More here:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=343053&page=1

I found this paragraph totally bizarre:
"Both of the Plus collections continue to be big parts of our growth at iStock. Plus and Exclusive+ perform very well and our research shows a real demand for the kinds of great files that contributors are choosing to put into this price tier � so much so that we're finding ourselves short of material to meet it. When we look at the numbers we find that many contributors still have lots of available slots, so we encourage you to take full advantage of your full Plus allowance. "

Note that they're not saying - "Go out and shoot more of the 'kinds of great files' - they're just saying to take advantage of your ful Plus allowance"
Are they really saying that the kind of buyers who 'demand' the Plus files won't buy them unless set at Plus prices?

Graphicriver (Envato) and now DT support PNGs.

Obviously much smaller companies get whip out the technical requirements to sell PNGs except IS. Sad. Again.

I don't care too much for the logo section but I'm sure they pi$$ed off a bunch more people again.

Same old, same old.

I missed something like "We're sorry about logos. It's all our fault". Ok, logo program is a IS zombie section almost since was started, but lots of users believed in the program and used their time to create content.

Are they really saying that the kind of buyers who 'demand' the Plus files won't buy them unless set at Plus prices?

I still have slots left, but prefer to put files that are selling at least 1/month in P+.  Maybe if they give a greater boost to P+, and I start to see a benefit of higher sales volume for those files, I will put more in there. 

I was confused by this paragraph in the "What's happening with Best Match" section;

"All of these factors also affect the searches that contributors are doing as well, making it difficult for you to asses what you're seeing or to understand how it might look from the perspective of a specific customer. So bear in mind when you look at a set of results that it won't be the same across different segments."

I always thought Istock's best match algorithm was a half-assed effort. Or could it be another reference to JJRD's donkey?

Omg I am in traction...please dont make me laugh so * hard....good one.

Are you sure it wasn't supposed to be:

"making it difficult for you asses to understand what you're seeing"

 

OUCH! LOL!

Pulling phone support is really bad.  Says volumes about the value placed on contributors there.  

Anyone read the section about Zazzle and Cafe Press?  Are they only images on Getty itself that are available to these print-on-demand customers, or is Istock content available too?  

Seeing how integrated Getty and Istock have become, I don't always know what they mean when they say "Getty content".  

it sounds to me like it is just Getty Images stuff available in Zazzle and Cafepress.  But if it is IS, I'd sure like to know when that happened.   I think many contributors would prefer to have their stuff sold in their personal Zazzle or Cafepress store rather than filtered through iStock just so they (IS) can get a cut of the profit.  I know I have some stuff on CafePress and I'm not too keen on iStock selling my stuff through those channels.

Pulling phone support is really bad.  Says volumes about the value placed on contributors there. 

Plus the money wasted when they send the wrong preset answer to a query and have to deal with a further query.

Would someone please try (again) to make this feeble old brain understand this Plus thingy ... what is the benefit?  Do images sell for more?  Do we get a bigger cut?  How do we know when a Plus Image sells?  Do buyers search specifically for Plus Images?

The prices are higher, in credits - until the most recent price hike, it put an independent Photo+ image at the same price as an exclusive image - 2 credits for XS, 5 for S and so on. Your royalty doesn't change. You have columns that show collection and you can't see for an old sale whether it was plus or not at the time - you just have to guess from the royalty (which can be hard given the huge variation in credit prices).

Buyer's can't search for Photo+ (or Exclusive+) specifically.

I think it's good because buyers are already OK with exclusive prices (if they're still at IS that is) and so when they pick an indie file they like, they probably won't pass it by because it isn't cheaper than a similar exclusive one. So I don't think you make any more sales, but I do think it increases the amount you make on the sales you get.

I don't think Exclusive+ is anywhere near as clear a win because the prices are so high. For some people it seems to have worked, for others not at all. I do hope they don't get stupid with Photo+ pricing and jack it up above the regular exclusive file price as I think that'd take away a lot of the appeal (for me anyway).

Quote from: WarrenPrice on April 23, 2012, 16:43

Would someone please try (again) to make this feeble old brain understand this Plus thingy ... what is the benefit?  Do images sell for more?  Do we get a bigger cut?  How do we know when a Plus Image sells?  Do buyers search specifically for Plus Images?

Warren,

Photo plus does not get you more money for a dl.  

Yes, it does.

Quote from: Mantis on April 23, 2012, 16:48

Quote from: WarrenPrice on April 23, 2012, 16:43

Would someone please try (again) to make this feeble old brain understand this Plus thingy ... what is the benefit?  Do images sell for more?  Do we get a bigger cut?  How do we know when a Plus Image sells?  Do buyers search specifically for Plus Images?

Warren,

Photo plus does not get you more money for a dl.  

Yes, it does.

I did not know that, I stand corrected.

The prices are higher, in credits - until the most recent price hike, it put an independent Photo+ image at the same price as an exclusive image - 2 credits for XS, 5 for S and so on.

Did I miss something again?  Was there a price hike on exclusive images, P+ images, both, or neither?