Author Topic: Pond 5 review changes (Read 59500 times)

motionguy · « **Reply #50 on:** March 24, 2016, 03:34 »

@Mantis
This high rejection rate is really terrible. Thank you for telling us. I won´t upload to them until this changes. I have a slow internet connection and so I have a limit on how many agencies I can upload.

In my priority list P5 drops down every day. I loved them in the past but that is over.
My earnings stay the same at P5, while on several other agencies I increase my earnings. Even on Fotolia I get at least one or two sales of a new video batch within a week or two.
The review times at P5 and the high rejection rates lately put me off uploading to them since last october.
Really sad.

sharpshot · « **Reply #51 on:** March 24, 2016, 03:55 »

I think they are destroying Pond5. They should at least tell us more about what they do want now. Uploading video clips isn't a trivial task, I think the reviewers are unlikely to look at all the clips they are rejecting but if they do, that's a big waste of time as well.

The lack of communication is more than alarming, it will stop most of us uploading and then they are stuck with a site full of old clips. Their rivals must be so pleased to see this happening.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #52 on:** March 24, 2016, 04:16 »

Is there anyone actually working there at all?

Their official instagram had been corrupted...or sold out to contributor called Markesper???!!!!

https://www.instagram.com/pond5official/

Pond5 on Instagram! Visual inspiration delivered daily. Create with Pond5 and bring your ideas to life. 🎬📽📸 bit.ly/1MmiqGm
382 posts
1,457 followers
778 following

When you click on the link bit.ly/1MmiqGm you get to...
http://www.pond5.com/artist/markesper

WOW!
This link was redirected over 300 times....nice little advertisment for Markesper who has only 147 files on P5!

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #53 on:** March 24, 2016, 04:31 »

Got my answer here....

Pond5
15 hours ago
We spent the day playing with the new Hyperspektiv app so you didn't have to (but you'll want to!). http://bit.ly/1Rlohsz ‪#‎iphonephotography‬ ‪#‎coolapps‬ ‪#‎appreviews‬ ‪#‎filmmaker‬ ‪#‎fun‬

https://www.facebook.com/pond5/posts/10154052607239777

Mantis · « **Reply #54 on:** March 24, 2016, 08:45 »

I am expecting the canned response also. I did a check on a few of my videos. I have one, for example, where I couldn't find any. It is a time lapse I set up at Superstition Mountains in Arizona. I have some easter videos of decorated chocolate bunnies that they have maybe a dozen of. So it is like they are blanket rejecting based on viewing the thumbnail only. They definitely are not reviewing the entire video. I think they are doing the Alamy mentality and looking at maybe one and basing their rejection on that one or so video, or simply just doing a cursory view of the thumbs.

I sure with Istock would revamp their video program to be more equitable. We're running out of fair trade outlets, but we know that fair trade is not in their vocabulary.

cobalt · « **Reply #55 on:** March 24, 2016, 08:53 »

If istock paid out 30% for non exclusive, they would get a lot of content.

But overall, this is an opportunity for all the other agencies to pick up reliable producers.

With only 4 million files and basically zero 4k content the video market is not in an oversupply situation like photos. The video market is in the earliest stages ever and the number of people who regularly produce and upload video is extremly small. And won´t be growing fast, the upload times alone is putting off a lot of people. Also many photographers try it and then back off, too much work, to little revenue or they simply don´t enjoy making videos.

pond5 was unique because it was a fantastic marketplace.

That they would destroy it themselves to go boutique, who would have expected that?

ETA: can anyone convince Adobe to take editorial video? They have 24 hour reviews, they could get into a new market easily.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #56 on:** March 24, 2016, 09:54 »

What I found interesting in all this is that P5 actually got that massive funding based on market place idea and not on this new "boutique gig".

Possibly after some observing and closer look into the real numbers, Investors concluded there was no way to earn on higher scale, so they opted for exclusivity and boutique path.

OR they are just experimenting into all this and in worse case scenario instead of IPO they will just go for acquisition and return their invested $.

Time will tell...

cobalt · « **Reply #57 on:** March 24, 2016, 10:50 »

I think they haven´t even realized that they have completly changed their business model.

That is the really scary part.

It would have been really easy to introduce curated collections while not disrupting the marketplace.

Pond5 was the agency that had everything at every price point, the first place you go to.

With their weird reviews and artists favoring other places, they will quickly fall behind. Somebody else will have the largest collection in the market.

There is no oversupply in video.

And nearly nothing in 4k.

The comments on the forum point to a management that wants a completly different company and believes they have the right to micromanage our portfolios.

They should be proud of what made pond5 unique, not destroy itś USP.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #58 on:** March 24, 2016, 11:27 »

Quote from: cobalt on March 24, 2016, 10:50

I think they haven´t even realized that they have completly changed their business model.

That is the really scary part.

It would have been really easy to introduce curated collections while not disrupting the marketplace.

Pond5 was the agency that had everything at every price point, the first place you go to.

With their weird reviews and artists favoring other places, they will quickly fall behind. Somebody else will have the largest collection in the market.

There is no oversupply in video.

And nearly nothing in 4k.

The comments on the forum point to a management that wants a completly different company and believes they have the right to micromanage our portfolios.

They should be proud of what made pond5 unique, not destroy itś USP.

As I said long ago...great idea but bad execution, that's P5.

I doubt buyers would agree with you that everything was in place...many things were missing from their pov.
P5 wild recruiting policy was also rather weird and in the end that crew wasn't able to deliver what was needed. Too much experimenting on every level....
Without knowing how to lead, old management was therefore sized and ill advised to all this.

New management, new employees (some chameleons just changed their color though!), new logo, new site, new offices, new biz model ...
I am sure there will be no way back to marketplace as it once was.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #59 on:** March 24, 2016, 11:54 »

I opened an account there and uploaded a bunch of videos 4 months ago. Yesterday i get an email rejecting all the videos because they feel the descriptions need more info. I write back. After several email exchanges it turns out they haven't even looked at my ID yet, my account still isn't active, and my files were never actually reviewed. So they have time to email back and forth all day and send nonsensical rejections, but after 4 months nobody has had ten seconds to glance at my driver's license.

I think they're nuts.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #60 on:** March 24, 2016, 12:07 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on March 24, 2016, 11:54

I opened an account there and uploaded a bunch of videos 4 months ago. Yesterday i get an email rejecting all the videos because they feel the descriptions need more info. I write back. After several email exchanges it turns out they haven't even looked at my ID yet, my account still isn't active, and my files were never actually reviewed. So they have time to email back and forth all day and send nonsensical rejections, but after 4 months nobody has had ten seconds to glance at my driver's license.

I think they're nuts.

They are soooo relaxed and cosy!

https://www.glassdoor.com/Photos/Pond5-Office-Photos-E926933.htm

More fun:

https://www.pond5.com/community?forum=715&thread=52634772

http://www.pond5.com/community?forum=715&thread=53060334

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #61 on:** March 24, 2016, 14:41 »

Quote from: sharpshot on March 24, 2016, 03:55

I think they are destroying Pond5. They should at least tell us more about what they do want now. Uploading video clips isn't a trivial task, I think the reviewers are unlikely to look at all the clips they are rejecting but if they do, that's a big waste of time as well.

The lack of communication is more than alarming, it will stop most of us uploading and then they are stuck with a site full of old clips. Their rivals must be so pleased to see this happening.

The parts in bold pretty much sum it up.

After a long wait I just had 20/20 clips rejected, even though all were accepted at SS. They seem to be trying the DT approach of rejecting anything remotely similar to what they have already. We know how well that worked out for DT and P5 is likely to experience the same. With the extra time to upload video it is no longer worth bothering with P5 unless they change this policy - I make much more on Canva than P5 these days so will devote my time there instead.

Mantis · « **Reply #62 on:** March 24, 2016, 15:13 »

Quote from: sgoodwin4813 on March 24, 2016, 14:41

Quote from: sharpshot on March 24, 2016, 03:55
I think they are destroying Pond5. They should at least tell us more about what they do want now. Uploading video clips isn't a trivial task, I think the reviewers are unlikely to look at all the clips they are rejecting but if they do, that's a big waste of time as well.

The lack of communication is more than alarming, it will stop most of us uploading and then they are stuck with a site full of old clips. Their rivals must be so pleased to see this happening.

The parts in bold pretty much sum it up.

After a long wait I just had 20/20 clips rejected, even though all were accepted at SS. They seem to be trying the DT approach of rejecting anything remotely similar to what they have already. We know how well that worked out for DT and P5 is likely to experience the same. With the extra time to upload video it is no longer worth bothering with P5 unless they change this policy - I make much more on Canva than P5 these days so will devote my time there instead.

I agree. I was hoping for a fruitful relationship with p5. But really, in my case 100% of 120 videos rejected means they aren't actually reviewing them, they are looking quickly at the thumbnails and blanket rejecting. We will see more big changes soon. This is just the beginning.

Cider Apple · « **Reply #63 on:** March 24, 2016, 15:24 »

Yesterday I had 712 videos accepted - none rejected and today 1042 accepted with none rejected.
I don't think my video's are amazingly special or anything. It took them 3 weeks to review. So I'm either very lucky or everything is normal? I'm hoping on the latter?

cobalt · « **Reply #64 on:** March 24, 2016, 16:33 »

You are probably on a list of favored producers they want to encourage, while the rest of us are getting the go away message.

sharpshot · « **Reply #65 on:** March 24, 2016, 16:40 »

Quote from: Cider Apple on March 24, 2016, 15:24

Yesterday I had 712 videos accepted - none rejected and today 1042 accepted with none rejected.
I don't think my video's are amazingly special or anything. It took them 3 weeks to review. So I'm either very lucky or everything is normal? I'm hoping on the latter?

You probably just got lucky. In their forum they have said they have changed review standards and that seems to of led to some reviewers rejecting almost everything while others must of missed the memo and are still accepting everything. There's no point in raising standards if they haven't gone through all the old clips and removed the substandard ones.

fotografer · « **Reply #66 on:** March 25, 2016, 02:53 »

I had most of my last largish batch refused. If that happens again I will stop uploading there. They were acccepted 95 - 100% at 10 other sites. Shame as I really like that fact that you can set your own price but therir upload process is too cumbersome with MRs to make it worthwhile if they are going to reject photos for no reason.

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #67 on:** March 25, 2016, 03:49 »

Quote from: Cider Apple on March 24, 2016, 15:24

Yesterday I had 712 videos accepted - none rejected and today 1042 accepted with none rejected.
I don't think my video's are amazingly special or anything. It took them 3 weeks to review. So I'm either very lucky or everything is normal? I'm hoping on the latter?

Hey Cider Apple, have you been selected for membership contributor? Maybe you guys gets priority now.

thepokergod · « **Reply #68 on:** March 25, 2016, 04:00 »

I haven't uploaded anything for a while so can't comment on rejections but I've been absolutely hammered in the sales department. Let's just say March 2015 had 26x as much revenue come in compared to March this year, this will be the worst month since 2011 - that's a dramatic drop.

It seems something has changed drastically there, for 5 years I had stellar sales and made a solid income. (Onions yes I know you think I'm a "favourite" but I didn't even have my first email contact with anyone there until this time last year and ironically since then things have slowly faltered and now seriously dropped off a cliff.) I have a feeling a shake up in top management and "suits" coming in may have something to do with it.

If things don't pick up or change drastically soon I'll have a serious rethink of my strategy there. Luckily I'm well spread and don't rely solely on Pond5...

KnowYourOnions · « **Reply #69 on:** March 25, 2016, 04:17 »

Quote from: thepokergod on March 25, 2016, 04:00

I haven't uploaded anything for a while so can't comment on rejections but I've been absolutely hammered in the sales department. Let's just say March 2015 had 26x as much revenue come in compared to March this year, this will be the worst month since 2011 - that's a dramatic drop.

It seems something has changed drastically there, for 5 years I had stellar sales and made a solid income. (Onions yes I know you think I'm a "favourite" but I didn't even have my first email contact with anyone there until this time last year and ironically since then things have slowly faltered and now seriously dropped off a cliff.) I have a feeling a shake up in top management and "suits" coming in may have something to do with it.

If things don't pick up or change drastically soon I'll have a serious rethink of my strategy there. Luckily I'm well spread and don't rely solely on Pond5...

Mate, I am really sorry to hear this. Well common sense logic was, if they featured you in their adverts you must have felt some benefits of it, no? How amazing, they even screwed that one up.

cobalt · « **Reply #70 on:** March 25, 2016, 06:21 »

Quote from: thepokergod on March 25, 2016, 04:00

If things don't pick up or change drastically soon I'll have a serious rethink of my strategy there. Luckily I'm well spread and don't rely solely on Pond5...

I made the mistake to rely mostly on pond5 and SS. I really need to go out and explore the competition.

But I really thought the pond5 marketplace approach was brilliant and by not sending my files everywhere I was actually helping them stay the first place a customer would look. I also recommended them to many people, at least for video.

At 50% they are fair trade. But if they micromanage my portfolio and have review times of several months, and now the drop in sales, I´ll have to look elsewhere, I can´t wait until the new managers have finished experimenting.

We have seen how this works out too many times. What will come now is sad, but so many other agencies have gone that way before them.

Cider Apple · « **Reply #71 on:** March 25, 2016, 07:04 »

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on March 25, 2016, 03:49

Quote from: Cider Apple on March 24, 2016, 15:24
Yesterday I had 712 videos accepted - none rejected and today 1042 accepted with none rejected.
I don't think my video's are amazingly special or anything. It took them 3 weeks to review. So I'm either very lucky or everything is normal? I'm hoping on the latter?

Hey Cider Apple, have you been selected for membership contributor? Maybe you guys gets priority now.

No I've just dropped istock exclusivity so just uploading my portfolio. I've had no issues as of yet. Maybe because I'm new?

Mantis · « **Reply #72 on:** March 25, 2016, 18:41 »

I got a reply from P5 today and I was right. They spot check, blanket reject. They looked at my first couple of videos, didn't like them and rejected them all. They then went in and looked again and a few others and said we have too many of these. I pointed out to them that I have dozens that were not "over saturated" that they would not acknowledge. Verdict. All 120 rejections stand. They DO NOT review the entire batch, of large batches anyway. I am not surprised. They are going down the toilet.

fritz · « **Reply #73 on:** March 25, 2016, 20:17 »

Quote from: Cider Apple on March 25, 2016, 07:04

Quote from: KnowYourOnions on March 25, 2016, 03:49
Quote from: Cider Apple on March 24, 2016, 15:24
Yesterday I had 712 videos accepted - none rejected and today 1042 accepted with none rejected.
I don't think my video's are amazingly special or anything. It took them 3 weeks to review. So I'm either very lucky or everything is normal? I'm hoping on the latter?

Hey Cider Apple, have you been selected for membership contributor? Maybe you guys gets priority now.

No I've just dropped istock exclusivity so just uploading my portfolio. I've had no issues as of yet. Maybe because I'm new?

Week ago all 250 videos and 250 images accepted! Member since 2008 so new or old member is irrelevant! Most of the videos are 3d animations so I guess they are looking for such type of videos! ...or maybe I'm wrong

cobalt · « **Reply #74 on:** March 25, 2016, 22:26 »

Quote from: Mantis on March 25, 2016, 18:41

I got a reply from P5 today and I was right. They spot check, blanket reject. They looked at my first couple of videos, didn't like them and rejected them all. They then went in and looked again and a few others and said we have too many of these. I pointed out to them that I have dozens that were not "over saturated" that they would not acknowledge. Verdict. All 120 rejections stand. They DO NOT review the entire batch, of large batches anyway. I am not surprised. They are going down the toilet.

So they no longer review our files?

What are we supposed to do, send batches with single files? Instead of batch uploading, one or two a day?

What about 4k content, do they at least review that?

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Author Topic: Pond 5 review changes (Read 59500 times)

motionguy

sharpshot

KnowYourOnions

KnowYourOnions

Mantis

cobalt

KnowYourOnions

cobalt

KnowYourOnions

Shelma1

KnowYourOnions

sgoodwin4813

Mantis

Cider Apple

cobalt

sharpshot

fotografer

KnowYourOnions

thepokergod

KnowYourOnions

cobalt

Cider Apple

Mantis

fritz

cobalt

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