MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: Payout Alamy - cleared balance  (Read 26343 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

« on: March 18, 2020, 03:57 »
0
I had a few sales with Alamy several weeks ago (altogether 235 $)  but they dont show up in my "cleared balance" so I cant aks for a payout.
How long does it usually take with Alamy before one can ask for payout?
Thats what my account says since several weeks:

Balance brought forward:    $94.10
Total sales:    $0.00
Commission / charges:    $0.00
Total payments to you:    $0.00
Balance carried forward:    $94.10
Cleared balance:    $14.23
Next payment date:    Not due



« Reply #1 on: March 18, 2020, 05:12 »
+4
I had a few sales with Alamy several weeks ago (altogether 235 $)  but they dont show up in my "cleared balance" so I cant aks for a payout.
How long does it usually take with Alamy before one can ask for payout?
Thats what my account says since several weeks:

Balance brought forward:    $94.10
Total sales:    $0.00
Commission / charges:    $0.00
Total payments to you:    $0.00
Balance carried forward:    $94.10
Cleared balance:    $14.23
Next payment date:    Not due

You don't ask for payout it's automatic once you get over $50 (cleared amount)

Sales generally take a while to clear so a sale today may take up to 6 months to clear.

Once cleared and once you are over $50 then you'll get your money

« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2020, 06:29 »
+2
I think Alamy must reconsider their contributor's payment policy. The agency can wait for a lifetime to get paid by the buyers if that is what they want. But the agencie's money making machine (the CONTRIBUTORS),  must be paid regularly same way as with other major stock agencies. Alamy's payment policy is getting on my nerves. So Mr Alamy make up your mind: You either want my photos contribution or not. I you do want to have me as a contributor, then you have to change your policies and pay me FASTER.- I f you are listening let me know IN THIS forum.-

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2020, 17:43 »
+4
I think Alamy must reconsider their contributor's payment policy. The agency can wait for a lifetime to get paid by the buyers if that is what they want. But the agencie's money making machine (the CONTRIBUTORS),  must be paid regularly same way as with other major stock agencies. Alamy's payment policy is getting on my nerves. So Mr Alamy make up your mind: You either want my photos contribution or not. I you do want to have me as a contributor, then you have to change your policies and pay me FASTER.- I f you are listening let me know IN THIS forum.-
Dream on. Like iS with its tiny percentages for indies and SS with its 'all model pics may be sold for sensitive uses', Alamy has its policies. It's their ball, their game. We don't have to play, and they don't care.
Also for Alamy, giving buyers a credit line is a USP compared to the micros, and was standard in the macros, and for all I know still is.
Bear in mind too that we don't know what PA's intentions are.
« Last Edit: March 20, 2020, 06:46 by ShadySue »

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #4 on: March 20, 2020, 11:37 »
+1
Bear in mind too that we don't know what PA's intentions are.

More of a concern than the Alamy collect later policy which has always been their way of doing business. They finally got over the upsized, ridiculous image requirements. I can only see the book keeping as a huge headache with all this, download now, pay later. We already had two commission cuts, what will PA do? Buyers, new owners, want profits. Companies get bought because they have assets above the worth, and future value beyond the price paid.

If they look at the crummy small payments we get from the "best" agencies, what's coming?

However, there's hope that PA won't want these complications of chasing for payments, which has to be an expense, difficult to track, and complicated to audit and monitor. I can hope? New system where buyers pay in advance.

Doing OK for now, my uncleared only goes back to January 2020. I've seen longer.

« Reply #5 on: March 25, 2020, 08:09 »
0
In November i had a Alamy sale, but my Cleare balance is not updated yet.

I wonder how long it will take

« Reply #6 on: March 25, 2020, 10:51 »
+1
In November i had a Alamy sale, but my Cleare balance is not updated yet.

I wonder how long it will take

Read the first reply above

« Reply #7 on: March 25, 2020, 11:02 »
+2
My own opinion.  With the corona virus affecting almost every photographer's wages, Alamy should step up and pay us at least 30 days after a sale of our work.  We have bills to pay.  Almost all the stores and businesses have been sending e-mails to help us out like American express and a lot of the visa and mastercards to conatact them if we will be late paying our bill.  Why can't Alamy step up to the plate and start looking out for their photographers ?  Thank you. (My opinion)

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #8 on: March 25, 2020, 12:30 »
0
In November i had a Alamy sale, but my Cleare balance is not updated yet.

I wonder how long it will take
I usually prod them after the end of three full months after the sale, so if the sale was mid-Nov, I'd email them at the beginning of March. If it was a distributor sale, that takes longer.

« Reply #9 on: April 04, 2020, 05:57 »
0
I have uncleared earnings since july 2019. I have already e-mailed them, but the reply seemed a bit annoyed, saying they are aware of this, and as soon as they receive the payment...  This was almost 2 months ago. Still nothing happened. :(
In a previous case my earnings were cleared after 1.5 years. Very disappointing.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #10 on: April 04, 2020, 06:20 »
+3
I have uncleared earnings since july 2019. I have already e-mailed them, but the reply seemed a bit annoyed, saying they are aware of this, and as soon as they receive the payment...  This was almost 2 months ago. Still nothing happened. :(
In a previous case my earnings were cleared after 1.5 years. Very disappointing.
As you say, the reply you get does sound 'a bit annoyed'. Also it tells you not to contact them again (or at least that used to be part of the message).
However, a couple of years ago I had many unreported usages of the same photo by the Mail Group (Daily Mail / Metro / This Is Money) and reported it, and got the annoyed/don't bother us again message.
So I left it for six months and re-reported it (luckily, I'd kept a form that I had taken a long time to make out listing all my found in-uses, which is required for their system) and got the answer that there had been a 'change of staff' and my report had gone missing.
Around six months later I contacted them again, and again got the 'change of staff' excuse, but a couple of months after that I got the payment.
So ... did the 'investigating unreported uses' team really have total restaffing twice in a year, despite us having to do all the looking up, screenshotting and reporting meaning all they had to do was match up the reported sales then bill the offenders?

« Reply #11 on: April 10, 2020, 04:36 »
+1
They made it an easter present - finally:

Current Cleared Balance: $94
We'll pay you on 01 May 2020

« Reply #12 on: May 08, 2020, 04:00 »
0
You are lucky, they actually robbed me in February and since than all my later sales are still uncleared.
Current amount is still not enough for a lawsuit, but if this continue for a few months or more I will probably go into that direction.

Here is the story:
2 days before end of February I had 81$ cleared so I expected my payment to be initiated at the beginning of March.
At that moment I had one bigger sale but off course that amount was uncleared and I didn't expect be payed at the beginning of March.
A few days later I was checking my balance for a payment when I saw that last sale was refunded.
There was no doubt about which sale was  refunded because there was a notice "Original sales on 27th of February".
But that refund WAS IMMEDIATELY CLEARED unlike original sale and that lowered my cleared amount from 81$ before 27th of February to 32$ !!!
All later sales from 5th of March until today 8th of May are still uncleared including that one from 27th of February so I am still on 32$ cleared.
I wrote them dozen of times, first to general support and than to legal department but didn't get any explanation for that.
I send them very specific questions but didn't get any single answer to them, just general comments.
At least they didn't mentioned Covid-19 as an excuse.

I am not a lawyer, but the fact that they lowered my previously cleared amount with refund to sales which came after that looks illegal to me.
« Last Edit: May 08, 2020, 07:48 by Android Marvin (formerly mb) »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #13 on: May 08, 2020, 07:47 »
+1
You are lucky, they actually robbed me in February and since than all my later sales are still uncleared.
Current amount is still not enough for a lawsuit, but if this continue for a few months or more I will probably go in that direction.

Here is the story:
2 days before end of February I had 81$ cleared so I expected my payment to be initiated at the beginning of March.
At that moment I had one bigger sale but off course that amount was uncleared and I didn't expect be payed at the beginning of March.
A few days later I was checking my balance for a payment when I saw that last sale was refunded.
There was no doubt about which sale was  refunded because there was a notice "Original sales on 27th of February".
But that refund WAS IMMEDIATELY CLEARED unlike original sale and that lowered my cleared amount from 81$ before 27th of February to 32$ !!!
All later sales from 5th of March until today 8th of May are still uncleared including that one from 27th of February so I am still on 32$ cleared.
I wrote them dozen of times, first to general support and than to legal department but didn't get any explanation for that.
I send them very specific questions but didn't get any single answer to them, just general comments.
At least they didn't mentioned Covid-19 as an excuse.

I am not a lawyer, but the fact that they lowered my previously cleared amount with refund to sales which came after that is very illegal.

It happens  :(, and not only on Alamy.

« Reply #14 on: May 15, 2020, 09:25 »
+2
You are lucky, they actually robbed me in February and since than all my later sales are still uncleared.
Current amount is still not enough for a lawsuit, but if this continue for a few months or more I will probably go in that direction.

Here is the story:
2 days before end of February I had 81$ cleared so I expected my payment to be initiated at the beginning of March.
At that moment I had one bigger sale but off course that amount was uncleared and I didn't expect be payed at the beginning of March.
A few days later I was checking my balance for a payment when I saw that last sale was refunded.
There was no doubt about which sale was  refunded because there was a notice "Original sales on 27th of February".
But that refund WAS IMMEDIATELY CLEARED unlike original sale and that lowered my cleared amount from 81$ before 27th of February to 32$ !!!
All later sales from 5th of March until today 8th of May are still uncleared including that one from 27th of February so I am still on 32$ cleared.
I wrote them dozen of times, first to general support and than to legal department but didn't get any explanation for that.
I send them very specific questions but didn't get any single answer to them, just general comments.
At least they didn't mentioned Covid-19 as an excuse.

I am not a lawyer, but the fact that they lowered my previously cleared amount with refund to sales which came after that is very illegal.

It happens  :(, and not only on Alamy.

Why it is so hard to say "Sorry we made a mistake".

2 agencies, 2 examples both from april 2020.:

Alamy: I finally got the answer on my 6th email which looks like somebody actually read my complaints. Unfortunately the answer was "no problems there, business as usual you could wait up to 4 months for amounts to be cleared and bla bla"... but the very next day my sales from february and march were all cleared and suddenly I have 171$ cleared and ready for payout.

123rf: At the end of April I send them complaint that I didn't sell any single image during the whole month of April. That didn't happened since I sell my 1st image there 10 years ago. Typically I'm selling around 100 photos per month which is around 20-30$, and never had a month with 0 sales since 2010, also I have portfolio of 7000+ images there. I asked them is there any reason for that, as example blocked portfolio/profile but the answer was "account is fine and business is as usual, could be my personal sales drop because of covid-19" with usual advices how to boost my sales. 1 day after that answer my sales suddenly returned back to normal with 4 images sold and now after 15 days I have 47 images sold during this month which is finally "business as usual" for me.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #15 on: May 15, 2020, 09:34 »
+1

Alamy: I finally got the answer on my 6th email which looks like somebody actually read my complaints. Unfortunately the answer was "no problems there, business as usual you could wait up to 4 months for amounts to be cleared and bla bla"... but the very next day my sales from february and march were all cleared and suddenly I have 171$ cleared and ready for payout.

I've noticed this in the past, I got that sort of reply then it would be cleared.
« Last Edit: May 15, 2020, 11:59 by ShadySue »

« Reply #16 on: May 15, 2020, 09:40 »
0
It sounds like they are going to hang on to contributors money as long as they can, and that means until you question it or complain about it.  >:(

« Reply #17 on: May 15, 2020, 11:52 »
+2
Well, I got my payment a few days ago. Didnt have to ask for it.

« Reply #18 on: May 15, 2020, 12:33 »
0
It sounds like they are going to hang on to contributors money as long as they can, and that means until you question it or complain about it.  >:(

For me questioning/complaining didn't help either. In 2 months I'll be preparing a birthday cake for my uncleared earnings...

« Reply #19 on: May 15, 2020, 14:05 »
+1
Well, I got my payment a few days ago. Didnt have to ask for it.

Good for you, but it doesn't mean the problem is non-existing, since so many people are complaining. It's not about the payment (of course you don't have to ask for it, it's automatic) but about earnings that are not cleared for many many months.

« Reply #20 on: May 20, 2020, 00:28 »
0
When I started with Alamy you needed $250 cleared to be paid so it could be worse ...

The worst thing however are the refunds, especially when you wait months for a sale to clear and then way more than 60 days later the image is refunded, beyond Alamy's stated policy, but you still lose your commission. I've had sales for as much as $250 refunded which is really disappointing when it happens. Those of us who've been with Alamy a long time always hold our breath when those $250-450 sales come in until they actually clear.

Of course these days we are holding our breath to even see any three-figure sales. No idea where PA is going with the agency, but even my views (never mind zooms and sales) have dropped precipitously. Hard to gauge what to expect when the coronavirus hit so shortly after the change in management, so it may be a while before we know.

I have to say whenever I've written to follow up on uncleared funds or other issues, the folks at Alamy have always been polite, even after the change in management, though occasionally on a follow up email I'll get an answer that contradicts the first one.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #21 on: May 20, 2020, 07:57 »
+2
When I started with Alamy you needed $250 cleared to be paid so it could be worse ...
Except that the drop to $50 is an indication of the relative state of the market since those headier days.

« Reply #22 on: July 03, 2020, 01:32 »
0
KEEP AWAY FROM ALAMY GANG!!!
Looks like a bunch of gangsters took over Alamy in 2020.
I had cleared amount of 81$ back in february and then it somehow 1 day before the end of month became uncleared, and it was lowered to 32$ without any reason.
Next month cleared amount stuck at 49$ !
1$ below payment threshold.
And it stays like that 3 months more, despite dozens of sales every month, none of them was cleared.
Now it is July and I have 10 times more as an uncleared amount and cleared amount is still on 49$.
I am an Alamy contributor for almost 10 years and never experienced something like this before.
There were some single sales that were stuck for a couple of months but never like this.
For me this is by now an obvious criminal activity but I don't know how to handle this situation.
I sent dozen of emails to them from polite to mad, requesting escalation, even mentioning the police but they just doesn't care.
I've got 1 generic answer in total for 5 months.
Any good advice what to do would be appreciated in this situation.
They are acting like a criminal organization and I think that they need some sort of external investigation.
If anybody knows which institutions are responsible for that based on their location I would appreciate that info.
Some contact link/email of those institutions would be nice.
Thank you.

« Reply #23 on: July 03, 2020, 02:21 »
0
KEEP AWAY FROM ALAMY GANG!!!
Looks like a bunch of gangsters took over Alamy in 2020.
I had cleared amount of 81$ back in february and then it somehow 1 day before the end of month became uncleared, and it was lowered to 32$ without any reason.

Look at your sales history, not just the recent, but the whole year. Most likey a customer requested a refund for an image he bought from you a long time ago.

I had that happening to me too (and I know it is a common practice with Alamy) and ended up with a negative balance. After a quick search I found the image used on a website - all with proper credits to Alamy and it had only sold once on Alamy, so I knew that someone had purchased my image from them, actually used it, and then still requested a refund which Alamy grants their customers apparently without any problems and even months after the sale.
I find that business practice very unfair, it has extreme potential for abuse and and it's nothing short of a scam to their contributors.

I was first told by their customer support that they would look into it, then that that the customer had purchased a wrong licence (which he noticed months later?) and I would be re-billed and I would see the money "by the end of the week". Waited for 2 weeks, but nothing, contacted them again, was told I would get the money "soon", 2 months (!) later still nothing, contacted them again, the sale was finally re-billed for a much lower amount, but until today the payment was not cleared. So I never got the money and the image is still being used on that website and has been up there for about 9 months without me being paid for it.

It's one of the multiple reasons why I am not really fond of Alamy as an agency. Yes, refunds should be possile, especially with Alamy's non-existing quality control, but not months after the sale and especially not once the image has actually been used. That's like requesting a refund for a cake I already ate.
I can't even really be happy about sales on Alamy, because I never know whether than money might not be taken away from me again in half a year.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2020, 02:27 by Firn »

« Reply #24 on: July 03, 2020, 03:52 »
0
1. REFUND IS NOT A PROBLEM
2. SINGLE SALE IS NOT A PROBLEM (LIKE BEFORE) - EVERY SALE IS A PROBLEM
First of all refund is not a problem, it is too small.  Also you obviously didn't read my previous comment from the month of May.  Also I didn't mentioned later that temporary cleared amount of 171$ was back to 49$ again and that pi$$ed me off for real. Since that they are not answering at all. I don't have many refunds so they are easy to trace. For the last 365 days (from July 1st 2019.) there was ONLY ONE refund, and it is visible on my Alamy account balance . Refund was back in February, customer bought an image and a few days later it was refunded and immediately both again for the lower price. Refund in total (sale price) was just 21$. I really don't understand how they get from 81$ of cleared balance to 32$ with that refund. After that every sale except one in last 4 months wasn't cleared. Without any public statement and/or personal answer what is going on it looks absolutely like a GANG job.

« Last Edit: July 03, 2020, 04:16 by Android Marvin (formerly mb) »


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
41 Replies
32767 Views
Last post October 22, 2012, 04:04
by ShadySue
9 Replies
6456 Views
Last post June 25, 2017, 01:38
by Jo Ann Snover
3 Replies
3083 Views
Last post August 09, 2017, 00:07
by PixelBytes
6 Replies
3398 Views
Last post July 22, 2021, 15:15
by HalfFull
1 Replies
3528 Views
Last post July 27, 2021, 12:12
by kall3bu

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors