Do you take site design orders?

LOL. I think it's best for my sanity if I don't work on any other web projects for a while. 

Change host. Hostgator is on Ktools’ no-no list. You’ll find a list of recommended hosting companys here: http://www.ktools.net/find.hosting.php

You cant buy advertising like this Lisa....

http://afewtastefulsnaps.wordpress.com/
p.s.

links to the article are being tweeted by cnd media and politicos

Wow, Lisa, well done

Can someone assist me with setting up an Extended License price point using KTools?  What I did was create a Price Scheme with a Master of "Extended License" and a sub-entry of "EL", in which I set a price of $99.

However the choice is not showing up for my images, so obviously I misunderstood the manual instructions.  Any help would be greatly appeciated.   

I did mine differently because I couldn't figure out how to get that to work either. I created an item under Prints and Products. If you need more details, let me know and I will PM you.

I tried both the Pricing Scheme option and the Prints and Products option.  The P & P option was the way to go for me. 

 When you get the pricing schemes activated, they always show up at the top of the page.  So the first thing the buyer sees is that the image costs $100.  They have to scroll down the page to see the lower cost sizes and options.  Whereas Prints & Products shows up at the bottom, under the size/price options. 

How are all these stores going?

It seems that many started last January and with the coding and uploading and modifications, we are approaching a half year of "if you build it, they will come". (run your own site, make all the profit)

What always came to mind was this thread, where someone did build a site and supposedly markets it and the question is, anyone have sales?

http://www.microstockgroup.com/mostphotos-com/who-has-had-sales-at-mostphotos/250/

So that may bring up a survey question. Which makes more for you? After expenses? (not a real survey yet...) 1) K-tools, hosting your own site? or 2) Mostphotos? 3) Picking up dropped change from a fast food drive through?      

You can mark me down with Ktools, although I don't have an account at Mostphotos. So, that may be a gold mine waiting to be tapped. 

MP is nice to use as a backup

Yes and they have a feature where you can download your entire portfolio there. I know this is going off subject and topic, but MP is where I send images that are rejected by the agencies and I think are worth the exposure. Or is that like hanging a diploma in the closet, where no one will ever see it, but it's hanging? 

Since Jan. people have been buying KTools and starting their own stores, even the community agency finally got off the ground. What I was getting at, is MP has a site, nice images, good interface, many people uploading, and how many sales do we get from them? That leads me to think, what chance does an individual's personal site have in comparison?

That's where the if you build it comes in, because considering the competition, marketing costs, and chances of someone finding a personal site, it's got to be a slim chance that they will ever succeed. Of course 100% of something still beats getting hijacked by agencies that take 75% and up for themselves.

But the question remains, has anyone had true success with their project and their new KTools site? Before I invest the time and money on the software, I'd like to hear from people who tried? I thought there must be at least a dozen here who took the chance, invested and are trying to make it. Otherwise, I might as well let my photos languish on Mostphotos, and spend my time on something else. (unfortunately that includes wasting time here and on Facebook!  )

Here's one on MP that has a whole 22 views in about a year. Sad. Refused by IS and SS, what's left to do but throw it out there and hope?

  http://www.mostphotos.com/1136577/red-tail-hawk-over-scenic-water-background

Well, this probably doesn't help because I'm an illustrator, but my site is averaging about 6th (7th if you add in my canceled Fotolia account) on my list of earners. Just below CanStockPhoto but well above BS, 123RF, and the rest of the middle tier.

You may try contacting some of the photographers though for a more apples to apples opinion.

I think that's wonderful. Just having people find an independent site is hard enough, but making some sales is great. Maybe there is hope? I'm thinking of a niche market, not microstock. But there are others that have areas of concentration and interest who might do the same.

There's no trial version.

Seems nice but it's pretty hard to tell if it would meet my needs from a demo. And dropping $250 to find out I may not be able to use it doesn't sound like a good idea.

I thought you can rent it for $50 a month? It's not very economical, but I guess if you wanted to try it for a month.

Edit: Here's the link - http://www.ktools.net/photostore/renting.php

I just wanted to report back...for all those naysayers who think it is a total waste of time to create your own site.

I was away for a few days and just got back last night. I had a wonderful surprise waiting for me. A buyer, who had previously purchased one of my images on an agency, realized they would need an extended license for an image. Rather than purchasing again from the agency with the correct license, they saw my direct link, realized it would be better to purchase from me directly, and did so.

So it appears that buyers DO care about the contributors, and buyers ARE willing to purchase from contributors directly. I got complimented on my images, took away virtually 100% of the sale (paypal keeps their share) and don't have to make too many more sales this year to surpass my sales on some of the agencies. And hopefully this will be a repeat customer.

Just a little encouragement for those of you who have taken the leap.