MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => Alamy.com => Topic started by: Snowblood on October 15, 2013, 04:10
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From Alamy on their Facebook site:
Alamy #photographers ! - Good news, we’ll now pay out every time you clear $100!
A necessary step, thank you Alamy.
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Great stuff, I am waiting for my 180 dollar payment for 7 months, and now they lower the threshold :) At least I will see a nice sum in November.
But seriously, good stuff, now all I need is sales. LOL
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I thought 'GREAT NEWS AND ABOUT TIME'
Until I read the part about paypal users being charged a 'small' fee for having the audacity to want their money paid.
*! Is 50% commision not enough payment for these guys?
>:(
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I thought 'GREAT NEWS AND ABOUT TIME'
Until I read the part about paypal users being charged a 'small' fee for having the audacity to want their money paid.
*! Is 50% commision not enough payment for these guys?
>:(
It was too good to be true. *, cant these agencies do anything right. Man, that pisses me off so much. I feel violated now submitting 80 images this weekend.
Thanks for nothing Alamy.
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From the Alamy site "The changes come in on 30th November 2013 so if you have $100 or over cleared in your account by December 1st you’ll get paid in the December pay run". Just in time for Christmas to get that last gift (after the fees for Paypal of course)
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http://www.alamy.com/contributor/contract/amendments/151013.asp (http://www.alamy.com/contributor/contract/amendments/151013.asp)
they are not even saying what the fees are. Seriously.
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Can't you use a direct bank payment or Skrill? They're both free.
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I am not going to sign up for Skrill, I am with PayPal, and I have an Irish bank.
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I am not going to sign up for Skrill, I am with PayPal, and I have an Irish bank.
Same with me except Swedish bank instead.
Getting so pissed off with these agencies taking more and more every year.
Maybe time to consider other options?
>:(
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I don't think you need a British bank account I have a German bank account and I do get my payment without bank fees for several years from Alamy, so Irish and Swedish bank accounts should work too.
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The new set up says Euro to EU bank now is at a fee.
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I am on over a dozen sites using paypal on all of them and this is the first one EVER to charge a fee for paypal. Very disappointing. Can anyone see what the charge will be? I can't find it in the contract.
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The new set up says Euro to EU bank now is at a fee.
Yes you are right I read the email now too, well I will see in the next transfer if they now charge for the thing and how much.
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The one thing they didn't outline is what the fee will be.
Definitely a step backwards :(
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I don't see why I should feel grateful about it. Every other agency pays when it reaches $50 - 100. Not only it does not perform that well, it is painfully slow in collecting our fees. Now it becomes the only one among the top and middle tier agencies to charge us a Paypal fee (and the only one I am aware of). So petty!!
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I read the mail and thought, boy, people must be having a hard time getting to the payout amount! It speaks to sales volume dropping, more than kindness.
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From an admin on the Alamy forum.
Sorry if this isn't clear. Alamy aren't charging you here. The charge is a PayPal charge, which goes to PayPal. You can receive a free bank transfer in the UK or US, and if you're based outside you can get a free payment from Skrill.
But I don't buy this as I don't get charged by paypal for receiving payments from other american based sites.
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I read the mail and thought, boy, people must be having a hard time getting to the payout amount! It speaks to sales volume dropping, more than kindness.
+1
More and more images, more and more contributors taking longer to reach payout and more and more people complaining that they are not getting their money. With the time it takes for Alamy to collect payment, and to then wait until you reach $175 could take years to make payout.
Even with current interest rates Alamy must be making a nice little amount off the top and now they charge for Paypal - is that to cover their loss of interest earnings?
Another step on the slippery road of stock.
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From an admin on the Alamy forum.
Sorry if this isn't clear. Alamy aren't charging you here. The charge is a PayPal charge, which goes to PayPal. You can receive a free bank transfer in the UK or US, and if you're based outside you can get a free payment from Skrill.
But I don't buy this as I don't get charged by paypal for receiving payments from other american based sites.
Aren't the Paypal charges linked to bulk payments or something? Ron, you seem to know Paypal quite well, any ideas?
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Sure it is a Paypal charge, but every other agency covers it for their contributors. Alamy is so poor that it cannot do the same.
From an admin on the Alamy forum.
Sorry if this isn't clear. Alamy aren't charging you here. The charge is a PayPal charge, which goes to PayPal. You can receive a free bank transfer in the UK or US, and if you're based outside you can get a free payment from Skrill.
But I don't buy this as I don't get charged by paypal for receiving payments from other american based sites.
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Not only that! It is at least 2 months after you reached the payout, they clear the money. Say if you reach the payout in July, the money won't get cleared at least until October, and you'll be lucky to see that money in Paypal on November 7 or 8.
I read the mail and thought, boy, people must be having a hard time getting to the payout amount! It speaks to sales volume dropping, more than kindness.
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Sure it is a Paypal charge, but every other agency covers it for their contributors. Alamy is so poor that it cannot do the same.
From an admin on the Alamy forum.
Sorry if this isn't clear. Alamy aren't charging you here. The charge is a PayPal charge, which goes to PayPal. You can receive a free bank transfer in the UK or US, and if you're based outside you can get a free payment from Skrill.
But I don't buy this as I don't get charged by paypal for receiving payments from other american based sites.
Payments from Rodeo are also subject to a PayPal charge so Alamy are not unique.
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I'm not personally unhappy as I'm in the US and get paid by them via direct deposit (although I'm currently at a cleared balance of $97.xx and sales have just vanished, so I may never get paid!), but they apparently just don't get that they are not special enough to be able to pull this sort of stunt.
Here are the mass pay fees for the payer - in the case of a UK company paying in Euros to someone in Ireland (to pick Ron as an example), Alamy would pay only 2.0% up to 6 euros as their mass pay fee. It's not going to break the bank, IMO
https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_batch-payment-overview-outside (https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_batch-payment-overview-outside)
It used to be that their royalty rate was high - they keep cutting it and on distributor sales (which I have opted out of) contributors end up with 30%
It used to be that their sales prices were higher but now most things are massively discounted from the apparently irrelevant "list price"
They take months to clear payments, offer liberal refunds, have a massively painful keywording system (I periodically get a reminder about 30 images I uploaded that I couldn't be bothered to keyword once sales just slowed to an occasional trickle) that isn't like any other site.
There used to be sales...
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I had to wait for a payment from June to be cleared in October and thats quick.
I am done with them anyway. I will be closing my account. Had enough with them.
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I am not going to sign up for Skrill, I am with PayPal, and I have an Irish bank.
Why not? Having at least 2 options to get your money makes sense. Anyone outside the US should save money with Skrill, as they give you more money when you exchange currencies. There is a small withdrawal fee but I still get more money with Skrill. If anything goes wrong with PayPal, at least you have another choice.
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I had to wait for a payment from June to be cleared in October and thats quick.
I am done with them anyway. I will be closing my account. Had enough with them.
You seem to change your mind on that one every week :)
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I had to wait for a payment from June to be cleared in October and thats quick.
I am done with them anyway. I will be closing my account. Had enough with them.
You seem to change your mind on that one every week :)
Well, not really, I was contemplating closing my account and because of the lack of sales I had no incentive to keep uploading. Then James from Alamy and a few people here convinced me to stay. I submitted and completed 70 images on Alamy after that as I was going full in. And then they * me over for another 3.4% so now James and Alamy can eat my shorts.
It makes me sick that they now use the argument that we asked for it. There are some people on the Alamy forum now attacking people who dont agree with another pay cut. Do they even realise that if they make 2000 dollar on Alamy they also are going to pay 68 dollar to get that money.
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I have zero sympathy when you could save money using Skrill. It does suck for countries that can only use PayPal but that's not something alamy need to take the blame for.
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Now that the threshold is lower and they will be sending out more payments, Almay needs to sign up for Mass Pay. If an agency is not signed up to Mass Pay (Featurepics/Zymmetrical) yes, there is a fee (in Canada, I don't believe in U.S. though). There is a cap on Mass Pay of $1 that most agencies absorb.
Mass Payment allows you to send money to one or more recipients. With Mass Payment transactions, the sender pays the transaction fee, not the receiver. The current transaction fee for Mass Payment is 2% per payment, with a maximum of $1.00 per payment. International Mass Payment sent from China and Hong Kong incur a maximum of $50 per payment.
It costs them a lot more to write a cheque, do they charge a fee for direct deposit or cheques?
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I have zero sympathy when you could save money using Skrill. It does suck for countries that can only use PayPal but that's not something alamy need to take the blame for.
What a rubbish answer. Thanks for the support. Next time you get hit with something I will make sure to stick that in your face too.
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It speaks to sales volume dropping
It could be down to lower prices and sales being spread amongst many more contributors - so everyone gets less.
There are definitely many many more contributors. And there is definitely downward pressure on the prices which are actually negotiated.
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I have zero sympathy when you could save money using Skrill. It does suck for countries that can only use PayPal but that's not something alamy need to take the blame for.
What a rubbish answer. Thanks for the support. Next time you get hit with something I will make sure to stick that in your face too.
Sorry for trying to be helpful and save you money. Skrill would save you money but you're obviously happier just complaining about alamy passing on a PayPal fee. I give up, carry on getting ripped off by PayPal every time you exchange currency.
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I had to wait for a payment from June to be cleared in October and thats quick.
I am done with them anyway. I will be closing my account. Had enough with them.
You seem to change your mind on that one every week :)
Well, not really, I was contemplating closing my account and because of the lack of sales I had no incentive to keep uploading. Then James from Alamy and a few people here convinced me to stay. I submitted and completed 70 images on Alamy after that as I was going full in. And then they * me over for another 3.4% so now James and Alamy can eat my shorts.
It makes me sick that they now use the argument that we asked for it. There are some people on the Alamy forum now attacking people who dont agree with another pay cut. Do they even realise that if they make 2000 dollar on Alamy they also are going to pay 68 dollar to get that money.
This is incorrect. Paypal typically charge a 2% fee but depending on where you are and the currency you deal in fees are capped. Alamy do not dictate these fees.
Here is a copy of an email we sent out earlier regarding the change:
We know our payment threshold has been a frustrating subject for you guys so we’ve decided to lower this from $175 to $100.
If you’re based in the UK or US and get paid by bank transfer, or get paid via Skrill we’ll continue to absorb all the transaction fees that go with paying thousands of photographers.
If not, unfortunately there’ll be a small charge - we thought the benefit of getting paid quicker outweighs this and there’s an option to avoid paying these regardless of where you live - see the image below;
(http://www.alamy.com/images/contributor/contract/151013.jpg)
We’ve added this to your Contributor Contract. The key changes are listed here: http://www.alamy.com/contributor/contract/amendments/151013.asp (http://www.alamy.com/contributor/contract/amendments/151013.asp).
You can read the full contract here: http://www.alamy.com/contributor/contract/default.asp (http://www.alamy.com/contributor/contract/default.asp)
We’ll also be sending you a formal notification by email, mainly because our legal people say we have to and we don’t want to upset them.
The changes come in on 30th November 2013 so if you have $100 or over cleared in your account by December 1st you’ll get paid in the December pay run.
As always, email us if you have any questions.
Thanks,
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carry on getting ripped off by PayPal every time you exchange currency.
Can you say for certain that a Paypal exchange (even including any fee) is definitely always more expensive in total (and taking into account the rate used) vs receiving the money directly to a bank account or to Skrill ? The Skrill rate may not be as good for example.
Some banks may charge to make a conversion on receipt of funds - equally it is not clear to me that the bank rate is necessarily better than the Paypal rate.
Could you give us a breakdown of the numbers please.
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Fees will also be charged in bank transfers. Not only for paypal payments if I understood the graph correctly.
Currently I'm receiving through bank transfer, I receive payments every month and don't pay any fee. I guess that's about to change...
As it's mentioned in the alamy forum I just can't understand why there cannot be two levels of payment: the standard one without any fees, and a lower one for lower fees.
I don't understand why contributors that went through all their changing requirements along all these years, especially the very laborious keywording system and nevertheless uploaded tenths of thousands of images and as a result get sales every month must now pay because many people uploaded a hundred images, got an odd sale and (rightfully) want their money.
Just create two payment tiers!
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To alamy:
People are concentrating on the Paypal issue, but there's also the bank transfers for Euro contributors. As far as I understand those will also suffer a charge, right?
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James, I pay 3.4% and paypal doesnt typically charge 2%, its rubbish.
Why is getting paid 175 dollar free, and 100 dollar comes at a cost?
You are saying we asked for this, what a cheap shot.
None of the agencies I am with does this, only you.
And I will not be forced into opening a skrill account. They charge a 2.49% currency exchange and a 1.80 dollar bank transfer fee. PayPal doesnt charge me anything when I withdraw money.
So you and sharpshot are wrong, on both accounts.
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I have zero sympathy when you could save money using Skrill. It does suck for countries that can only use PayPal but that's not something alamy need to take the blame for.
What a rubbish answer. Thanks for the support. Next time you get hit with something I will make sure to stick that in your face too.
Sorry for trying to be helpful and save you money. Skrill would save you money but you're obviously happier just complaining about alamy passing on a PayPal fee. I give up, carry on getting ripped off by PayPal every time you exchange currency.
Skrill isnt free at all man, did you even check the fees at skrill?
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I have zero sympathy when you could save money using Skrill. It does suck for countries that can only use PayPal but that's not something alamy need to take the blame for.
What a rubbish answer. Thanks for the support. Next time you get hit with something I will make sure to stick that in your face too.
Sorry for trying to be helpful and save you money. Skrill would save you money but you're obviously happier just complaining about alamy passing on a PayPal fee. I give up, carry on getting ripped off by PayPal every time you exchange currency.
Skrill isnt free at all man, did you even check the fees at skrill?
I didn't say it was free. In my experience, if you do a currency exchange for $500 with PayPal and with Skrill at roughly the same time, you get more money with Skrill. This more than compensates for the small Skrill bank withdrawal fee. I'm not wasting any more time on this thread.
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James, I pay 3.4% and paypal doesnt typically charge 2%, its rubbish.
The paypal fee information is here:
http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/sales-payment.asp (http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/sales-payment.asp)
Sorry, this will have to be our last post on this for today.
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I'm not wasting any more time on this thread.
You have not demonstrated that Paypal is more expensive than either banks or Skrill when the exchange rate and all charges are taken into account.
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Alamy is listed in the UK, an EU country. My understanding of the legal situation is that they are not allowed to charge more for bank transfers to the EU than for transfers within the UK. By not charging UK-UK transfers but charging UK-EU transfers they might violate this rule.
I am not completely sure about this, though. But Alamy might want to double check this, in order to avoid a formal complaint ;)
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nowadays every agency is sshitin on their contributors.... :'(
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nowadays every agency is sshitin on their contributors.... :'(
Yes, and from what I have seen here and on the Alamy forum, you get ssshat on by your fellow contributors as well. Thats something I really dont understand.
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Alamy is listed in the UK, an EU country. My understanding of the legal situation is that they are not allowed to charge more for bank transfers to the EU than for transfers within the UK. By not charging UK-UK transfers but charging UK-EU transfers they might violate this rule.
I am not completely sure about this, though. But Alamy might want to double check this, in order to avoid a formal complaint ;)
Where did you get this idea from ?
It's not just something that you think should or might be true is it ? Why should they not charge a different rate given that their bank will bill them a different rate ?
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James, I pay 3.4% and paypal doesnt typically charge 2%, its rubbish.
The paypal fee information is here:
[url]http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/sales-payment.asp[/url] ([url]http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/sales-payment.asp[/url])
Sorry, this will have to be our last post on this for today.
Do you think this information makes everything ok?
Your company is still screwing us out of money we've earned no matter how much or how many times you try to dress it up.
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Alamy is listed in the UK, an EU country. My understanding of the legal situation is that they are not allowed to charge more for bank transfers to the EU than for transfers within the UK. By not charging UK-UK transfers but charging UK-EU transfers they might violate this rule.
I am not completely sure about this, though. But Alamy might want to double check this, in order to avoid a formal complaint ;)
Where did you get this idea from ?
It's not just something that you think should or might be true is it ? Why should they not charge a different rate given that their bank will bill them a different rate ?
The idea came from here, for example:
http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/banking/faq/index_en.htm (http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/banking/faq/index_en.htm)
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[url]http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/banking/faq/index_en.htm[/url] ([url]http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/banking/faq/index_en.htm[/url])
It's the currency exchange transaction you will be charged for not the wire.
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I read the mail and thought, boy, people must be having a hard time getting to the payout amount! It speaks to sales volume dropping, more than kindness.
Yes, this is definitely the case. Not only have sales volumes diminished, but the sale amounts are usually 1/5 or less of what they used to be a couple of years ago.
Guess I had better head over there and change to skrill.
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Yes, this is definitely the case. Not only have sales volumes diminished, but ....
I don't believe we definitely know that sales volumes have diminished ? They might have increased. There are many more contributors now and some huge and varied portfolios. People with fewer or less varied pictures may be getting a smaller share of exactly the same sales volume.
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Where does Alamy get the idea of the typical 2% by PayPal
YOUR MONTHLY
SALES YOUR FEE PER
TRANSACTION EXAMPLES
$0 to $3,000 2.9% + $0.30 $3.20 fee on a $100 sale
$3,000+ to $10,000 2.5% + $0.30 $2.80 fee on a $100 sale
$10,000+ 2.2% + $0.30 $2.50 fee on a $100 sale
and its 3.4% in Europe. Its not typical at all, the lowest fee doesnt even come down to 2%. For most of us it will be 2.9% and in EU 3.4%
I have asked 6 times why 175 dollar was free and now they pass on the fees at 100. And why dont they absorb the fee as all other agencies do? Why dont they use mass pay?
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[url]http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/banking/faq/index_en.htm[/url] ([url]http://europa.eu/youreurope/citizens/shopping/banking/faq/index_en.htm[/url])
It's the currency exchange transaction you will be charged for not the wire.
Where does it say that? Alamy mentions 'payment charges' for 'bank transfer', not currency exchange fees.
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Yes, this is definitely the case. Not only have sales volumes diminished, but ....
I don't believe we definitely know that sales volumes have diminished ? They might have increased. There are many more contributors now and some huge and varied portfolios. People with fewer or less varied pictures may be getting a smaller share of exactly the same sales volume.
I'm sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear. When I said "sales volumes diminished" I was referring to my own sales volumes.
Cutting their commissions to 50% and lowering the payout threshold could be interpreted as signs of trouble, but obviously none of us has any way of knowing for certain what's going on with Alamy's sales volume.
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Where does it say that?
I don't think it does. Not specifically. It's an assumption based on the diagram - and based on my own experience of transferring money between my current GBP account and my € account in France and vice versa. Never a fee but I get charged on the conversion.
Perhaps I am wrong.
@Lisafx - understood. Yep that's the number which matters.
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@Lisafx - understood. Yep that's the number which matters.
Amen to that! :)
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Yes, this is definitely the case. Not only have sales volumes diminished, but ....
I don't believe we definitely know that sales volumes have diminished ? They might have increased. There are many more contributors now and some huge and varied portfolios. People with fewer or less varied pictures may be getting a smaller share of exactly the same sales volume.
I'm sorry, perhaps I wasn't clear. When I said "sales volumes diminished" I was referring to my own sales volumes.
Cutting their commissions to 50% and lowering the payout threshold could be interpreted as signs of trouble, but obviously none of us has any way of knowing for certain what's going on with Alamy's sales volume.
James said that last year they had about 360,000 sales, (out of about 30M files) which sounds pretty shocking, TBH. I have no idea how this year compares.
Interesting that they creamed off 5% some time ago (just before I joined) which at the time they said was to fund the establishment of a US office. Now James says that the US office is doing very well, so why can't they bump up the 5%?
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I'd much rather the chance to choose a higher threshold or a fee. Really the fee should come out of their 50%. I could put up with more before they started lowering the percents.
I agree that if the US office is doing well, then they should be able to return the 5% or even bump it up since the US office is doing so well. Somehow that doesn't seem to be the trend though.
Guess I'll have to switch to direct deposit.
They probably have more sales than ever, but at a lower price and spread out over many more contributors. I certainly did a lot better there last year (I am at about 50% of the total but with 3/4 of the time).
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Forget it, Alamy is not going to change their mind ever.
Didnt you see what James said. We asked for it. There you have it. We asked for it, its our fault.
I am going to get my 180 dollar paid 1 november and then I am gone. Screw them. Nobody will miss my 488 images, but I sure will be able to shed a few more frustrations with an agency.
I can offer RM on my site as well.
Symbiostock is on the rise anyway, someday we will be able to stuff it to all agencies. The power is back in our hands.
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Payoneer's US payment service could be a good free solution (ex. virtual account)! Alamy is on their payment list!
http://share.payoneer-affiliates.com/a/clk/xfwsn (http://share.payoneer-affiliates.com/a/clk/xfwsn)
As you can see you will get 25$ also if you sign up! It will cover up many of your future fees!
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And with this I probably won't be uploading vectors after the first of the year either.
And just when I thought my year wasn't screwed up enough...
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I doubt we will ever see an announcement from a microstock agency that contains actual good news for contributors.
It's always some sort of a cut in payments, wrapped in a fog of weasel words and corporate-speak.
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Yes, this is definitely the case. Not only have sales volumes diminished, but ....
I don't believe we definitely know that sales volumes have diminished ? They might have increased. There are many more contributors now and some huge and varied portfolios. People with fewer or less varied pictures may be getting a smaller share of exactly the same sales volume.
Despite the volume issue, as many people have mentioned and I can attest myself, the average sale (after the commission cut) dropped 70 to 80% in the last five years.
The best sale you get today and months apart to other similar ones, were in the past an average to weak sale. Many sales don't distinguish from microstock.
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We know our payment threshold has been a frustrating subject for you guys so we’ve decided to lower this from $175 to $100.
For who? I don't remember asking for that. I'm happy with $175, and it can be $200, I'll be fine.
Dear Alamy, tell me please, where do I have option to choose if I want $100 with charge or $175 (or more) without charge? I want to cancel (the fee for) a lower payment...
You must understand that each charge is my loss: first % for Alamy - ok, then some % for Paypal, then some % the currency conversion to my PLN money...
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Just to re-iterate:
- There is a free payment option for everyone by using Skrill. Alamy will absorb any fees associated with this, as stated in our email to you.
- If you are paid USD or GBP via funds transfer into the US or UK this is also free.
- If your paypal account is set to USD and you are in the US, the maximum fee you will be charged by paypal is $1.
- If your paypal account is set to GBP and you are in the UK, the maximum fee you will be charged by paypal is $7.
- If your paypal account is set to EUR and you are in Europe, the maximum fee you will be charged by paypal is $8.
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What is the maximum fee for direct bank transfer to an Euro country?
(Sorry if I missed that info somewhere.)
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All fee info is here: http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/sales-payment.asp (http://www.alamy.com/contributor/help/sales-payment.asp)
Euros bank transfer into Euro zone is priced at $3.10.
Thanks,
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On a 100 dollar payment you can expect to pay another 8%, so your royalties at Alamy have effectively been reduced to 42%-32%. They are getting close to paying less royalties (if not already) then many microstock agency. And also selling my images for 3 dollar but at an incredibly slow rate. Slower than DP, PD and a few others. Easy decision.
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very sad measure and as Ron said it will cut our royalties drastically, mass pay is the ideal solution and I wonder why it is not being used already, we aren't even asking for a luxury, its what all agencies are doing!
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On a 100 dollar payment you can expect to pay another 8%
I'm sorry Ron, but that is just incorrect information. The $8 fee rate for Euros into a European Paypal account is the maximum amount - there is a cap for Alamy payments that we have negotiated with Paypal. You will be charged 2% of the net amount up to $400 where the max fee is $8. If there are payments higher than that it won't make a difference to the fee because the 2% stops there. For a $100 payment paypal will charge you $2. For a $400 payment paypal will charge you $8. For a $1000 payment paypal will still charge a maximum of $8.
If you do not want any fees, you can use Skrill which will be free.
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Fair enough.
Skrill isnt free though, it cost money to withdraw money. And I wont let an agency force me to use another payment processor. You are absorbing the fees for skrill because hardly anyone uses it.
You still havent answered any of the questions, why does it cost us money now, when it was free at 175 dollar. You can see by the backlash that people dont appreciate this move. And then you tell us we asked for it.
I dont care James, MS will receive my request to close my account right after I have received my money in November. In fact, I will tell them to close my account now.
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Done. My Alamy days are over.
Started July 2012 - Ended October 2013
Total sales 10
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/flounce
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/flounce
I see a lot of bitchin and moaning on this forum but little action. Istock is the next account I am going to close. I know its easier for me because its not my main income.
Its not flounce either. There are more factors in play to come to my decision.
At I would expect contributors to stick together, at least in the forums. I am getting voted down for taking a stand and taking action. Yes I am upset, but the decision is rational.
I for one dont like to be ridden by agencies.
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agreed Ron
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/flounce
I see a lot of bitchin and moaning on this forum but little action. Istock is the next account I am going to close. I know its easier for me because its not my main income.
Its not flounce either. There are more factors in play to come to my decision.
At I would expect contributors to stick together, at least in the forums. I am getting voted down for taking a stand and taking action. Yes I am upset, but the decision is rational.
I for one dont like to be ridden by agencies.
good for you ! power to the people!
I dont think people should get voted down for expressing their personal discontent - we are free to make those choices and express them
This was your choice and you didnt coerce anyone else to follow
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I wonder if Alamy are getting kickbacks for each new account opened at Skrill.....? Kinda like referral payments? A % kickback for all future payments made by Alamy through Skrill? In my previous corporate career I used to have deals like that with my supply chain - spend so much and get rebates or volume discounts. Was an incentive to put business their way rather than a competitors - in this case Paypal. MAy not have been the best up front pricing or terms but I knew at the end of the year I would make my money back in one lump sum. Save 2% on every purchase or get lump sum at end of year of 3% from total spend?
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/flounce
I see a lot of bitchin and moaning on this forum but little action. Istock is the next account I am going to close. I know its easier for me because its not my main income.
Its not flounce either. There are more factors in play to come to my decision.
At I would expect contributors to stick together, at least in the forums. I am getting voted down for taking a stand and taking action. Yes I am upset, but the decision is rational.
I for one dont like to be ridden by agencies.
good for you ! power to the people!
I dont think people should get voted down for expressing their personal discontent - we are free to make those choices and express them
This was your choice and you didnt coerce anyone else to follow
Thanks Noodle, I appreciate that. Thats all that matters to me. No one has to follow my example, but down voting looks like people are agreeing with the agencies.
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I just checked with a $ amount transferred in euros and through paypal. I received 1 euro more through direct payment from alamy than with paypal. I lose 4.5 euro on a PP transfer of $259 dollar compared to the realtime conversion rate. I lose 3.5 with direct payment from Alamy on my bankaccount in Europe. Either way you lose but PP takes more.
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Slightly OT - after complaining that all my sales the last few months have been well below $100, I now have three very nice sales for October all well over $100.
Don't know if something has changed in pricing, search order, or I am just very lucky this month. Either way, I'll take it!
Not bragging here, BTW. Just trying to present a balanced picture of sales at Alamy because I was slamming them earlier in the thread...
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down voting looks like people are agreeing with the agencies.
No it doesn't. It means they disagree with what you wrote. That's how the voting works for me.
For example I voted you down in the post where you seemed to suggest that Symbiostock offers an effective alternative to Alamy. The reason I voted you down is because I disagree. You are not being realistic or thinking about what Alamy provides customers if you genuinely believe that.
FWIW that is the only one of your posts on this thread which I have voted down.
On other threads I could equally vote you up for saying stuff which I agree with.
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... oh no wait! I voted this one down too. Sorry.
What a rubbish answer. Thanks for the support. Next time you get hit with something I will make sure to stick that in your face too.
ETA: but I also voted down the post you were responding to. So it was equal.
itchy trigger finger
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down voting looks like people are agreeing with the agencies.
No it doesn't. It means they disagree with what you wrote. That's how the voting works for me.
For example I voted you down in the post where you seemed to suggest that Symbiostock offers an effective alternative to Alamy. The reason I voted you down is because I disagree. You are not being realistic or thinking about what Alamy provides customers if you genuinely believe that.
FWIW that is the only one of your posts on this thread which I have voted down.
On other threads I could equally vote you up for saying stuff which I agree with.
You voted me down over what you think I said, because I never claimed any of that, As for all the other down votes. I am closing my account because I am done with Alamy, and get voted down.
Now if I go and say I close my IS account and I get 23 up votes.
Why is me closing my Alamy account reason to vote me down? Whatever, these people have no clue. ;D they are all part of the machine.
Pink Floyd - Welcome to the Machine [HD] (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qEsTCTuajE#ws)
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... oh no wait! I voted this one down too. Sorry.
What a rubbish answer. Thanks for the support. Next time you get hit with something I will make sure to stick that in your face too.
ETA: but I also voted down the post you were responding to. So it was equal.
itchy trigger finger
Yeah, he is giving me wrong information (skrill isnt free) and then tells me he has no sympathy for me, what kind answer is that? It totally unnecessary to say stuff like that. So yes, next time he is upset about something he can get my no sympathy comment as well.
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Sorry to interrupt the pissing match but news from Alamy:
Alamy photographers ! - Good news, we’ll now pay out every time you clear $100!
OK guys, round four, remember don't aim into the wind and have a fair match... DING ::)
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... oh no wait! I voted this one down too. Sorry.
What a rubbish answer. Thanks for the support. Next time you get hit with something I will make sure to stick that in your face too.
ETA: but I also voted down the post you were responding to. So it was equal.
itchy trigger finger
Yeah, he is giving me wrong information (skrill isnt free) and then tells me he has no sympathy for me, what kind answer is that? It totally unnecessary to say stuff like that. So yes, next time he is upset about something he can get my no sympathy comment as well.
Please show me where alamy have said there's a fee for Skrill? That is what I was posting about. There is a small withdrawal fee with Skrill but is that really worth leaving alamy for? If that really is a problem, you could withdraw once a year for 2.95 euro.
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I believe Alamy didn't see my question - Reply #62 on: Today at 03:17?
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Just to re-iterate:
- If your paypal account is set to USD and you are in the US, the maximum fee you will be charged by paypal is $1.
Perhaps it's just the way you worded this, but where do you get the idea that paypal charges users in the US anything at all? I have been with paypal for several years and use them across all sites including Alamy. It's a personal account, not business, and I have never been charged anything. Transactions from a few dollars to hundreds and thousands with no charge. There's no way in Hell that I am going to put my bank transfer information on a foreign site that I have no reason to believe can safeguard that information in today's internet environment. Sorry but your explanations just don't fly.
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I believe Alamy didn't see my question - Reply #62 on: Today at 03:17?
Sorry Ariene, there is no option to pick a higher payment threshold.
We made the decision to lower the payment threshold because it would unlock money from contributor’s accounts and give you the opportunity to be paid more regularly. The balance between how and when to pay contributors and all of the various fees associated with international money transfers has always been a tricky equation.
We made the change knowing that for the majority of contributors it is still free to receive money and with Skrill there is a free option for all.
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Thanks for response.
I can understand many people want regular payout with $100, but why to make everyone to do the same. I preffer wait for bigger payout, old option was fine for me. And I know I'm not alone with that. People are not happy with that change, as U can see here and there... Photographer should have option to choose.
New doesn't mean better again...
There's one more thing interesting, please let me find it - why other stock agencies let us payout from $50 or $100 without charge and Alamy can't? Where is the different? Thank you for your patience, I really don't get it.
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There's one more thing interesting, please let me find it - why other stock agencies let us payout from $50 or $100 without charge and Alamy can't? Where is the different? Thank you for your patience, I really don't get it.
We can't speak on behalf of other agencies, but many factors will affect the costs they incur to pay you. It will depend on how many photographers they have to pay and also how much commission they take from sales. The solution we have reached is clearly not ideal for everyone but it works best for the majority of people and we have provided a free option for all.
This will have to be our last post on this subject here. If you've got any other questions, please email [email protected]
Thanks
James A
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I believe Alamy didn't see my question - Reply #62 on: Today at 03:17?
Sorry Ariene, there is no option to pick a higher payment threshold.
We made the decision to lower the payment threshold because it would unlock money from contributor’s accounts and give you the opportunity to be paid more regularly. The balance between how and when to pay contributors and all of the various fees associated with international money transfers has always been a tricky equation.
We made the change knowing that for the majority of contributors it is still free to receive money and with Skrill there is a free option for all.
many photographers from Eastern Europe have 4% commission + usual 2.40$ for withdrawal with Skrill - and from time to time 20$ fee for intermediary bank charges - so Skrill is not free option for all - it is free option for some...
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this is a bad taste joke, that is what this is, all top agencies don't have fees (actually almost all agencies beside 3 or 4 very small ones), looking at the poll here Alamy is number 9 so it is about time to include those fees on your expenses and perhaps have less coffee and pizza at the office, simple as that!
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Alamy is being completely dishonest in this issue.
From what I've seen, even if we do not pay to receive the money we still have to pay to withdraw it from the services mentioned to our bank accounts contrary to what happens currently where we don't pay in any part of the process.
Even if it's not alamy charging itself, the fact that now we need to pay to a third party, based on a decision made EXCLUSIVELY by alamy puts this responsibility solely on this agency.
More and more alamy is starting to look like the abusing * agencies from micro, and any consideration I still had for them is gone.
The recent track record of anti-contributors decisions made me feel like that.
I propose to alamy that instead of giving 80% of your profits to charity as you announce for so many years, to keep those profits to you so you have money to finance the business and invest in new projects and do not need to cut our commissions to fund them like what happened to the NY office.
Because in the end, if you pass the costs of that "generosity" to others, it's us who are contributing to those charities and not alamy. You're just flaunting other people's money like it's yours!
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Alamy is being completely dishonest in this issue.
From what I've seen, even if we do not pay to receive the money we still have to pay to withdraw it from the services mentioned to our bank accounts contrary to what happens currently where we don't pay in any part of the process.
Even if it's not alamy charging itself, the fact that now we need to pay to a third party, based on a decision made EXCLUSIVELY by alamy puts this responsibility solely on this agency.
More and more alamy is starting to look like the abusing * agencies from micro, and any consideration I still had for them is gone.
The recent track record of anti-contributors decisions made me feel like that.
I propose to alamy that instead of giving 80% of your profits to charity as you announce for so many years, to keep those profits to you so you have money to finance the business and invest in new projects and do not need to cut our commissions to fund them like what happened to the NY office.
Because in the end, if you pass the costs of that "generosity" to others, it's us who are contributing to those charities and not alamy. You're just flaunting other people's money like it's yours!
http://alamywatch.blogspot.ie/ (http://alamywatch.blogspot.ie/)
Alamy likes to boast about it's good works. In fact, from 2006 - 2010 it says it donated 89% of it's profits to one charity - the Fischer Family Trust, a charity whose address is the same as Alamy's and whose trustee is Alamy co-founder Mike Fischer, who is CEO James West's uncle!
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sweeeeeeet!
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Tyler this is becoming absurd, I have given a heart to Ron and the second after some dude add a minus, it's a relevant post with facts, not a rant, are we adults or kids playing around?
if this continues I believe it would be better to see minus and hearts or just remove the all thing
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[url]http://alamywatch.blogspot.ie/[/url] ([url]http://alamywatch.blogspot.ie/[/url])
Alamy likes to boast about it's good works. In fact, from 2006 - 2010 it says it donated 89% of it's profits to one charity - the Fischer Family Trust, a charity whose address is the same as Alamy's and whose trustee is Alamy co-founder Mike Fischer, who is CEO James West's uncle!
That's not a secret - I knew it before I signed up there. At the time, I thought the idea of running an agency to support a charity rather than fat cats was a positive.
A bit more concerning were some criticisms questioning the effectiveness of the research being done by the Trust in the Alamy forums around the time of the percentage drop, which were neither denied nor explained officially.
NB, it wasn't I who minussed.
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Perhaps they chose to ignore people that are just out to cause trouble in their forum? A bit of research and the charity all seems quite legit. http://www.fft.org.uk/about-us/fischer-family-trust.aspx (http://www.fft.org.uk/about-us/fischer-family-trust.aspx)
No doubt I'll get -1's for that. Here's a BBC clip of Mike Fischer in his lab http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16850185 (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16850185)
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Tyler this is becoming absurd, I have given a heart to Ron and the second after some dude add a minus, it's a relevant post with facts, not a rant, are we adults or kids playing around?
if this continues I believe it would be better to see minus and hearts or just remove the all thing
It needs to be removed. The system is a joke. I know there's someone giving me a -1 for almost every post right now and I'm giving him a -1 in retaliation. Come on Ron, hit that down arrow :)
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Perhaps they chose to ignore people that are just out to cause trouble in their forum? A bit of research and the charity all seems quite legit. [url]http://www.fft.org.uk/about-us/fischer-family-trust.aspx[/url] ([url]http://www.fft.org.uk/about-us/fischer-family-trust.aspx[/url])
No doubt I'll get -1's for that. Here's a BBC clip of Mike Fischer in his lab [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16850185[/url] ([url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16850185[/url])
do you think he is paying fees to receive his salary?
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Tyler this is becoming absurd, I have given a heart to Ron and the second after some dude add a minus, it's a relevant post with facts, not a rant, are we adults or kids playing around?
if this continues I believe it would be better to see minus and hearts or just remove the all thing
It needs to be removed. The system is a joke. I know there's someone giving me a -1 for almost every post right now and I'm giving him a -1 in retaliation. Come on Ron, hit that down arrow :)
If you want I can double all the -1 for you because it isnt me. You get a lot of slack in the BS forum, and your last 4 posts have been voted down but not by me.
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Perhaps they chose to ignore people that are just out to cause trouble in their forum? A bit of research and the charity all seems quite legit. [url]http://www.fft.org.uk/about-us/fischer-family-trust.aspx[/url] ([url]http://www.fft.org.uk/about-us/fischer-family-trust.aspx[/url])
No doubt I'll get -1's for that. Here's a BBC clip of Mike Fischer in his lab [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16850185[/url] ([url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16850185[/url])
No-one was denying that.
This was a quote from a peer journal questioning the research they were involved in and its efficiency/effectiveness/results.
Of course, that was in the old Alamy forum, and I can't google it now.
I'm not enough of a scientist to appraise the claims, but it did make me temper my opinions somewhat.
I still don't see anything inherently wrong with starting up an agency specifically to fund research work.
I also don't see why some people are so happy to laud a company that gives you c30%, at best, but leave a company which pays 50% because you have to pay a little transfer fee (annoying as that is), which still wouldn't take you down to 30%. Seems to be a logical disjunct, but SS does seem to be filtered by rosy-colours.
Anyway, each to their own.
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I can still get the old forum but I don't think the search works.
http://web.archive.org/web/20120701205004/http://www.alamy.com/forums/ (http://web.archive.org/web/20120701205004/http://www.alamy.com/forums/)
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Perhaps they chose to ignore people that are just out to cause trouble in their forum? A bit of research and the charity all seems quite legit. [url]http://www.fft.org.uk/about-us/fischer-family-trust.aspx[/url] ([url]http://www.fft.org.uk/about-us/fischer-family-trust.aspx[/url])
No doubt I'll get -1's for that. Here's a BBC clip of Mike Fischer in his lab [url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16850185[/url] ([url]http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16850185[/url])
No-one was denying that.
This was a quote from a peer journal questioning the research they were involved in and its efficiency/effectiveness/results.
Of course, that was in the old Alamy forum, and I can't google it now.
I'm not enough of a scientist to appraise the claims, but it did make me temper my opinions somewhat.
I still don't see anything inherently wrong with starting up an agency specifically to fund research work.
I also don't see why some people are so happy to laud a company that gives you c30%, at best, but leave a company which pays 50% because you have to pay a little transfer fee (annoying as that is), which still wouldn't take you down to 30%. Seems to be a logical disjunct, but SS does seem to be filtered by rosy-colours.
Anyway, each to their own.
Why do I always have to repeat myself. Its not only the latest scam, this was just the straw that broke the camels back. It was a build up of of annoyances and this latest money grab pushed me over. It is a money grab, because before at 175 dollar I got what I earned, they would absorb the PP fee. Now they no longer do that. Effectively with this change they make more profit. Fair enough. I closed my account, what does it matter? Another frustration gone.
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^^ Each to his own.
I know we all have our tipping points about this, and I think that probably re the 10% reduction or the earlier 5% reduction not being restored, that Alamy has seen that other agencies are getting off with paying their contributors less and are sinking to their level of shafting. They probably have a minimum amount they want to pay into their research, like the others into the Fat Cat's pocket.
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I can still get the old forum but I don't think the search works.
[url]http://web.archive.org/web/20120701205004/http://www.alamy.com/forums/[/url] ([url]http://web.archive.org/web/20120701205004/http://www.alamy.com/forums/[/url])
The old forum is here: http://www.alamy.com/forums/framehelper.aspx?g=forum (http://www.alamy.com/forums/framehelper.aspx?g=forum)
The search still seems to work.
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I also don't see why some people are so happy to laud a company that gives you c30%, at best, but leave a company which pays 50% because you have to pay a little transfer fee (annoying as that is), which still wouldn't take you down to 30%. Seems to be a logical disjunct, but SS does seem to be filtered by rosy-colours.
The problem is the way things are headed in all agencies we, the contributors, must fight every battle that has the objective to degrade even more our income.
And unfortunately we're at a point this must be done for every dollar lost no matter the agency. To underestimate any move that wants to pass to us the costs, besides the commission costs is seen by the agencies as an open door for them to do anything they want.
In fact that's what's been happening. And look at where it got us...
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Hopefully this will be good news to those of you disappointed by our recent payment terms changes. All payment fees will now be scrapped and the threshold will be reduced further.
More info here. http://www.alamy.com/Blog/contributor/archive/2013/11/04/5545.aspx (http://www.alamy.com/Blog/contributor/archive/2013/11/04/5545.aspx)
Cheers
Alamy
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Great news!
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Hopefully this will be good news to those of you disappointed by our recent payment terms changes. All payment fees will now be scrapped and the threshold will be reduced further.
More info here. [url]http://www.alamy.com/Blog/contributor/archive/2013/11/04/5545.aspx[/url] ([url]http://www.alamy.com/Blog/contributor/archive/2013/11/04/5545.aspx[/url])
Cheers
Alamy
Great news, I have emailed MS to cancel my account cancellation request. Thank you for listening.
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That's excellent. It's good to know that at least one agency is listening.
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It is good news that you've changed your minds about charging fees to receive the money we're owed.
I wasn't among those affected, but given all the increases in Alamy's share of the total sale over the last few years, passing on a cost of doing business to the contributor really stung (like car dealers charging a "document preparation fee" when selling you a car).
Any chance you'll improve the time it takes after a "sale" for the balance to clear?
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http://www.alamy.com/Blog/contributor/archive/2013/11/04/5545.aspx (http://www.alamy.com/Blog/contributor/archive/2013/11/04/5545.aspx)
Okay, hands up... We got it wrong and we’re sorry we messed everyone around.
Gosh. Imagine if this kind of approach caught on.
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Any chance you'll improve the time it takes after a "sale" for the balance to clear?
We clear the sale when the funds are received from the customer - this process takes at least 45 days because we need to allow for any changes in design refunds for the customer, as well as counter any fraudulent activity on credit card payments. Most agencies have similar clearing times but they all go on behind the scenes and the sale is only reported to you when it's cleared or very close to clearing. We report live when the sale happens.
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now all the people that were happy about it should thank the other that demanded no fees ;)
thanks Alamy! ;D
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now all the people that were happy about it should thank the other that demanded no fees ;)
thanks Alamy! ;D
The only thing I got was from John Morrison, another one of his troll comments, on the Alamy forum. I wonder why that eejit has 526 plus votes. ;D
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Excellent decision. Thanks!
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Any chance you'll improve the time it takes after a "sale" for the balance to clear?
We clear the sale when the funds are received from the customer - this process takes at least 45 days because we need to allow for any changes in design refunds for the customer, as well as counter any fraudulent activity on credit card payments. Most agencies have similar clearing times but they all go on behind the scenes and the sale is only reported to you when it's cleared or very close to clearing. We report live when the sale happens.
I think most understand that there needs to be a reasonable delay to clear funds.
What bothers me are sales that take "forever". I have one uncleared sale now, for example, from January. These are the kind of uncleared sales that I think bother others, too.
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Any chance you'll improve the time it takes after a "sale" for the balance to clear?
We clear the sale when the funds are received from the customer - this process takes at least 45 days because we need to allow for any changes in design refunds for the customer, as well as counter any fraudulent activity on credit card payments. Most agencies have similar clearing times but they all go on behind the scenes and the sale is only reported to you when it's cleared or very close to clearing. We report live when the sale happens.
I think most understand that there needs to be a reasonable delay to clear funds.
What bothers me are sales that take "forever". I have one uncleared sale now, for example, from January. These are the kind of uncleared sales that I think bother others, too.
45 days is fine, yet I have to wait for 4 months to get the money cleared. Some people are waiting over a year to see a sale clear.
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I am not really affected, as I was able to easily change my payout method to MB, but I still really appreciate how receptive Alamy was in fixing this for everyone. Thank you!
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These are good news, and Alamy continues to be the ONLY agency that reverses decisions based on the photographers feelings expressed in this forum and through MS.
Yet, if its alamy policy to drop decisions due to their lack of popularity it would be nice to ask us beforehand, in a case of two more sensible since we don't run the agency, and spare us the torment.
Nevertheless it's a good decision.
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Any chance you'll improve the time it takes after a "sale" for the balance to clear?
We clear the sale when the funds are received from the customer - this process takes at least 45 days because we need to allow for any changes in design refunds for the customer, as well as counter any fraudulent activity on credit card payments. Most agencies have similar clearing times but they all go on behind the scenes and the sale is only reported to you when it's cleared or very close to clearing. We report live when the sale happens.
I think most understand that there needs to be a reasonable delay to clear funds.
What bothers me are sales that take "forever". I have one uncleared sale now, for example, from January. These are the kind of uncleared sales that I think bother others, too.
45 days is fine, yet I have to wait for 4 months to get the money cleared. Some people are waiting over a year to see a sale clear.
Again though, we only clear the sale when we receive payment from the customer so if it has gone beyond the agreed terms of sale, then our credit control team will be chasing this down in order to get the photographer paid. This issue of a late payment from some customers will be industry wide, however it may be more apparent on Alamy because we report the sales live. (Last post from us on this subject, :) )
Thanks for all the positive feedback on the payment threshold revision!
Alamy
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From what I understand/thought... if a co. Does "scheduled bulk payouts" the fee is waved for PayPal.
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Any chance you'll improve the time it takes after a "sale" for the balance to clear?
We clear the sale when the funds are received from the customer - this process takes at least 45 days because we need to allow for any changes in design refunds for the customer, as well as counter any fraudulent activity on credit card payments. Most agencies have similar clearing times but they all go on behind the scenes and the sale is only reported to you when it's cleared or very close to clearing. We report live when the sale happens.
I think most understand that there needs to be a reasonable delay to clear funds.
What bothers me are sales that take "forever". I have one uncleared sale now, for example, from January. These are the kind of uncleared sales that I think bother others, too.
45 days is fine, yet I have to wait for 4 months to get the money cleared. Some people are waiting over a year to see a sale clear.
Yes, it's great when you get a $300 sale and the next day it is refunded :o For real. Last month. Pisses me off, and it was a non distribution sale, too.
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Threshold should be $50
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From what I understand/thought... if a co. Does "scheduled bulk payouts" the fee is waved for PayPal.
There is no waved fee. When a merchant issues mass payment they pay the fee, which is very low and capped
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Thanks Ron, Good to know
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Threshold should be $50
come on man, its almost the same thing (they went from 250$ to 75$ in like a year), you have many agencies with 100$, guess they can focus on buyers now ;D
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Threshold should be $50
come on man, its almost the same thing (they went from 250$ to 75$ in like a year), you have many agencies with 100$, guess they can focus on buyers now ;D
Yes we have some agencies with $100 but they make much more than that and it's a non-issue..
Alamy is a low earner and $50 is industry standard.. You either make it 100 or 50.. why $75 and not $78 or $71? :)
Why not just make it $50 (what most agencies have, especially low earners)
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I really don't think it is a big difference but sure I understand what you mean
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These are good news, and Alamy continues to be the ONLY agency that reverses decisions based on the photographers feelings expressed in this forum and through MS.
Although they tried to get away with it to see what would happen. Of course, nobody is going to want to pay fees.
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Alamy is a low earner and $50 is industry standard..
Really?
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Can you imagine paying a fee at a 9-5 job! No .... it's part of doing business. Besides PayPal is Cheever than sending checks, I would think.
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I mean cheaper ... Gotta love auto correct ;)
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more important.. so in a summary, now if i choose to get paid through paypal, alamy won't have a charge, right?
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Alamy is a low earner and $50 is industry standard..
Really?
you mean low earner or the 50$ standard? looking at the polls they don't look that good but maybe high earners are hiding like some iStock exclusives ;D
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Threshold should be $50
Or you should upload more and better images? ;)
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Alamy is a low earner and $50 is industry standard.. You either make it 100 or 50.. why $75 and not $78 or $71? :)
Why not just make it $50 (what most agencies have, especially low earners)
SS is a $75 minimum. BigStock is $30. Many are at $50, it's true, but Veer, iStock & Dreamstime are $100. I don't think there is any such thing as an industry standard.
And what we could really use is increased sales volume, not lower payout thresholds.
The lower royalty rates were supposed to be to open offices in the US and increase marketing for creative customers. I don't know if anyone's seen an increase in business since these reductions - I see lots of comments here that Alamy sales have fallen off a cliff (which has certainly been my experience). That's the bigger concern, IMO
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Any chance you'll improve the time it takes after a "sale" for the balance to clear?
We clear the sale when the funds are received from the customer - this process takes at least 45 days because we need to allow for any changes in design refunds for the customer, as well as counter any fraudulent activity on credit card payments. Most agencies have similar clearing times but they all go on behind the scenes and the sale is only reported to you when it's cleared or very close to clearing. We report live when the sale happens.
I think most understand that there needs to be a reasonable delay to clear funds.
What bothers me are sales that take "forever". I have one uncleared sale now, for example, from January. These are the kind of uncleared sales that I think bother others, too.
45 days is fine, yet I have to wait for 4 months to get the money cleared. Some people are waiting over a year to see a sale clear.
Again though, we only clear the sale when we receive payment from the customer so if it has gone beyond the agreed terms of sale, then our credit control team will be chasing this down in order to get the photographer paid. This issue of a late payment from some customers will be industry wide, however it may be more apparent on Alamy because we report the sales live. (Last post from us on this subject, :) )
Thanks for all the positive feedback on the payment threshold revision!
Alamy
I know this is off topic; should have been another thread -- sorry.
Does anyone know what the bolded phrase (above) means? Does this mean the end date of usage (which can be a decade out)?! In the particular sale mentioned above that has yet to clear, the start date was 16 Nov 2012, almost exactly one year ago.
I realize Alamy said this was their last word on the subject, but I have to say, these collection delays upset me a lot more than the small fee they were going to charge. (Yes, it was a distributor sale.)
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Alamy is a low earner and $50 is industry standard..
Really?
you mean low earner or the 50$ standard? looking at the polls they don't look that good but maybe high earners are hiding like some iStock exclusives ;D
I was thinking about $50 as being 'industry standard', which I don't think is right, especially outwith micro.
I wonder how many iS exclusives, like me, don't report their Alamy RM sales there as it pushes them into indie. Not that I'm a 'big earner' by any means. 8)
(FWIW, FAA pay out on the 15th of the month after the sale, even if it's just one greetings card.)
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I really like Alamy's decision ... I don't know who decided that at Alamy but I would love to see him/her teach a seminar on contributer relations for certain other agencies ;)
Cheers for listening Alamy!
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Threshold should be $50
Or you should upload more and better images? ;)
Last year, I made 3 payouts, all well over $175..
Alamy already takes too long to clear the sales.. wouldn't be harmful if their threshold was $50..
I will soon leave alamy as soon as some sales are cleared.. I don't like the model of waiting 6 months for a sale to clear.. Customer should be charged instantly.. We do not live in 1996..
Regardless I make sales or not, I will leave alamy.. getting money is good, but not knowing if I am going to wait 3 months or 6 months for it to clear is not my thing..
That is the same reason I will leave yaymicro.. You don't know how many months it will take for them to send the money into your skrill account.. they process paypal faster but I don't want to use paypal over skrill, just because yay is late to process moneybookers payouts..
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This is Alamy system and if it works, let it be... What's the different if you get the money today or next 3 months? It is already your money and just need to wait, a little ;) If sell more images today, you'll get more money tomorrow, right?
Grain to grain and nice surprise one day ;)
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Am I right in thinking that payment will happen automatically ie I can't choose to wait (yes, I know this is counter-trend!) until I have a bigger balance to clear (like you can with SS)?
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Am I right in thinking that payment will happen automatically ie I can't choose to wait (yes, I know thisis corrext. is counter-trend!) until I have a bigger balance to clear (like you can with SS)?
Yes, that is correct.
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OK. Ta!!
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What's the different if you get the money today or next 3 months? It is already your money and just need to wait, a little
Today or in 3 months? Not a big difference.
But in my example, they've been using the image for almost a year now. It took 2 months to report the sale, and so far over 9 months after reporting, without the payment clearing.
You're really ok with that? From what I've read, this isn't the only (or even worst) example, either.
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Any chance you'll improve the time it takes after a "sale" for the balance to clear?
We clear the sale when the funds are received from the customer - this process takes at least 45 days because we need to allow for any changes in design refunds for the customer, as well as counter any fraudulent activity on credit card payments. Most agencies have similar clearing times but they all go on behind the scenes and the sale is only reported to you when it's cleared or very close to clearing. We report live when the sale happens.
I think most understand that there needs to be a reasonable delay to clear funds.
What bothers me are sales that take "forever". I have one uncleared sale now, for example, from January. These are the kind of uncleared sales that I think bother others, too.
45 days is fine, yet I have to wait for 4 months to get the money cleared. Some people are waiting over a year to see a sale clear.
Again though, we only clear the sale when we receive payment from the customer so if it has gone beyond the agreed terms of sale, then our credit control team will be chasing this down in order to get the photographer paid. This issue of a late payment from some customers will be industry wide, however it may be more apparent on Alamy because we report the sales live. (Last post from us on this subject, :) )
Thanks for all the positive feedback on the payment threshold revision!
Alamy
I know this is off topic; should have been another thread -- sorry.
Does anyone know what the bolded phrase (above) means? Does this mean the end date of usage (which can be a decade out)?! In the particular sale mentioned above that has yet to clear, the start date was 16 Nov 2012, almost exactly one year ago.
I realize Alamy said this was their last word on the subject, but I have to say, these collection delays upset me a lot more than the small fee they were going to charge. (Yes, it was a distributor sale.)
No it means the payment terms. In every business you pay on terms. 10 days, 30 days, 45 days, within 3 weeks of delivery, ,etc. So if the buyer has a 30 day payment term with Alamy, they will chase the payment on day 31, in theory. But since I have waited 4 months for a payment to clear, I wonder what their payment terms are.
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Oh, payment terms. Thanks, Ron.
I've heard of payment terms as long as 120 days, so while I don't like it, I can understand their need to do that sometimes.
But I've read reports of far longer times for payments to clear; I do wonder what the story is with those.
Anyway, hopefully mine will clear before the year is over.
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I usually send my first query after four months. Tends to push things along!
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This is Alamy system and if it works, let it be... What's the different if you get the money today or next 3 months? It is already your money and just need to wait, a little ;) If sell more images today, you'll get more money tomorrow, right?
Grain to grain and nice surprise one day ;)
Maybe It's OK to have uncleared payments for 17 months for you..
It's not for me..
Yes, Just checked and there are still uncleared payments from 17 months ago..
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The problem with Alamy is that the ratio of hoop-jumping to earnings (H/E) has gotten way too high. After a long hiatus I recently uploaded a bunch of photo and now I'm faced once again with grinding through that dumb keyword interface, copying all my keywords from the wrong box (where they show up by default) to the right box, on every single image... and I might get a $15 sale in 3 months... which might be cancelled the next day... or the next month...
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The problem with Alamy is that the ratio of hoop-jumping to earnings (H/E) has gotten way too high. After a long hiatus I recently uploaded a bunch of photo and now I'm faced once again with grinding through that dumb keyword interface, copying all my keywords from the wrong box (where they show up by default) to the right box, on every single image... and I might get a $15 sale in 3 months... which might be cancelled the next day... or the next month...
Or a year later, months after you've been paid (if it's a special client).
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This is Alamy system and if it works, let it be... What's the different if you get the money today or next 3 months? It is already your money and just need to wait, a little ;) If sell more images today, you'll get more money tomorrow, right?
Grain to grain and nice surprise one day ;)
It's OK to have uncleared payments for 17 months for you I guess..
It's not for me..
Yes, Just checked and there are still uncleared payments from 17 months ago..
its not, that is outrageous
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The problem with Alamy is that the ratio of hoop-jumping to earnings (H/E) has gotten way too high. After a long hiatus I recently uploaded a bunch of photo and now I'm faced once again with grinding through that dumb keyword interface, copying all my keywords from the wrong box (where they show up by default) to the right box, on every single image... and I might get a $15 sale in 3 months... which might be cancelled the next day... or the next month...
Or a year later, months after you've been paid (if it's a special client).
You gotta be kiddin me. They'd expect you to pay them back?
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The problem with Alamy is that the ratio of hoop-jumping to earnings (H/E) has gotten way too high. After a long hiatus I recently uploaded a bunch of photo and now I'm faced once again with grinding through that dumb keyword interface, copying all my keywords from the wrong box (where they show up by default) to the right box, on every single image... and I might get a $15 sale in 3 months... which might be cancelled the next day... or the next month...
Or a year later, months after you've been paid (if it's a special client).
You gotta be kiddin me. They'd expect you to pay them back?
It was a 50% refund, as they had apparently changed their mind about the file, and they were a top client. The money was taken from my outstanding balance; I wrote and asked for an explanation and got one.
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The problem with Alamy is that the ratio of hoop-jumping to earnings (H/E) has gotten way too high. After a long hiatus I recently uploaded a bunch of photo and now I'm faced once again with grinding through that dumb keyword interface, copying all my keywords from the wrong box (where they show up by default) to the right box, on every single image... and I might get a $15 sale in 3 months... which might be cancelled the next day... or the next month...
Or a year later, months after you've been paid (if it's a special client).
You gotta be kiddin me. They'd expect you to pay them back?
It was a 50% refund, as they had apparently changed their mind about the file, and they were a top client. The money was taken from my outstanding balance; I wrote and asked for an explanation and got one.
They took it from your "cleared" balance?
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The problem with Alamy is that the ratio of hoop-jumping to earnings (H/E) has gotten way too high. After a long hiatus I recently uploaded a bunch of photo and now I'm faced once again with grinding through that dumb keyword interface, copying all my keywords from the wrong box (where they show up by default) to the right box, on every single image... and I might get a $15 sale in 3 months... which might be cancelled the next day... or the next month...
Or a year later, months after you've been paid (if it's a special client).
You gotta be kiddin me. They'd expect you to pay them back?
It was a 50% refund, as they had apparently changed their mind about the file, and they were a top client. The money was taken from my outstanding balance; I wrote and asked for an explanation and got one.
They took it from your "cleared" balance?
Yes, because the request came when I had some cleared money but wasn't at payout. I guess I'd have gone into negative if I hadn't had money 'in hand'.
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The problem with Alamy is that the ratio of hoop-jumping to earnings (H/E) has gotten way too high. After a long hiatus I recently uploaded a bunch of photo and now I'm faced once again with grinding through that dumb keyword interface, copying all my keywords from the wrong box (where they show up by default) to the right box, on every single image... and I might get a $15 sale in 3 months... which might be cancelled the next day... or the next month...
Or a year later, months after you've been paid (if it's a special client).
You gotta be kiddin me. They'd expect you to pay them back?
It was a 50% refund, as they had apparently changed their mind about the file, and they were a top client. The money was taken from my outstanding balance; I wrote and asked for an explanation and got one.
They took it from your "cleared" balance?
Yes, because the request came when I had some cleared money but wasn't at payout. I guess I'd have gone into negative if I hadn't had money 'in hand'.
So in the world of Alamy, a "sale" isn't necessarily a sale. And " cleared" doesn't really mean cleared. It's taken me a while but I'm starting to understand. Hope they don't send me a bill for last year.
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looks like, amazing!
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looks like, amazing!
That is why I have no sympathy for them..
a sale uncleared for 17 months!? and still counting? It's a joke..
Even if they lower the threshold to $50, I won't be satisfied.. because their system is so problematic that even if they lift the threshold altogether, this is not the kind of company I want to work with..
there were comparisons with shutterstock above (as a response to my post) but it doesn't make sense.. this is nothing like shutterstock..
there is no excuse that it takes 17+ months for a sale to clear..
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^^
I keep saying that but Alamy keeps coming back with the same comment, they report sales in real time, and they pat themselves on the back for that. But its not a sale at all. Its only a sale when the money sits in my bank, and even then its not a sale because when the buyer comes back after a year for a refund, they will get it, and I will be in the red. It has happened on Alamy, people reported it, but then Alalmy denies it.
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Maybe It's OK to have uncleared payments for 17 months for you...
Yes, Just checked and there are still uncleared payments from 17 months ago...
and...
Today or in 3 months? Not a big difference.
But in my example, they've been using the image for almost a year now. It took 2 months to report the sale, and so far over 9 months after reporting, without the payment clearing.
You're really ok with that? From what I've read, this isn't the only (or even worst) example, either.
OMG! I had no idea people waiting so long... :o This is crazy...
3 or 4 months seems to be noting special with 1 month in other agencies, but one year and over? No way! This is absolutely to much :-\
It was a 50% refund, as they had apparently changed their mind about the file, and they were a top client. The money was taken from my outstanding balance
This should never happen! >:(
I had many refunds, maybe to many. Usually the same image was sold again with less $. Once got more $...
It takes one month usually, no longer. I was sure money is mine just when I see it on my Paypal...
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sale from May 24th still uncleared
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Wow, I don't think it ever took me more than 2 months after the threshold was achieved.
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I keep saying that but Alamy keeps coming back with the same comment, they report sales in real time, and they pat themselves on the back for that. [...]
I think the real problem for Alamy is one common to other agencies - they won't make any changes that involve significantly changing their web site, because that's too expensive, and the code is too old, and they're afraid of breaking things, and the developers have moved on. So we see things like that creaky "Manage Images v2.4" interface, that takes 30 seconds to load and then makes you close a box saying "you have no Not Ready images" - it will be like that forever. Or the keywording dialog that puts your IPTC keywords in the wrong box, so you have to cut-and-paste them, on every image, every time.
It isn't just Alamy of course. These agencies made big investments in web development years ago, but a lot of time has gone by, and they're prisoners of mountains of old spaghetti code that no one really understands anymore. Some of it was very likely done by contractors. Major changes would mean hiring new people and paying a lot of money. And risking problems.
They could change their payout threshold, that wasn't a big deal, just one number really; but all that "cleared payment" stuff is another matter.
Not to beat up on Alamy - because IStock is the perfect example. Unlike Alamy, they kept trying to change things, and breaking things as a result, until they had a royal mess on their hands.
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I had a check, I have a partner sale from 22 June that still hasn't cleared. It wouldn't be so bad except that it was 2012. It wasn't a big sale or I'd be more annoyed. Still, you'd think a year would be enough.
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That's funny (well not really, it isn't) because Alamy responded to a post I made on MSG by saying that the maximum clearing time was 4 months. You are going on 17 months without clearance. Ridiculous.
So if we close the accounts or delete the "sold" images immediately, do the sales get cancelled? Because at this point we should do it just to spite the buyer and Alamy, as 17 months is way too long to decide if you want to spend $100-200 or not. Sorry but you had your chance. Waste somebody else's time.
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I write to push things on if a sale hasn't cleared after six months.
If you delete a file, it's still available for six months afterwards, exactly in case of a swithering buyer (in the T&C). You can hide it from other people by removing caption, title and keywords before deleting (you must do it before hitting delete).
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I did contact them, and they said it was a partner seller in Brazil that they are going after - so it might be a total loss, or maybe someday we will get something. Not ideal, but that is what can happen w/ shady partners I suppose.
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I have a significant purchase from July 9 which still hasn't cleared. So I sent Alamy the following email -
I have approximately $150 in uncleared purchases, most of which I believe is in relation to a download on July 9, 2013 under Alamy Ref .........
It has been 4 and 1/2 months since this purchase was made. I would like to have resolution on this sale as soon as possible. If the buyer is not serious about the purchase, then it is time to cancel it and move on. Otherwise complete the purchase immediately.
If it is going to take several months for purchases to clear in the future, I will have no choice but to remove my images.
Regards
Daniel Padavona
I'm tired of dealing with Alamy and their horrible keywording interface, the IPTC import issues, and the purchases which take forever to clear. I'd prefer to show love for agencies which pay 35-40% commissions or more, but given the multiple issues, the new fees, and the very small contribution of Alamy to my overall sales, I see no reason to stick around if they don't give me immediate resolution.
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I used to think I was getting somewhere on Alamy, but in the second half of this year it all just dried up and blew away. My sales are very rare now and net only a few dollars. An occassional fat sale used to make up for the annoyances, but that's not happening any more.
For new stock sites, we're demanding absolutely zero hassles because we don't expect much return. If Alamy were new, today, would we be getting on board?
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I see the exact same trend, and I see others post on the Alamy forum, it all went downhill in the second half of this year. There was a rerank in July that killed me off completely. My CTR is 0 now. Since July its been dead.
When I post this on their forum all I hear the gang say is add more images, add more images, you only have 488 images. Fair enough, but these guy just spray and pray. Thousands of stupid images of the same street, every single doorknob photographed.
And then this week a thread is openend by someone with a few thousand images saying he hardly has any sales, and the people replying all have large ports reporting crap sales. But then no one says, add more images.
The one person with a BME has 100,000 images, its stupid
People seem to have a good month when they report 1500 gross sales, thats between 600 and 750 dollar, and then they have 11k images.
I think they dont even know anymore how much money a port with 11k images can do these days.
Something happened in July that killed sales. Period.
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I'm tired of dealing with Alamy and their horrible keywording interface, the IPTC import issues, and the purchases which take forever to clear.
What IPTC import issues?
I do like their keyword grouping for relevance. It is however time-consuming.
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Something happened in July that killed sales. Period.
That seems to be the bottom line. And apparently the epitaph.
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Something happened in July that killed sales. Period.
That seems to be the bottom line. And apparently the epitaph.
For you maybe. For me Alamy is performing how I would expect it to perform and I am pleased with the results.
I like Alamy. I am an iStock exclusive but currently seldom uploading there because new content seems to be buried. I assume this will be fixed one day but meanwhile I am enjoying uploading RM to Alamy, improving the quality of my work, doing better stuff etc. I have recently started uploading stuff there which I would previously have hoped to send to E+. And as much as I like iStock I am actually considering pulling some content which never even got a view and trying it RM at Alamy instead.
I agree with what Ron says about people uploading multiple images of very little. But not everyone is like that. There are some great portfolios on Alamy too.
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Something happened in July that killed sales. Period.
That seems to be the bottom line. And apparently the epitaph.
For you maybe. For me Alamy is performing how I would expect it to perform and I am pleased with the results.
I like Alamy. I am an iStock exclusive but currently seldom uploading there because new content seems to be buried. I assume this will be fixed one day but meanwhile I am enjoying uploading RM to Alamy, improving the quality of my work, doing better stuff etc. I have recently started uploading stuff there which I would previously have hoped to send to E+. And as much as I like iStock I am actually considering pulling some content which never even got a view and trying it RM at Alamy instead.
I agree with what Ron says about people uploading multiple images of very little. But not everyone is like that. There are some great portfolios on Alamy too.
Are you allowed to do that (bolded text)? I vaguely thought at one point that once it went to IS you couldn't send it elsewhere even if you removed it. Nice that you can have an outlet to work on even if IS is not performing for new uploads.
Alamy did very well for me last year (number 2 site), this year not so much, and last month was my first zero month there in a while. I have a few sales there this month for EL $ amounts, so not too shabby. Keywording is a bit of a pain and it would have been nice had they actually implemented the [ ] to group keywords. Still, it is another outlet and they haven't totally screwed us (yet?) like some others. They have been slowly eroding though.
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Are you allowed to do that (bolded text)? I vaguely thought at one point that once it went to IS you couldn't send it elsewhere even if you removed it.
Yes I think it is okay. But I would obviously check the contract again before doing so. AFAIK it is only rejected content which is problematic. And I would not do this with any content which has RF sales or, even, reasonable views.
I like iStock as an outlet but whilst new content is buried and since they withdrew the E+ option it is frustrating sending them stuff which should be, at least, getting a view.
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Are you allowed to do that (bolded text)? I vaguely thought at one point that once it went to IS you couldn't send it elsewhere even if you removed it.
Yes I think it is okay. But I would obviously check the contract again before doing so. AFAIK it is only rejected content which is problematic. And I would not do this with any content which has RF sales or, even, reasonable views.
I like iStock as an outlet but whilst new content is buried and since they withdrew the E+ option it is frustrating sending them stuff which should be, at least, getting a view.
From what I remembered, you had to seek permission for each individual image. However, there is a new team, things may be different. Please let us know how it turns out.
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From what I remembered, you had to seek permission for each individual image. However, there is a new team, things may be different. Please let us know how it turns out.
My recollection is that this was for rejected content. Not for content which one chooses to deactivate oneself.
But (for goodness sake) please don't take my word for it. I am obviously going to have a thorough read of the agreement - or possibly even pay someone to read it for me. I think the agreement is likely to give the best objective answer.
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Something happened in July that killed sales. Period.
That seems to be the bottom line. And apparently the epitaph.
July itself was dead for me, but from August on I seem to be back to four or five decent sales a month on 4,000 images. It's not great but it's still firmly "middle tier" as far as my sales go.
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Here is their response to my complaint about uncleared payments from early July -
Hello Daniel
The time it takes for a sale to clear depends on the type of customer and if they’ve got a particular deal with us. We report sales in as they happen to contributors, unlike many other stock agencies who would only inform you when they’ve received funds. This transparent system has great benefits for contributors, the down side is contributors are able to see uncleared sales.
If you haven’t seen the payment clear we haven’t given up or forgotten about it, our Credit control team are still chasing and we’ll update your account once we’ve collected payment
If there's anything else we can do for you, just give us a shout.
Thanks,
Rehana
Member Services
Sorry but that isn't good enough. I expected a weak response, and that is exactly what I received.
4 1/2 months is a ridiculously long period for a payment to clear, and I don't buy it. The idea that other agencies wait several months for checks to clear, or credit cards to process, etc., or for buyers to decide that they really want the image they ordered, is a little unbelievable. These days I expect nothing less from a stock agency than smoke, mirrors, and a whole lot of deflection.
I really don't think there is "anything else they can do for me", so I guess it is time to clear out my portfolio, wait a few years for the payments to clear, and then close the account permanently.
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There is a fundamental difference between a prepaid (microstock) site and a post-paid agency. The clients of a post-paid agency will always delay payment for as long as they possibly can. Boosting cash-flow by delaying settlements must be in Economics 101. It ain't pretty but it's the way the world works.
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I really don't think there is "anything else they can do for me", so I guess it is time to clear out my portfolio, wait a few years for the payments to clear, and then close the account permanently.
Why not take a deep breath before you do that ?
If you close the account you will never again see any new money from them. Granted some payments are slow. On the other hand they do some great sales too. My best single sale this year earned me (i.e. after deductions) $130 and was paid quickly.
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There is a fundamental difference between a prepaid (microstock) site and a post-paid agency. The clients of a post-paid agency will always delay payment for as long as they possibly can. Boosting cash-flow by delaying settlements must be in Economics 101. It ain't pretty but it's the way the world works.
There are people in this forum going on 1 to 2 years without payments clearing. Pushing cash flow numbers out beyond the fiscal year is nothing but financial chicanery. I wouldn't trust an investment in a company which did so. I just don't see where Alamy's pricing justifies this type of post-pay delay. Most of my sales are in the $20 to $50 range. It's really not worth waiting 6 to 24 months for.
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Alamy is in no rush to collect money, since they give it all away to charity anyways. And when they need extra funding to open a new office, they lower the royalties.
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Alamy is in no rush to collect money, since they give it all away to charity anyways. And when they need extra funding to open a new office, they lower the royalties.
I believe we can and should complain about royalties but certainly not the main issue at Alamy, they "pay" what? 2 (30%) to 3 (50%) times iStock right?
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Two votes down for stating facts. Alamy themselves said they lowered royalties to fund the new office. When you vote down, at least sure its not obvious you vote down the person rather then the comment.
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Are the people who wait so long 'nudging' Support? I contact them after six months and put a note in my diary for four weeks later, and I've only had to use the four-weeks-later reminder once. But I guess some buyers will be 'stickier' to catch up.
It also seems that certain distributors need nudging sometimes.
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Two votes down for stating facts. Alamy themselves said they lowered royalties to fund the new office. When you vote down, at least sure its not obvious you vote down the person rather then the comment.
They did indeed say that, and it's also true that while they have said that their US office is doing very well, they haven't thought to restore the 5%.
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Alamy is in no rush to collect money, since they give it all away to charity anyways. And when they need extra funding to open a new office, they lower the royalties.
I believe we can and should complain about royalties but certainly not the main issue at Alamy, they "pay" what? 2 (30%) to 3 (50%) times iStock right?
You are mixing up things there. Complaining about lowering royalties is different than complaining about the height of the royalties.
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Two votes down for stating facts. Alamy themselves said they lowered royalties to fund the new office. When you vote down, at least sure its not obvious you vote down the person rather then the comment.
They did indeed say that, and it's also true that while they have said that their US office is doing very well, they haven't thought to restore the 5%.
I know, thats why I also know the votes down are done out of spite.
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Alamy is in no rush to collect money, since they give it all away to charity anyways. And when they need extra funding to open a new office, they lower the royalties.
I believe we can and should complain about royalties but certainly not the main issue at Alamy, they "pay" what? 2 (30%) to 3 (50%) times iStock right?
You are mixing up things there. Complaining about lowering royalties is different than complaining about the height of the royalties.
no, I am not, I believe we should worry about agencies paying less than Alamy royalties, I wish all agencies were paying royalties as high as Alamy, I don't enjoy their metadata process and perhaps the lack of sales (consistency) but I am certainly fine with their royalties %, lowering to 50% isn't a good sign but still a few miles ahead comparing to all other agencies we are "happy" to work with
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I think I know best what I should worry and complain about.
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I think I know best what I should worry and complain about.
don't take it so personal man, will think twice before quoting you, I wasn't attacking you, just telling my opinion on what "we" should be concerned, will use I from now on
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Its ok Louis, I wasnt offended, just explaining what I meant. You have a short fuse, I thought you knew by now I am on your side. It seems whenever someone doesnt agree with all you say they can expect a mouth full. Understand who your friends and enemies are and pick the right battles. Casualties through friendly fire must be avoided at all times. ;D ;D ;D
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But that first sentence really isn't a FACT, is it?
Ron: "[size=78%]Alamy is in no rush to collect money, since they give it all away to charity anyways. And when they need extra funding to open a new office, they lower the royalties...."[/size]
Two votes down for stating facts. Alamy themselves said they lowered royalties to fund the new office. When you vote down, at least sure its not obvious you vote down the person rather then the comment.
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Are the people who wait so long 'nudging' Support? I contact them after six months and put a note in my diary for four weeks later, and I've only had to use the four-weeks-later reminder once. But I guess some buyers will be 'stickier' to catch up.
It also seems that certain distributors need nudging sometimes.
I nudged them, and posted their reply. They gave a standard cut-and-paste response, pretty much out of the Agency playbook. My account will be closed within 2 months, but I will probably have this uncleared balance to deal with for the next year or so.
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Quick question - I believe it is this month that the payment threshold is lowered (end Nov). I'm at $150 cleared - but it's not coming up in the balance of account section as due? That's not the norm when you were over the old threshold. Anyone else the same? Does it mean I will get payed or not? Thanks...
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Answered my own question by searching the Alamy forum - 'Yes, you’ll be paid in the December payrun. The changes in the contract officially comes into force in 45 days time but we're working with these new rules with effect from the next pay run (beginning of December).'
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From what I remembered, you had to seek permission for each individual image. However, there is a new team, things may be different. Please let us know how it turns out.
Having had a good slow read of the Exclusive Contract - I have come to the almost certain conclusion that stock content most likely needs to be 'produced' as RM in order for it to not fall under the contractual definition of exclusive content. Therefore I do not think it would be theoretically okay to self-deactivate exclusive content and transfer it to RM without permission.
My best understanding of the contract is that the definition of what falls under exclusive content would most likely also include content which we have ourselves deactivated.