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Author Topic: Buyers Bailing on Istock  (Read 387782 times)

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ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #800 on: January 12, 2011, 16:33 »
0
Yup, I've never seen so many buyers posting with issues before. There were always complaints when prices went up, and sometimes browser issues, which were often easily solved (even if they shouldn't have needed sorting), but now the problems are more serious, more persistent and need courage with codes to get anywhere.
It's just ridiculous that the contributors are having to write code to work around the failings of the paid coders. Does no-one at HQ have a sense of embarrassment?


« Reply #801 on: January 12, 2011, 17:01 »
0

JoAnn, your "The response" link is taking me to an IS permalink page. ??

Sorry about that - I've fixed the link. I copied from the wrong place...

« Reply #802 on: January 12, 2011, 17:02 »
0

JoAnn, your "The response" link is taking me to an IS permalink page. ??

Sorry about that - I've fixed the link. I copied from the wrong place...

Thanks, I'll have a look.

lisafx

« Reply #803 on: January 12, 2011, 17:11 »
0
And here's another future Dreamstime customer posting of his problems at IS...

I posted in the keywords forum that they should be sending out e-mails with apologies and some suggested workaround for known problems to buyers to help get them through this mess. The response was that the forum thread with faceted search bugs was already there!

Aargh! I am so frustrated at the lackadaisical attitude about everything! Where is the professionalism or sense of urgency - or even compassion for the frustrated buyers?


Unreal.  Here's the text from Mediaworks:

Sorry guys.... no time to wait for whatever fix you come up with to correct what wasn't broken to begin with.
I'm off to Dreamstime with my dollars....


Does it strike anyone else as odd that buyers are able to mention the other sites they are going to by name now?  Those posts always used to be quickly expunged or edited by admins until recently.  Kind of adds to the sense that nobody's minding the store.  

« Reply #804 on: January 12, 2011, 17:22 »
0
And here's another future Dreamstime customer posting of his problems at IS...

I posted in the keywords forum that they should be sending out e-mails with apologies and some suggested workaround for known problems to buyers to help get them through this mess. The response was that the forum thread with faceted search bugs was already there!

Aargh! I am so frustrated at the lackadaisical attitude about everything! Where is the professionalism or sense of urgency - or even compassion for the frustrated buyers?


Unreal.  Here's the text from Mediaworks:

Sorry guys.... no time to wait for whatever fix you come up with to correct what wasn't broken to begin with.
I'm off to Dreamstime with my dollars....


Does it strike anyone else as odd that buyers are able to mention the other sites they are going to by name now?  Those posts always used to be quickly expunged or edited by admins until recently.  Kind of adds to the sense that nobody's minding the store.  


Yeppers, I noticed that too.

« Reply #805 on: January 12, 2011, 17:31 »
0
And here's another future Dreamstime customer posting of his problems at IS...

I posted in the keywords forum that they should be sending out e-mails with apologies and some suggested workaround for known problems to buyers to help get them through this mess. The response was that the forum thread with faceted search bugs was already there!

Aargh! I am so frustrated at the lackadaisical attitude about everything! Where is the professionalism or sense of urgency - or even compassion for the frustrated buyers?


Unreal.  Here's the text from Mediaworks:

Sorry guys.... no time to wait for whatever fix you come up with to correct what wasn't broken to begin with.
I'm off to Dreamstime with my dollars....


Does it strike anyone else as odd that buyers are able to mention the other sites they are going to by name now?  Those posts always used to be quickly expunged or edited by admins until recently.  Kind of adds to the sense that nobody's minding the store.  


Yeppers, I noticed that too.


I figured I was just reading it too quickly, but I see it is still there.  weird.. maybe no moderator caught that?

jbarber873

« Reply #806 on: January 12, 2011, 17:36 »
0
   maybe they fired Lobo ;D  ( such are the dreams of the istock contributor)

« Reply #807 on: January 12, 2011, 17:51 »
0
^
This just reinforces by suspicion that their programing has been outsourced to India.
Time zone considerations and other factors are making it impossible to react to these failures in a timely
fashion.

ETA: sorry about the formatting, that's what happens when I post from my iPhone.

That was the first thing my husband said too. And it has nothing to do with insulting Indians, he is very clear on the issue that the average Indian programmer is more intelligent and better at their job than he is. It has everything to do with communication. The responisbility gets fragmented, nobody has any overview over what should be done, or what has been done by whom. Outsourcing, whether it is to India or the next door neighboor, requires very good managing.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #808 on: January 12, 2011, 18:05 »
0
  maybe they fired Lobo ;D  ( such are the dreams of the istock contributor)

Nope - he's still posting as of four hours ago:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=291742&page=1

« Reply #809 on: January 12, 2011, 18:19 »
0
  maybe they fired Lobo ;D  ( such are the dreams of the istock contributor)

Nope - he's still posting as of four hours ago:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=291742&page=1


Yeah, but I didn't get his post, and he didn't lock the thread. Hmmm.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #810 on: January 12, 2011, 18:36 »
0
  maybe they fired Lobo ;D  ( such are the dreams of the istock contributor)

Nope - he's still posting as of four hours ago:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=291742&page=1


Yeah, but I didn't get his post, and he didn't lock the thread. Hmmm.


It looks like he moved someone over from another forum to the better place for their issue.
Here's a thread he's (politely) locked in the past half hour:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=281732&page=46#post5604882

« Reply #811 on: January 12, 2011, 18:50 »
0
It looks like he moved someone over from another forum to the better place for their issue.
Here's a thread he's (politely) locked in the past half hour:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=281732&page=46#post5604882


OK got it. Wow, that was polite.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #812 on: January 19, 2011, 09:05 »
0
Another disgruntled customer here:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=291522&page=1
Though to be fair, this morning Firefox is showing up the site and the search just fine from here.
This morning (GMT) I uploaded a pic and after I'd done the keywording and categories and hit the final button, I got a big error, but the pic went up with all its information intact anyway.

Microbius

« Reply #813 on: January 19, 2011, 09:14 »
0
Just think about the percentage we are paying these clowns to run the site and they can't even get search box to work for buyers. It would be funny if this wasn't how I made my living.

« Reply #814 on: January 19, 2011, 09:43 »
0
Just think about the percentage we are paying these clowns to run the site and they can't even get search box to work for buyers. It would be funny if this wasn't how I made my living.

It is still a bit funny though. They must be spending all their time devising ever more intricate methods to take money from the contributors and then writing the code to do so ... whilst forgetting that they're supposed to be selling our images. Here's the quote from (ex?) customer Artytype;

"Whole site is dead in OS10.5.8 and Firefox no formatting, CSS non existent. Bit of bind really when all I wanted to do was buy some images, Oh well I'm sure someone else will be just as greatful for the money."

« Reply #815 on: January 19, 2011, 10:27 »
0
A short, sharp statement as Janisjones2 exits stage-left;

"Thanks guys - I'll leave you to it and do something more productive. Good luck"

And Newkid501 is not best pleased either;

"please fix this awesome stock website...or i'll be forced to use another. i cannot search on firefox, chrome, safari, opera...

safari is no longer responding because of script on the webpage...blah blah blah

the following pages have become unresponsive. you can wait for them... blah blah blah

i really need to purchase some stock images, like yesterday. it's getting pretty annoying. thank you."
« Last Edit: January 19, 2011, 10:29 by gostwyck »

« Reply #816 on: January 19, 2011, 10:46 »
0
A short, sharp statement as Janisjones2 exits stage-left;

"Thanks guys - I'll leave you to it and do something more productive. Good luck"

And Newkid501 is not best pleased either;

"please fix this awesome stock website...or i'll be forced to use another. i cannot search on firefox, chrome, safari, opera...

safari is no longer responding because of script on the webpage...blah blah blah

the following pages have become unresponsive. you can wait for them... blah blah blah

i really need to purchase some stock images, like yesterday. it's getting pretty annoying. thank you."


But really, these constant pleas from buyers and contributors for the site to be fixed are a total waste of time and energy, I just wish everyone would leave and go buy/sell somewhere else.

« Reply #817 on: January 19, 2011, 12:14 »
0
They probably will now that IS has bumped all the E+ Medium and above prices from 5 to 15 credits and raised the credit package prices 3-5 cents/credit.

lisafx

« Reply #818 on: January 19, 2011, 13:42 »
0
Oh dear lord.  It never ends.  Gostwyck and Dgilder, would you guys mind posting links to the forum posts you referenced?  For any of us too lazy to hunt for them?  Thanks a lot!

And just to add, about that one poor guy who can't get the search box to go live, and actually took the time to WRITE THE CODE HIMSELF to fix it - OMFG!!

« Reply #819 on: January 19, 2011, 14:04 »
0
Oh dear lord.  It never ends.  Gostwyck and Dgilder, would you guys mind posting links to the forum posts you referenced?  For any of us too lazy to hunt for them?  Thanks a lot!


Here;
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=293812&page=3

Here;
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=293812&page=4

And here;
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=291522&page=1#post5652462

« Reply #820 on: January 19, 2011, 14:06 »
0
I'll put this here too, its from the other thread:

E+ price changes (based on KelvinJay's post and link):
Code: [Select]
M    15 to 20 (33% increase)
L    20 to 30 (50%)
XL   25 to 35 (40%)
XXL  30 to 40 (33%)
XXXL 35 to 50 (43%)

Wow.  Bet they finally give the E+ files the Best Match boost they had promised at the start of the program.


The minimum prices for images on Dreamstime:
Code: [Select]
ES   1
S    3
M    4
L    5
XL   6
XXL+ 7

The maximum prices for very popular images on Dreamstime:
Code: [Select]
ES   9
S    11
M    14
L    15
XL   16
XXL+ 17

So the largest size of the most popular image on Dreamstime is 3 *credits* cheaper than the Medium E+ file from iStock.  The credits on Dreamstime are also significantly cheaper (10-15%?). 

« Reply #821 on: January 19, 2011, 14:16 »
0
Also, I think its worth noting that the "from $0.95 per credit" now only applies to credit packages of 20,000.  The 10,000 credit package price went up to $1/credit:

Code: [Select]
12     $1.54
26     $1.52
50     $1.50
120    $1.46
300    $1.40 to $1.43 (+2.1%)
600    $1.33
1000   $1.20 to $1.25 (+4.2%)
2000   $1.10 to $1.13 (+2.7%)
5000   $1.00 to $1.05 (+5%)
10000  $0.95 to $1.00 (+5.3%)
20000  NEW at $0.95 (buy twice as much to get the same discount)

donding

  • Think before you speak
« Reply #822 on: January 19, 2011, 14:22 »
0
Hmmm...I wonder if the iStock/Getty crew has chosen their funeral plots yet.

« Reply #823 on: January 19, 2011, 14:26 »
0
They must have discovered that there was a customer who was buying 10,000 credit packets. It's not sustainable to have customers on the cheapest rate  ;D

Also, I think its worth noting that the "from $0.95 per credit" now only applies to credit packages of 20,000.  The 10,000 credit package price went up to $1/credit:

Code: [Select]
12     $1.54
26     $1.52
50     $1.50
120    $1.46
300    $1.40 to $1.43 (+2.1%)
600    $1.33
1000   $1.20 to $1.25 (+4.2%)
2000   $1.10 to $1.13 (+2.7%)
5000   $1.00 to $1.05 (+5%)
10000  $0.95 to $1.00 (+5.3%)
20000  NEW at $0.95 (buy twice as much to get the same discount)

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #824 on: January 19, 2011, 14:29 »
0
They must have discovered that there was a customer who was buying 10,000 credit packets. It's not sustainable to have customers on the cheapest rate  ;D

Also, I think its worth noting that the "from $0.95 per credit" now only applies to credit packages of 20,000.  The 10,000 credit package price went up to $1/credit:

Code: [Select]
12     $1.54
26     $1.52
50     $1.50
120    $1.46
300    $1.40 to $1.43 (+2.1%)
600    $1.33
1000   $1.20 to $1.25 (+4.2%)
2000   $1.10 to $1.13 (+2.7%)
5000   $1.00 to $1.05 (+5%)
10000  $0.95 to $1.00 (+5.3%)
20000  NEW at $0.95 (buy twice as much to get the same discount)
I had two ELs last week where the credits must have been around 60c.


 

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