So much for all that talk of "family owned" a while back as some sort of guarantee against nasty things.

"Our core values haven�t changed and they never will and 3D Systems is one of those rare groups of people that have the same exact philosophy as us so it�s the perfect marriage. Keep in mind that we were a privately owned company and wouldn�t have made this move if it wasn�t the right thing to do. We chose to do this to improve and grow The3dStudio.com!"

Sounds like iStock & Getty .

Lisa

With the change in ownership; will you allow your contributors that have signed up as MLP member to change that status.  I am not interested in continuing my MLP status with the new ownership.

Do you have ITIN? Have you ever requested a payment? 3D Studio is the only agency following the taxes rules, all other agencies are wrong and stepping away of their obligations!

Now it sounds exactly like IS and Getty .  Money to expand, etc.  Bruce stuck around for a while too.  Will you be distributing some of the sales proceeds (how much, btw?) to the contributors of the site, without whom there'd be no site?

Oh, I'm not annoyed by anyone here. But I have to chuckle, Warren, at your choice of words. My kids call me "the dream crusher" so maybe Sean and I have something in common. 

Obviously I am not going to share financial or other stats, but I will say we received an offer and accepted it and we are happy. And we are all very excited to be part of the 3D Systems family and to have their support going forward--and I am not talking monetary support but all the expertise, etc. that we have been lacking.

Since The3dStudio.com pays some of the highest royalties around (base 60%, no minimum payout, etc.) and we have introduced various programs to increase sellers' earnings, I would say we have always been pretty generous with our sellers and we have �shared the wealth�. And we have tried to always treat them with respect. From what I�ve read about some stock photo agencies and from what I know of some of our 3D competitors, that�s not always the case.

Sean, I don't think you can say that without sellers there would not be a site--without buyers there would be no need for sellers, and there would be no site!  We have always tried for a win-win-win situation. I chose my "Gold Guys" avatar specifically because I think it represents what we have been working to build: T3DS bringing buyer and seller together for mutual benefit.

We know many people are rooting for us to succeed because they like the royalty percentage we pay and they like how we do business and how we treat them. In turn, we are thrilled by every sale made by one of our members, even a $2 photo. Not because of the commission we will get, but because we do feel they are part of our family so we care about them.

Matt started The3dStudio in 1996 as a hobby site with free models and didn't intend for it to be a business at all. Eventually, in response to requests from others who were sharing models but wanted to sell, he started letting them offer priced models. Years later it grew to the point where he made it a full time business for himself and still later he brought the rest of us in.

When Matt began to treat T3DS as a business, he decided the top priority was offering superlative customer service. I personally think the way we do things and what the business has grown into are what drew the attention of 3D Systems. Two top priorities stated on the back of their business card are �improve customer�s bottom line� and �ensure customer�s success�. At T3DS, we certainly agree with those goals; we have always considered both our buyers and sellers to be �customers�.

You all know that we are still new to stock. I don�t know the history of other agencies as well as you do. I guess if someone knows in detail what went on, especially if they have been affected negatively, there would be a natural tendency to be suspicious of all agencies including us. But since we have not followed the herd into subscriptions, cutting royalties, banning people from posting on forums or blogs, not communicating with them, etc., I am not sure why someone would think we would abandon our principles now. But of course no one can tell what the future will bring for anyone or anything, especially in today�s world. So we will continue to do our best for all our buyers and sellers and eventually we�ll all see what happens.

^^ +1

Not quite as long, but the same experience. Top quality dealings from T3DS all around. Congrats on the sale and here's hoping that it benefits EVERYONE involved!

If anyone has questions about their account please contact us via our site so a support ticket will be opened.

I did contact support, got the answer I expected. No way to disable MLP even though ownership has changed; I even offered to forfeit earned royalties.  I feel this is unfair.  I signed up with a family but have now been sold to a larger group.  Who knows what this group may do; it could even be acquired by a large organization (IS, etc); I agree your "contract" (yes, I read it before I signed it) gives you the right to do as you please but I expected better from this family operation.

Lisa, I am not really upset as much as I am disappointed; I expected this to be operated more like a family business; major changes upstairs equals options for the guys at the bottom.  I consider this a major change; ownership by another is a pretty big deal and has not ended well for any stock agency.  I guess I should have given more thought to agreeing to a 5 year contract that offered nothing more than a promise for a bit more income; I did not read the fine print well enough to see that you could sell out and still hold us to a 5 yr deal; my bad.

I've uploaded the majority of my port (stock) and have had nominal sales. I get paid every month. I don't get the insane rejections as sometimes with the bigger boys. 3D (so far) has not bent its contributors (or buyers) over a chair, insulted their intelligence, or acted in any way nefarious. The future may bring some of these changes, but for the present, any who have tolerated this treatment over the last year (IS) should not be bitttcchhhing about 3D's decision. I'm personally looking forward to an upstart site creating a little competition while paying me (us) fairly for my (our) work...AND have had 2 clients purchase from them, not much but a start.
Best of luck!

I find it quite an overstatement (but it does get your attention) to call a flap over a sale that had to be cancelled because the product was not as described a "nightmare". Cancer, losing your job, death in the family--those or other serious things would be nightmares in my world.

Naturally there is a lot more to what really happened than what the disgruntled seller and an ungrateful former family member said, which I'm sure most people realize. Especially anyone who has been part of family business! Too bad Paul Harvey isn't around to tell "the rest of the story"!

At The3dStudio.com we do our best to provide personal customer service and answers to support tickets. But now and then the truth is just not what someone wants to hear.

FUN

Okay then, I want to remove all of my photos.  What's with the 5 year hold?  I am not an American, the rules changed from when I uploaded and I will not conform to these rules.  I only have 43 files and no sales since 2010 so I don't believe you will miss me.  How do I get my photos off your site?