pancakes

MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: For those impatient with Crestock  (Read 27729 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

« on: October 15, 2009, 07:08 »
0

I was at the point of dropping out of this agency because of long waiting times  for evaluations, it has been weeks since submitting.  It seems I am not the only one . . .

From Crestock:

Please note that we are currently experiencing significant delays to our image inspections.

While we hope to return to normal as soon as possible, the waiting time the moment can unfortunately be up to four weeks.

We apologise in advance for the inconvenience and disappointment this will inevitably cause. Thanks for your patience in the meantime.


« Reply #1 on: October 15, 2009, 07:19 »
0
Haha, they have problems with everything, not just with image evaluations. On their forum are a lot of users complaining they didn't get their money and requested payouts weeks ago.

« Reply #2 on: October 15, 2009, 12:42 »
0
Yup they owe me money for 2 months... We sent them an email asking what is going on - no reply!...

« Reply #3 on: October 28, 2009, 18:59 »
0
the only thing that's not a problem for them is rejecting! All images I submitted do very well on other agencies but were rejected by Crestock. One sale so far so no pay out problems but 202 files pending. I have some good selling Christmas images, will the be online by easter, if not rejected of course ??? ???

« Reply #4 on: October 28, 2009, 22:45 »
0
I would gladly forget about them but sometimes, not very often, they send me an email about some stupid Chinese propaganda or image sold.

« Reply #5 on: October 29, 2009, 04:34 »
0
US$1.25 left to achieve payout, then I'll remove my portfolio.  Of course this may mean only 2010, but...

« Reply #6 on: October 29, 2009, 05:06 »
0
US$1.25 left to achieve payout, then I'll remove my portfolio.  Of course this may mean only 2010, but...

I may have to follow you madelaide, of the last 75 submitted only 3 taken . . . .  but for me to wait for a payout will strain my patience.  It may be too little to late.

E

lisafx

« Reply #7 on: October 29, 2009, 11:30 »
0
US$1.25 left to achieve payout, then I'll remove my portfolio.  Of course this may mean only 2010, but...

Good luck getting paid.  I have three payouts pending.  The oldest is from Sept. 7th.

« Reply #8 on: October 29, 2009, 11:54 »
0
This is all so unprofessional.

« Reply #9 on: October 29, 2009, 19:14 »
0
[sigh] they were getting quite good with the payouts until aug/sep, but yeah it must have been 3 or 4 weeks now... still waiting...

"better late than never", an I do hope it is late and not never!

« Reply #10 on: October 30, 2009, 03:08 »
0
I got my (paypal) payout last month. 

« Reply #11 on: November 05, 2009, 19:30 »
0
270 files pending, the first one since early september. I will upload till I have 1000 files pending. Does anyone have the same experience or are yours reviewed from time to time?

lisafx

« Reply #12 on: November 06, 2009, 10:52 »
0
I had files pending for a bit over a month.  They were finally reviewed. 

However I STILL have not received payout and am waiting since Sept. 7   :'(

« Reply #13 on: November 06, 2009, 12:19 »
0
Lisa, that's a bit discouraging....I requested a payout earlier this week and I hope they pick up their payout processing speed a bit...

« Reply #14 on: November 06, 2009, 12:40 »
0
I had files pending for a bit over a month.  They were finally reviewed. 

However I STILL have not received payout and am waiting since Sept. 7   :'(

is that with paypal or moneybookers?

lisafx

« Reply #15 on: November 06, 2009, 16:34 »
0
However I STILL have not received payout and am waiting since Sept. 7   :'(

is that with paypal or moneybookers?

Paypal.

« Reply #16 on: November 06, 2009, 16:53 »
0
If they could kindly disappear from the market that would be very good news for photographers.
The buyers would move to better sites and the photographers would earn more for the same photos.
I can't understand why folks upload there, support them  ??? :-\ :P and then complain... ;D

« Reply #17 on: November 06, 2009, 18:38 »
0
However I STILL have not received payout and am waiting since Sept. 7   :'(

is that with paypal or moneybookers?

Paypal.

Lisa,  Hello, is this still true? I mean if it is the case I see no reason to keep my portfolio there. I get so few sales and then not to get paid, that's too much.

lisafx

« Reply #18 on: November 06, 2009, 18:51 »
0
Yes, Zeus, still true.  They owe me three payouts, the oldest of which is from Sept. 7.  When (if) they pay me I will definitely update here. 

Meanwhile, to Tom, I agree with you they appear to be dead, but they weren't when I started there and until Sept. I was getting my payouts regularly.  So I see no hypocrisy in having uploaded there for over two years and now complaining when they don't pay me.

Maybe I am missing something, but what would be the point of complaining about a site one DOESN'T upload to ??

« Reply #19 on: November 06, 2009, 19:23 »
0
Agree with that lisa, there was and hopefully still is nothing wrong with crestock, I only have a problem with delayed payout - in fact I wouldn't mind waiting typical big business terms of three months provided that it was clear where I stood.

I think (I might be wrong) that a lot of photographers have a gripe with crestock because they only accept images that are nothing short of perfect, and hence most of their images are rejected (that includes most of mine too!). For me crestock stands out as the site where it's impossible to find any mediocre images, every image stands out, and I hope (and believe) that in the long-run that will work - think of the buyers.

I guess it's just psychology but it feels nicer to have 8 out of 10 images accepted and then have 6 of them deleted after a few years because they made 0 sales; at crestock you might have just 2 of them accepted in the first place and that can feel harsh, but in the end it's not much different. besides that recently fotolia have been doing the same to me - killing me with rejections!

« Reply #20 on: November 06, 2009, 19:25 »
0
If they could kindly disappear from the market that would be very good news for photographers.
Not so soon.  Let me get my payout. :D

« Reply #21 on: November 06, 2009, 19:27 »
0
I guess it's just psychology but it feels nicer to have 8 out of 10 images accepted and then have 6 of them deleted after a few years because they made 0 sales; at crestock you might have just 2 of them accepted in the first place and that can feel harsh, but in the end it's not much different. besides that recently fotolia have been doing the same to me - killing me with rejections!

I don't bother about rejections, but about making basically only subs sales.  I would gladly apply to a site with very strict inspection but with real sales.  Subscriptions are a joke.

« Reply #22 on: November 06, 2009, 20:18 »
0
I think (I might be wrong) that a lot of photographers have a gripe with crestock because they only accept images that are nothing short of perfect, and hence most of their images are rejected (that includes most of mine too!). For me crestock stands out as the site where it's impossible to find any mediocre images, every image stands out, and I hope (and believe) that in the long-run that will work - think of the buyers.

I never signed up with Crestock after reading so many negative opinions about them.

Tight quality standards are fantastic as long as the agency pays reasonable prices for this quality. Supplying premium quality to an agency that pays some of the lowest rates in the industry and doesn't have a big turnover is simply economic illiteracy. Only possible in the crowdsourcing model, in the real world such business would not survive long because  it doesn't deserve to.

Yeah, it will sure work for the buyers  ;D , not for the photographers though.
As long as the agency doesn't set the prices too low, because they might not be able to cover the costs.
AFAIK Crestock is from Norway, I presume the costs of running a site there are relatively high, at least higher than in many other countries.
If you set the prices too low and don't have sufficient volume, it means you have a problem...

I don't know if that's the case with CS, but anything that will cause their customers to migrate to 123 or DT will be a positive development.
0.36 is better than 0.25.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2009, 20:35 by Tom »

« Reply #23 on: November 06, 2009, 20:33 »
0
Meanwhile, to Tom, I agree with you they appear to be dead, but they weren't when I started there and until Sept. I was getting my payouts regularly.  So I see no hypocrisy in having uploaded there for over two years and now complaining when they don't pay me.

Lisa, complaining about not being paid is fine and perfectly understandable, but it is also important to draw the conclusions.

« Reply #24 on: November 07, 2009, 04:10 »
0
I have been waiting forever to actually reach a pay out there so that I could close my account, and now it would seem I have to wait further to receive payment ? ::)

Only have a dozen or so Images there the reason being I stopped bothering as they were rejecting my best sellers from IS and SS Their inspection process seemed suspect to say the least so perhaps that is what they are addressing. Not worth the effort IMO



« Reply #25 on: November 07, 2009, 04:26 »
0
Meanwhile, to Tom, I agree with you they appear to be dead, but they weren't when I started there and until Sept. I was getting my payouts regularly.  So I see no hypocrisy in having uploaded there for over two years and now complaining when they don't pay me.

Lisa, complaining about not being paid is fine and perfectly understandable, but it is also important to draw the conclusions.


Yes very understandable, also just would like to add that I also agree that as said earlier high quality standards are all well and good as long as the agency pays reasonable prices for said quality  ;) Anyway not sure that the Quality really is that exceptional over there
« Last Edit: November 07, 2009, 04:28 by iclick »

« Reply #26 on: November 07, 2009, 08:09 »
0
Strange your payout was delayed Lisa.  I got payed last month (it was one month late).  Here is my payout history with them

10/19/2009   
8/18/2009   
7/6/2009   
6/15/2009
5/7/2009
4/14/2009
3/17/2009

You can see that they have been very reliable and only missed September.

lisafx

« Reply #27 on: November 07, 2009, 08:13 »
0
Strange your payout was delayed Lisa.  I got payed last month (it was one month late).  Here is my payout history with them

10/19/2009   
8/18/2009   
7/6/2009   
6/15/2009
5/7/2009
4/14/2009
3/17/2009

You can see that they have been very reliable and only missed September.

Well then this is even more worrisome.  I have contacted their Support a few times and received no replies. 

Judging by threads in this forum, if you have a problem with them they will not respond, and it appears that it is practically impossible to get them to delete your portfolio. 

« Reply #28 on: November 07, 2009, 08:23 »
0
Things sure seem quiet over there.  I am really curious if they are reorganizing their business structure or working out a sale to another company or what.

You can try and give them a call if you wanted
+47 97 52 38 95

lisafx

« Reply #29 on: November 07, 2009, 08:25 »
0
Thanks so much Tyler for the phone #.  That is a great idea.  I will give them a call first thing monday morning (which is probably halfway through the day in Norway :) )

« Reply #30 on: November 07, 2009, 08:27 »
0
Thanks so much Tyler for the phone #.  That is a great idea.  I will give them a call first thing monday morning (which is probably halfway through the day in Norway :) )

Yeah depending on where you are.  Norway is +1 GMT.  Norway also has fairly short days when compared to USA or Canada.  Don't be surprised if no one is there after 3:00pm or if they are out for lunch any time between 11:00am-1.00pm.

There is a good chance they will be there much later too, and not away for lunch but either one is possible.

« Reply #31 on: November 07, 2009, 18:30 »
0
It's a mobile phone number, so it should be theoretically possible that someone is carrying that phone around with them, even when they go to lunch. :)

« Reply #32 on: November 07, 2009, 22:38 »
0
check this: http://www.crestock.com/forum/image-evaluations/

we are not the only ones complaining...

« Reply #33 on: November 13, 2009, 10:10 »
0
After 2 months I received a "sign" from Crestock. They are busy rejecting files again....I quit uploading to this agency: it took over two months to review my files - that became bestsellers on other agencies in the meantime - and all were rejected. They are not worth all the work with their picky attitude and poor pay out percentages.

« Reply #34 on: November 13, 2009, 12:43 »
0
I received in the mail this morning:

All Purchases Half Price in November!
Hi Lorraine,
As a special pre-Christmas discount to all our customers we are happy to offer 50% off on ALL purchases until December 1st.


Whether you are a new or returning Crestock user: here is your chance to get any image, subscription or credit package with an incredible 50% off.

The discount will be automatically applied during checkout - no promotion codes or activation links required.


« Reply #35 on: November 13, 2009, 13:10 »
0
Does this mean we will gett a whopping 12.5 cents per DL?

« Reply #36 on: November 13, 2009, 13:20 »
0
Does this mean we will gett a whopping 12.5 cents per DL?

Better than not getting paid at all.  And with Crestock's recent record regarding both reviews and payments, and Albumo's recent departure from this mortal realm, I'd say that's a real possibility. 

(And how long does it take to reject a whole pile of images?  Do they actually look at them before they reject them?  But I digress.)

lisafx

« Reply #37 on: November 13, 2009, 14:54 »
0
I doubt they will only pay us half price for subs.  If they do, that's it for them.

Meanwhile, I am still waiting for payout... 

« Reply #38 on: November 13, 2009, 17:43 »
0
Does this mean we will gett a whopping 12.5 cents per DL?

That was my first thought too. I checked their forum again and all I saw were complaints. I wonder how long they will exist from now on.

« Reply #39 on: November 14, 2009, 00:15 »
0
I received in the mail this morning:

All Purchases Half Price in November!
Hi Lorraine,
As a special pre-Christmas discount to all our customers we are happy to offer 50% off on ALL purchases until December 1st.


Whether you are a new or returning Crestock user: here is your chance to get any image, subscription or credit package with an incredible 50% off.

The discount will be automatically applied during checkout - no promotion codes or activation links required.



That looks like they are panicking. Not enough sales to make a profit, so let's try cutting our profits in half. Sorry to say (or am I?), but I think they're dead. Hope they won't close down until they've paid me.

« Reply #40 on: November 14, 2009, 03:17 »
0
I don't remember going this long without a payment on any other site.  It is unforgivable, I hope they still have the funds to pay us, I also hope another site buys them out, that is the only reason I haven't left already.

lisafx

« Reply #41 on: November 14, 2009, 12:16 »
0
... I hope they still have the funds to pay us, I also hope another site buys them out, that is the only reason I haven't left already.

^^Yeah, me too!  (emphasis mine)

I have read all the horror stories around here about the difficulty of getting Crestock to close your account.  That is the reason I have been hanging in there and trying to stay positive. 

Getting awfully difficult though.  I'm with you - hoping they are bought out by some site that is willing to pay their debts!

WarrenPrice

« Reply #42 on: November 14, 2009, 12:47 »
0
I have a hard time understanding what a "buyout" consists of???  If another agency buys Crestock, for example, what are they getting?  Haven't most of the contributors there already uploaded their images to whichever agency might have the money to buy them. 
Are they buying something besides more images??? 
Would they be buying more customers? 
I keep looking at the StockXpert situation and wondering how things got so convoluted. 
Does Crestock have anything unique to offer?
Why did SS buy BigStock?  Don't they already have most of the same images?
What am I missing here?

« Reply #43 on: November 14, 2009, 12:53 »
0
I have a hard time understanding what a "buyout" consists of???  If another agency buys Crestock, for example, what are they getting?  Haven't most of the contributors there already uploaded their images to whichever agency might have the money to buy them. 
Are they buying something besides more images??? 
Would they be buying more customers? 
I keep looking at the StockXpert situation and wondering how things got so convoluted. 
Does Crestock have anything unique to offer?
Why did SS buy BigStock?  Don't they already have most of the same images?
What am I missing here?


Other than customer loyalty and market share I also don't get it . . maybe that's the point.

lisafx

« Reply #44 on: November 14, 2009, 16:09 »
0
In theory buying out your competition would give you a bigger share of the market, either by inheriting their market share, as Etienjones suggests, or by shutting them down. 

Originally when Getty bought Istock there were rumors they did it to shut them down or put them out of business.  There were similar rumors when they bought StockXpert.  At the time that made a lot of sense to me, but it didn't happen in either case. 

In the case of Istock, I guess Getty calculated they were buying a goldmine when they got the #1 microstock site.  Now that Getty has stripped the StockXpert images from Photos.com and populated it with Istock images, I don't see any reason for them to keep StockXpert around. 

But what do I know?   :-\

« Reply #45 on: November 15, 2009, 03:28 »
0
My portfolio with StockXpert is over twice the size it is with istock and some of the top contributors have thousands of images that are not on istock.  If they close StockXpert, I think a lot of the buyers would go to their rivals.  That would be a good reason to keep it open but some of the decisions the owners of istock are making have made no business sense to me, so they are just a likely to close the site.

lisafx

« Reply #46 on: November 16, 2009, 14:20 »
0
I got paid all four outstanding payment requests today.  Hooray! 

Thanks a lot to those who offered suggestions!  :D

« Reply #47 on: November 16, 2009, 14:47 »
0
Glad to hear you got your payment.  It sounds like they are going through the payments very slowly but surely.  I requested one early this month and haven't been paid yet.  My last payout took over a month so I am not too concerned yet.

« Reply #48 on: November 16, 2009, 15:07 »
0
I got paid all four outstanding payment requests today.  Hooray! 

Thanks a lot to those who offered suggestions!  :D
That's encouraging!  I'm one sale away from reaching payout.  Hopefully I get that sale this week   :)

« Reply #49 on: November 17, 2009, 04:12 »
0
Is this normal waiting to be submitted for 2 months? My files uploading at September 6 still pending....

« Reply #50 on: November 18, 2009, 14:26 »
0
Crestock must be in serious financial troubles. The site feels like a graveyard, the forum is full of complaints and "is Crestock dead?" and "I want my money" posts. Nobody from the staff has answered forum questions in ages.

A company where everything is in order would never act this way. They don't even try to appease their contributors.

Regards,
Oliver

« Reply #51 on: November 19, 2009, 02:59 »
0
Is this normal waiting to be submitted for 2 months? My files uploading at September 6 still pending....

yes, currently it is normal.  Things have come to a bit of a stand still there.

« Reply #52 on: November 19, 2009, 14:59 »
0
At least there is someone alive there.  I requested that my account be canceled and it was within 24 hours.

« Reply #53 on: November 19, 2009, 20:11 »
0
After reading many posts on this forum about Crestock I simply deleted all files in the review queue...they seem like a total non starter


At least there is someone alive there.  I requested that my account be canceled and it was within 24 hours.

« Reply #54 on: November 22, 2009, 15:51 »
0
I finally hit the payout limit today and requested payment.  ;D  I'm hoping that it doesn't take too long for them to process the request.

« Reply #55 on: November 24, 2009, 04:15 »
0
I finally hit the payout limit today and requested payment.  ;D  I'm hoping that it doesn't take too long for them to process the request.

hmm well I hope you are patient.  It seems the waiting line is well over a month.

« Reply #56 on: November 24, 2009, 05:21 »
0
More like well over 2 months.  The latest post from admin doesn't fill me with any confidence.  Will they have enough money to pay all of us?  I presume the long delay is to make it look like they have more money than they really do to make the accounts look better?

Quote
There have been some very significant and unfortunate delays both to inspections and payouts at Crestock recently, there is no doubt about that.

We are processing payouts in chronological order, but there are delays. We did make payouts both at the end of October and at the beginning of November and will process the next batch of payments today.

There has recently been significant restructuring taking place behind the scenes at Crestock in order to balance the books for 2009 and ensure successful operation and progress into 2010 and beyond. We initially anticipated these events to be sufficiently temporary in nature to have limited impact on end users and contributors, but it is clear that the delays have caused significant frustration.

We are doing our best to get things back to normal as soon as we can.

Thanks for your patience.

The Crestock Team


http://www.crestock.com/forum/general-help/Will-you-please-delete-my-portfolio-5250.aspx

« Reply #57 on: November 24, 2009, 05:43 »
0
I haven't been paid in ages and haven't bothered to contact them over it. (Doesn't seem to do any good) BUT, I did recently request that they delete 12 files that I was putting exclusive to Fotolia and they did that within 24 hours. So someone is there reading the emails and just choosing to ignore some of them.  ;)

« Reply #58 on: November 24, 2009, 05:47 »
0
... this smells very bad... Sounds like the beggining of the end...

« Reply #59 on: November 24, 2009, 05:53 »
0
well it is definitely the beginning of something.  The beginning of the end or the beginning of a new start.  I am hoping for the later.

Thanks for the quote sharpshot.  I haden't seen that post on their forum.

« Reply #60 on: November 24, 2009, 05:56 »
0
The review queue is so long you would have had to submit your Christmas images last Christmas to be online in time for this Christmas! ;D

« Reply #61 on: November 24, 2009, 16:06 »
0
Being so close to payout, I only hope they survive a bit more. :(

« Reply #62 on: November 24, 2009, 17:37 »
0
Is this normal waiting to be submitted for 2 months? My files uploading at September 6 still pending....

Me too!

lisafx

« Reply #63 on: November 24, 2009, 18:21 »
0
Thanks for posting that announcement Sharpshot.  I hadn't seen it either. 

Like Leaf, I hope this will signify a positive step. 

FWIW I have seen a definite sales increase with their holiday sale.  I have to assume if they were throwing in the towel they would not be bothering with the sale.  After all, it isn't like they have actual inventory to clear out...

« Reply #64 on: November 25, 2009, 18:55 »
0
FWIW I have seen a definite sales increase with their holiday sale.  I have to assume if they were throwing in the towel they would not be bothering with the sale.  After all, it isn't like they have actual inventory to clear out...

They also still tweeting and blogging - not something you bother with if the end was nigh

« Reply #65 on: November 25, 2009, 21:54 »
0
It's just a guess but these things tend to get worse not better.

« Reply #66 on: November 27, 2009, 01:39 »
0
hmm well I hope you are patient.  It seems the waiting line is well over a month.
:)  Yes, I understand patience is needed with these requests.  I'm being hopeful that they'll be processing payments at the beginning of December.  I may not make it in that round, but I know that others will.

« Reply #67 on: December 09, 2009, 08:33 »
0
After more than 2 months of image pending, my 500+ photos only approved 2... so sad.

« Reply #68 on: December 09, 2009, 09:26 »
0
After more than 2 months of image pending, my 500+ photos only approved 2... so sad.

OUCH!  I feel your pain.  I stopped uploading months ago.  They don't like enough of my stuff for me to keep interest.


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
6 Replies
6801 Views
Last post December 03, 2006, 11:45
by madelaide
3 Replies
4616 Views
Last post January 10, 2007, 18:14
by madelaide
8 Replies
4800 Views
Last post January 12, 2007, 00:55
by nightowlza
3 Replies
4594 Views
Last post June 24, 2009, 10:38
by borg
9 Replies
4730 Views
Last post September 04, 2009, 15:13
by sharpshot

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors