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Author Topic: BigStock Raises Payout To $50  (Read 12631 times)

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« on: August 19, 2009, 14:50 »
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Iv'e just learned that BigStock has raised their payout to $50.
Well, at the moment that is a bit of a backstep for me as my sales there are not all that great.
What do you think?
« Last Edit: August 19, 2009, 15:24 by takestock »


« Reply #1 on: August 19, 2009, 14:59 »
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This is not good news, since they are slow sellers.

« Reply #2 on: August 19, 2009, 15:00 »
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I'm not thrilled, although it's less of a kick in the teeth than other sites' reduced commissions.  (You know who you are.)  It means I'll go from monthly payouts there to bimonthly; annoying but hardly the end of the world.  And I do understand the effect on their expenses of reducing the number of payments.  Last time I checked, PayPal charges businesses $1 for each payment sent via Mass Pay.  That has to add up.

dbvirago

« Reply #3 on: August 19, 2009, 15:05 »
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Looking back at my payment history, I haven't asked for anything less than $50 since January 07. I guess at some point, I thought it was $50 and stuck with that.

m@m

« Reply #4 on: August 19, 2009, 15:41 »
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Looking back at my payment history, I haven't asked for anything less than $50 since January 07. I guess at some point, I thought it was $50 and stuck with that.

LOL...me too!  ;D

« Reply #5 on: August 19, 2009, 15:56 »
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(Sniff) It was good while it lasted.

« Reply #6 on: August 19, 2009, 16:21 »
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I thought the payout has always been $50 so I'm not too depressed. My current total is $45 so it'll still be every two months or so for payouts for me. I think that Veer will soon supersede BS in sales for my images.

« Reply #7 on: August 19, 2009, 16:27 »
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I don't mind if they raise it to $100 as long as they improve sales.  Most sites are doing well but BigStock is in a bit of a rut.

« Reply #8 on: August 19, 2009, 17:06 »
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What bothers me about this change is having no suitable notification of the limit raise. The notice is buried in the "Alert" tab with nothing signifying that a new message is in there. The prior alert in that tab was from back in May. You'd think they'd at least send out an email or put a flag on the site so you'd go to the Alert tab.

The explanation there is a reasonable one. Too bad they weren't more up-front with it.

« Reply #9 on: August 19, 2009, 18:11 »
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That's a shame as I'm close to $30. After an improvement in sales in May and June, BigStock is very quiet for me now so I may have to wait for a while longer for a payout.

« Reply #10 on: August 19, 2009, 18:12 »
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I just checked my balance there and saw this:

Quote
**A minimum commissions earned required for payout is $30.00 to receive payment by Paypal or MoneyBookers and $50.00 to receive payment by US check.

Unless I'm missing something, it looks like business as usual.

« Reply #11 on: August 19, 2009, 18:27 »
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They just haven't updated that page yet.  Click here.

« Reply #12 on: August 19, 2009, 19:08 »
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Rats!  And I just hit $30 the other day...and with the "7 day grace period" I'm gonna have to wait a bit longer before I hit the payout button.  :(

« Reply #13 on: August 20, 2009, 02:37 »
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Looking back at my payment history, I haven't asked for anything less than $50 since January 07. I guess at some point, I thought it was $50 and stuck with that.

LOL...me too!  ;D

ditto

« Reply #14 on: August 20, 2009, 02:50 »
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No excuse with the technology out there, paypal are releasing a micropayments API later this year, there are now sites that pay at month end no matter what the balance.

It could be that they have many dormant accounts that are slowly reaching the payment point and this is just a way to hold on to the revenue longer, as it will be earning interest, it should be accured ready for payout, but my understanding is that some companies will use it as working capital.

On the positive side I had a newsletter from the3dStudio just yesterday stating that they are scrapping the payout limit and as I have a few dollars already in my account with them, it is good news but in the current economy it is not good when other businesses are holding your payments.

David  ;)

« Reply #15 on: August 20, 2009, 05:39 »
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I normally cash out at $30.

I am over the threshold and 7 day grace period has passed. I also saw the alert, dated 19th August, stating that they would be raising the threshold NEXT WEEK.

So, quick as a flash, I decided to cash in my earnings before the threshold rise NEXT WEEK, only to be told I have not got enough in there.

Looks like they have actually implemented the raise NOW, rather than the next week in the message.

naughty naughty Bigstockphoto, and shame on you.

lisafx

« Reply #16 on: August 20, 2009, 09:16 »
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Looking back at my payment history, I haven't asked for anything less than $50 since January 07. I guess at some point, I thought it was $50 and stuck with that.


LOL...me too!  ;D

ditto

Me too.  I never requested less than $50, even in the beginning. 


« Reply #17 on: August 20, 2009, 09:20 »
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I can't believe anyone is this concerned over a few bucks.  You'll get the money, but it will just take a bit longer.  If your argument that it will take you forever to get there, you should reevaluate whether the return from submitting to BigStock -- even microstock in general -- is worth your time and energy.

« Reply #18 on: August 20, 2009, 09:26 »
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Not concerned, annoyed.  BigStock is a relatively weak earner at #6 for the year, but their low minimum meant I was getting a monthly payout on a regular basis.  Now it'll be every two months.  Me, I don't like to wait.

« Reply #19 on: August 20, 2009, 09:32 »
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I can't believe anyone is this concerned over a few bucks.  You'll get the money, but it will just take a bit longer.  If your argument that it will take you forever to get there, you should reevaluate whether the return from submitting to BigStock -- even microstock in general -- is worth your time and energy.

Well as we say in the UK, I am skint at the moment, every penny counts and I am fed up to the back teeth with every company under the sun from ebay to Dreamstime trying every trick in the book they can to hang onto our hard earned pennies.

I would rather that 'few bucks' which belong to me, was earning some pithy interest in MY bank account, or being spent on my bills, than be used by a company who haven't the decency to get it right when they decide to move the goalposts.

didn't anyone tell you there is a recession on?

« Reply #20 on: August 20, 2009, 10:21 »
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Is it not another example where the Agency have changed the T&C's without any consultation, and yes the contributors agreed to the T&C's, but a little respect and communication when changing how you pay someone would be a good thing, otherwise it just looks like they can just do what they want, and do not care about the suppliers of the assets they do not own but trade.

David.

WarrenPrice

« Reply #21 on: August 20, 2009, 12:52 »
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I can't believe anyone is this concerned over a few bucks.  You'll get the money, but it will just take a bit longer.  If your argument that it will take you forever to get there, you should reevaluate whether the return from submitting to BigStock -- even microstock in general -- is worth your time and energy.

Really?  Isn't it the same few bucks  that concerns BigStock?  If they are concerned, why shouldn't I be?  It has taken more than a year to accumulate $10 on that site.  They just raised my payout from three years to five.  Do you think BigStock would be concerned if their buyers paid on the same schedule?


« Reply #22 on: August 20, 2009, 13:24 »
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I think BigStock -- and every other microstock agency -- thinks the same way when they institute these changes.  They know some people will get mad, but those who get the angriest tend to be those with the lowest sales.  Someone said this difference amounts to a wait of five years for a payout vs. the current three years?  If you're so traumatized by this, you could stop contributing, and it wouldn't bother them.  But if say, Yuri, got mad and yanked his portfolio, an agency would be sure to notice.  But that's the thing in a change like this... Yuri's not likely to care because he's likely to get a payment every week and a half as opposed to every week.  His total revenue won't change (aside from the theoretical few pennies he could have earned in interest during that period.)   I'm still a beginner in this, and I'm not crazy about the change but I know I have the option to just stop contributing, wait till my next payout (currently getting one every two to three months) and delete my portfolio.  But it's my goal to be more like Yuri and less like someone getting a payout every five years, so I'm going to keep my eyes on the prize and keep uploading.

« Reply #23 on: August 20, 2009, 13:59 »
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I think BigStock -- and every other microstock agency -- thinks the same way when they institute these changes.  They know some people will get mad, but those who get the angriest tend to be those with the lowest sales.  
<...
>...

That is to simplistic a view, so lets be cynical and look at it another way with a Hypothetical Scenario:
"A business decision to raise or hold onto working capital"

You have a microstock business and have been trading for a while, and you have many hundreds of contributors who signed on when you first launched a few years ago and just stopped uploading, these photographers sales have slowly been creeping closer and closer to the pay-out mark, as your website has increased your market share it has become more likely that the photographers you expected never to make a payout may reach a payment level.

Now you are worried and looking at paying out a lot of money to photographers that are not active, you decide to raise the payout level and delay or negate this payout, the contributors that are no longer active are not going to know, some that are active will shout a bit but they are only a small part of the potential payout.

The reason that you first set the payout level was when you started your business, it was nothing to do with the cost of paying the photographers, the reason was a real cynical choice, as knowing that in your business plan you expected that 75% of your photographers to never make a payout, so you could factor this revenue into your working capital, this working capital is now coming under threat, and to raise the capital needed to cover this you cannot increase prices or cut commissions.

You have more than covered yourself in the T&C's and you raise the payment level, this is legal so you are not worried, it may not be ethical but who really cares a few photographers that will just *sigh* and wait, the active photographers will not rock the boat, and you know that the active contributors will just keep uploading, and with falling revenue you have just increased your 'working capital' and reduced the next few payout amounts.

But this is just a Hypothetical Scenario so there is nothing for your photographers to worry about is there?

This is just a cut throat business and everyone needs to be more business minded, I spoke to an owner of a stocksite once and asked why they did not just pay out what was owed at the end of each month, and the answer was that revenue from photographers that will never make a payout is part of the business plan, and that some sites actually run just on this revenue.  

David  >:(        
« Last Edit: August 20, 2009, 14:27 by Adeptris »

« Reply #24 on: August 20, 2009, 14:12 »
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And yet another one that thought it was already 50 :)
Looking back at my payment history, I haven't asked for anything less than $50 since January 07. I guess at some point, I thought it was $50 and stuck with that.

LOL...me too!  ;D

ditto


 

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