I've had a couple of these in the last few months. I assume they found my work cheaper on one of the micro sites and bought a license.

Search for refunds on the Alamy forum here (I can't seem to make a link to that search, sorry).
There can be lots of reasons for refunds, there can be resales for lower prices (possibly the buyer licenses a lot of files then negotiates a discount) or even occasionally resales for higher prices (I think I had one once).

I had one last year - after a month or 2 they got a refund on a $250 sale and the same image was bought that day for $195 - I presume it was the same buyer and they got some sort of discount and made it retro-active. It still beats .38 by a wide margin but is pretty frustrating. I also have some long standing unpaid sales that Alamy said they will probably never recover.

Quote from: pancaketom on March 14, 2016, 15:56

I had one last year - after a month or 2 they got a refund on a $250 sale and the same image was bought that day for $195 - I presume it was the same buyer and they got some sort of discount and made it retro-active. It still beats .38 by a wide margin but is pretty frustrating. I also have some long standing unpaid sales that Alamy said they will probably never recover.

So if the buyer never pays for the downloaded image doesn't Alamy compensate it to the contributor at some point?

No.

The possibility of getting a sale refunded at Alamy in favour of a low priced sale of the same image at a micro site suggests it is probably wise not to have the same images on both Alamy and micros....

Sometimes refunds work the other way - I have had sales refunded and soon afterwards resold for a higher price, clearly after the customer has had a discussion with Alamy sales departement and adjusted the RM liicence to reflect a slightly different usage than  the original sale.

One other reason why Alamy sales may be refunded after many months is simply that the image was not used in the final version of the publication. Publications like textbooks may have a long gestation period and may be subject to many changes in that time before final approval is given by the client. Pictures which have appeared in draft versions, but not in the final publication will often be refunded.   Alamy, at it heart, is a traditional picture agency, and understands that in the long term they will do better business if they bend their sales practice to the practical needs of the clients and will offer refunds for an image which was never actually used.

To answer the OP's original point, there is nothing to physically stop a customer getting a refund and then using the image anyway, no more or less at Alamy than any micro agency, except of course that such a usage would be unethical and illegal.  However, I would suggest that with Alamy, because the community is well-populated with hardened professional togs with many decades of experience,  such illegal use is more likely to be spotted, highlighted and pursued with legal vigour. I'm sure illegal use is sometimes made of images sold through Alamy, but in my opinion such miscreants are chancing their arm in doing so.

New wave of refunds! Never ever i can believe that refunded image will not be used by a client. Downloads should be in the list of "no return" products.

Quote from: changingsky on May 03, 2018, 02:08

New wave of refunds! Never ever i can believe that refunded image will not be used by a client. Downloads should be in the list of "no return" products.

There can be genuine returns if a client rejects an image or the quality is not as expected. I've also seen accidental double downloads where one gets refunded, or a photo sold on one set of license conditions, then relicensed on slightly different terms and the first sale cancelled.

My last sale of April was also refunded  only to be bought at a cheaper price moments after.

I think what they're doing is basically "renting" images without paying royalties.  The client uses the photo for internal purposes - design mockups, presentations, sales pitches for ad campaigns, or just to develop ideas - in exchange for a sort of "restocking fee"  from which we get nothing.

Wouldn't that be blatantly illegal - which would be very stupid of them because somewhere along the way a "renter" would also be a contributor.  And remember, Alamy's profits fund cancer research, it's not run by some Wall Street shyster who's trying to rip everyone off for personal gain.

Quote from: stockastic on May 03, 2018, 10:27

I think what they're doing is basically "renting" images without paying royalties.  The client uses the photo for internal purposes - design mockups, presentations, sales pitches for ad campaigns, or just to develop ideas - in exchange for a sort of "restocking fee"  from which we get nothing.

Wouldn't that be blatantly illegal - which would be very stupid of them because somewhere along the way a "renter" would also be a contributor.  And remember, Alamy's profits fund cancer research, it's not run by some Wall Street shyster who's trying to rip everyone off for personal gain.

No doubt the TOS would allow this, because it's not a 'sale'.  I don't necessarily think Alamy set out to cheat us by turning 'sales' into 'rentals' - maybe it's something they just sort of slid into by going overboard to please customers.  And over time, they found out it was a source of revenue, so they loosened things up even more.

I don't know the details, I'm just guessing that the customer pays Alamy something for these 'returned' images, and if so, we obviously don't get a cut. 

How many refunds have you had which aren't repurchased, even after some time or for a different value, clearly by the same buyer? Compared to sales?

Not sure if I understand the specific question, but my only Alamy refunds have been purchased at Alamy, same terms, immediately after the refund. (at a lower price) I've never had one refunded and not re-purchased. I don't know if they renegotiated the use or what.

No doubt the TOS would allow this, because it's not a 'sale'.  I don't necessarily think Alamy set out to cheat us by turning 'sales' into 'rentals' - maybe it's something they just sort of slid into by going overboard to please customers.  And over time, they found out it was a source of revenue, so they loosened things up even more.

I don't know the details, I'm just guessing that the customer pays Alamy something for these 'returned' images, and if so, we obviously don't get a cut.

So you don't actually have a single shred of evidence that any such thing is happening, outside of what goes on in your vivid imagination?

I notice that you ignored my point about the risk that news of such  a scheme would be bound to leak out eventually.

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on May 07, 2018, 01:22

Quote from: stockastic on May 04, 2018, 14:42

No doubt the TOS would allow this, because it's not a 'sale'.  I don't necessarily think Alamy set out to cheat us by turning 'sales' into 'rentals' - maybe it's something they just sort of slid into by going overboard to please customers.  And over time, they found out it was a source of revenue, so they loosened things up even more.

I don't know the details, I'm just guessing that the customer pays Alamy something for these 'returned' images, and if so, we obviously don't get a cut.

So you don't actually have a single shred of evidence that any such thing is happening, outside of what goes on in your vivid imagination?

I notice that you ignored my point about the risk that news of such  a scheme would be bound to leak out eventually.

Which part of "I'm just guessing" wasn't sufficiently clear?

I was just rephrasing it, wasn't I?

I'm sorry, but I'm just getting a bit tired of all the ridiculous conspiracy theories people keep manufacturing out of thin air. There are plenty of real examples of the micros abusing us without people confusing matters with imaginary ones.

A more credible theory about why you seem to be troubled more than others with numerous returns might be that your work has technical faults that clients won't put up with as they paid out a reasonable sum for an image. If someone pays $50 or $100 to Alamy they're likely to be less willing to swallow the loss than someone paying a micro $4 for a download or even getting an image for pennies on subscription.