MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => Crestock.com => Topic started by: donding on March 05, 2009, 21:45
-
I've been trying to get answers from Crestock in their own forum as to what these new rules are and thought maybe if I post here someone will have an answer. I joined Crestock a couple of days ago...out of 300 that sell on other agencies only 27 sit in their approval bin....I started asking questions on their forum...then some of my approved images were deleted with this as the reason
"Changes in our requirements with regards to technical standards and/or image resolution"
can't find any mention of new requirements in their tech section so I e-mailed and ask on the forum and so far nothing...I'm beginning to think this site is made up of beginner inspector/reveiwers...their reasons for rejection are totally beyond me... ??? ???
Here's one of my rejects.....
-
There not huge sellers so there would be better places to spend your time.
-
I've stopped uploading to Crestock. Very few files get past their inspectors, and the rejections make no sense at all. Their customer service is non-existent if you ask for anything. I have a pile of vector files hanging in limbo on the site, pending an answer to a question I asked weeks ago - or maybe it's been months now... I don't really care anymore. IMO they are a waste of time (sorry Crestock but you brought this on yourselves!). I have only been at it a few months, but see consistent daily sales at istock and shutterstock with files that Crestock rejected. BigStock and Fotolia are slow but growing. Crestock is dead.
Sometimes for entertainment I will go to their forums and read all of the complaints from unhappy contributors. Try it!
-
Thanks for the advice.....I just put this on their forum and so maybe they will actually cancel my account...
"I can't seem to get any answers from anyone at Crestock so hopefully you can tell me how to cancel my account. I don't know how you think you are going to survive this economy with the way you reject photos with nothing wrong with them. I actually resent one of my rejects with a different file name and it got accepted...two other's I fixed the problem then you said they needed better lighting.....well sorry to say people but these shots sell on other stock sights and I want them deleted from here....I'm actually afraid that when and if they do sell here...you won't be able to pay because of you're financial situation.....so I'd rather not line your pockets......SO PLEASE CANCEL MY ACCOUNT!!!"
Think they'll take notice???
-
Let us know when... if... they respond to that!
-
I also experienced only negative thoughts at Crestock. Ridiculous rejections, very slow sales, very slow comissions, not a reason to upload more images to them.
I don't understand their behaviour, they reject pictures as believe they sell 10 times better than Shutterstock...
Crestock = waste of time
-
I had low rejections and reasonable sales but wont upload again until they increase the 25 cents subs commission. There are lots of sites paying much more than that and I will work with them.
-
Agreed. As most sales seemed to be 25c sub sales and not many at that I stopped uploading after I got less than a 10th of my portfolio up there.
wont upload again until they increase the 25 cents subs commission. There are lots of sites paying much more than that and I will work with them.
-
I have uploaded 13 images a long time ago and have plenty of downloads with them, but as sharpshot has said, while sales are reasonable, $0.25 are not. I am waiting for a raise which makes it reasonable to upload to them again.
-
I deleted my portfolio a long time ago, I make more in a hour on iStock than I did in a year at Crestock
As the saying goes...they talk the talk but can't walk the walk.
-
Let us know when... if... they respond to that!
Woke up to find an e-mail from them requesting conformation of cancellation of my account....not even a sorry to see you go...or I wish we could have worked this out....nothing,,,which is fine. I e-mailed them back so we'll see how long it actually take to get my portfolio off there. I did notice they have deleted that post on their forum blasting their management.
Any of you out there that use Crestock I would be very wary with the way they do business...I would really be afraid of their financial standing with the rejection rate they have...some of the ones that are on line I really wonder how they got there.
Good luck to the rest of ya...I'm going to keep with the good ol tryed and true....istock, shutterstock, big stock, fotolia and 123RF.
-
They seem to accept everything I upload, but sales are so low that its just not worth the effort.
-
They seem to accept everything I upload, but sales are so low that its just not worth the effort.
I've heard this from couple other people. That's interesting, really. I have flat 100% rejection rate there. And at least above 70% with all other agencies (including FT, SS, IS). Interestingly, the rejections are also ultra fast. I'm fine with whatever they do. It is their business. I just wonder why they don't make the rules public. It would save their time.
-
I have a few hundred images on Crestock at the mo, and though it's only about 30% of everything I submitted, for the most part the do seem to have selected the best quality 30%.
On the downside, the sales are dismal, I get a subscription sale or two a week (oooh 50c, almost enough for a packet of crisps), it's my last set to get uploaded, and usually only when I have a few hundred to fire and forget.
I've not used their forums though so can't comment.
-
To reply the OP, I would not know, since I left Crestock few months after joining.
I believe in working with the biggest, better, stronger, agencies. If I could, I would work with Getty, not microstock. I do microstock because I had to start photography as a new career without any customers. I will not stay in this, to get treated like a slave by people half my age, half my culture, half my technical knowledge. Crestock is run by children, therefore it was one of the first to go, for me.
-
The better question is - has anyone been paid on Crestock? I knew they had Moneybookers problems, but these guys have been trying to get payments since last year.
http://www.microstockgroup.com/crestock-com/i-think-crestock-is-refusing-to-pay-me/msg86998/?topicseen#new (http://www.microstockgroup.com/crestock-com/i-think-crestock-is-refusing-to-pay-me/msg86998/?topicseen#new)
-
Yes, I've been paid. Twice in fact, via PayPal. But like many of you, I stopped uploading over an almost perfect record of rejections. If they don't want my awful pictures, I guess I'll send them somewhere else. :'(
-
The ONLY reason I continue to upload at Crestock is that uploading is so easy. I have hit a couple payouts, sales actually are getting better.
That site really makes me angry. I stopped looking at my rejections a long time ago because they were so ridicules. I really get the vibe that they think they are something really special when they just dont have the sales to back it up.
-
Got the e-mail saying they deleted my account...I haven't been back on there to see if I can even log on yet, but I am glad it got deleted...
My biggest concern with this company...which I really wish I had researched it first before I went through all the trouble of uploading 300 images that sell at other stock sites....is their financial situation. I could see if they were a big macro site company some of the reason for rejection, but for a 25 cent site they really can't afford ro be that picky or they will go belly up. I'm really beginning to wonder if they aren't just a tax write off for some investor the way they treat their photographers. Has any one ever questioned them about their financial records???
I know I am glad I'm gone even if it was just a three or four day experience...before I join any more new ones I'm gonna do the research.....any newbies that you'd recommend anyone??
I'm already on iStock, Shutterstock, Big Stock, Fotolia, Dreamstime and just joined StockXpert, Canstockphoto, 123RF and also a Fotmind which I haven't fininshed uploading to because I can't figure out how to attach the Model Release...it seems it won't let you untill the photo has been approved..which if you didn't go back and check for approval it would be sitting there approved without a model realease attached.
Anyway I'm open for any advice about good new ones.
-
any newbies that you'd recommend anyone??
The only sites I get regular sales at that you didnt mention you sell at already are Featurepics (http://www.featurepics.com/Login/Registration.aspx?refid=7673) and Panthermedia (http://www.panthermedia.net/?aff=125295).
-
Got the e-mail saying they deleted my account...I haven't been back on there to see if I can even log on yet, but I am glad it got deleted...
My biggest concern with this company...which I really wish I had researched it first before I went through all the trouble of uploading 300 images that sell at other stock sites....is their financial situation. I could see if they were a big macro site company some of the reason for rejection, but for a 25 cent site they really can't afford ro be that picky or they will go belly up. I'm really beginning to wonder if they aren't just a tax write off for some investor the way they treat their photographers. Has any one ever questioned them about their financial records???
I know I am glad I'm gone even if it was just a three or four day experience...before I join any more new ones I'm gonna do the research.....any newbies that you'd recommend anyone??
I'm already on iStock, Shutterstock, Big Stock, Fotolia, Dreamstime and just joined StockXpert, Canstockphoto, 123RF and also a Fotmind which I haven't fininshed uploading to because I can't figure out how to attach the Model Release...it seems it won't let you untill the photo has been approved..which if you didn't go back and check for approval it would be sitting there approved without a model realease attached.
Anyway I'm open for any advice about good new ones.
There are lots of sites that sell much less than crestock, so I would be more concerned about them. I haven't uploaded anything to crestock for months but they are still in the top 10 highest earning sites. The sites that accept almost everything but don't sell anything are more likely to have financial problems.
-
One more contributor less on Crestock... Well... It is nice to hear that!
Good for you dude!
If you'd just looked forum here and what I said about Crestock, you'd know that only Hasselblad images in resolution of 39mpix are good enough for them to make you 25 cents download...
That means if you are not Logos or Andersr and like them it is waste of time joining there... And surely Logos is ok with them due to they are just one retail store extra for his images with few percent cake slice to add to his total of 600000 downloads in year ;-)
-
I am starting to get sales on Crestock.. I am starting to wonder if it is because so many photographers have canceled their accounts. ???? I am just holding out. LOL
-
I get steady, but not spectacular sales on Crestock. They are not a big seller for me, but manage to get a payout or two a month. That is enough to keep me uploading there.
I like that they have high standards. It keeps the collection tight and may pay off for them in the future.
-
I get steady, but not spectacular sales on Crestock. They are not a big seller for me, but manage to get a payout or two a month. That is enough to keep me uploading there.
I like that they have high standards. It keeps the collection tight and may pay off for them in the future.
I agree totally. I just donīt get it why they donīt have a simpler way to delete accounts. For their own sake.
Half of this forum is about deleting account at Cs...
-
The better question is - has anyone been paid on Crestock? I knew they had Moneybookers problems, but these guys have been trying to get payments since last year.
[url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/crestock-com/i-think-crestock-is-refusing-to-pay-me/msg86998/?topicseen#new[/url] ([url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/crestock-com/i-think-crestock-is-refusing-to-pay-me/msg86998/?topicseen#new[/url])
Yes, if you read to the end of that thread, everyone has gotten paid. I get a payout every month.
-
Yes, I got extremely lucky that I figured out not to bother with them anymore :-)
-
I get steady, but not spectacular sales on Crestock. They are not a big seller for me, but manage to get a payout or two a month. That is enough to keep me uploading there.
I like that they have high standards. It keeps the collection tight and may pay off for them in the future.
I agree totally. I just donīt get it why they donīt have a simpler way to delete accounts. For their own sake.
Half of this forum is about deleting account at Cs...
so that's why my earnings keep increasing ;)
-
I noticed that Crestock loves very bright images, very evenly lit, with almost unnatural look. I mean they actually look unnatural, but it's OK, because microstock photography isn't real world.
I upload there with high rejection rate, because their upload system is easy, and that is the only reason, but if sales continue this way, I will reach $100 in 50 years ;D
I am not sure about Crestock future. There are so many photographers that don't support Crestock. I think if they survive in next few years, they could build very specific and strong database that can compete with big agencies with great success.
I have to add that I like their "worst image archive" a lot! :D
-
I upload there with high rejection rate, because their upload system is easy, and that is the only reason, but if sales continue this way, I will reach $100 in 50 years ;D
Same here :) Maybe we could ask their customer support if our children and grandchildren can get payouts :D
-
US$100??? isn't their minimum payout US$50? :'(
-
I upload there with high rejection rate, because their upload system is easy, and that is the only reason, but if sales continue this way, I will reach $100 in 50 years ;D
Same here :) Maybe we could ask their customer support if our children and grandchildren can get payouts :D
That's a good one goldenangel !!!!! :D :D :D :D
Needless to say I took all my pics off of there. I thought their rejections were ridiculas and a waste of my time to upload.
-
US$100??? isn't their minimum payout US$50? :'(
You have just given me hope, Adelaide :)
-
US$100??? isn't their minimum payout US$50? :'(
Oh, I think it is $50 Adelaide, but I always count on $100
-
US$100??? isn't their minimum payout US$50? :'(
You have just given me hope, Adelaide :)
Wooooo! Then it's only 25 years until payment!
-
The better question is - has anyone been paid on Crestock? I knew they had Moneybookers problems, but these guys have been trying to get payments since last year.
[url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/crestock-com/i-think-crestock-is-refusing-to-pay-me/msg86998/?topicseen#new[/url] ([url]http://www.microstockgroup.com/crestock-com/i-think-crestock-is-refusing-to-pay-me/msg86998/?topicseen#new[/url])
Yes, if you read to the end of that thread, everyone has gotten paid. I get a payout every month.
How long does it usually take for Crestock to pay contributors? I requested a payout almost 2 weeks ago, and just tried logging on to their site to search for an answer, but it's down.
-
I had low rejections and reasonable sales but wont upload again until they increase the 25 cents subs commission. There are lots of sites paying much more than that and I will work with them.
And I am still waiting. Until they give us a raise, I would prefer the subs buyers go to shutterstock. It makes a big difference in the long term.
-
How long does it usually take for Crestock to pay contributors? I requested a payout almost 2 weeks ago, and just tried logging on to their site to search for an answer, but it's down.
The last payout I received was on 5-7 and requested on 4-23, so it took exactly two weeks. That is about normal for them.
I don't worry too much because it is such small amounts I am requesting. They are the slowest paying site I submit to.
-
Thanks, Lisa! :-)
-
They are the slowest paying site I submit to.
My latest payout on Featurepics (requested 2009/3/30) took amost a month.
-
Wooooo! Then it's only 25 years until payment!
Wrong, they are gone by then, or bought by YAY and Fotomina. Many sites (even the parking fee hosters) make a very nice income from photographers never reaching payout. Not to mention the interests and inflation.
-
Wow; you are awsome Lisafax! If I have to beat you to get something on CS, I have to say it is time for me to quit that site. I have tried tow uploads and managed a 7% acceptance rate. My last upload (6/3/09) of 25 images resulted in 2 being accepted. These 25 had good sales for the past three months on SS, DT and BS. I/m not complaining - just astounded at the technical skills they require for .25/ image. I wonder how old Ansel Adams would have made out there?
I'm out of there as of now! Just going to upload to the top sites. BS may not be in the top six, but I like them, because they got me started.
Good going Lisa! I can't immagine me ever getting two payouts in a month from any site, but it is nice to hear you better photographers are doing so well. Keep it up!
Roadrunner
-
They are the slowest paying site I submit to.
My latest payout on Featurepics (requested 2009/3/30) took amost a month.
Those are their terms: Payments requested one month is paid out by the end of the next.
-
My latest payout on Featurepics (requested 2009/3/30) took amost a month.
Those are their terms: Payments requested one month is paid out by the end of the next.
I didn't complain, just observe. I had the impression that before, it was faster.
-
Hi there!
So how do you delete your portfolio from Crestock?
I have an enormous amount of approved pictures there 6 in total of which I've earned a whopping 25 cents! And that's nearly a year ago.
I've sent an e-mail to their support asking them to delete me and my 6 photos from their site, but they don't reply. I'm even willing to let them keep my 25 cent. To do whatever they want with. Give to charity or buy something pretty. ;-)
I just don't want them to be able to sell anything more of mine (as if!) since I will never ever ever reach something close to a payout there. And I've never uploaded anything more either since they reject everything they see.
/P
-
Hi there!
So how do you delete your portfolio from Crestock?
I have an enormous amount of approved pictures there 6 in total of which I've earned a whopping 25 cents! And that's nearly a year ago.
I've sent an e-mail to their support asking them to delete me and my 6 photos from their site, but they don't reply. I'm even willing to let them keep my 25 cent. To do whatever they want with. Give to charity or buy something pretty. ;-)
I just don't want them to be able to sell anything more of mine (as if!) since I will never ever ever reach something close to a payout there. And I've never uploaded anything more either since they reject everything they see.
/P
Crestock is not the fastest I agree with that, but u really need to start shooting if u wanna sell. You have way to small portfolio to complain about sales. You have more kapsyler ( bottle caps) on your website actually ;)
-
Facts:
Crestock doesn't have an "office".
The few "employees" work pretty much from home.
Yet, they run a small micro agency that accepts images of a certain kind.
They pay via Paypal every time I requested a payout with a delay of 1-3 weeks.
If you upload what they want, you wouldn't face such high rejection rates. Not every agency is the same. Just because Canstock takes it doesn't mean Crestock takes it.
There is something wrong with EVERY agency that I would like to change. If you hate Crestock so much just stay away from them and don't bite the hand that feeds you.
Less competition means more sales for me...
-
MAGNUM: "Crestock is not the fastest I agree with that, but u really need to start shooting if u wanna sell. You have way to small portfolio to complain about sales. You have more kapsyler ( bottle caps) on your website actually Wink"
I know Magnum!
I'm just a wee beginner at this photobusiness. But slowly I'm going to build a portfolio that's going to be much bigger than my kapsyl-collection! Hopefully! If I ever learn how to avoing bad lighting rejections. And how to not crop my images in camera to make them nice but not sellable...
Obviously I'm quite the newbie as I don't even know how to properly copy a quote from an earlier post ;-)
-
Itīs not only the contributors that are unsatisfied. Iīm doing ok, but Iīve heard some stories.
Hereīs a post from a buyer:
"Now come on guys, we are all still waiting to recieve help to order images, I am not alone here, we cant do the simplest of things, buy your pics! Still no reply to email, my spam filter is off, and no reply to the forum either THAT I POSTED 10 DAYS AGO - PLEASE HELP WHY CANT WE BUY???? I cant even but credits now either !"
-
Crestock is one of the smallest agencies - period.
Also, there is no business in this world that has 100% satisfied customers.
And a business simply can't make everybody happy.
There will be glitches, misunderstandings and sometimes people who are impossible to deal with.
I'm a contributor. I have sales. I get paid. That's all that counts for me.
If anyone else doesn't like them, simply stay away.
Complaining about them is not going to increase your sales or what is the real reason for complaining...???
-
Complaining about them is not going to increase your sales or what is the real reason for complaining...???
To bring to their attention that things are going wrong so that they can correct them. If no-one ever complained, they would not know that anything is wrong, and nothing would ever get put right.
-
Uh huh and how did that work out for non-exclusive IS contributors...???
All the agencies already receive enough support mails with disgruntled contributors as it is. They don't even need thei forums to let them know that there is something off.
They all know where their problems or weaknesses are - it's just a question if they handle it in the company's best interest or just to make everybody happy...
-
Crestock is one of the smallest agencies - period.
Also, there is no business in this world that has 100% satisfied customers.
And a business simply can't make everybody happy.
There will be glitches, misunderstandings and sometimes people who are impossible to deal with.
I'm a contributor. I have sales. I get paid. That's all that counts for me.
If anyone else doesn't like them, simply stay away.
Complaining about them is not going to increase your sales or what is the real reason for complaining...???
What did u think a forum about microstock would be about? Holding hands and singing songs ??? If thereīs problems we talk about it...
-
They all know where their problems or weaknesses are - it's just a question if they handle it in the company's best interest or just to make everybody happy...
On the contrary, they don't always know. Or the wrong people know, and it doesn't get filtered up to the people with the will and ability to fix things. It wasn't that many months ago that Crestock's MR upload process was completely borked. I posted the problem to their forums, which, from their response and the quick repair, may just have been the first they knew they'd screwed things up.
Put another way, "Never attribute to malice what can adequately be explained by stupidity." Stupidity can be dealt with much more effectively than malice, so why assume the worst?
-
Quite funny actually...
However, I'm just tired of people complaining about this topic now for what? 2 years? 3 years? It's just getting very boring.
I wonder how a forum would look like if it only consisted of threads about how many problems each site has instead of discussing constructive issues...
Furthermore, it's also quite useless when people join the discussion and bash agencies who believe to be able to make a serious judgment with a portfolio of less than 200 or 300 images.
It's just my opinion: Upload 1000 images (no wait - get 1000 images APPROVED) minimum to any given site, then make a judgment 6-9 months later. You will see how much more constructive the discussions will be. It just appears that some people believe that microstock is like printing money.
"Oh yeah, I have 78 images on Shutterstock and I have at least 2 sales day. I only have 23 images on Crestock and only had one sale in the last 4 months - they are not worth the time. I'm also going to upload to Getty so I can make a lot more money because Crestock's 20 cents per download is an insult to my great artistic talent. And how dare Istock not to accept my awesome images? All my friends tell me how great my images are and I even had one of my images published by my local newspaper. They didn't pay me but that's ok because they put my name under the image together with my web site on Geocities.
Get my point?
-
... It wasn't that many months ago that Crestock's MR upload process was completely borked. I posted the problem to their forums, which, from their response and the quick repair, may just have been the first they knew they'd screwed things up.
I'm sorry, how many years of complaining did it take to get that fixed? Sure you made them aware AND surely they HAD to take care of it took keep uploads coming.
What do you expect them to do when they don't accept all your images or have "low sales" in your opinion? That was my point.
Technical issues have always been dealt with at Crestock with high priority.
Now don't get the term "high priority" confused as I mentioned before they don't really even have a proper office. They call each other on the cell or text each other in order to reach the programmer etc. So it takes time.
Crestock simply can't be compared to any bigger microstock company. They are small and they have their own little market. That's all to it.
-
Get my point?
No. If you don't like to read complaints or remarks about sites, then just don't read them. If you don't like sometimes controversial forum exhanges, then just leave and go read some forum about the art of balloonery. ;)
-
Get my point?
No. If you don't like to read complaints or remarks about sites, then just don't read them. If you don't like sometimes controversial forum exhanges, then just leave and go read some forum about the art of balloonery. ;)
Awww, there he is again...
Yeah, keep complaining - it will definitely increase this forums value!
Btw, define "ballonery" - I have no idea what you mean.
-
Quite funny actually...
However, I'm just tired of people complaining about this topic now for what? 2 years? 3 years? It's just getting very boring.
I wonder how a forum would look like if it only consisted of threads about how many problems each site has instead of discussing constructive issues...
Furthermore, it's also quite useless when people join the discussion and bash agencies who believe to be able to make a serious judgment with a portfolio of less than 200 or 300 images.
It's just my opinion: Upload 1000 images (no wait - get 1000 images APPROVED) minimum to any given site, then make a judgment 6-9 months later. You will see how much more constructive the discussions will be. It just appears that some people believe that microstock is like printing money.
"Oh yeah, I have 78 images on Shutterstock and I have at least 2 sales day. I only have 23 images on Crestock and only had one sale in the last 4 months - they are not worth the time. I'm also going to upload to Getty so I can make a lot more money because Crestock's 20 cents per download is an insult to my great artistic talent. And how dare Istock not to accept my awesome images? All my friends tell me how great my images are and I even had one of my images published by my local newspaper. They didn't pay me but that's ok because they put my name under the image together with my web site on Geocities.
Get my point?
I should have at least 20000 images to get 1000 approved,the rejection reasons usually are so unbelievable !
-
Until now Crestock is a total waste of time! :-[
Few images sell with a 1129 portfolio's images... reviewer are too strict, more ( and I mean more! ) than IS, I'm going to continue to upload only because I use ftp and no need to additional work.
Last month 12$ of earning...
-
You have now sold 100 images at Crestock.com.
As a highly valued Crestock contributor, your commission has been raised to 30% on all credit sales from now on.
Please note that for subscription purchases, the commission remains unchanged.
We look forward to continuing to work with you!
Best regards,
The Crestock Team
Do they? :-\
-
You have now sold 100 images at Crestock.com.
As a highly valued Crestock contributor, your commission has been raised to 30% on all credit sales from now on.
Please note that for subscription purchases, the commission remains unchanged.
We look forward to continuing to work with you!
Best regards,
The Crestock Team
Do they? :-\
I'm wondering if that's 100 unique images or 100 sales regardless of image... ::)
-
Since nearly all sales at Crestock are subs, raising the credit commission doesn't do much good.
Also, my sales there in July were the worst of the year and practically back to the first couple of months I was on the site. Not a good trend.
-
I'm wondering if that's 100 unique images or 100 sales regardless of image... ::)
100 sales. I don't even have 100 images there (it's 60-70).
-
I don't think my three images are going to bring in much...hahahaha