MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => GLStock => Topic started by: jatrax on October 28, 2014, 20:49
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Just got a message from GL stating in part:
In order to better support our faithful contributor base and maximize your earnings, we will be suspending all uploading until further notice. With over 60,000+ new images uploaded per month, we are taking in more content than we can sell and that is hurting everyone, especially you. This strategy will allow us to focus on selling the quality content you have already provided us.
Anyone else get this? or is it just for the contributors they don't want anymore?
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Yes i also just read this. Very strange to stop taking uploads. I must think they are in financial trouble. Make no sense unless you want to save money by not taking new uploads. I guess this will play out one way or the other in the next few months.
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My sales actually picked up at GL this month!
Anyways, if taking a break to redirect efforts (and investment) towards marketing and bringing in buyers is needed, I don't see an issue. It isn't like there is a lack of content already on site, so stopping the inflow for a little while won't hurt anything. AFAIK, the site will continue to operate as normal aside from this.
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My sales are up some there too. I don't think it is a good sign that they are suspending uploads sounds like the sort of thing that happens shortly before a business folds.
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the message goes on to say:
We want to stress that GL Stock Images is not going out of business, nor are we in financial distress. We are making a temporary adjustment that will help us become a stronger competitor in the ever changing stock photo market.
We truly appreciate your talents and your loyalty to GL, and hope that you will continue to be a contributor once uploading resumes.
The GL Team
Seems like a mature business decision.
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My sales actually picked up at GL this month!
Anyways, if taking a break to redirect efforts (and investment) towards marketing and bringing in buyers is needed, I don't see an issue. It isn't like there is a lack of content already on site, so stopping the inflow for a little while won't hurt anything. AFAIK, the site will continue to operate as normal aside from this.
Agreed, overload is killing this business so this is a good move. Might not make a difference in the end but at least they are making an effort to actually better conditions for their contributors instead of just spinning the wheel of fortuned portfolios like other agencies do.
Along with 3 other micro agencies GL is still on my upload list.
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Yes i have the message too, the nice is that i apply 1 week ago in GL and my first 20 pics still in pending, lol nice choice to go in GL now :P :P :P :P :P :P :P
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Well was short 20 images to make it to 700 so I uploaded 20 this morning.
And the uploader still works.
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I will continue to support GL. I guess it really doesn't bother me if I can't upload since very little sells anyway. I would rather them get their operational druthers in sync with customers and wait a while than keep uploading if their internal model isn't attracting customers.
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Yeah, this is very disappointing. I don't make a lot (got some sales recently that got me closer to a payout). But I like their fair trade pricing/commissions and seamless submission process. Their interface is real clean too. I hope they can fulfill their goals and open up the doors again.
Strangely, I can still access their FTP. Maybe I'll keep submitting until they turn it off 8)
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I see no reason to delete anything - although I had been thinking about a catch-up upload to freshen up what I have there, but I guess I'll wait a bit :)
They've been an honest agency - if they can figure out how to generate more sales, that'd be great.
I didn't get any e-mail from them (the message is on the site, which I looked at after seeing this thread) - I hope they email contributors when uploading is turned back on.
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Check the "Messages" section in your dashboard at the site. You'll probably see it there.
I see no reason to delete anything - although I had been thinking about a catch-up upload to freshen up what I have there, but I guess I'll wait a bit :)
They've been an honest agency - if they can figure out how to generate more sales, that'd be great.
I didn't get any e-mail from them (the message is on the site, which I looked at after seeing this thread) - I hope they email contributors when uploading is turned back on.
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a message received now :-[
New Message from GL Stock Images
Your GL Application
We regret to inform you that GL has suspended the acceptance of new contributors at this time. We are sorry for the inconvenience this may have caused you. We have safely removed your submissions and will notify you when we resume accepting applications.
Thank you.
Kelly
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Well I hope they do sort things out I'd joined them about 6 weeks ago and had two sales in the first month and those sales were better than a lot of agencies I'd been with a lot longer with larger portfolios :)
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The past 4 months have seen 0 sales, so I suspect they ARE in some sort of trouble.
Delivering new and fresh content is important, and makes customers keep coming back for more. Letting your collection grow old and outdated doesn't seem to be a good way to maximize profits. Hope it won't take too long.
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The past 4 months have seen 0 sales, so I suspect they ARE in some sort of trouble.
Delivering new and fresh content is important, and makes customers keep coming back for more. Letting your collection grow old and outdated doesn't seem to be a good way to maximize profits. Hope it won't take too long.
Fresh content is a must to survive this industry. I don't think GL wants to be the next stock image site with old, leftover graphics! Leftover graphics is kind of bad but old leftover graphics!!!
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this has the potential to be a good news and maybe it will start a domino effect.
however, if oversaturation is the issue they should remove from sale all the non-selling images, say 50% of their archive rather than stopping uploads.
stopping uploads may indeed be an act of desperation as they can't sustain the cost for inspectors and server load.
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stopping uploads may indeed be an act of desperation as they can't sustain the cost for inspectors and server load.
Yes, I view this action the same way. Once a company can't afford to pay inspectors it's a matter of time before they go belly up.
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stopping uploads may indeed be an act of desperation as they can't sustain the cost for inspectors and server load.
Yes, I view this action the same way. Once a company can't afford to pay inspectors it's a matter of time before they go belly up.
I wouldn't be too quick to assume the worst. If Kelly says that GL is not in financial trouble I believe her. I know that she is very picky about hiring reviewers and making sure that the GL reviewing system is fair for contributors and provides a good collection for buyers. My guess is that reviewing is the issue and not finances.
Anyway, I have enough there to request a payout but I'm in no hurry to do so. I'm pretty sure Kelly is not going to stiff me, she has been very honest with me in the past.
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stopping uploads may indeed be an act of desperation as they can't sustain the cost for inspectors and server load.
Yes, I view this action the same way. Once a company can't afford to pay inspectors it's a matter of time before they go belly up.
I wouldn't be too quick to assume the worst. If Kelly says that GL is not in financial trouble I believe her. I know that she is very picky about hiring reviewers and making sure that the GL reviewing system is fair for contributors and provides a good collection for buyers. My guess is that reviewing is the issue and not finances.
Anyway, I have enough there to request a payout but I'm in no hurry to do so. I'm pretty sure Kelly is not going to stiff me, she has been very honest with me in the past.
You seem to feel you know Kelly pretty well, but somehow don't know he's a man.
FWIW, I have a lot of respect for Kelly too, and never suggested HE would stiff any one. But even ethical decent people run into financial troubles. In a cutthroat busuness like stock has become, it is even more likely that the fair trade sites will struggle to keep afloat.
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hahaha considering the company name is about "leftovers" we shouldn't be surprised they aren't exactly getting rich with that ....
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stopping uploads may indeed be an act of desperation as they can't sustain the cost for inspectors and server load.
Yes, I view this action the same way. Once a company can't afford to pay inspectors it's a matter of time before they go belly up.
I wouldn't be too quick to assume the worst. If Kelly says that GL is not in financial trouble I believe her. I know that she is very picky about hiring reviewers and making sure that the GL reviewing system is fair for contributors and provides a good collection for buyers. My guess is that reviewing is the issue and not finances.
Anyway, I have enough there to request a payout but I'm in no hurry to do so. I'm pretty sure Kelly is not going to stiff me, she has been very honest with me in the past.
You seem to feel you know Kelly pretty well, but somehow don't know he's a man.
FWIW, I have a lot of respect for Kelly too, and never suggested HE would stiff any one. But even ethical decent people run into financial troubles. In a cutthroat busuness like stock has become, it is even more likely that the fair trade sites will struggle to keep afloat.
And what makes you think she is a he? :o
I can assure you Kelly is a female.
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Numerous online interections back and forth over the years. If Kelly is female she has a very masculine writing style. Or perhaps its down to my innate sexism. ;)
My bad if I got that one wrong.
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You seem to feel you know Kelly pretty well, but somehow don't know he's a man.
FWIW, I have a lot of respect for Kelly too, and never suggested HE would stiff any one. But even ethical decent people run into financial troubles. In a cutthroat busuness like stock has become, it is even more likely that the fair trade sites will struggle to keep afloat.
Lol, maybe you're thinking of Kelly Thompson? GL Kelly is definitely of the fairer sex.
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Kelly Jay is female...
(http://www.kansasalumnimagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/6.13_prof_kelly_jay.jpg)
Source: Kansas Alumni Magazine - http://www.kansasalumnimagazine.com/?p=3235 (http://www.kansasalumnimagazine.com/?p=3235)
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You seem to feel you know Kelly pretty well, but somehow don't know he's a man.
FWIW, I have a lot of respect for Kelly too, and never suggested HE would stiff any one. But even ethical decent people run into financial troubles. In a cutthroat busuness like stock has become, it is even more likely that the fair trade sites will struggle to keep afloat.
Lol, maybe you're thinking of Kelly Thompson? GL Kelly is definitely of the fairer sex.
Might be where the confusion came in. Androgynous names and all. But I definitely never thought Kelly at GL was an Eh_hole, unlike Kelly Thompson.
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I guess I keep checking into this site to read strings like this one - never a boring day on MSG for sure! :)
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this has the potential to be a good news and maybe it will start a domino effect.
however, if oversaturation is the issue they should remove from sale all the non-selling images, say 50% of their archive rather than stopping uploads.
stopping uploads may indeed be an act of desperation as they can't sustain the cost for inspectors and server load.
Customers want new, fresh images, and a vast collection to choose from. Reducing your collection by 50% is a sure-fire way to drive customers away. Besides, non-selling images are not necessarily of low quality.
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hahaha considering the company name is about "leftovers" we shouldn't be surprised they aren't exactly getting rich with that ....
It was a horrible brand name, but they changed their name to a more professional souding GL Stock (why they decided to keep the GL abbreviation is beyond me, though).
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Is any really surprised if the GL ships sinks? Just another company that was wiped out by the other more powerful players...
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So is GL completely dead in the water now? They haven't updated their blog, facebook or any other online presence since they stopped taking uploads ???
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Seems that way to me - no sales since then either
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Seems that way to me - no sales since then either
Yea, same here. I had high hopes for GL. I'm still with them but haven't had a sale in months. If/when they reactivate I would have a few hundred images to upload but doubt that would make any difference. I hope they survive and get some traction. They are a FAR MORE FAIR TRADE agency than most other micros.
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I had a sale in January so they're still active in some sense.
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I had two sales on GL last week; however, those were the first in a month or two. I'm less than a dollar away from payout. Once I reach that (if ever) I need to decide whether or not to stay with them. Doesn't cost anything to just leave images there, but if sales only come through once every few months, it could take years to ever see another payout. And the way things have been going there's no assurance GL could last that long. Without the ability to upload fresh images, it's almost guaranteed to stagnate.
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Are uploads still suspended here? I have had sales each month up to May and I have checked messages on site but cannot find anything stating uploads are open again
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Still suspended as far as I know. What are sales?
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I've made about 60$ there so far this year. The only reason I even uploaded there is because it is the easiest upload anywhere for model released images.