MicrostockGroup

Well, thats disappointing. So far i've ditched all sites that didnt let me opt-out of partner programs
For me its about wanting complete control over my pictures and where and how and under what terms they are sold.
The royalties might be the same as with Veer, but what are they charging in the first place? Who says, eventhough the royalties are the same our cut isnt smaller? And does this partner site have other partners? Wouldnt be the first time a partner migrates our pictures to yet another one of THEIR partners leaving us clueless about where our pictures end up etc.
I do understand the potential of partner programs and how it allows Veer (and thus us  as contributors) to tap different market segments, but i'm really fed up with partner programs, untransparency and the shennanigans they bring along.
An opt-out...please?

how do you do that? I thought we were stuck at real names.

wow photogenica has a shocking search engine, try green tree frog or outer space  (you need hit english), if I was a customer it would be closed very quick.

Chelsey, do you if being able to redo keywords is on the future agenda for veer? (I have 1000-2000 almost dead images from snapvillage days, not sure whether to delete and reupload)

OMG yes this is long overdue, every site lets us edit keywords, All my snapvillage content is totally dead too as the keywords and desriptions have been dropped or severely messed up.  I was told the issue would automatically be corrected a year ago and it never has, can we please at least have the ability to correct bad or missing keywords please. And Since we just experienced massive copyright infringement at another site through partners re-distributing images without copyright info, you can not expect us to just trust you. There is no need for the word trust in business all that needs to happen is full transparency of how much images sell for and how much we get and the option to opt out of those programs in the event they turn out to be fraudulent like they have so many times in the past.

I see they are offering EPS files for 99 zlotys which translates into approx. 34 dollars.
That's the same amount you're selling them for at Veer, unless you buy with credits that is (€24 = $34)

But what about the extended licenses that sells for 159, 239 and 299 zl ?
Their most expensive EL is around $103 - yours at Veer is about $186
Their cheapest EL is around $34 - yours at Veer is about $77.

So, my question is, what does an EL sold at Photogenica net me ? How is my royalty calculated, a certain percentage of that EL sale ?

Do we earn $17,5 - $35 and $43,75 on these partner ELs as stated in the Veer Contributor Rate Card, as if they were sold at Veer ?

Because $7 would be unacceptable in case an EL is sold

Hi everyone,

Appreciate the feedback (positive and negative) and dialogue. I’ll answer as many questions as I can now, and provide further information as it becomes available to me, if there are still outstanding inquiries.

I’ll try to respond to everything in one post, so as not to clutter the thread too much.

Why is my real name showing on a partner site, if I use an alias on Veer?
This may be a bug, and our developers are investigating. If you use an alias on Veer, the intention is for that to be mirrored on partner sites.

Phil – to show an alias instead of your full name, click “Edit” in the Contact Information area of your Veer Member Page (right-hand side of the page). There are fields there to enter an alias and, if you wish, a custom URL.

Do the partner sites resell to other partners?
No. Your images will only be sold through the companies we’ve partnered with directly. We know that “trust us” can be a dangerous phrase and may be asking a lot given that some of you have had negative experiences with this kind of thing in the past, and that’s understandable. We hope that some reassurance will come from the fact that, as I mentioned previously, the sites we’re working with are partners with whom we’ve had established relationships on the traditional side of the business for many years, and we see this as a way for you to increase your exposure and revenue.

How will the royalties/sales appear on my dashboard?
Sales acquired through the API will be processed and shown once a month, at month’s end. Sales will look the same as your regular Veer sales; they will not be broken out as API sales. We’re able to track this information in our own database, and will be working with the developers attempt to add more details to your own dashboard. We know this is an important issue for you.

What does an EL sale through Photogenica net the contributor?
Thomas, the simple answer to your question is, yes—you earn the amount listed on the contributor rate card, as if the image was sold at Veer. For example, even if the price of a multi-user EL is lower on a partner’s site than on Veer, you still earn $17.50—the royalty indicated on the Veer rate card.

Are licensing terms the same for partner sites?
Yes.

Which partner sites are we working with?
The API is currently only live on Photogenica. We’ll update you as more partners sign on.

Is the ability to edit keywords post-publish on the agenda for Veer? 
This is definitely still on our radar. It’s something we discuss often, but is a more complicated business decision than is likely apparent from the outside. We do consider cleaning up old SnapVillage keywords a particularly high priority, and are aiming to focus on those specifically in the coming months. We want to make sure your images are searchable, and don’t want to place the clean-up burden on you since the errors that were created as a result of the transfer were out of your control.

Regarding having an opt-out option—your feedback on the matter is valuable, and we will still look at this as a future possibility.

I’m happy to answer further questions. Thanks again for your feedback.

Cheers,

Chelsey

-------------------------------------
Chelsey Schaffel
Manager, Veer Creative Content

http://www.veer.com

Thanks Chelsey

I think agencies start out with great intentions as far as partnering up with APIs, but the problem is that there is not follow-through. Once the connection is made, it seems as though there is no check system to monitor the partner and make sure things are progressing as per the agreements. And if an opt-out button is provided to contributors and contributors DO choose to opt out, it doesn't seem as though that decision reaches the partners. I still have images showing on a partner site from an agency where I checked the opt-out button at LEAST three months ago. That's not right.

I do hope you can overcome these partnering obstacles and make it a worthwhile venture for all of us. And hopefully your transparency is indeed transparent, and not just faux transparent. 

Thanks for responding, but it appears those making decisions at Veer are a little out of touch with what has now become industry standard for every other microstock site, it is not a "complicated business decision" to allow editing of bad keywords for any other site. Of the 12 stock sites I submit to, veer is the only site that doesn't allow submitters to correct keywords, it is really nice from the sites perspective and the contributors perspective to be able to go back and add or change keywords from the early days.  Many new stock submitters learn how to better keyword over time and often go back to old images and update with more accurate keywords in turn making the searches much more accurate for buyers.  It is also industry standard to be able to opt out of parter sites, it is also industry standard to see your partner sales labeled as such.  While I usually enjoy other opportunities to sell through partners, I hope you can understand some people's skepticism when you are not willing to be transparent about partner sales when other sites do this as normal practice, I hope these items will be taken seriously by veer as they have already been taken seriously by your competition. I do appreciate that veer is actively participating in the forums that means more to me than anything.  That is a point which other sites could learn from.

Hi Chelsey,
Need some explanation here, if you go to photogenica.pl website and type
##masterpiece, you will see those images belong to me and they are all
from my 123rf Portfolio.

For your information, I DO NOT have any account with Veer and how come
all my images in 123rf portfolio can land into photogenica.pl ?

Your urgent reply is very much appreciated.

Regards
masterpiece

Hi all,

Thanks for the continued discussion. I'll address your follow-up questions and comments in order.

lightscribe - Thanks for the additional thoughts. We are familiar with industry standards, and while I can't speak to the specifics involved in our decision to include or exclude various features, I'll reiterate that all of your feedback on the matter is important, and we will consider it as we refine both the API program and general site functionality. (Leaf and cclapper, thanks for your additional feedback as well.)

lisafx - That's probably a safe assumption, though I encourage you to email [email protected] if you have questions about any specific items appearing in your dashboard.

masterpiece - cclapper is correct; you'll need to contact 123rf directly. Veer doesn't have any relationship or partnership with them, so I unfortunately can't provide any insight as to why your images from your 123rf portfolio are available via Photogenica.

Cheers,

Chelsey

-------------------------------------
Chelsey Schaffel
Manager, Veer Creative Content

http://www.veer.com

Hi everyone,

You'll also be receiving this information via email, but I wanted to stop by here to give a quick update about the Veer partner program.

We're pleased to announce that Snapfish is our second partner to adopt the reseller API. Snapfish's web site hosts consumers' images and sells stock images, along with merchandise. The site has 95 million members, which equals plenty of new opportunities to sell your images.

You can view the Snapfish stock library here: http://stockimages.snapfish.com/LicenseStream/index.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fLicenseStream

We'll continue to share updates as new partners sign on. Your feedback and questions are welcome. Feel free to respond here, or contact [email protected]

Cheers,

Chelsey

Hi brm1949,

Thanks for the question. I'll look into this for you and let you know what I find out.

Chelsey