What is the best way to actually LEAVE iStock?

I was about ready to ditch my portfolio there last year when they changed the commissions, but now December and January have seen almost NO sales so it's no longer worth it for the income side of things... Plus I realize that even though I never signed an updated contributor agreement my files are also now available on the partner sites...

Anyway, just want to know what's the best way to delete my portfolio so as not to forfeit my earnings... Is there any way to disable all files until next month when all the earnings from this month are in before deleting the postfolio and cashing out?? Otherwise, it seems like I will lose all parter program earnings for the previous month when I close the account, is this correct?

Thanks for any advice.

I think if you diable your files manually (i.e. one by one) you can leave your account open and request payout whenever you want (as long as you're over $100).

Who knows when the files will come off the partner sites. They supposedly have all the independent files on the partner sites, but I'm now up to 18 of 2500 transferred, and I believe someone else mentioned they'd been waiting many months for deleted files to be removed from partner sites. The transfer/removal process has been very buggy. In other words you may have to wait a few months for the PP files to come down and then another month to get the payments for those.

I know CR can close your account for you, but you might then have problems collecting your cash. You can always ask and then decide whether you want to trust them to follow through for you.

When I left, I started disabling files that didn't sell first and worked my way through to the best-sellers, so they remained up and selling while I was disabling. I left five images up until they announced the mandatory independents files going to the PP, then I took those last five down. My account is still open, but no images to sell. At any time you can request payout over $100, so you can time your disabling with your payout.

I actually still have a positive balance of $4.96, but I'm not too worried about it.

edit: I suspect you will have to send many emails and/or call contributor relations many times before your images actually come down from the partner site. That's just how they roll.

FYI. You'll lose your stats page when you delete your last file, so if you want or need to record any of that. You should do it before you delete your last files.

That's an excellent tip. I didn't realize they would remove that, and I didn't make any screenshots. 

Quote from: cthoman on January 16, 2012, 16:40

FYI. You'll lose your stats page when you delete your last file, so if you want or need to record any of that. You should do it before you delete your last files.

That's an excellent tip. I didn't realize they would remove that, and I didn't make any screenshots. 

Thanks for the info!  Those of us who are leaving should probably keep one lone image on IS so we can maintain access to our stats.

Quote from: ShadySue on January 16, 2012, 16:45

Lobo promised that if someone closes their account, they can claim a payout even if it's below $100.

I don't think the contract requires them to do that, and as you know the contract says something to the effect that anything outside that contract isn't binding. IOW statements in the forum are worthless.

Indeed, but me pointing it out that it was in the contract was one of my postings that led to me being banned. He was extremely unhappy about me saying that anything under $100 would be lost.

Quote from: jsnover on January 16, 2012, 16:57

Quote from: ShadySue on January 16, 2012, 16:45

Lobo promised that if someone closes their account, they can claim a payout even if it's below $100.

I don't think the contract requires them to do that, and as you know the contract says something to the effect that anything outside that contract isn't binding. IOW statements in the forum are worthless.

Indeed, but me pointing it out that it was in the contract was one of my postings that led to me being banned. He was extremely unhappy about me saying that anything under $100 would be lost.

Well, saying something true but inconvenient is the fastest way to get banned from the IS forums

Quote from: Karimala on January 16, 2012, 16:35

Recently, I deactivated about 100 images and they all came down from the partner sites within a few days

What's your approach to deactivating, are you deactivating the low sellers or bestsellers (like lagereek for instance)? It doesn't really make sense to deactivate the low sellers, if they don't sell it doesn't even matter, just a lot of work for nothing (and no "punishment" of IS)

I'm not out to punish IS...that's not my style.  I just want peace of mind.

First I removed my best collections.  Then I got rid of all the zero sellers, so I can have a better overview of my selling images and simply to prune my portfolio down to a more manageable size.  Then I deactivated any images that are special to me, because I don't want IS making anymore money off of things that are important to me.  I've also deactivated the handful of images I added the past two years, plus another handful of best sellers.  Next I'll probably get rid of those images that have only sold once and Dollar Bin files, while continuing to slowly remove best sellers.  I can't afford to remove too many best sellers at one time, so they only come down as I continue building my portfolio elsewhere.     

For me the final straw was making some of my best sellers PP and then seeing them turn up on TS the next day.  And my sales are down to nothing, since roughly the start of December.

 As others have said, I wouldn't count on receiving any balance left after closing an account.  So I'll wait for another payout - it may take a while - then disable all but 1 image.   I want to keep the account alive in case IS is sold again, or some other miracle occurs, and it all starts making sense.

Quote from: wut on January 16, 2012, 18:07

Quote from: Karimala on January 16, 2012, 16:35

Recently, I deactivated about 100 images and they all came down from the partner sites within a few days

What's your approach to deactivating, are you deactivating the low sellers or bestsellers (like lagereek for instance)? It doesn't really make sense to deactivate the low sellers, if they don't sell it doesn't even matter, just a lot of work for nothing (and no "punishment" of IS)

I'm not out to punish IS...that's not my style.  I just want peace of mind.

First I removed my best collections.  Then I got rid of all the zero sellers, so I can have a better overview of my selling images and simply to prune my portfolio down to a more manageable size.  Then I deactivated any images that are special to me, because I don't want IS making anymore money off of things that are important to me.  I've also deactivated the handful of images I added the past two years, plus another handful of best sellers.  Next I'll probably get rid of those images that have only sold once and Dollar Bin files, while continuing to slowly remove best sellers.  I can't afford to remove too many best sellers at one time, so they only come down as I continue building my portfolio elsewhere.     

The first part contradicts the last

Quote from: wut on January 16, 2012, 19:49

Quote from: Karimala on January 16, 2012, 18:32

Quote from: wut on January 16, 2012, 18:07

Quote from: Karimala on January 16, 2012, 16:35

Recently, I deactivated about 100 images and they all came down from the partner sites within a few days

What's your approach to deactivating, are you deactivating the low sellers or bestsellers (like lagereek for instance)? It doesn't really make sense to deactivate the low sellers, if they don't sell it doesn't even matter, just a lot of work for nothing (and no "punishment" of IS)

I'm not out to punish IS...that's not my style.  I just want peace of mind.

First I removed my best collections.  Then I got rid of all the zero sellers, so I can have a better overview of my selling images and simply to prune my portfolio down to a more manageable size.  Then I deactivated any images that are special to me, because I don't want IS making anymore money off of things that are important to me.  I've also deactivated the handful of images I added the past two years, plus another handful of best sellers.  Next I'll probably get rid of those images that have only sold once and Dollar Bin files, while continuing to slowly remove best sellers.  I can't afford to remove too many best sellers at one time, so they only come down as I continue building my portfolio elsewhere.     

The first part contradicts the last

My best collections aren't necessarily best sellers on IS.  Some pieces in the collections sell better than others, so removing the entire collection balances things out.

Oh I see, tnx for explaining

Quote from: Karimala on January 16, 2012, 19:20

Quote from: stockastic on January 16, 2012, 19:08

For me the final straw was making some of my best sellers PP and then seeing them turn up on TS the next day. 

When I was deactivating one of my collections, I noticed that 17 of the 20 images all stopped selling on IS in August 2010...and have been selling regularly on Thinkstock ever since.  WT* is that all about?

A new quiz showed up on the Beeb last week. I noticed in the credits that the photos used were credited only to Getty and Thinkstock: no mention of iStock (or any other).

That's not a good sign.

Here's a strategy to consider if you're planning to delete your portfolio on iStock. Pick one image that has very few views and has never sold. Delete all the most relevant keywords so it will never be found in a search and change the categories to something irrelevant. In other words, the objective is that the image will never sell because it will never be found in any meaningful search. Then leave that image up and delete all the rest. Time the mass deletion so that you have more than a $100 balance and can request a payout but don't request it until the files have been removed from Thinkstock & photos.com and they're included in your payout.

There are several advantages to doing that. You will maintain an active (but essentially dead) portfolio which you could begin using again at any time without having to reapply and re-upload when (or if) things change. You will get the money they owe you. And you will maintain your stats. You will also maintain your canister level which could be meaningful if you reactivated.

Thanks everyone for all the advice- Yes, that's what I was looking for, some way to 'deactivate' all my files until the pennies stopped trickling in next month before asking for final payout...

So um, next question: For the life of me, I can't seem to navigate the IS site well enough to find out just how to deactivate my files... friendly hint please?

Thanks again, everyone.

A new quiz showed up on the Beeb last week. I noticed in the credits that the photos used were credited only to Getty and Thinkstock: no mention of iStock (or any other).

That's because the Beeb were persuaded to subscribe to TS about the time that the PP was launched, presumably by a Getty sales rep to keep them onboard. Of course the Beeb is a public service broadcaster, not a commercial enterprise, so any old (cheap) image to illustrate a story is likely to be considered 'good enough'.

Here's a strategy to consider if you're planning to delete your portfolio on iStock. Pick one image that has very few views and has never sold. Delete all the most relevant keywords so it will never be found in a search and change the categories to something irrelevant. In other words, the objective is that the image will never sell because it will never be found in any meaningful search. Then leave that image up and delete all the rest. Time the mass deletion so that you have more than a $100 balance and can request a payout but don't request it until the files have been removed from Thinkstock & photos.com and they're included in your payout.

There are several advantages to doing that. You will maintain an active (but essentially dead) portfolio which you could begin using again at any time without having to reapply and re-upload when (or if) things change. You will get the money they owe you. And you will maintain your stats. You will also maintain your canister level which could be meaningful if you reactivated.

I deactivated all my pics but I still have an active account, can log in, can list my deactivated files and I still have a balance of around 5$. I am sure I could start uploading again (though I did not try).
I don't think you need to keep an active image.

EDIT: Uh, ok... I see if I click on an individual filename, at the bottom is the possibility to deactivate... but do I really have to do this for every file individually? Is there no where to access a list of all filenames and just check the ones I want deactivated?

Yes, individually.

^ Just for information - you do still have a bunch of links to non-existent lightboxes in your "About me" profile...

Thanks, I didn't even think about those lightboxes anymore...
If (big if) ever something changes at Istock so that I feel like contributing again, I'll clean that up.
Until then I would bet nobody will really notice...

Is there an easy way to find ones images on the Partner Sites? I have searched for my name at ThinkStock, but don't find anything. I have found a few via other keywords, but they don't even seem to have photographer credits associated with the images.

How can I be sure they are all gone if I don't even know which ones are out there?

Is there an easy way to find ones images on the Partner Sites? I have searched for my name at ThinkStock, but don't find anything. I have found a few via other keywords, but they don't even seem to have photographer credits associated with the images.

How can I be sure they are all gone if I don't even know which ones are out there?

Search for the name you use for copyright purposes on IS, and put quotes around it.

..., or do I really have to give a reason in the box for every file?? This is certainly frustrating...

You really do have to give a reason - you can paste something into each one to save time.

It is frustrating, but several other sites are similarly painful if you want to deactivate images vs. close an account completely. I guess no site wants to optimize the experience for users removing content en masse

If you are going to keep any images up, I suggest you make them photo + before you start deactivating.

For the reason I suggest something like "the new PP program", or possibly "because IS now takes up to 85% of a sale so buy my images elsewhere for less and I'll still get paid more" I also typed "lobo" as the reason for some.

It is quite painful though. I opened them all in new tabs and then deactivated one tab at a time pasting in the reason.

For the reason I suggest something like "the new PP program", or possibly "because IS now takes up to 85% of a sale so buy my images elsewhere for less and I'll still get paid more" I also typed "lobo" as the reason for some.

I wrote "because I love you". It probably never got read anyway. 

For the reason I suggest something like "the new PP program", or possibly "because IS now takes up to 85% of a sale so buy my images elsewhere for less and I'll still get paid more" I also typed "lobo" as the reason for some.

I wrote "Receiving less than 20% commission is making selling images through Istockphoto unsustainable."

OK, thanks again for all the help everyone... All files on iStock deactivated (left one)... Just put a big 'X' in every box.... I have plenty of reasons, and don't have to tell iStock one way or another. They didn't care to ask me when they cut commissions, when they changed best match, etc. etc., so I have my personal reasons for leaving, and I dont feel like I have to show them any courtesy.

Now waiting for the files to come off the partner sites... was finally able to locate at least 90% of them of TS, spread out over four differant pseudos... hoping that's all there is, and I don't have a hell of a time to get them removed...

Thanks again for the advice.