Dear All,

I would like to hereby announce GraphXT. We're a new macrostock company which has been in the works since 2009 when it started as an idea. None of us are claiming the holy grail but since photography got more important in our life we started to search for a more fair business model where hard work does reward. We didn't find much beside a few options where it's almost impossible to get a chance to be part of or one has to pay to supply them. Needless to say that the reality of the imagestock business went the other way for many photographers and quality was turned into a business of bulk and pennies.

Here we are, humble, but with a persistent view and motivation to make a difference for everyone who wants to join us and go for the longterm.

Please feel free to read more about GraphXT on our site http://www.graphxt.com. We have compiled a f.a.q document for photographers with many answers on important questions at the "infobase" section. We will also post news in the "News" section whenever needed. Currently you can read in the "News" section our announcement for photographers and the first steps of the roadmap we have in mind.

Do feel free to contact us if you have questions or if you have specific needs.

Kind regards,

Team GraphXT - Mark

I'd try a more coherent introduction.  That didn't really make any sense.

A "fresh approach"? Huh. I guess not having a built-in credit card system is pretty fresh for a stock site. PayPal, bankwire, and cash. Interesting.

I guess "fresh" also means having a horrible looking website, no images to even show what the finished site might look like or how the search works, and a terrible brand. The name, logo, and tagline are all pretty bad.

Sorry, but this is one of the weakest efforts I've seen in a while. And you must know that we see a lot of start-up stock companies around here asking us to sign up and send in our images. There is absolutely zero incentive that I can see in this site that would make me think that anyone here would spend the time to get involved in this.

Thanks for announcing here Graphxt. I will have you on may watchlist, am willing to participate if I see it worthwhile, and wish you in any case the best. I am always open to new approaches and especially the Macro Idea is what I find appealing.
There are many people on this board which look for the Problems first, don`t let this bring you down, it is not meant personal.

Thanks for announcing here Graphxt. I will have you on may watchlist, am willing to participate if I see it worthwhile, and wish you in any case the best. I am always open to new approaches and especially the Macro Idea is what I find appealing.
There are many people on this board which look for the Problems first, don`t let this bring you down, it is not meant personal.

Thank you for your kind words !

We'll do our best since we're only starting from scratch so right now it's just gathering serious macrostock contributors before we start marketing to buyers once we have a base amount.

As for the other reactions; It was expected and no hard feelings, we note down constructive criticism and since the MSG has a macrostock section we hope both worlds can learn to respect each other where needed.

Not sure who are the administrators here but if possible it could be an idea to create a "new sites" section in the macrostock part of the forum. This way there is no confusion about the type of new site and where it appears in MSG.

For those interested feel free to check the news section where we try to explain in short what the plan is http://www.graphxt.com/index.php?module=news&pId=101&id=3.

CMSaccount and Ktools are really opening the world of stock, don�t know exactly to where

Never heard of those but hey if they help photographers to present and sell their work all the best to such projects !

"Your work deserves to reside in a place where it is truly appreciated by fellow photographers, as well as buyers who seek a unique personal approach." (Takes out onion)

Sorry but this stuff is meaningless, misty-eyed twaddle. If you really think you're going to build a successful stock agency paying out 80% commission to artists then you are in for a big surprise and a lot of disappointment.

Check out SS's financials in the IPO document here;

http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1549346/000104746912005905/a2209364zs-1.htm

That's a real agency that has been operating successfully in the real world (with real costs) for 8 years. That document is remarkable because it is the first time we have seen detailed financial information from a microstock agency. Notice the marketing spend for 2009-11? Last year it was $32M or just over 25% of total revenue. It was a similar percentage for previous years. I'm sure they wouldn't be spending that money if it wasn't necessary and it didn't get the desired results. Even their credit card charges were $5M or about 4% of revenue. Just those two costs alone add up to 30% of gross revenue. They still have to pay wages, rent, hardware, development, bandwidth,  insurance, etc before they get around to paying royalties.

Unless you too have several $M to blow on marketing then none of your special discerning buyers will ever know you exist.

Thank you for your concerns and information !

Just a "minor" detail; we're not a microstock agency and won't work with pennies and bulk. That's exactly the opposite of what we try to do. Artists delivering great work investing money and time should not be treated as bulk where a 1 price model fits all. It seems too many people get suckered into thinking that "for you a 1000 others exist" where great work is lost among a sea of similars.

That said, we do not close our eyes for reality but we will try to be efficient and re-invest any profit back into the business since our main sources of income are not generated by this initiative, as long as it takes. This gives us the freedom to offer such commission and on top of that put profit back into the business. Longterm thinking and investment are critical, shortterm thinking and gain is not what we aim for.

On top of that, any one joining has realtime control of his images at any point in time. Also images are not shared or processed to any kind of partner program or deal. They are and will remain with GraphXT at your fingertips.

That said, we do not close our eyes for reality but we will try to be efficient and re-invest any profit back into the business since our main sources of income are not generated by this initiative, as long as it takes. This gives us the freedom to offer such commission and on top of that put profit back into the business. Longterm thinking and investment are critical, shortterm thinking and gain is not what we aim for.

So, you're proposing to run this agency as a sideline?
Sean beat me to it!

As always, I have the choice - agencies which pay me nothing, agencies which I can't join - and Alamy, which pays me something once in a great while.   

I am however greatly encouraged when a new a new agency's announcements are written in complete, grammatically correct sentences.  Seriously.  A rarity and a positive indication.

As always, I have the choice - agencies which pay me nothing, agencies which I can't join - and Alamy, which pays me something once in a great while.   

I am however greatly encouraged when a new a new agency's announcements are written in complete, grammatically correct sentences.  Seriously.  A rarity and a positive indication.

Probably several of the others were written by those for whom English is a second, third or ... language.

That said, I'm not sure what a 'persistent view' is, but hey, the TypoQueen can't throw stones 

I haven't looked at the site itself -

You should - really 

I haven't looked at the site itself - sounds like it's going to be another exclusive club [yawn].   I'm just pointing out that the introductory posts don't have the traditional bubbly incoherence.

Not really, you are most welcome to join and submit anything you feel would be appropriate. Non-exclusive, we do not want to force people to only submit to us.

Quote from: stockastic on August 27, 2012, 10:58

I haven't looked at the site itself - sounds like it's going to be another exclusive club [yawn].   I'm just pointing out that the introductory posts don't have the traditional bubbly incoherence.

Not really, you are most welcome to join and submit anything you feel would be appropriate. Non-exclusive, we do not want to force people to only submit to us.

Thanks, I may do so.  I'm burned out on new sites right now, feeling I wasted a lot of time submitting to some only to see insignificant sales, or prices so low that all I was accomplishing was to undercut myself at the big sites.   So for myself, I'll hang back for now and see what direction GraphXT takes.