Thoughts on Value. How Seim Effects are Priced & Why They Often Cost Less.

by Gavin Seim: Pricing is an interesting thing. Those of you that listen to me on the Pro Photo Show podcast know that I don’t try to be the cheapest in my photography.  Not by a long shot. Truth is I don’t try to be cheapest with Seim Effects either, though I often am for what I offer. I just try to make the best tools and charge what I think is sensible. Through that process I often come out less expensive than other editing products available in the industry.

Now it’s true that often you get what you pay for. It’s also true that sometimes people buy something just because it’s more expensive. That’s perceived value. How much you can charge because of your brand. Experience and service are worth something too, but sometimes paying more does not mean you get that.

Most effects out there are different and have something unique to offer, so I’m not saying mine are the only ones worth buying. I’ve not used all the editing products available, but I’ve used a lot of them. Some are really good, some less so. In the end I just want to sure my product is something special. I’ve had people essentially call to ask…

“Are Seim Effects any good. Their so much cheaper than brand K or Z”.

The answer of course is yes. In fact many users tell me their a lot better. Truth is I put my heart and soul into this stuff. I’m fanatical about making it as flawless and effective as I can. Their not $5 because their good and their worth a lot more. Their not $200 either. Not because I hate money, but because I think that would be overkill and the overall benefit would go down.

I’ve thought about charging $150+ for my Lightroom presets and PS action collections, especially now that Seim Effects has became a recognized brand used by a lot professional photographers. Still, I think I can sell more products and get more photographers using them by offering great product at a reasonable price.  They may go up a bit over time, but I rather enjoy keeping them easily attainable.

Seim Effects is a refined system. This is a big part of my livelihood. The tools I send our are not a hodgepodge of things I found on my hard drive and decided to sell on the internet.  Their tools that I’ve worked over and over again to get right. Tools meant to give every photographer something unique and adaptable to their style. This is a science for me. That’s also why I give free updates. If I find a way to make them better, I want to share it. Because happy customers mean return customers. I get a lot of those.

Here’s an excerpt of an email I received awhile back received. I’ll leave out brand names because I’m not here to bash anyone. I just thought it was a neat note and it got me thinking to write this article.

“I am not impressed at all with them and can’t believe they charge $120+ depending on your discount for them and you only charge $39, I think. I don’t know man. Gotta try and get that word out on your presets cause they rock!” John
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I get happy emails all the time. I like that because I’m sick of cruddy service and I want to know I’m not giving it. Many businesses think just because we buy something online, we don’t deserve their time and care. I decided early on never to be that kind of company. Selling downloads online has less overhead and is more automated than almost any other type of sales. There’s no reason I can’t get on the phone with a customer and take a few minutes to help them with a problem. It’s basic business sense and while time is valuable, happy customers are equally as valuable.

So the bottom line. It’s not wrong to charge more. Seim Effects are “less expensive” because I think it’s effective and fair. Maybe someday I’ll be so known that I’ll charge $200 for a Lightroom presets collection and I’ll have a team of engineers helping me. Though I doubt it. In any case this is working fine for now and as long as my great customers keep supporting my efforts, and referring their friends, and treating my work with respect by not giving it away, then I think this model works pretty well.

Just my take… Gav

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  1. After looking at the various commercial presets (and I have few of them), I choose to invest in Seim Effects (which I own all of them). I have found
    the products to be reasonable and excellent. I have had several occasions to talk with you directly. When I was first begining to learn about actions and presets, you gave advice which was both instructional and honest. Honesty and integrity is a rare commodity in the busines world; you have both. I am a supporter of you and have referred many of my friends to you. Pricing is something we must always look at when we buy a product. Your pricing is fair and reasonable. Some of the commercial products are very expensive and their support is worthless and sometime the product is not very good either. Congratulations to you for your excellence in your products, but more importantly in who you are. Thank you.

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About the Author

Glad you're here.

I'm from WA State USA and started studying photography in 97. I started work as a pro (using that word loosely because I sucked) using film at age 16. I learned fast but was not as easy to find training then. Sometimes I beat my head against the wall until I figured stuff out.

As digital dawned I went all in and got to study with masters like Ken Whitmire. In 09 I founded the Pro Photo Show podcast. I started promoting tone-focused editing. When Lightroom arrived, I started developing tools to make editing and workflow better.

20 years of study and photography around the country earned me a Master of Photography (M.Photog) from PPA. I got to see my workshops and tools featured in publications across the industry. Once I even won the prestigious HotOne award for my "EXposed" light and tone workshop.

Wanting something calmer, I moved to Mexico in 2017. It's a land of magical light. I'm here now exploring light and trying to master my weak areas. I make videos of that for my Youtube channel, sharing what I learn. I hope you'll stick around and be part of Light Hunters Tribe... Gavin

Gavin Seim

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