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Author Topic: Dollar photo club  (Read 20611 times)

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« on: March 16, 2014, 12:46 »
0
Sorry if this subject has already been covered and I missed it but I just discovered Dollar photo club selling high res photos and even all my vectors for $1 a time and lots of buttons for sharing them.
I can only assume that they are part of some partner programme as some of my very recent pics are there.
I would be really grateful if anyone can tell me where they are sourcing their images and even better if they know if an opt out is available.
I could really use your help with this,
Cheers.
Mike.


« Reply #1 on: March 16, 2014, 12:59 »
0

johnmessingham

« Reply #2 on: March 16, 2014, 13:00 »
0
Claims to be part of Fotolia (http://www.dollarphotoclub.com/Info/FAQ )

« Reply #3 on: March 16, 2014, 13:01 »
0
Thanks guys.


Ron

« Reply #5 on: March 16, 2014, 13:41 »
+3
Sounds like the same shady deal as DepositPhotos has with Shotshop. Selling stuff for higher prices as on the parent agency and only paying contributors sub royalties. These agencies should be ashamed. No morals.

« Reply #6 on: March 16, 2014, 13:46 »
+9
They claim to be targeting only special high volume buyers but I got an invite to apply for the program as a buyer and I've never purchased a single image from FT, only there as a contributor. I don't think the club is as exclusive as they are trying to make it seem to be.

Ron

« Reply #7 on: March 16, 2014, 13:47 »
+6
Its all BS and lies, their claims dont add up at all.

marthamarks

« Reply #8 on: March 16, 2014, 14:15 »
+7
I dropped out of Fotolia in January because of this "Dollar Club". No regrets.

EmberMike

« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2014, 15:00 »
+14
These API deals will kill this business for sure. Especially the ones with no opt-out.

I can't believe how easy it is to get access to entire collections of images, sell them for whatever you want and pay pennies back to the agency and the artist. It's insane.

Or brilliant, if you're using one of these APIs to launch your own site. Forget about trying to start a new agency and bring in contributors. Why bother when you can just leach off of an existing collection?


« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2014, 16:03 »
+9
Another one bites the dust.

I have a small portfolio (<200 images) on FT since June 2013 with mostly sub sales but have already reached the $50 threshold.
After reading this I just sent them the delete my account letter.
So that's -2 so far with DP being the first that I dropped.

« Reply #11 on: March 16, 2014, 16:26 »
+8
I dropped out of Fotolia in January because of this "Dollar Club". No regrets.

I dropped FT a year or two ago and I don't miss them at all ;) Wondering why? ;)

« Reply #12 on: March 17, 2014, 06:58 »
+5
Um... So I thought the Dollar Club was exclusive invite only? I saw this ad while reading the news this morning.

Why then can you pay $99 can join right now? No invite necessary.

http://www.dollarphotoclub.com/Member/choose/plan

« Reply #13 on: March 17, 2014, 11:11 »
+13
Um... So I thought the Dollar Club was exclusive invite only? I saw this ad while reading the news this morning.

Why then can you pay $99 can join right now? No invite necessary.

http://www.dollarphotoclub.com/Member/choose/plan


Because -- *gasp* -- they lied.

It's Fotolia, what did you expect?

« Reply #14 on: March 17, 2014, 11:43 »
0
another sweet deal, cheers guys!

EmberMike

« Reply #15 on: March 31, 2014, 11:02 »
+2
Just saw an ad for DPC this morning:



Promoting the most toxic part of this business...

« Reply #16 on: March 31, 2014, 11:07 »
0
Yes, Dollar Photo Club is using the Fotolia api.  Sales through DPC are posted to your FT account with a subscription commission.

-Mat


They may be using the Fotolia  API but the site owners are listed as Fotolia.
So this is just like IS and Thinkstock.


« Reply #17 on: March 31, 2014, 11:26 »
+2
Yes, Dollar Photo Club is using the Fotolia api.  Sales through DPC are posted to your FT account with a subscription commission.

-Mat


They may be using the Fotolia  API but the site owners are listed as Fotolia.
So this is just like IS and Thinkstock.

Not exactly. As I understand it, the customer has to buy a subscription package at Thinkstock, but they don't have to buy a subscription package at Dollar Photo Club.

« Reply #18 on: March 31, 2014, 12:55 »
+2
Um... So I thought the Dollar Club was exclusive invite only? I saw this ad while reading the news this morning.

Why then can you pay $99 can join right now? No invite necessary.

http://www.dollarphotoclub.com/Member/choose/plan


Because -- *gasp* -- they lied.

It's Fotolia, what did you expect?


Exactly!

« Reply #19 on: March 31, 2014, 14:24 »
0
Um... So I thought the Dollar Club was exclusive invite only? I saw this ad while reading the news this morning.

Why then can you pay $99 can join right now? No invite necessary.

http://www.dollarphotoclub.com/Member/choose/plan



deleted
« Last Edit: March 31, 2014, 14:32 by Monty-m-gue »

EmberMike

« Reply #20 on: April 07, 2014, 14:23 »
+11

How about this ad placement:



They might as well say, "Don't buy Fotolia images here when you can get them cheaper at the Dollar Photo Club..."


stocked

« Reply #21 on: April 07, 2014, 15:11 »
+1
It's a cheap game they play, they couldn't get a foot in the American market so they undercut it with their Dollar Photo Club. They don't advertise the Dollar Photo Club in Europe their main market, maybe we should ;)

« Reply #22 on: April 07, 2014, 17:30 »
0
It's a cheap game they play, they couldn't get a foot in the American market so they undercut it with their Dollar Photo Club. They don't advertise the Dollar Photo Club in Europe their main market, maybe we should ;)

I'm based in the UK. I've seen *lots* of ads for Dollar Photo Club.

stocked

« Reply #23 on: April 08, 2014, 01:46 »
0
It's a cheap game they play, they couldn't get a foot in the American market so they undercut it with their Dollar Photo Club. They don't advertise the Dollar Photo Club in Europe their main market, maybe we should ;)

I'm based in the UK. I've seen *lots* of ads for Dollar Photo Club.
Nothing here in France and Germany their main market.

« Reply #24 on: April 08, 2014, 03:00 »
0
A big banner on the main Fotolia site of the Polish version as well.

Gino

« Reply #25 on: April 08, 2014, 03:34 »
0
I have not seen a negative impact in sales. My sales have been climbing since the last 2 months and I have not uploaded to many new images. So it might be that this $club is a good thing and give more new sales? As long as sales are okey I don't see any problem with a new approach.

« Reply #26 on: April 08, 2014, 03:43 »
0
I have not seen a negative impact in sales. My sales have been climbing since the last 2 months and I have not uploaded to many new images. So it might be that this $club is a good thing and give more new sales? As long as sales are okey I don't see any problem with a new approach.

So do I!
I just hope not too many buyers will migrate from Fotolia to this club.


stocked

« Reply #27 on: April 08, 2014, 07:04 »
0
A big banner on the main Fotolia site of the Polish version as well.
really? If I look at pl.fotolia.com I can't see a banner for the DollarPhotoClub

« Reply #28 on: April 08, 2014, 07:25 »
+1
A big banner on the main Fotolia site of the Polish version as well.
really? If I look at pl.fotolia.com I can't see a banner for the DollarPhotoClub

Well... I am based in Poland and see the big banner both on the main page and the contributor page.

stocked

« Reply #29 on: April 08, 2014, 08:13 »
0
A big banner on the main Fotolia site of the Polish version as well.
really? If I look at pl.fotolia.com I can't see a banner for the DollarPhotoClub

Well... I am based in Poland and see the big banner both on the main page and the contributor page.
Interesting thanks!

« Reply #30 on: April 08, 2014, 12:44 »
+2
The disparity in prices and revenue between sites is immense.
The dollar club is selling a image for a buck and giving me 25 cents
and same image on alamy costs 292 and Im pocketing 146 dollars.
It all makes for an uncomfortable gut feeling.

« Reply #31 on: April 08, 2014, 14:14 »
+11
I've only just noticed the DPC banners and then this thread.

It's actually much worse than it first appears. On the splash page it says this;

$1 an image. Always.
26 million high-res images and vectors
Business-ready royalty free license
Unlimited print runs
Unlimited image use
Social media ready

"Unlimited image use" basically means every image downloaded is effectively a free EL for any use whatsoever doesn't it? So we're getting a few cents for EL's courtesy of the DPC?

Dook

« Reply #32 on: April 08, 2014, 14:39 »
+5
They are desperate.

« Reply #33 on: April 08, 2014, 15:16 »
0
It is getting harder and harder to make money with mircostock these days. How did we as photographers let all these cuts make it acceptable to take our art work for granted?

« Reply #34 on: April 08, 2014, 16:01 »
0
It is getting harder and harder to make money with mircostock these days. How did we as photographers let all these cuts make it acceptable to take our art work for granted?

Let me see... Did "YOU" accept less than 50% for you? Yes?
Did you accept selling your image for 1$? (even less) Yes?
...
Are you surprised that you have to work for free today? Yes?

No more questions from me. Good luck in your success...

« Reply #35 on: April 08, 2014, 16:37 »
0
it is true, nobody  say we need to protest, make petetiton, stop uploading everbody, we are working for 2-7$/hour,  7$ per hour cost cleaner in Ukraine.

« Reply #36 on: April 08, 2014, 16:42 »
+4
FT, IS and a couple others look like they are sinking - with everyone on board baling out like mad but not realizing they are dumping the water into the each others' boats. Madness.



CD123

« Reply #37 on: April 08, 2014, 17:09 »
0
Haven't been around for a while, so am I missing something here. A few months back it was "They cut our commission! Grab your torches and pitchforks, we are going to burn them down!"
If I read this thread, "Well they seem to sell more, so guess it's OK that they give our images on EL licenses nearly for free away then..." 
:o
 

EmberMike

« Reply #38 on: April 08, 2014, 17:18 »
+4
Let me see... Did "YOU" accept less than 50% for you? Yes?
Did you accept selling your image for 1$? (even less) Yes?
...
Are you surprised that you have to work for free today? Yes?

No more questions from me. Good luck in your success...

We signed on for some less than decent deals, but no one signed on for these crazy partner programs and redistribution arrangements. Most of these things, just like Dollar Photo Club, have come into existence after the fact.

And when I started in microstock, there were some partner deals already in place but nothing like what we have today. Certainly not like the DP stuff where neither the artist nor the company have any idea sometimes who the partners are and where the images end up.

So in short, no, I didn't accept this.

« Reply #39 on: April 08, 2014, 17:24 »
+7
We signed on for some less than decent deals, but no one signed on for these crazy partner programs and redistribution arrangements. Most of these things, just like Dollar Photo Club, have come into existence after the fact.

And when I started in microstock, there were some partner deals already in place but nothing like what we have today. Certainly not like the DP stuff where neither the artist nor the company have any idea sometimes who the partners are and where the images end up.

So in short, no, I didn't accept this.

Nor me. I'm absolutely shocked at this development. I am seriously thinking of cancelling my FT account unless we can be provided with an opt-out for this madness.

« Reply #40 on: April 08, 2014, 17:28 »
+1
This pricing is very disruptive compared to everything else that exists, including Fotolia, Tscheltzoff said.
http://techcrunch.com/2014/01/15/fotolia-launches-dollar-photo-club-an-exclusive-club-for-heavy-stock-photo-clients/

« Reply #41 on: April 08, 2014, 17:28 »
0
 i wrote word woman in fotolia search 12800 images with filter one week,  it was  sorted by relevance, first five pages are only four big contributors ( vg studio, break media,.....)

heavy mass productions ( they have big production costs), i wonder how they look on dollar photo club.

Anyone know  some manager of this contributors? they should stop uploading.

i dont know  how we will survive. 

« Reply #42 on: April 08, 2014, 17:30 »
-2
Hi guys,

To set the record straight, DPC does not offer Extended licenses and does not allow for Extended license use with the images.  The term "unlimited" referenced above is regarding the print run which is unlimited. 

The license agreement can be read here and is pretty straight forward: 
http://www.dollarphotoclub.com/Info/RoyaltyFreeLicense

To clarify, DPC members cannot use the images on objects that will be resold where the primary value is found with the image.  No coffee cups, greeting cards, tee shirts, etc.  They cannot distribute the images to multiple clients.  To do so they would need to purchase the image each time, etc.  For that type of use, DPC members are referred to Fotolia.com where they need to purchase an Extended license.

Cheers,

Mat

lisafx

« Reply #43 on: April 08, 2014, 17:38 »
+3
Hi guys,

To set the record straight, DPC does not offer Extended licenses and does not allow for Extended license use with the images.  The term "unlimited" referenced above is regarding the print run which is unlimited. 

The license agreement can be read here and is pretty straight forward:  http://www.dollarphotoclub.com/Info/RoyaltyFreeLicense

To clarify, DPC members cannot use the images on objects that will be resold where the primary value is found with the image.  No coffee cups, greeting cards, tee shirts, etc.  They cannot distribute the images to multiple clients.  To do so they would need to purchase the image each time, etc.  For that type of use, DPC members are referred to Fotolia.com where they need to purchase an Extended license.

Cheers,

Mat


Thanks for clarifying Mat, but that is not at all clear in the promotional language Gostwyck referenced above.  It reads like they can do anything and everything with the images for only a dollar.  If it is confusing to those of us in the industry, how likely is the average customer to understand thaht those limits exist?


« Reply #45 on: April 08, 2014, 17:57 »
+6
"Unlimited print" is an EL at most sites.  Well not at Getty, but then you're paying $500, not an insulting $1.

« Reply #46 on: April 08, 2014, 18:14 »
+2
So it's advertised as "Unlimited image use" but it's not really the case.

Doesn't make any sense or Fotolia doesn't care that buyers will use the image illegally.


EmberMike

« Reply #47 on: April 08, 2014, 18:17 »
+4
...I think that point could be made with any license agreement in any industry.  Layer upon layer of lawyer upon lawyer creating massive documents everywhere.  I haven't read the terms and conditions of other sites closely but I would predict there is potential confusion in most, if not all documents such as this...

Mat, not many other companies advertise images as "unlimited use" unless they mean exactly that. In fact, I'm not aware of any other major stock company that does so, while having limited uses in actual license terms.

In an industry where there is already a ton of confusion over what licensing allows and what RF actually means (many people still think RF means "unlimited use"), DPC is only adding to the confusion with this "unlimited" language. Especially when "unlimited" doesn't really mean what it says.

« Reply #48 on: April 08, 2014, 19:00 »
+4
Fotolia needs to provide an opt out for this terrible deal.  If they don't provide an opt out removal of images maybe the best business decision available. 

« Reply #49 on: April 08, 2014, 23:25 »
0


 

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