MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: brm1949 on February 11, 2011, 17:01
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I was sent this site mail on istock. Is this something I should look into. I never had this kind of request before and don't know how to approach this. Looking for some guidance from those of you are have done this before. Thanks In advance for any advice. Below is the site mail:
Do you work exclusively through istockphoto? Our company works with hunting clubs and booking agents for various services. We do offer creative services such as printed materials, website design, etc. It might be to our mutual benefit if we were to setup a direct relationship for licensing your photos for our customer projects. Please feel free to call me at:
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call them!!!!
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call them!!!!
+1!!!!
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If you do intend to take any action then the last thing you want to do is go public with such a message on a forum like this.
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don't feed the parasites at IS, contact them
if that's your niche, it could be very beneficial
good luck!
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it is a good sign that you're being noticed within your niche. personally, i would explore the idea of a direct business relationship with them.
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Call them!
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That's a little odd to sound like it's genuine.
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I wouldnt doubt more than 2 seconds... call them!!!
If you feel its legit after the call, more $$$'s for you, less for the rip-offs at istock!
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your istock link is broken.. already workin with them? :P
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No, I changed my login from brm1949 to Lightwriter1949 and haven't changed it here yet.
I tried finding this person on istockcharts and he doesn't show up, although on my site mail it came back that they have been with istock since 2007.
the name is bluewing. I think I'll just let this pass. Doesn't seem legit.
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I was sent this site mail on istock. Is this something I should look into. I never had this kind of request before and don't know how to approach this. Looking for some guidance from those of you are have done this before. Thanks In advance for any advice. Below is the site mail:
Do you work exclusively through istockphoto? Our company works with hunting clubs and booking agents for various services. We do offer creative services such as printed materials, website design, etc. It might be to our mutual benefit if we were to setup a direct relationship for licensing your photos for our customer projects. Please feel free to call me at:
Hi brm1949,
I have been asked a few times to license a photo directly to a customer, my experience: they expect you to sell even cheaper than the agency. But call them anyway and see what they are offering.
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No, I changed my login from brm1949 to Lightwriter1949 and haven't changed it here yet.
I tried finding this person on istockcharts and he doesn't show up, although on my site mail it came back that they have been with istock since 2007.
the name is bluewing. I think I'll just let this pass. Doesn't seem legit.
It's your call, but I suspect you are making a mistake. A good friend of mine, an artist and nature photographer, used to do a lot of work for a club of big game hunters. Those people have a great deal of money to spend on their sport/hobby, and they don't care very much what anything costs.
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You're not exclusive, so it can't hurt to investigate. Just be cautious and don't give them freebies - if they want to evaluate quality they can license one photo from one of the agencies and see.
What could go wrong? You would be on the hook to deal with any license violations (and you should make sure they get a license so it's clear what they may and may not do with any images they pay you for). If they start selling posters of your images and the license didn't cover that and they won't pay, it's just you and them to sort things out.
I'd want to be pretty certain they were who they said they were so you didn't have to worry that someone is uploading your images for free or trying to resell them. They can't pay you once and then "share" what they bought with every other club they know.
Assuming they're legit, the volume of business looks reasonable and they're not too much trouble for you to manage (some clients just take more of your time than their business brings in :)) then why not go for it?
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I also find a little odd...
but who knows.
These days I'm triple careful.
Monica
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part of the advantage of using a stock agency is no client contact; no request for special size images or special dpi, etc. They get what is offered. You really want to deal direct for a few dollars more and respond to the volume of emails, send out invoices, wait for payment that may never arrive, and all the other hassels associated with dealing direct. When I deal direct, it is for significant more money, not a few dollars more.
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Smells like a scam to me. If I were to receive that message, I'd certainly approach it with a healthy skepticism. I'd call and ask for the name of the company, ask who the principals are, and do my homework by checking them out thoroughly. If they're legit, they'll understand. If they're scammers, they'll protest and threaten to stop the deal. I wouldn't ignore the request, but I'd proceed very cautiously.
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That's a little odd to sound like it's genuine.
I agree, it has the telltale scent of a scam.