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Topic: Fotolia launches The Infinite Collection ???  

(Read 3414 times)
PaulieWalnuts


iStock Gauge
« on: December 20, 2007, 13:50 »

Is Fotolia adding a midstock offering? http://www.stockphototalk.com/phototalk/2007/12/fotolia-infinit.html


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DepositPhotos.com
sharply_done


iStock Gauge
« Reply #1 on: December 20, 2007, 14:47 »

Infinity? I don't get it. Who's gonna pay $20+ for stuff like this when there's more selection and far better to be had for 1/20 of that price?

   

It's not all like this, though ... check more of it out by going here.
« Last Edit: December 20, 2007, 14:56 by sharply_done »

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Pixart


Dreamstime GaugeiStock Gauge
« Reply #2 on: December 20, 2007, 14:51 »

Where did this collection come from?  They are all anonymous.


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sharply_done


iStock Gauge
« Reply #3 on: December 20, 2007, 15:00 »

Where did this collection come from?  They are all anonymous.

Fotolia's press release says:

Images selected for The Infinite Collection have been gathered through partnerships with top-end photo agencies worldwide. To be considered for inclusion, a photographer’s work must come through representation from a well-known agency, and the photo cannot have been previously licensed for any amount less than its pricing on Fotolia.

The Infinite Collection is the first traditional stock library to be created by a microstock agency. Images will be representative of the spectrum of categories currently offered by Fotolia’s microstock marketplace. Buyers will be able to search through Fotolia’s entire collection, or narrow search results to view only Infinite Collection images.



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ALTPhotoImages



« Reply #4 on: December 20, 2007, 16:16 »

Interesting the exact dummy shot is from Image Source. It can be found on JI with the small (72dpi 6x8) size going for $129. http://www.jupiterimages.com/popup2.aspx?navigationsubtype=itemdetails&itemID=22670508

Images Source (white):" Simply executed, relevant and extra value imagery from Image Source, the leading independent pan-European producer of royalty-free photography. You'll find images as creative as you are."

Your mileage may vary  Wink


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budgaugh


« Reply #5 on: December 20, 2007, 18:23 »

Is this factual information or what? 

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leaf
« Reply #6 on: December 20, 2007, 18:30 »

hmmm.. this is getting interesting Smiley  ..... and the lines between micro and macro stock are getting grayer all the time.

and yes budgaugh - this is factual info.


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Pixart


Dreamstime GaugeiStock Gauge
« Reply #7 on: December 20, 2007, 20:53 »

I don't get it... ALTphoto's link is to Jupiter.  Jupiter and StockXpert go together don't they?  How does Fotolia fit in?


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budgaugh


« Reply #8 on: December 20, 2007, 21:00 »

I don't know but I posted something about this on the Fotolia forum and it appears to have been deleted.  I think there is something fishy here.

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tilo


Dreamstime GaugeiStock Gauge
« Reply #9 on: December 22, 2007, 06:14 »

Yes, this information is very confusing.

I also read something about it on a french forum here :
http://photostock.xooit.fr/t31-Infinite-collection.htm
(sorry, only french writen)
there is also an example of a picture we can find on both websites.
I wonder what all of this means.


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hatman12



« Reply #10 on: December 22, 2007, 14:54 »

Fotolia's 'infinite collection' will be a flop.  All it will do is expose the ridiculously low prices for Fotolia's microstock collection.  Fotolia needs to increase prices across the board, and I predict at least a 30% increase in 2008 (perhaps more).

Of course Fotolia might be being very clever in deliberately forging alliances with 'old school' agencies to help promote their wares and in doing so enhance sales of its own microstock collection.

The fact that RM agencies are prepared to market at lower prices through Fotolia shows what a desperate state they are in - this is just another price reduction disguised as something different.


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budgaugh


« Reply #11 on: December 23, 2007, 22:00 »

You have a very good point hatman!  This could get interesting.

Maybe a blessing in disguise.

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GeoPappas


« Reply #12 on: December 24, 2007, 11:35 »

Here is a reply from Chad (Fotolia Director of US Operations) that was on another forum:

Hello Everyone,

I see that Fotolia's recent launch of the Infinite Collection has been the topic of much discussion here and on other forums. I would like to try and share our vision of the benefits we think these changes will bring in time.

The last few years we have learned a lot from our buyers. Even though Fotolia offers amazing images as low as $1 some buyers still shop elsewhere.  As a result Fotolia started to think how we may bring in those same images that attracte buyers at other sites thus also attracting buyers that are still not Fotolia customers. This is how the idea of the Infinite collection started. In this way we can offer buyers a variety of quality and price points, however still 10 times lower than the traditional pricing. So for us it is a marketing tool to attract and keep buyers on the Fotolia website and allow them to choose the right image for their needs. If the buyer finds 2 images of equal quality but different price, of course they will select the less expensive ones. At the end of the day it is the buyer who will decide.

If you will also remember, Fotolia was the first to introduce the ranking system allowing photographers to earn more commission and raise prices based on the sales of their photos. Many excellent photographers have quickly risen through the ranks and are earning a lot of money with Fotolia. With the introduction of the Infinite Collection we have added one more privilege to the ranking system by allowing Emerald and higher ranked artists to submit images to the Infinite Collection. Based on our current sales and future marketing efforts we anticipate that many more artists will quickly reach Emerald status, thus potentially providing everyone an opportunity to participate in the Infinite Collection.

We are only trying to offer a balanced solution that raises the long term price/earnings of contributors and provides great value to buyers without proposing for example, a micro subscription model that pulls down prices to 25 cents an image, decreases the overall business, and only provides short term sales benefits. People who bought images for 25 cents per image will not buy the same ones for 1 to 10 dollars.

In concern to quality I must admit that some of the infinite images are not as great as anticipated but these agencies are taking a risk with us and it is hard to convince them to sell only their best images 10 times cheaper than normal.  That being said we will correct that and we will have only the best images from the best agencies and artists.

So you can see, our efforts are only designed to bring in more clients in general and enable artists for the best earnings over time. Fotolia is constantly innovating and we ask for your support while we gain experience and adapt a few things as required. In the end we believe this will provide tremendous opportunities for both buyers and artists at all levels.  We will continue to monitor everything very closely and of course will adapt if we feel it appropriate.

I also want to wish you all a happy holidays

Chad Bridwell
Director of US Operations
Fotolia.com
[email protected]


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lathspell


Dreamstime GaugeiStock Gauge
« Reply #13 on: December 24, 2007, 14:04 »

There are some photos in this infinite collection which would never had made it through the approval procedures of the more important microstock sites - at costs of >10 times more than hundreds or even thousands of better photographs already in various microstock databases. Blurry, over processed, ugly, with the appeal of a composition made by an orang utan working with a holga ...


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stokfoto



« Reply #14 on: December 24, 2007, 14:30 »

just checked some  images of  infinite collection,it is really diffuclut to understand why they introduced such a thing.
as hatman indicated  they will  probably make microstock images ridiculously cheap(which indeed  are)but at the same time I think having to many bad photos might damage FT's reputation as well.I hope they also
considered that.I know Ft hasn't been the most picky site among others but they just started to be a little bit more strict with reviews.



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budgaugh


« Reply #15 on: December 24, 2007, 22:28 »

I'm absolutely baffled.  They couldn't even give half of these images away in the free section.   http://www.fotolia.com/id/5344418

 

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null



« Reply #16 on: December 25, 2007, 05:53 »

I'm absolutely baffled.  They couldn't even give half of these images away in the free section.   http://www.fotolia.com/id/5344418


Come on bud, at least there is no frontal flash with nice crisp shadows on the wall used  Grin


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w7lwi


« Reply #17 on: December 25, 2007, 11:07 »

Look at it from a different perspective.  If these are representative of images accepted at some of the major sites, perhaps we should send some of our best to those sites and get a piece of the pie they represent.


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stokfoto



« Reply #18 on: December 25, 2007, 11:34 »

Look at it from a different perspective.  If these are representative of images accepted at some of the major sites, perhaps we should send some of our best to those sites and get a piece of the pie they represent.

well, I think these seems like sort of  images they just want to dump,or are they trying make micros look bad by using a micro site as their trashcan  or it can be other way around as well ,we'll see:)


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lathspell


Dreamstime GaugeiStock Gauge
« Reply #19 on: December 26, 2007, 10:31 »

...  images they just want to dump ...


I can't imagine any other reason for those examples (posted in a German stock photo forum):

http://www.fotolia.com/id/5339560
http://www.fotolia.com/id/5343629
http://www.fotolia.com/id/5349073
http://www.fotolia.com/id/5335748
http://www.fotolia.com/id/5336028

I think I know why these pictures have never been sold cheaper than on FT before (if they have sold at all!) ... Smiley


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ALTPhotoImages



« Reply #20 on: December 26, 2007, 11:05 »

Sorry was away on holiday. How dare you doubt my facts! Wink 

In many ways I'm not surprised by this event. Many collections (JI, Corbis, Getty, etc..) are supplemented by other stock sources. No need to cry about the quality, much of what is and was accepted is no better quality wise then what most of us submit today to  Micros. All collections have legacy issues. In fact much of the earlier work is lesser. It runs the gamut at all sources. Anyone who says otherwise is ignorant, lying or both.

The pricing just makes me laugh because it kind of flys in the face of every major stock agency's pitch.  So just ignore that man behind the curtain Wink. Now this is not to say that they don't have good work or that none of it is worth the price, but it seems to be the natural trend of where the industry is going. I imagine it will all even out over time and collections will try to promote their "better" exclusive offers.

Interesting this story got picked up at http://www.abouttheimage.com/  I wonder if the original source saw our little postings here?


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le_cyclope
« Reply #21 on: December 26, 2007, 11:29 »

Let's get paranoid!

What if we all get Fotolia's message wrong?

What if the message goes like: "you see, there's no need to go to a mid stock site, we, at FT, have better photos at better prices (ms prices) than any other mid stock agency"

Kind of "reverse" marketing...

Claude



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leaf
« Reply #22 on: December 27, 2007, 13:38 »

well i believe the posting that Geopapps metioned from Chad gives a fairly good overview.  And yes, hopefully they clean up the quality of the infinite collection.  I think it can be a good thing if indeed there are better images there.


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