MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => Shutterstock.com => Topic started by: orson on August 07, 2008, 03:19
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My account on shutterstock has been disabled (I cant upload new staff, my portfolio - around 1200 photos and illustrations - was DELETED) and i dont know why.
I cant see any reason why this happend and i dont know about any mistake i did there on shutterstock. Also i didnt get any warning, any email. I send similar email to shutterstock support few days ago, but didnt get any response yet.
It is a bit weird, after submiting photos and illustrations for nearly 3 years, building the big portfolio with more than 1200 pieces witch generates more than 4000 sales per month. I also bring quite a lot of new people to Shutterstock, spending couple of hours a day helping them with submitting their photos... and now, my portfolio is empty :(
Does something similar happend to you? What can I do with it? Any idea?
Please support me and write some note to the forum (i cant write there - im banned), so somebody from shutterstock will notice it:
http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43725
...maybe it can happend to you too...
THANKS for support and help
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are you sure you have NO reason to wonder? It seems strange, the thread that your brother(?) started has been locked.
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I dont know about anything i did wrong - i dont steal images, i dont event use brushes and other stuff from internet!
You can look at my portfolio on dreamstime - http://www.dreamstime.com/orson_info (http://www.dreamstime.com/orson_info)
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I put there another post in different category:
http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43791 (http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=43791)
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Have you tried calling them on the phone.
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1) I can't found any phone numbers on the site
2) Im not from US, and my english is not so strong :(
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I hope someone will explain to you and to us what happened. If they think you did something wrong, they should inform you about that...
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That's a really nice portfolio, If this was a per sale site you can bet they'd be getting back to you fast -- because you'd be making them a lot of money!. I hope they get back to you, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't. They're known for not bothering to reply to contributor emails.
Please post back to let us know what happens!
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I just can't believe they canceled your account just like that. I would think it's maybe some error in their database, but why then they locked your posts in forum?? They must think you did something big against the rules. Are you sure you can't remember what you did? Did you make any mistake with model releases? Did you fake something?
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As a last resort you can wright to them By Snail Mail
Shutterstock
155 W. 19th St., 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10011
By Fax
1-347-402-0710
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Ask your friend to PM the user 'moderator' or contact him per e-mail at [email protected] with the specifics
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Your portfolio is absolutely great. Unless you stole all of it and murdered the original artist, what SS has done is totally unforgivable. Unfortunately, this is not the first time we see this kind of action from them, and for some reason, their communication with the contributor is anything from minimal to non-existing before it happens.
I'll stick my nose out and chime in on you thread at SS.
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Ask your friend to PM the user 'moderator' or contact him per e-mail at [email protected] with the specifics
Thanks a lot, i sent him an email, so will see, if anything will happen...
I will inform you here on the forum.
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Your portfolio is absolutely great. Unless you stole all of it and murdered the original artist, what SS has done is totally unforgivable. Unfortunately, this is not the first time we see this kind of action from them, and for some reason, their communication with the contributor is anything from minimal to non-existing before it happens.
I'll stick my nose out and chime in on you thread at SS.
No, all portfolio is made by myself - i have all the .ai files, I have a history - most of them are made from parts of my previous illustrations...
But also i read some topics about similar problems here on the forum and im not so optimistic now. Because it is really easy to draw some similar illustration...
Thanks for helping me!
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I sent a mail to admin as well.
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I sent a mail to admin as well.
THANKS!
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this is really frustrating... :( Makes you feel so miserable. I really hope this is just some kind of mistake.
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I sent them a letter also....
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I sent them a letter also....
Thanks a lot for your support!
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SS is way too trigger-happy with deleting portfolios. Even in cases where someone stole an image, their action is too harsh. All it takes is an allegation of theft, of even one single image, and they immediately yank entire portfolios. So in theory, if you don't like someone, don't want them as competition, etc., all you need to do is write in and say that they stole an image, and poof, their portfolio is gone.
I reported someone who copied one single image. One lapse of judgement in what was otherwise a good, original portfolio. I figured that SS would delete that image. Instead, they immediately deleted the entire portfolio. The guy didn't deserve that, and ultimately got his portfolio reinstated, but SS's action was far too severe and didn't even allow the guy any chance to delete the image himself or even defend himself. I thought by reporting an infringement that I was doing the right thing, but now I question whether or not I'd ever do it again. If it was a portfolio entirely made up of stolen images, then obviously I'd report it. But a single image? Not sure anymore.
Of course I'm not saying that this is such a case, and it seems like the OP is the victim of an error or false accusation. If it is a false accusation, though, this would only further support the idea that SS is too quick with the "delete" button.
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Orson,
SS support deleted your post in their forum and they said that emails are sent when account is canceled... Did you receive some email maybe?
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I got first response on the forum:
This forum is for bug reports only.
We cannot publicly comment on the status of any submitter. Emails are sent when an account is suspended.
This thread is now closed. Further, posting again under someone else's identity could result in suspension of that person's forum account as well.
I really dont know, what to do:
- i didn't get any email (im looking into spam folder regulary, all other emails from shutterstock were delivered ok)
- now i can't publicy comment on the status of any submitter. Emails are sent when an account is suspended.
Ha... some email from shutterstock comes ... finally!
Here it is:
Dear Petr,
Shutterstock Images LLC ( "Shutterstock") has been contacted by an individual or entity that claims that an image in your Shutterstock portfolio belongs to that individual or entity (SS#14332861 - Set of green labels badges and stickers with recycle icons). The person making the complaint is requesting that Shutterstock take appropriate steps against you.
Prior to taking any further steps, we are inviting you to respond to this claim.
At the minimum, please let us know:
a) where and when the image(s) in question was taken or created;
b) what program, if any, was used to generate or modify the image(s); and
c) if the image(s) was modified, where the original image was obtained.
If it turns out that the claim is without merit we will not take any further action and your account will remain active.
Please respond to this email by August 11, 2008. If you fail to respond by said date with the information we outline above,
your Shutterstock.com submitter account may be closed.
It looks like the problem is this image:
http://www.dreamstime.com/set-of-green-recycle-labels-image5477928
I will add my reply soon...
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SS is way too trigger-happy with deleting portfolios. Even in cases where someone stole an image, their action is too harsh. All it takes is an allegation of theft, of even one single image, and they immediately yank entire portfolios. So in theory, if you don't like someone, don't want them as competition, etc., all you need to do is write in and say that they stole an image, and poof, their portfolio is gone.
I reported someone who copied one single image. One lapse of judgement in what was otherwise a good, original portfolio. I figured that SS would delete that image. Instead, they immediately deleted the entire portfolio. The guy didn't deserve that, and ultimately got his portfolio reinstated, but SS's action was far too severe and didn't even allow the guy any chance to delete the image himself or even defend himself. I thought by reporting an infringement that I was doing the right thing, but now I question whether or not I'd ever do it again. If it was a portfolio entirely made up of stolen images, then obviously I'd report it. But a single image? Not sure anymore.
Of course I'm not saying that this is such a case, and it seems like the OP is the victim of an error or false accusation. If it is a false accusation, though, this would only further support the idea that SS is too quick with the "delete" button.
I feel stealing even one image is really bad. There are right to act quick on that.
Otherwise stealing would just explode, believe me. There are enough of unscrupulous people out there.
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Wow, are you saying that they have just now bothered to send you the email?
I think some of those might be copyrighted e.g. the "keep X country tidy" man.
If this is the problem they are having then it's obviously a genuine mistake, they only needed to review the rest of your folio and record to see that you wouldn't purposely jeopardize your earnings with them.
If not then the images are so generic I don't see how anyone could claim it's a copy of their work unless the file is identical.
They should take these points into account (if they gave a cr*p about their contributors, which they clearly don't)
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SS is way too trigger-happy with deleting portfolios. Even in cases where someone stole an image, their action is too harsh. All it takes is an allegation of theft, of even one single image, and they immediately yank entire portfolios. So in theory, if you don't like someone, don't want them as competition, etc., all you need to do is write in and say that they stole an image, and poof, their portfolio is gone.
I reported someone who copied one single image. One lapse of judgement in what was otherwise a good, original portfolio. I figured that SS would delete that image. Instead, they immediately deleted the entire portfolio. The guy didn't deserve that, and ultimately got his portfolio reinstated, but SS's action was far too severe and didn't even allow the guy any chance to delete the image himself or even defend himself. I thought by reporting an infringement that I was doing the right thing, but now I question whether or not I'd ever do it again. If it was a portfolio entirely made up of stolen images, then obviously I'd report it. But a single image? Not sure anymore.
Of course I'm not saying that this is such a case, and it seems like the OP is the victim of an error or false accusation. If it is a false accusation, though, this would only further support the idea that SS is too quick with the "delete" button.
I feel stealing even one image is really bad. There are right to act quick on that.
Otherwise stealing would just explode, believe me. There are enough of unscrupulous people out there.
people.
I agree, if it's a clear case of theft.
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If this turns out to be a false accusation, then the accusers portfolio should be disabled an equal amount of time if not longer. The OP is losing money every minute his portfolio is down. The accuser should suffer the same consequence if it turns out to be false.
I understand SS's concern, but I think they should have disabled the ONE image until the OP had a chance to answer the accusation. This really seems unfair.
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So you're guilty until proven innocent? This is exactly what I was talking about above. All someone needs to do is suggest that a user they don't like stole an image, and their portfolio is gone before any real investigating is done.
Certainly cases of infringement need to be dealt with. But this seems like the wrong way of going about it. Why not suspend the allegedly infringing image, instead of the whole portfolio?
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I understand SS's concern, but I think they should have disabled the ONE image until the OP had a chance to answer the accusation. This really seems unfair.
That would be the obvious thing to do. The way they act, they punish the owner of the portfolio before they have all relevant documentation about the case. It's rather scary actually. They seem to be completely unpredictable.
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First off, I'd like to say to Orson that I am not jumping on you. If this is a mistake on SS's part, then I hope the matter is resolved quickly. with appropriate apologies etc.
However, theft of images in general is one of the lowest forms of fraud. A lapse in judgment is NO excuse for this kind of crap. Ethics are ethics.
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First off, I'd like to say to Orson that I am not jumping on you. If this is a mistake on SS's part, then I hope the matter is resolved quickly. with appropriate apologies etc.
However, theft of images in general is one of the lowest forms of fraud. A lapse in judgment is NO excuse for this kind of crap. Ethics are ethics.
The point is that we don't know if anything was stolen. This could just as easily be a false accusation. Why not suspend that one image while an investigation goes on then if he is found guilty decide whether to erase his portfolio or not.
You usually decide if someone's guilty before sentencing them!
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Hi there,
I didnt steal anything!
My illustration is here: http://www.dreamstime.com/set-of-green-recycle-labels-image5477928
can anybody found on shutterstock or on other microstock found the same illustration???? Or at least similar, so somebody can think, that i have stolen it??
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Here is my response to Shutterstock:
Hi there!
Thanks a lot for first reply. Now i finaly know what is the problem.
Because I can't see the image on the shutterstock website i will describe it on other microstock - dreamstime. So according to the ID of the image, it looks like the problem is in this illustration:
http://www.dreamstime.com/set-of-green-recycle-labels-image5477928
Now your questions:
a) Image was created on my computer by myself. If you look into my portfolio, you will find that some parts from the illustration i created couple of months ago:
Shapes of the labels - all started with
round red label - http://www.dreamstime.com/labels-badges-and-stickers-image4196269 (02/02/2008 on dreamstime)
then i created other shapes:
rectangle - http://www.dreamstime.com/square-stickers-image4695797 - 02/28/2008
square - http://www.dreamstime.com/labels-badges-and-stickers-image4384628- 03/25/2008
triangle - http://www.dreamstime.com/triangle-labels-badges--image4793251 - 04/04/2008
then i started to use various symbols on the labels:
http://www.dreamstime.com/various--labels-badges-image4870164 - 04/12/2008 - as you can see there is also recycle sign
then i combined labels and traced symbols - here is an example of bar codes labels: http://www.dreamstime.com/set-of--labels-with-bar-codes-image5477690 - 06/17/2008
And after that i created the collection with recycle signs.
I didnt draw the recycle signs - one (arrows in triangle) i took from basic photohop shapes, for the others i just use my camera and created photos of real recycle signs from various products (tea box, shampoo and some packing box) - those are common symbols! If you want, i can send you all the photos... and then i just trace it in illustrator. That't all. This illustration was submited
before 06/17/2008 (all those dates are from dreamstime, where the illustration were uploaded 1-2 weeks later).
b) I use adobe illustrator, if you want i can send you the original .ai files and also the .jpgs i used for tracing
c) Images were not modified, but done by myself
Petr.
P.S. let me please know, that you get this email, otherwise i will send it again...
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http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-14725873-square-and-round-recycle-symbol-stickers-with-and-without-curl.html
There you go, but as I say, these are generic symbols, so I would have to say that they are not copies
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What if it was a copyright violation eg. "the green point" from Germany is copyrighted and the copyright holder or representative contacted SS demanding removal. All SS needs to do is inform the creator of removal or give him/her a chance to convert to editorial licence. Brutal policy implementation on the part of SS. Guilty until proven otherwise. Reduces their liability. Shoot first ask questions later.
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My guess is more a problem about the "Green Point" logo (Der Grüne Punkt) which is a copyrighted logo. The 2 arrows forming a circle.
See :
http://www.imagecatalog.com/copyright_and_trademark.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Dot_%28symbol%29
http://www.ecoromambalaje.ro/eng/punctul_verde.php
[EDIT] Oops, Read_My_Rights, we were writing at the same time...
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This was posted at StockXpert forum 1th of august :
http://stockxpert.com/forum.phtml?f=showtopic&n=15731 (http://stockxpert.com/forum.phtml?f=showtopic&n=15731)
Six days later SS has nothing done.
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If it is the copyright question they need to take a closer look at their collection because there are loads of images using those logos!
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-14725873-square-and-round-recycle-symbol-stickers-with-and-without-curl.html
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-15233119-ecology-icons-vector.html
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-13006222-recycle-icons-symbols.html
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[url]http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-14725873-square-and-round-recycle-symbol-stickers-with-and-without-curl.html[/url]
There you go, but as I say, these are generic symbols, so I would have to say that they are not copies
HAHAHA if I steal this image, why this image has higher ID (was added later) than my? How it is possible?
This image id: 14725873
My image id: 14332861
But yes, it is very very similar.
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[url]http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-14725873-square-and-round-recycle-symbol-stickers-with-and-without-curl.html[/url]
There you go, but as I say, these are generic symbols, so I would have to say that they are not copies
HAHAHA if I steal this image, why this image has higher ID (was added later) than my? How it is possible?
This image id: 14725873
My image id: 14332861
But yes, it is very very similar.
Lol, You should report that guy ;)
It would be so funny if it turned out to be that guy that reported you and his image is actually newer than yours! It wouldn't surprise me if SS didn't bother checking.
Anyway, here's an older one, but as I say, these symbols are well known, I don't see how they can claim you copied them!
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-10075069-recycle-sticker-set.html
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My guess is more a problem about the "Green Point" logo (Der Grüne Punkt) which is a copyrighted logo. The 2 arrows forming a circle.
See :
[url]http://www.imagecatalog.com/copyright_and_trademark.php[/url]
[url]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Green_Dot_%28symbol%29[/url]
[url]http://www.ecoromambalaje.ro/eng/punctul_verde.php[/url]
[EDIT] Oops, Read_My_Rights, we were writing at the same time...
Ok, if it is a problem of copyright, then the mistake did the reviewers and not me, so why . im the afflicted one? And why they deleted the whole portfolio?
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and why not all the other people who did the same thing?
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and why not all the other people who did the same thing?
Maybe because my are selling better :)
But finally all is solved:
Dear Petr,
(I apologize for not contacting you sooner.)
Please reference this url for review: http://www.greendotcompliance.eu/en/common-questions.php#using
* The recycling arrow symbol at the url above is a protected work.
You have some inspired images with this arrow recycling image in your portfolio. From your response to me now, I believe that this appears to be an innocent infraction. However, you need to delete these arrow symbols from your portfolio as the inspiration is still too similar.
Please remove any and all images from your portfolio with the arrow symbol right away.
Your account has been reactivated with full privileges.
My portfolio is back!
HEUREKA.
I just hope, that my images will be on same positions like before.
And now im going to pub for some beer... i think i really NEED it :)
Thanks to all you guys for support, without you i would never get any response from shutterstock.
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I'm really glad for you.
You certainly do deserve that beer.
I can't stand the way that SS complain all the time about people posting about this kind of thing on the forums but never bother to do anything till you do.
I hate those guys!
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Yeah, I love when on the forums they'll say something like "we answer ALL submitter emails." That's simply not true.
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That's an out and out lie, if the management really believe that they need to keep a better eye on the people who are actually responsible for reading emails.
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Good for you!
Had it not been for your misfortune, a lot of us probably never would have known that symbol is trademarked logo. It looks like a simple universal symbol.
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I was going to sign up with SS and after reading every word of all the above postings .... Well folks they will not have any of my images to mess with. They also will not have me on their site!
When your treated like crap with no answers etc .... they can cram it. And that applies to any site.
Now I will read about some other sites. ;D
-Larry
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I was going to sign up with SS and after reading every word of all the above postings .... Well folks they will not have any of my images to mess with. They also will not have me on their site!
When your treated like crap with no answers etc .... they can cram it. And that applies to any site.
Now I will read about some other sites. ;D
-Larry
I wouldn't discount SS over this or any of their other little quirks. I don't think there's a single micro site that has it completely together when it comes to the treatment of contributors. SS is one of the better ones actually. Dreamstime would probably be the next in line.
Point is they all have issues that you have to deal with if you want to sell microstock. As the industry evolves hopefully contributor treatment will improve.
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Congrats Petr. Always nice when it turns out well in the end. Your portfolio is great btw. :)
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This is business and photographer and agency are partners. They are not my employer and Im not their employee or slave. In most of the countries across globe you must first prove someone IS guilty before you do legal steps.
There is simply no excuse for what SS did and it is very clear example how much their value their contributors. Keep that always in mind when you upload there - its not first nor last case.
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I was going to sign up with SS and after reading every word of all the above postings .... Well folks they will not have any of my images to mess with. They also will not have me on their site!
When your treated like crap with no answers etc .... they can cram it. And that applies to any site.
Now I will read about some other sites. ;D
-Larry
I wouldn't discount SS over this or any of their other little quirks. I don't think there's a single micro site that has it completely together when it comes to the treatment of contributors. SS is one of the better ones actually. Dreamstime would probably be the next in line.
Point is they all have issues that you have to deal with if you want to sell microstock. As the industry evolves hopefully contributor treatment will improve.
I couldn't disagree more, SS are the worst site for contributor relations.
If you are lucky enough never to have issues with your work being stolen etc. you may not realize how little they care about individual contributors or their intellectual property.
They are also one of two biggest earning sites, so if you want to make a decent living in this game you have to put up with being treated like dirt by SS, or go exclusive with IS and take the financial hit.
It sucks, but there it is.
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...Please respond to this email by August 11, 2008. If you fail to respond by said date with the information we outline above,
your Shutterstock.com submitter account may be closed.
Do they only give people 4 days to respond to them? I wouldn't like to get an email like that after a week away.
They should be able to suspend just the images concerned and give us 28 days to respond. That would be fair.
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I wouldn't discount SS over this or any of their other little quirks. I don't think there's a single micro site that has it completely together when it comes to the treatment of contributors. SS is one of the better ones actually. Dreamstime would probably be the next in line.
Either you've never actually had any encounter with SS "customer/contributor service" or you're joking. They just trashed the OP's portfolio when their site has hundreds of the exact same infringing logo and didn't tell the OP about it. They've done it dozens, if not hundreds of times.
They don't respond to either emails or phone calls. Say what you want about the other sites but at least they have customer service that actually does respond.
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Congratulations Petr :)
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I wouldn't discount SS over this or any of their other little quirks. I don't think there's a single micro site that has it completely together when it comes to the treatment of contributors. SS is one of the better ones actually. Dreamstime would probably be the next in line.
Either you've never actually had any encounter with SS "customer/contributor service" or you're joking. They just trashed the OP's portfolio when their site has hundreds of the exact same infringing logo and didn't tell the OP about it. They've done it dozens, if not hundreds of times.
They don't respond to either emails or phone calls. Say what you want about the other sites but at least they have customer service that actually does respond.
No, I've guess I've been lucky and never had anything major happen to me on SS.
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I'm glad you got this figured out orson.
Maybe shutterstock sent you an email a while ago but the email got stuck in the 'black hole' I know there have been a number of emails that never show up from shutterstock that should have.
When you submit a batch of photos you get a email notice. I usually get one.. except 1 in 20 times i don't. Also when images are reviewed you get an email. I do, except 1 in 20 or so again just never comes. I have checked spam filters and they aren't their either. Others have expressed the same problem.