
There are companies who sell photos to runners at reasonable prices, but I don't think that FLM would let one get a toe in on this event.
I expect FLM takes a portion of the price paid for the photos and so on.
It's the same every year with Marathon Foto - go for quantity over quality - then justify rising costs in photography to justify the massive mark up in prices. Look at my previous posts on this - compare the service and costs offered by the Action Photo when they shot film and then with Marathon Foto and you'll see what I mean. And the costs get lower - memory is about half the cost again it was last year etc.
If you think the marathon foto photographers put their heart and soul into their work, think again. As I work in the industry and have a vested interest - I keep an eye out for photographers. The one at Big Ben at 25 miles was literally wondering on the road, holding his camera roughly portrait shaped (without vertical grip - I think Big Ben would have looked more like the leaning tower of Pisa in his efforts) clicking randomly at space whilst, amazingly, looking in the other direction from where he was holding his camera.
Charge me £20 for all the images to download (Rather than the boggling £34 per image) and I'd probably pay - I appreciate there are some costs involved. As it is, once again they have lost my services and I imagine many others.
This is the email address of marathon foto's UK customer services...
mfserviceuk@marathonfoto.com
I urge you all to email them to voice your disgust at their prices etc.
Unless we tell them they'll never know! They're probably sitting in their ivory towers think "Wow man, we're really neat" (Note the americanisms as they are a US company
)
Giving businesses feedback does work...POWER TO THE PEOPLE!!!
(OK I'll get off my soap box now...)
I think I'll just click the 'Not Me' button on all of mine - they are all either rubbish photos - or I look rubbish in them - or both. Fortunately my OH took some decent photos of me on the course.
Unfortunately, this is again another example of where running appears to be headed in this country. They know people will want the photos and they are just ripping people off for that. It's a disgrace.
Notice the Dutch have got things right.
I bought some of my Paris marathon and I go 8 photos for 39 Euros. They weren't the best photos but were as good as the ones taken of me at last years FLM.
OK I didnt run this year but its £12.95 for a single print - so if everyone bought just one (and there will be people who buy more than 1 or are completely mad and download) that will be a sum of £440,300 for a mornings work, however I bet thee takings from this rip off money making exercise is over 1.5 million
I know what people say - dont buy them then but for some people that one day will be the only time they achieve the dream. Now the FLM organisation could (in theory) employ individual photographers to take these photograps and pay them a fixed fee for doing so, but in the contract could state that the prices they can charge are fixed to a reasnoble limit. But of course its a rip off
If I run next year will probably buy onje photo and if that nice chap does a finish line CD again buy that
Ive not nothing new to add to whats already been said about the absolute rip off, but i would like to add a comment about the quality of the photography none of mine harly have me in! The one of me crossing the finish line is a disgrace! Its just my head! Im suprised they managed to identify it!!!
SHOCKING!!
Tum-ti-tum .........
la-la-la-la-la
oh yes. I've got all of mine for nowt thanks to that loophole FF!