PantherMedia and microstock images

[ThomasAmby]

Do PantherMedia accept microstock images? If yes, what justifies the higher prices for M-XXXXL sizes than most other agencies? My conscience does not allow me to contribute to sites with such significantly higher prices, when the same images are for sale for much less on other sites - unless there is a difference in the licensing terms or the general service. For instance; on ClipartOf, my prices are higher than usually ($15-$80), but this is due to giving the buyer the right to use my images commercially so I can justify it by that. Is it the same with PM ?

Their large list of stock distributors (apparently including Zymmetrical) certainly does look appealing

[Phil]

yes they take micro images but you get reduced commission of 30% instead of 50%

re prices differences I dont know who you are with but there is already a lot of difference (maybe you only do midstock so not valid)

smallest size (with cheapest option)
ft = $.75 (buying 2500 credits
is = $.95
panther = $1.14 (5000 credits)

but on bigger sizes say about 4000 x 4000 pixels there is a lot more difference
fotolia = 7 credits = $7
istock = 28 credits = up to $42 depending on credit package bought (in case 3x 10 credit packs - which would be dumb but possible - but its 6x the price of fotolia)
most of the micros somewhere in between but then in midstock
panther = 135 credits = $154  - $267 (depending on package)
zymm have some my images for $5 for bigger size than this

all of this can be same image, and not a criticism of any site just saying it is a mess (of course then you have subs - which back to panther are optional but still there at down to $0.27 per image

but to really compare you have to look at the licences as many of the more expensive sites allow you to do more with the image.
ie to my understanding, panther standard licence is equivalent to most sites extended licence. In he case of istock this is 125 credits so at bigger sizes similar to panther and in the case of small sizes or subs even panther then become very very cheap (as many sites do have el's on small sizes and dont include el licence on subs) - again not a criticism, just an observation

[michealo]

Baked beans (even the same brand) are sold at different prices in different retail outlets, why is this a problem?

[ThomasAmby]

yes they take micro images but you get reduced commission of 30% instead of 50%

re prices differences I dont know who you are with but there is already a lot of difference (maybe you only do midstock so not valid)

smallest size (with cheapest option)
ft = $.75 (buying 2500 credits
is = $.95
panther = $1.14 (5000 credits)

but on bigger sizes say about 4000 x 4000 pixels there is a lot more difference
fotolia = 7 credits = $7
istock = 28 credits = up to $42 depending on credit package bought (in case 3x 10 credit packs - which would be dumb but possible - but its 6x the price of fotolia)
most of the micros somewhere in between but then in midstock
panther = 135 credits = $154  - $267 (depending on package)
zymm have some my images for $5 for bigger size than this

all of this can be same image, and not a criticism of any site just saying it is a mess (of course then you have subs - which back to panther are optional but still there at down to $0.27 per image

but to really compare you have to look at the licences as many of the more expensive sites allow you to do more with the image.
ie to my understanding, panther standard licence is equivalent to most sites extended licence. In he case of istock this is 125 credits so at bigger sizes similar to panther and in the case of small sizes or subs even panther then become very very cheap (as many sites do have el's on small sizes and dont include el licence on subs) - again not a criticism, just an observation

Sounds great As long as they offer different licenses and perhaps give some buyers reason to buy there instead of lower priced agencies because they need a specific type of license, it is okay with me.

They are not very illustrator-friendly it seems. I have to go through a photography test, though I don't have any photos to submit 

[ThomasAmby]

Baked beans (even the same brand) are sold at different prices in different retail outlets, why is this a problem?

Yes, but usually those baked beans would be of different quality. Prices within the same brand can differ, but not as significantly as image prices on the micro-, the mid- and the macro stock agencies. Do you sell your images both as macro RF and micro RF ?

[michealo]

Baked beans (even the same brand) are sold at different prices in different retail outlets, why is this a problem?

Yes, but usually those baked beans would be of different quality. Prices within the same brand can differ, but not as significantly as image prices on the micro-, the mid- and the macro stock agencies. Do you sell your images both as macro RF and micro RF ?

Nope but the pricing to the end user wouldn't bother me in any case, its up to the buyer to find the cheapest source

[leaf]

it also has to do with the service.  People go to the site they want and pay the price that is set.  Nothing is hidden in the pricing of any site.

a can of coke in a grocery store might be $0.50  that same can in a hotel minibar might be $3.00.  If you don't want to buy a $3.00 can of coke you have to go and try and find one for cheaper.  For some people that isn't worth the effort.

[Phil]

[/quote]

Sounds great As long as they offer different licenses and perhaps give some buyers reason to buy there instead of lower priced agencies because they need a specific type of license, it is okay with me.

They are not very illustrator-friendly it seems. I have to go through a photography test, though I don't have any photos to submit 
[/quote]

no they only offer the one licence, but it is a big one bit like selling cars without any optional extras (micros standard licence) or with all the extras (panther / macro licence). Whether you need or use all the extras is another story

[madelaide]

a can of coke in a grocery store might be $0.50  that same can in a hotel minibar might be $3.00.  If you don't want to buy a $3.00 can of coke you have to go and try and find one for cheaper.  For some people that isn't worth the effort.

But Coca Cola sells the cans for more or less the same price for the grocery store and the hotel.  And also the absolute price is different from what we are talking about. US$3 is too much, but it includes the convenience of being right there at the reach of my arm. I may pay for it if I arrive at night and don't want to leave the hotel, but the next day I may buy one at the grocery store before returning to the hotel.

We have differences in micro prices - say, an image costs US$10 in site A, US$6 in site B - but the absolute value is also small.

I don't want a buyer to whom I sold an image for US$100 discover the same image for US$10 in the micros just because "he was lazy" to look for cheaper prices.

[oboy]

You can buy a bottle of Erdinger Hefeweizen in Germany in a grocery store for about $0.50 and in the US the same bottle cost in a grocery store about $4.00

Different customer, location, service = different price

If it is feasible I will buy it cheaper if not I go with what is available.

[cascoly]

or, closer to home, look at cameras, batteries, etc  - you can go to a retial store, or online equivalent, or you can get deep discounts at amazon, ebay etc -- yet the retail stores still stay in businees with higher prices. 

i buy an item for $.20 each and sell them for $10 on the SAME site - and i'm still listing at a fraction of what these go for on other sites! 

sure, we could get a lot more $ for our images if we sold them ourselves - trouble is, most of us can't compete with the large agencies for  views in any meaningful way.   so each makes their choice freely about whether to work with agencies or not. 

steve

[Team PantherMedia]

Hello,

@ThomasAmby

Do PantherMedia accept microstock images?

Yes.

If yes, what justifies the higher prices for M-XXXXL sizes than most other agencies? My conscience does not allow me to contribute to sites with such significantly higher prices, when the same images are for sale for much less on other sites - unless there is a difference in the licensing terms ....

E.g. we have no limitation regarding the print run.

.... or the general service

Included in these higher prices for some single images are the following additional service features for customers:

• Receiving an invoice for each downloaded image - not only for credit packages - for accounting purposes, e.g. in case an ad agency downloads an image for a client. You need additional infrastructure resources if you offer not only the principle of paying with credits ("pay first, then download"), but also on invoice ("download first, pay later").
• Sending customers an invoice via snail mail.
• Offering the cancellation process of already downloaded images.
• Changing paper invoices, helping customers with special accounting needs, etc. You�d be surprised how many, many different wishes customers can have.

It is easy to recognize that these additional features and services require a lot of work on our side.


Hope this helps for the moment,
Andy