MicrostockGroup

I just signed up with Vectorstock...but now that I'm on there, I'm a little worried.  I got my confirmation e-mail from them and the headline was "VectorStock - Artist Request Responce" - now mind you that's a form letter for acceptance...but they spelled response wrong.  Very strange.  Then I opened the e-mail and when I found out I was accepted I clicked on the vectorstock link to go to their site and start uploading work...

But the link didn't work - it sent me to http://http://vectorstock.com - they had TWO http's at the beginning!  This makes a newby real suspicious...especially when I'm just starting out with them...anyone else have experience with this company?  I want to believe they're legit - but I've already come across these two unprofessional errors in mere seconds of signing up!

There are a couple of other threads on here about vector stock so you might want to check those out.  My impression is that the site is growing and people are getting some sales.  I also signed up and have twice attempted to upload.  They want the EPS file zipped (not sure why EPS files are so small) and they want the jpeg thumbnail to be 380x400.  Resizing the thumbnail is a pain, and I haven't figured out how to get images that aren't at a relatively square shape to fit those dimensions with out looking stretched, but I'm probably missing something.  I've also noticed that their site is very slow.  I've only got 3mbps internet but it takes anywhere from 5 to 30 seconds for each of their pages to load.

My gripe with Vectorstock is that despite saying they have variable pricing based on image complexity, most images on the site are priced at 1 credit ($1). At 25% commission, that's pretty much the lowest pay rate in the business for vectors that deserve a few bucks at the very least. Unless they change that pricing policy and actually assign some of those higher prices to complex images, I'm staying away.

One positive thing I should note, however, is that they are very quick and responsive with copyright violation issues. I had a few images stolen and posted by someone else on Vectorstock, and they were very quick and helpful in removing them.

Yep. That's an error in th e-mail. I got that same error back in November.
They have accepted 8 of 20 vectors. I thought they were all good, but what do I know.
I think it's one of those sites where you have to keep uploading for sales, but
if you can keep getting uploads accepted, I think you could make some money.
They seem ok otherwise. No problem so far.

This is my gripe, too. I have been uploading there for a few weeks and am getting some sales almost every day now. But they make all my vectors 1 credit.

But I will say this for them, they are fair about it, in the sense that they make everybody's vectors 1 credit. One reason I finally started submitting there was that I saw that Kirsty Pargeter was there. She is a great illustrator. But they even make most of her vectors 1 credit. I have seen very few vectors priced at more than 1 credit.

Another thing about the .25 is that Vectorstock does have a tiered paymment schedule. I should be at Bronze soon and so start getting
.30 per dl. The highest level is 'Platinum':
25,000 – 100,00 downloads 25% +20% = 45% ($0.45)
(It's gonna take me a while to get to that.)

Other than the 380x400 thumbnail restriction, their uploading goes pretty fast. A lot faster than say IS. I already have all my eps files zipped anyway because that's what StockXpert requires.

Vectorstock will let you send them a batch of 100+ images, if you contact support from the Faq section. You can send them the files and they'll upload them for you.

I refuse to support an agency that sells my images at 1$ and give me a 25% commission. That's just ridiculous.

I put up about 20 vectors a few months ago, none priced more than 1 credit but they do sell quite well. I haven't uploaded anymore since this first batch, I too am on the fence, 25c is too low, I was enticed by the climbing commission scale. I think they will be around for a good while but maybe at the cost of other sub sites that pay more.

Terrible price and awful comission level, not a winning combo.

I have actually sent them an email recently, asking about their pricing policy and suggesting a different pricing model..

They were actually quite nice and said they are testing different pricing options and we should expect changes in the coming months.. The site is on the rise and it may rise faster once they win more contributors..

I suggested a file ranking system like DT, where the price goes up as the file sells.. I also suggested that (no matter how complex) all the files should enter the database at 1 credit and go up as they sell like DT.. This provides them with lots of 1 credit files, and rewards best selling files.. They were quick to repy to my email and said they have similar ideas in mind..

Let's see! I will be watching them closer from now on, and if they do implement a pricing model similar to the one mentioned above, it will be worth submitting I guess!

I'm curious what is the longest time you've spent on a single illustration?