Pond5 is a SET YOUR OWN PRICE site. Not a controlled pricing site. Costco is a controlled pricing business. There is a big difference. So unless Pond 5 intends to dictate prices like most other sites do, there is no substance to your argument. And the way they snuck clips into this test without informing contributors is shameful. I am relatively certain there is some tiny clause in 5 point font point font in their terms that allows them to do this, but it is certainly came across as deceitful. Who is now responsible for resetting their prices back to the way they were when the test is completed? And all of this testing is for what? To merely �recommend� a price pojnt to us? They do that today and I ignore that. And I do fine on P5.  They could have very well asked for volunteers but they chose to nab n grab.

In the end, your position is only substantitive if P5 is moving towards forcing fixed pricing on contributors.

I have never set my own price there, and just let it go with their standards.  As such, I don't feel as maligned as someone might who specified a price and had it then changed on them.

I do agree that doesn't seem like something they should be able to do without consulting with the provider...

I reset all mine because they were all random amounts... $97.5, $113.5, $102.5.  I also sent an email.

Ditto. I have had footage prices change. It's not right. Has there been any communication from P5 on this?

Could this just be some confusion about the web pricing option?

The new lower priced web option is for 720 files. A client who buys this gets the reduced price but gets the 720 file (not 4k or 1080)

Also you can set the price for the web files. If you object to the lower price you could set it to the 1080 price or even the 4k,.

All of my footage seems to be at the price I set it but, of course, I can't say for others.

I have had a fair number of web priced sales and they don't seem to be cutting into 4k or 1080 sales. Difficult to know for sure but so far I am happy with it.

Here is the response I got from Pond5: "This particular test will run for 8 weeks and the prices will be set back to their original amount when it's finished. What we learn with the test it will help us to make better recommendations to our artists about the optimal price of 4K content to help them to make the most revenue. We appreciate your cooperation and we're here to solve any questions that you may have."

And the response I sent to them: "Cristobal, that was a tone-deaf response that ignored the key point here - Pond5 should not be changing prices, even as a test for a couple months, without informing contributors and getting their permission. It is a violation of a core element in the contributor relationship, namely contributors having control over their own pricing. Pond5 should have contacted contributors about the test and asked them to either opt in or opt out. I read almost everything stock sites send to me for contributor communications, and I did not see any communication about this at all, much less an opt in/out element. What I want to hear from Pond5 is: 1) they recognize that setting prices is a key prerogative for contributors; 2) they admit communication here was extremely poorly handled; 3) they make a commitment that in the future they will not change prices, even as a test, without consent from contributors. Please make these points known to the decision makers at Pond5."

I do read almost everything the stock sites email, and I didn't see anything about a 4K pricing test. Did anyone receive advance notification of this? Were you allowed to opt out?

I do think Pond5 sales are dipping overall, and my stats during these first two months of the year seem to suggest that.

Last month, SS beat P5, something that only has happened once before (coincidentally, also in January of the previous year), and it looks like it will happen again this month unless things really pick up on P5 the second half of the month.

I suspect P5 sees this, too, which may be why their doing the 4K price experiment (which I don't think I'm a part of).

I dunno if this is relevant, but speaking for Pond5
 I always change price from default 25 to 59 same as AS & SS price my fullHD files
trying to have a +/- 1 or 2 euros price difference between agencies and not half priced in P5.
Last time I checked, price was set to 59 and appeared as 59.
Checking last uploads, price is set to 59 but displayed as 55 in selling page.
Similar for older clips, set to 59 but showing 55 in page with 22 price for web option.