With the new direct credit card purchases at istock being added to buying options, a new question has been raised: Exchange rates and how istock is calculating your earnings. ShadySue posted this in the downtime thread and I think it needs it own thread here:
"For those who don't follow iStock forums, the latest is that not only are they fleecing cash buyers who don't pay in $$$ (I can't find an easy way to change 'method of payment' for cash sales, though it [used to be?] easy enough to buy credits in US$, if your credit card rate was better than iStock's), but they are not sharing the booty with contributors. When it was pointed out that contributors should be, according to the rate schedule, paid at their percentage of the actual selling, iStock posted:
"Royalties for our new standard pricing downloads are calculated using the same logic as credit downloads: we apply your royalty percentage to the net US dollar value of the file. We are going to change that language on the rate schedule to be more accurate."
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=347211&page=3#post6742383So, not content with cutting the percentage rate of most of us, they are fleecing non-US buyers and not giving us our previously-promised share.
Nothing ever changes.
Worse, it looks like they've never been paying out the rate which was published on their site.
NB: I'd rather they weren't fleecing non-US buyers."
So the official statement for istock is "we apply your royalty percentage to the net US dollar value of the file." but the exclusive ASA states:
"iStockphoto agrees to pay you royalties
equal to a portion of the fees collected in respect of Accepted Exclusive Content that is downloaded or otherwise purchased by end-users according to the rate schedule for Still and Flash Content and Motion Content, as the case may be, set forth on Appendix "A" to this Agreement, as it may be modified from time to time (the "Rate Schedule") and the license or sale of Exclusive Content recorded by iStockphoto and the Distribution Partners."
There's no mention of royalties being calculated based only on the US dollar value - just fees collected. Foreign istock contributors may be getting shortchanged, some are saying as much as a 20% difference. Thoughts?
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