Author Topic: Same image purchased on same day but by different agencies. (Read 6584 times)

vrjoyner · « **on:** October 16, 2009, 10:00 »

What do you think is the situation when the same image is purchased on the same day, same license, size, etc., multiple times but by different agencies? This has happened to me several times and it makes me curious. Are the purchases from the same buyer who is supporting the different agencies? What's your opinion on this?

I forgot to mention, the images in question are old images, way back in the closet - not new or recent images added to my portfolio.

gostwyck · « **Reply #1 on:** October 16, 2009, 10:07 »

No, it happens all the time and it's just coincidence __ even with obscure stuff. Some instances may be related to a breaking news story or article or seasonal trends but probably not that many.

vrjoyner · « **Reply #2 on:** October 16, 2009, 12:48 »

Found another post with same topic dated 02-16-07 "photos purchased on multiple sites" plenty of replies there.

photovan · « **Reply #3 on:** November 23, 2009, 21:46 »

I had this happen and the sales were not only to different customers but they were on different continents. It must be fairly common for it to have happened to me, as I gave up on all this a while ago and never had many sales anyway.

qwerty · « **Reply #4 on:** November 24, 2009, 01:14 »

Quote from: vrjoyner on October 16, 2009, 10:00

What do you think is the situation when the same image is purchased on the same day, same license, size, etc., multiple times but by different agencies? This has happened to me several times and it makes me curious. Are the purchases from the same buyer who is supporting the different agencies? What's your opinion on this?

I forgot to mention, the images in question are old images, way back in the closet - not new or recent images added to my portfolio.

Pure coincidence.

I don't think that there would be a single buyer in the history of microstock that would buy the same photos from different agencies to "support" them.

vrjoyner · « **Reply #5 on:** November 24, 2009, 06:42 »

I know it sounds crazy - I'm just saying - it's just a weird happening. However, I never underestimate the behavior of what people are capable of doing though!

cathyslife · « **Reply #6 on:** November 24, 2009, 08:14 »

Quote

What do you think is the situation when the same image is purchased on the same day, same license, size, etc., multiple times but by different agencies?

Coincidence. How do you know it is being purchased by different agencies? As far as I know, microstock doesn't provide the buyers names or information like that.

But...

If a contributor is non-exclusive and uploads to multiple sites, a buyer can buy a photo on one site, the same photo on another site and a third from yet another site and triple their print run etc. usage, thereby having to spend less $ than buying an EL. So if you sold the exact same image on multiple sites on the same day, that could explain it.

vrjoyner · « **Reply #7 on:** November 24, 2009, 09:11 »

cclapper - thanks, your reply makes it very clear to me, it makes logical sense.

I find it hard to believe that an old, "way in the back of the closet" image can be purchased by different people on the same day. To me, that's not a coincidence.

So in order to not purchase an EL, the purchaser buys the same image but through different agencies.

To save dollars, the be all and the end all to human existence. To save dollars, sometimes at the expense of someone else.

P.S.
What I meant by different agencies is . . . same image purchased on same day but through the different agencies being BigStock, iStockphoto, Fotolia, Shutterstock, etc.

dirkr · « **Reply #8 on:** November 24, 2009, 10:08 »

Could it be something else?
With micro prices customers may value their time in searching and selecting the right pictures a lot higher than the actual price of the pictures.
So maybe if a customer is working on a project he just sends an intern (or even multiple persons) to download suitable material from different agencies - and ends up downloading the same file from different agencies without knowing.
The real decision on what image to use is made later.

I had the same happening to me (same file downloaded from different agencies on the same day) with files that are nowhere near regular sellers. A bit too much to regard it as pure coincidence. And it even happened across micro- and midstock-agencies, the latter of which does not impose any limitations on print runs (so that argument would not apply in that case)...

Agnesh · « **Reply #9 on:** November 26, 2009, 09:21 »

Quote from: dirkr on November 24, 2009, 10:08

Could it be something else?
With micro prices customers may value their time in searching and selecting the right pictures a lot higher than the actual price of the pictures.
So maybe if a customer is working on a project he just sends an intern (or even multiple persons) to download suitable material from different agencies - and ends up downloading the same file from different agencies without knowing.

It seems to me this is the most realistic variant. If you have the same names, keywords and description its no wonder for the same searches at different sites they'll have the same - yours - pictures. So during the mass action like collecting pictures for the subscription limits your works are in the pack

cidepix · « **Reply #10 on:** November 26, 2009, 09:41 »

Buyers don't support sites, they buy images because either they need them right away or they think they may need them in the future.

Btw the same images selling on different agencies is normal. You have the same pictures on different agencies for this reason right? I mean that's your intention, to sell, I guess

This thing happens multiple times a day, everyday. Including low selling weekends.

dirkr · « **Reply #11 on:** November 26, 2009, 11:45 »

Quote from: cidepix on November 26, 2009, 09:41

Btw the same images selling on different agencies is normal. You have the same pictures on different agencies for this reason right?

It sure is normal. But when it happens with low sellers that sell only a few times a year over all agencies combined, and then such a file sells on different agencies on the same day, that smells like something else but just coincidence...