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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: Elenathewise on March 18, 2016, 13:23

Title: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Elenathewise on March 18, 2016, 13:23
I have occasional sales on 500 prime and considering uploading more photos...
However, when I upload and submit my photos for sale, they seem to sit in the queue forever. Last summer, after waiting 2 months for my images to be reviewed, and had to contact them to inquire if there is anything wrong with my submissions. My images got reviewed and I was told that it should normally take 2-4 weeks. Next time, I waited longer than 2 months before contacting the agency again. My images got reviewed and I was told that I am the only one experiencing such delays since nobody else reporting them. My next wait was over 4 months. I submitted an image on Oct 9, 2015 and it was not reviewed until I sent them another email on Feb 12, 2016.

Please share your experiences with 500 prime review times. If I am the only one experiencing this, then I would need to contact the agency again and find out why my images are given this "special" treatment.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: dirkr on March 18, 2016, 16:07
How do you really see if a photo was reviewed or not? Once uploaded my images are immediately available on the marketplace. If anyone wants to license them, they can.

I know they do review them at some point in time, and in very rare cases an image gets the status "declined" or "chnages required", but that's more or less the only way for me to see if they have been reviewed.

As images are available for purchase right after uploading, what does it matter how long the formal review takes?
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: shiyali on March 18, 2016, 17:31
I have lots of images waiting since November. I wrote support and they said somebody will look into it. Nothing ever happened. Reviews are non-existent at this point.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Lana on March 18, 2016, 17:58
Anyone happenned to sell photos that were not reviewed? I understand that it is possible but still if the buyer has a choice of several photos he would rather license the one that is available straight away rather then requesting the one that hasn't been reviewed..

Wondering if I should continue to upload..
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: noodle on March 18, 2016, 18:59
Anyone happenned to sell photos that were not reviewed? I understand that it is possible but still if the buyer has a choice of several photos he would rather license the one that is available straight away rather then requesting the one that hasn't been reviewed..

Wondering if I should continue to upload..

My understanding is that they are available straight awAy, at least mine are available right away in marketplace
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Elenathewise on March 18, 2016, 20:02
How do you really see if a photo was reviewed or not? Once uploaded my images are immediately available on the marketplace. If anyone wants to license them, they can.

I know they do review them at some point in time, and in very rare cases an image gets the status "declined" or "chnages required", but that's more or less the only way for me to see if they have been reviewed.

As images are available for purchase right after uploading, what does it matter how long the formal review takes?

It's easy to see. Click on your photo, then click on green "download photo" button on bottom right. This will open a new page with your shopping cart. If in the description of the image you see very red sign "Secure this photo. Be the first to license it" right under
License: Print Ready RF (Pending) - obviously, the image has not been reviewed.

You will notice also that under your photo there is a bunch of similar photos with following above them: "NEED A PHOTO IMMEDIATELY? Check out these similar photos."
The similars come from the reviewed collection. If you were a buyer, wouldn't you choose an acceptable similar that's immediately available rather than going though the process of requesting a license?
   
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: shiyali on March 18, 2016, 22:01
Anyone happenned to sell photos that were not reviewed? I understand that it is possible but still if the buyer has a choice of several photos he would rather license the one that is available straight away rather then requesting the one that hasn't been reviewed..

Wondering if I should continue to upload..

My understanding is that they are available straight awAy, at least mine are available right away in marketplace

Exactly, these days few buyers will wait days until the licensing is worked out. I have only one tenth of my images that I uploaded to the marketplace reviewed, so I stopped uploading until they catch up a bit with their reviews. It is totally unclear what their system is regarding reviews.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: dpimborough on March 19, 2016, 04:37
I just did a test on of my images and I got all the way through to checkout with no problems.

The image was uploaded yesterday and immediately available  for sale on the marketplace.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: dirkr on March 19, 2016, 06:11
How do you really see if a photo was reviewed or not? Once uploaded my images are immediately available on the marketplace. If anyone wants to license them, they can.

I know they do review them at some point in time, and in very rare cases an image gets the status "declined" or "chnages required", but that's more or less the only way for me to see if they have been reviewed.

As images are available for purchase right after uploading, what does it matter how long the formal review takes?

It's easy to see. Click on your photo, then click on green "download photo" button on bottom right. This will open a new page with your shopping cart. If in the description of the image you see very red sign "Secure this photo. Be the first to license it" right under
License: Print Ready RF (Pending) - obviously, the image has not been reviewed.

You will notice also that under your photo there is a bunch of similar photos with following above them: "NEED A PHOTO IMMEDIATELY? Check out these similar photos."
The similars come from the reviewed collection. If you were a buyer, wouldn't you choose an acceptable similar that's immediately available rather than going though the process of requesting a license?
   

Thanks, never tried that. I thought there was some way to see that on the overview, without having to click on each photo...

I agree, it's easier for buyers to just click and buy. No idea if that is preventing sales from happening...
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Dumc on March 19, 2016, 08:10
If I understand correctly, reviews are only for them to see, if image is suitable for prime or not. Even if image was not yet reviewed it still available for sale.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: MichaelJayFoto on March 19, 2016, 10:23
My images got reviewed and I was told that I am the only one experiencing such delays since nobody else reporting them.

What a bullsh*t reply. I don't have many images with 500px but in my experience it always took them months to review images. Since there are many photographers on there who don't have any experience with stock and agencies, I think the majority doesn't bother. Especially since technically images can be bought before the review. I also never wrote, I don't want to spend my time to chase down sites and their workflows. But you are definitely not the only one seeing this as an issue.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: NandoPhoto on March 19, 2016, 16:51
How do you really see if a photo was reviewed or not? Once uploaded my images are immediately available on the marketplace. If anyone wants to license them, they can.

I know they do review them at some point in time, and in very rare cases an image gets the status "declined" or "chnages required", but that's more or less the only way for me to see if they have been reviewed.

As images are available for purchase right after uploading, what does it matter how long the formal review takes?

It's easy to see. Click on your photo, then click on green "download photo" button on bottom right. This will open a new page with your shopping cart. If in the description of the image you see very red sign "Secure this photo. Be the first to license it" right under
License: Print Ready RF (Pending) - obviously, the image has not been reviewed.

You will notice also that under your photo there is a bunch of similar photos with following above them: "NEED A PHOTO IMMEDIATELY? Check out these similar photos."
The similars come from the reviewed collection. If you were a buyer, wouldn't you choose an acceptable similar that's immediately available rather than going though the process of requesting a license?
   

So this is annoying. I thought images were made available for licensing immediately too, but after reading this comment I checked and my oldest images don't show the 'pending', whereas the newish ones (i.e.: 6-7 months ago) do. This means that they aren't really available - buyers are requested to put down a deposit, which 500px will refund AFTER 5 DAYS! Who does that in this day and age?

Anyway, will contact support now to see what the deal is.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: shiyali on March 19, 2016, 19:02

Anyway, will contact support now to see what the deal is.

Good luck, I have written to them twice about this issue, only received evasive answers and no change of procedure (or lack of it).
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: AlessandraRC on March 19, 2016, 20:41
for ever. That's how long it takes. I don't even care anymore. If a customer wants it they expedite the process.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Elenathewise on March 20, 2016, 11:28
Thanks everyone. It's good to know. Didn't make sense that I would be singled out. The sales I had with them, though, only came from the reviewed portion of my portfolio. I never sold an image that was still "pending". Anyone here did?
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Dumc on March 20, 2016, 16:41
I did.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Rinderart on March 20, 2016, 22:56
Im one click away from deleting My port there. I DO NOT PAY TO PLAY .........PERIOD
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: onepointfour on March 21, 2016, 03:20
I have deleted most of my stuff there too. Took forever to get reviewed. Can't be bothered to play the waiting game.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: jarih on March 21, 2016, 03:41
I got an email couple days ago "Your Marketplace submissions have been reviewed".

"Thank you for participating in the 500px Marketplace fast-track submission process! Our Content Team has been busy reviewing your photos and identified 0 images that need your attention before they are cleared for licensing."
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: shiyali on March 21, 2016, 04:02
I got an email couple days ago "Your Marketplace submissions have been reviewed".

"Thank you for participating in the 500px Marketplace fast-track submission process! Our Content Team has been busy reviewing your photos and identified 0 images that need your attention before they are cleared for licensing."

Did you have to do anything to participate in the "fast-track submission process"?
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: jarih on March 21, 2016, 04:11
I got an email couple days ago "Your Marketplace submissions have been reviewed".

"Thank you for participating in the 500px Marketplace fast-track submission process! Our Content Team has been busy reviewing your photos and identified 0 images that need your attention before they are cleared for licensing."

Did you have to do anything to participate in the "fast-track submission process"?
I do not know nothing about this "fast-track submission", what does it mean.
I think I just upload like others.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: shiyali on March 21, 2016, 05:29

I do not know nothing about this "fast-track submission", what does it mean.
I think I just upload like others.

It's the 500px mystery.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: HappyBunny on March 21, 2016, 08:08
I have a very good photo but only in 72 DPI. DO I need to upscale it to 300 DPI for 500px? I can't find any information on the internet. All my other photos on there are 300DPI. Have not sold one yet. Have them on there for 6 weeks but they have not been reviewed yet.

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Lana on March 21, 2016, 08:16
I got an email couple days ago "Your Marketplace submissions have been reviewed".

"Thank you for participating in the 500px Marketplace fast-track submission process! Our Content Team has been busy reviewing your photos and identified 0 images that need your attention before they are cleared for licensing."

How long did your files were pending before they got reviewed?

And i was also thinking, those who purchased Awesome plan - do they get any priority for files to be reviewed over those using the Plus or free accounts?



Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on March 21, 2016, 09:23
And i was also thinking, those who purchased Awesome plan - do they get any priority for files to be reviewed over those using the Plus or free accounts?

I didn't purchase Awesome, but I got a free 6 months of it for participating in their watermarking survey/interview last year. I have had 20 of my 244 images uploaded reviewed so far - most of those uploads were in November 2015. So unless they're dividing the freebie Awesomes from the paid ones, I'd say there's no priority for the paid accounts.

I am puzzled that there's been no sign of anything happening (other than one rather vague blog post) since Kelly Thompson was hired last year. If they're doing something to build the Marketplace part of the business, it's pretty stealthy...
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: stockastic on March 21, 2016, 09:58
At this point, it's pretty clear nothing is happening at 500px as we know it today. None of the obvious questions are being answered and there's no evidence of any investment in the site.  So I guess there are 2 possibilities.   One is that there's been some sort of internal meltdown or gridlock.  The other is that they aren't going forward with the current 500px but are developing an entirely new site based on a different model, which will be announced in time.  All that venture capital they took in last year has to go somewhere so my prediction is #2.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Elenathewise on March 21, 2016, 10:12
All that venture capital they took in last year has to go somewhere....

Fancy offices downtown Toronto? :) Developing of the new logo (which was thought by majority of photographers completely unnecessary and even damaging to the brand)? Who knows. Their direction is not clear to me too at this point.
By the way, I have an "awesome" account that I pay for - doesn't help with the reviews.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on March 21, 2016, 11:38
So now it starts.

Just got e-mail that there are reductions in royalty rates for 500px. 60% for exclusive images and 30% for non-exclusive.

New prices $34 for web and $149 for print if it's Core; $49 and $249 if it's prime.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: jarih on March 21, 2016, 12:50
I got an email couple days ago "Your Marketplace submissions have been reviewed".

"Thank you for participating in the 500px Marketplace fast-track submission process! Our Content Team has been busy reviewing your photos and identified 0 images that need your attention before they are cleared for licensing."

How long did your files were pending before they got reviewed?

And i was also thinking, those who purchased Awesome plan - do they get any priority for files to be reviewed over those using the Plus or free accounts?
I uploaded first image on last July and so on and just free account.

But just got a new happy email, they decrease comission from 70% to 30%. That's it, no more new uploads!
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Microstockphoto on March 21, 2016, 12:53
review queues will soon go a lot quicker, because i guess after cutting the royalty from 70% to 30%, a 57% pay cut a lot of people will pull their port, at least i will
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Lana on March 21, 2016, 12:58
Oh crap, I just started to visualise all those future dollars coming my way from the 70% commission and huge license prices!
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: Elenathewise on March 21, 2016, 12:58
Yup no more uploads.
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: stockastic on March 21, 2016, 13:57
Wow, I post my theories (see above) and within a day I'm proven wrong.  Instead we get the now-familiar 'sustainability' announcement about massive royalty cuts.   So, that's it for 500px, as far as I'm concerned. Moving on now. 
Title: Re: How long are reviews on 500px?
Post by: jgolby on March 21, 2016, 14:58
Was put off by the idea of posting large unwatermarked images, especially when sites I read say you will get photos stolen and there are apps designed to skim anything that hits a certain popularity.
But the thought of maybe landing a sale with a 70% return, even for a cheaper Web Only rate made me start submitting less than a week ago, looks like I'm bad luck sorry :D

What they are in danger of it destroying the image that they are somehow not microstock but a place for unique, exceptional photos which I'm sure attracted a large portion of their clients looking for something special.
These unique photos is obviously their core business which is why they are pushing exclusivity so much in a bid to keep the best photos to themselves but I can't see it working that way, quite the opposite in fact.