From the FAQ:
"Q: Do you accept images which are already on sale through microstock websites / channels ?
A: No, the business model of microstock is not compatible with our vision concerning high quality
work and uniqueness. We feel that there is a large gap between microstock and macrostock. Each
caters to the needs of specific buyers, we simply target a different range of buyer needs.
Q: What happens if I submit images which are also available through microstock websites / channels ?
A: If at some point in time we discover such breach of the most current photographer agreement
you accepted then we will terminate your account with us and consider further measures
depending on the gravity of the breach."

Oh.  Well then fuggedaboudit.

what are you planning to do to "capture" RM buyers?

what are you planning to do to "capture" RM buyers?

" We feel that there is a large gap between microstock and macrostock. Each
caters to the needs of specific buyers, we simply target a different range of buyer needs."

Tell us the 'needs' you are targeting.

That depends for an important part on continuous marketing efforts. But at the end the images themselves are the critical part of the puzzle. Some buyers don't want to use images which have been licensed by many others through many channels. They want to be unique, they might want to be exclusive for which we contact the photographer to work out a deal. Other buyers don't mind to pay more for images not easily found through the many other outlets.

We noticed more and more photographers slowly refusing to offer images to the "big players" just because they simply put too much time, costs and efforts to see them sell for a few bucks. From personal experience, i've seen from close how angry some people got when they saw that hard to get images made from a helicopter (at high costs) were sold for amounts which wouldn't pay for an average 3 course meal.

There are probably several specialist agencies / outlets which do reward well for good work. But quite a few of them are semi-closed to new photographers, suddenly want you to pay for sending them your product or eaten up quickly by the big players causing a change in their business model.

I'm sure that some (experienced) photographers here can confirm that if they sell their hard work through their own site or contact the reward is much better and more in control of terms. This is why we don't mind to ask you, the photographer, your opinion when it comes to situations where a buyer has X specific needs and Y budget to realize them if we're in doubt. There is no way we will take your work or our work for that matter and bulk sell it without consideration.

It doesn't matter if you do this parttime, fulltime, experienced professional, when you create something to be proud of and has good potential then it shouldn't be thrown around like if it was a used towel.

I'm sure that many previous and current agencies might have started with good intentions and somewhere along the way ended up in a maze. We try to keep it simple and straight for the longterm.

unless you have some specific niche in mind for your agency your pushing "sh#t" uphill. i.e. aerial photos, asian models, industrial, etc.

You'll need to spend a huge amount of time providing excellent service to your customers in order to provide value. Can you really do this as a one man band part time.

What agencies are acceptable to also distribute to under your non-exclusive terms of "I'll cancel your account and hit you with a big stick if you submit to microstock"   

I'm all for fair royalities and I would love to see successful agencies that pay 50% or more.

BTW did anybody notice that photodune is paying 70% royalities for the last week of the month.

It is our believe that a diverse but quality collection will work just like if one specializes in a specific segment. We're currently with 3 including myself working on this so that is why we can be there for our photographers and buyers every day.

As for your question concerning the big stick and microstock agencies; In general any agency will do as long as it's not a typical microstock agency which goes down to pennies or doesn't go beyond 100 euro for all licensed work. I mean you probably can differentiate between such agency and the non-micro kind.

Please also note, we're not your enemy, we're thinking from the perspective of photographers and believe in good rewards for good work. The real enemy of the stock industry is maybe the fact of quick profits operations, 1 price fits all and failing to organise as
photographers in multiple levels of this industry. There are some signs that this is slowly changing but there is a long way to go.

Quote from: graphxt on August 28, 2012, 07:31

We're currently with 3 including myself working on this so that is why we can be there for our photographers and buyers every day.

That bedroom must be getting quite crowded.

I remember periods where it felt like the walls were closing in after a day and a night of non-stop work :-) But luckily that has changed to a better location of a befriended company to do the heavy lifting and in this new age you can do wonders with a laptop and a link to the internet.

Quote from: graphxt on August 28, 2012, 07:31

It is our believe that a diverse but quality collection will work just like if one specializes in a specific segment. We're currently with 3 including myself working on this so that is why we can be there for our photographers and buyers every day.

So, three of you are working 8 hour shifts to provide worldwide customers service during their working hours. Nice, and better than at least one large micro. What is one of you is sick or wants a day off? Are the other two willing to take up the slack? What if all three get e.g. norovirus at the same time?

We have a backup for such events, it's not like we just started yesterday thinking about these issues :-) But a good point anyway !

Q: What is your refund policy ? A: You can request a refund within 7 days from purchase and as long as the image was not used.
Please delete the image and all copies when a refund is confirmed by GraphXT. The refund will be made minus any financial fees involved depending on the original payment method.

I found that interesting. What is your strategy to ensure the image isn't being used? 3 people couldn't possibly hope to scour the web and all printed media to spot illegal usage.

I would love to see a "fresh approach" in which the agency looks out for photographers with a no refund policy.

Quote

Q: What is your refund policy ? A: You can request a refund within 7 days from purchase and as long as the image was not used.
Please delete the image and all copies when a refund is confirmed by GraphXT. The refund will be made minus any financial fees involved depending on the original payment method.

I found that interesting. What is your strategy to ensure the image isn't being used? 3 people couldn't possibly hope to scour the web and all printed media to spot illegal usage.

I would love to see a "fresh approach" in which the agency looks out for photographers with a no refund policy.

There is no 100 % garantee, even the biggest names in the market are not able to offer a 100 % garantee on these things, that is the truth. On the other side, we stick to the policy and legal agreement which can be enforced if abused by malicious buyers.

Quote from: graphxt on August 28, 2012, 10:27

Quote from: digitalexpression on August 28, 2012, 09:09

Quote

Q: What is your refund policy ? A: You can request a refund within 7 days from purchase and as long as the image was not used.
Please delete the image and all copies when a refund is confirmed by GraphXT. The refund will be made minus any financial fees involved depending on the original payment method.

I found that interesting. What is your strategy to ensure the image isn't being used? 3 people couldn't possibly hope to scour the web and all printed media to spot illegal usage.

I would love to see a "fresh approach" in which the agency looks out for photographers with a no refund policy.

There is no 100 % garantee, even the biggest names in the market are not able to offer a 100 % garantee on these things, that is the truth. On the other side, we stick to the policy and legal agreement which can be enforced if abused by malicious buyers.

Yes I know, that why rights managed doesn't really work when marketed internationally via the web. There is no way to ensure the license isn't being violated even for the big names. Royalty free is the only reasonable approach for web based stock agencies because of that.

The point isn't guaranteeing against licensing violations anyway. The point is the refund policy. Offering money back on an image that has already been downloaded is not a "fresh approach" I won't be involved.

Then our views differ but i respect your opinion. By law in The Netherlands if you buy something "remote" then you are required to offer a 7 day refund. For this type of goods it can ofcourse only be offered if the buyer decided not to use the image. This is something we also carefully investigated with legal to make sure we comply to the law here in NL (EU).

This whole 'fresh' RM agency screams 'naivety'.

The website looks a little unprofessional, and although you guys seem to be taking this very seriously, I cannot believe for a second that this is going to become a profitable agency. Not if the three of you are doing this parttime, in the year 2012, without decent funding. Are you guys by any chance students or ex-students?

What exactly is this "fresh approach" ?

It's a new RM site with a terrible site design that doesn't accept on-site credit card payments and is being shopped around to a microstock community even though they're anti-microstock. I guess the "fresh" part is that they're doing the exact opposite of things that would make sense when starting a new business.

Thank you for those who already signed up and also for those who gave their unsalted opinions ! For anyone seriously interested feel free to read our roadmap in short in the News section and the features we offer compared to most of the agencies outthere.

Please note that because of the macrostock section on MSG we decided to post here to see whoever is interested but also to receive varying opinions be it negative or positive.  Since this is one of the busiest places where the majority is still into microstock it is expected that opinions can be quite hard or sometimes even surprising. Any constructive opinion is considered and noted.