Vector prices jumped up this morning with absolutely no notice. Non-exclusive files are now 1-5-12-15-25, of which the huge jump from 5 to 12 and the tiny jump from 12 to 15 make absolutely no sense. The exclusive detailed files jumped from 14 to 15 (?)

The response from admin when people understandably asked wth is going on:

Posted By bortonia:
Thanks for the head's up, we're looking into it right now.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=267121&page=1

Vector prices jumped up this morning with absolutely no notice. Non-exclusive files are now 1-5-12-15-25, of which the huge jump from 5 to 12 and the tiny jump from 12 to 15 make absolutely no sense. The exclusive detailed files jumped from 14 to 15 (?)

The response from admin when people understandably asked wth is going on:

Quote

Posted By bortonia:
Thanks for the head's up, we're looking into it right now.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=267121&page=1

5 credit files stayed 5 credits. It was 10 credits that went to 12. Still weird though.

This would be an interesting "bug" since the prices were updated on the pricing page as well.  Very odd that Jenn didn't know about it.  It really does seem that there is something new going on all the time there now.  

Probably reflects most files in the collection falling into that moderately complex category.  Seems like someone needs to make up for some slower sales with a tiny 20% bump on what is probably the most common vector class

The thread on this was moved to the help forum.  That seems odd. I would think less people would see it there if they have the same question.

Maybe they are getting ready for the 2011 price hike and accidentally put the 2011 pricing on the live site?

It's still there. Definitely no mistake, but why no official announcement?

You're probably right. Why give contributors the opportunity to make another angry 200+ pages thread when you can have silence? 
I hope this is not what we can expect for future changes.

Could they be phasing out all announcements of price changes and the like? Wouldn't surprise me at all.

It's a lot easier for iStock to sneak in price hikes these days. Thanks to the already varied schedule of prices for exclusive, non-exclusive, E+, Vetta, agency, etc., a few credits increase to a few image types isn't likely to be noticed right away.

And why should they announce it? Sure it's the nice thing to do, but I think it's pretty clear now that the community-friendly agency that iStock once was is no more. Why would they publicly inform buyers of the latest thing they are doing to get more money out of them?

For contributors, it would only stir up more justified rage. They might have been able to convince a few people that the royalty changes will make the company "sustainable," but this price increase is just greed on top of greed. So again, why stir up trouble and publicly tell people how they're being screwed?

I think iStock has done an exceptional job of working a vector price increase into the schedule on the sly. Not even a peep of this in the twitterverse. Buyers seem largely unaware of the change. Nice work, HQ. You guys are good at this stuff.

Sure, it's not a huge change but at this point it's a respect issue. To not even clarify for the people that did ask whether this is a bug or planned price hike (and I can't for the life of me figure out how this could be a bug,) is downright ridiculous. To hear from the admin that's supposed to be in charge of the vector community "we are looking into it." as if it's news to the admins and to still not have an answer three days later is crazy. 

Does this mean we are supposed to believe no one was able to tell Bortonia whether it's a "bug"?  Because the only other option there is that they either a) raised prices and didn't even tell essential staff or b) we are being given the run around. (Again.) I should add here that I like Jenn and this isn't in any way an attack on her, more directed at the brutal lack of communication apparently going on not only to contributors but within the company as well.

No, you are supposed to believe that admins know every kind of smoke-and-mirrors bs way to answer questions without really giving you a concrete answer. It's called double talk. And Jenn is only doing what they tell Jenn to do and say. While I understand jobs are hard to come by right now (are they in Canada too?) it seems like people are willing to give up their self respect and decent character just to stay employed by IS/Getty. For the life of me, I don't get it. I guess some folks don't have a choice. I know I couldn't live with myself if I had to communicate those kinds of answers to customers and contributors every day, but hey, that's just me.

pretend confusion

Um...that is pretty much the standard M.O. ... don't tell me you've been there this long and haven't figured that one out. It's called "never having to be the bad guy".

Quote from: 9lives on October 26, 2010, 17:45

pretend confusion

Um...that is pretty much the standard M.O. ... don't tell me you've been there this long and haven't figured that one out. It's called "never having to be the bad guy".

Bortonia is not that kind of person in my opinion. I think "a) raised prices and didn't even tell essential staff" is the correct answer. There would be no need to respond to the thread if she new in advance. No dialogue happened with "Where we go from here". It's easier to stay quiet than it is to try to explain why Getty wants more money from buyers and contributors.

Also, in response to the "people are willing to give up their self respect and decent character just to stay employed by IS/Getty" comment, my mortgage company does not care what moral principles I stand up for, just if I sent them the monthly payment. I get no discounts or free passes for standing up to corporate injustice. I doubt she does either.