Hmmm...wonder if SV is going to bite the dust along with PSC.  What a disappointing day this has been!

Well, I wonder if he was the person who was responsible for the interesting beta approach they took for SnapVillage or if he was a great technical leader who was handcuffed by Corbis red tape.

I had to stop uploading to SV a while ago, since I was making about $3 a month there. Still am, and haven't seen any signs of improvement. I wouldn't be surprised if SV went the way of LO soon.

Agree. I'm full of patience with people struggling to get from nowhere to success, but these guys had all the resources anybody could ask for, but still it's rather dysfunctional.

I just had my first sale at SV. This gives me a handy $3, enough to buy three waffles at lunch today. Ok, so now we know that SV can attract buyer(s). They have a few things going for them. Their uploading process is very fast (although they don�t provide FTP batch uploads), they will keyword for you, you can set your own prices and they are owned by Corbis. This latter fact has baffled me for a while. You�d think they had the resources to shape up their web pages more than they have. They�ll have to step up quite a bit to keep afloat with iStock and the others dominating the game. Good luck to them; now I�ll consider uploading more of my portfolio (at least I would if they had an FTP server, how hard can it be?).

I always thought Brian created LO just for that purpose
But Dreamstime had a too high percentage for contributors to fit for Corbis the 30% at LO was just the percentage they have now!

SV is a bad joke. I had really high hopes when I heared Corbis is enterig to the MS marked. But the result is a bad joke, really. And we all know it and we all keep saying it... but noone has eyes or ears there at Corbis. I doubt they want anything serious with that pathetic SV, I can imagine. 

Brian,

Can you please change the way you payout. There is a statement on your site that says you pay at the end of the month and then I read on other threads how its 45 days after the last blue moon or something like that. Corbis "regular" may do this but your direct competition does not. It would be greatly appreciated if this changed or least have someone in your IT to change the message on the site so it doesn't contradict you statements here. Nothing can make you look more like an amateur than not spelling out when contributors get paid.

I stand by my earlier comments that SV will soon close down or be bought by an outside entity. If Corbis is losing month SV must be hemorrhaging money. I look at SV's demise in the very near future.

Brian,

Can you please change the way you payout. There is a statement on your site that says you pay at the end of the month and then I read on other threads how its 45 days after the last blue moon or something like that. Corbis "regular" may do this but your direct competition does not. It would be greatly appreciated if this changed or least have someone in your IT to change the message on the site so it doesn't contradict you statements here. Nothing can make you look more like an amateur than not spelling out when contributors get paid.

Hi Zeus -

That's a serious discrepancy - clearly the cause for much confusion. I'll work on changing that copy.
The copy is incorrect - under our current system contributors are paid out 45 days following the close of the month in which they surpassed $10.

This fall we will be looking at the entire royalty payment system.The goal will be to streamline the process and hopefully, to shorten the payout cycle while still adhering to internal accounting policies. We've heard from several contributors who have requested a higher minimum threshold with a "pay now" button that can initiate a royalty payment at the contributors discretion.

What would you prefer? What would be the ideal royalty payment system in your book?

- Brian (SV)

Quote from: brian_SV on September 15, 2008, 12:36

What would you prefer? What would be the ideal royalty payment system in your book?

Without question, a payout-on-demand system is my preference. Your 45 day waiting period is unprecedented in this industry.

For what it's worth, I think your $10 minimum payout is too low - something around $30 to $50 is normal for low-volume sites such as SV.

A pay on demand is fine or auto pay is okay too. Once a month on auto pay with >$30. The 45 day holdback has to go. That just doesn't cut it on this side of the fence. Pay with with 15 days on auto pay, with 5 days on pay on demand.

Hmm, my reviewer got fired? When they got my DVD they reviewed couple pictures and stopped.

Hmm, my reviewer got fired? When they got my DVD they reviewed couple pictures and stopped.

Hi melastmohican -

Just sent you a PM with an update for you.

- Brian (SV)