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Messages - cr8tivguy
Pages: [1]
1
« on: October 23, 2012, 10:45 »
I've never seen a company run so poorly. They don't answer any questions from the contributors, they keep everyone in the dark. The Forums are full of dissatisfied contributors, me being one of them.
This Post is why IStock is Tanking.... Mostly because the way they treat their customers and contributors.
I'm looking for the exits, and seeing greener pastures as I look elsewhere. I will be making a move from them.
Also Getty is the main culprit, they have a long history of destroying what ever they touch. They just sold so hopefully the new owners will get a clue and turn it around.
The best thing we can do, is leave all the Agencies and represent ourselves on our own websites making 100% of our hard earned money. The technology is around the corner, so get ready to get your ducks in a row, and jump ship, and tell all the agencies where to shove it!
2
« on: October 22, 2012, 19:42 »
Thanks Lisa,
I agree that Picture Editor isn't there yet. I'm hoping to talk to the creator of Picture Editor this week, and find out where they are, and how much longer it will take. I will bring up KTools for you. I checked out your website and wondering why at this moment the way your set up that Picture Editor wouldn't work right now?
I know it's in Beta testing, so throw it up and find out if it works or not. I'm not saying jump ship right now, I'm saying test it out.
As for everyone here, I'm saying get your ducks in a row.... Not to jump of the Agency bandwagon just yet. I'm saying get yourself ready! Get a website that will host your images and price them the way you want, and will deliver them to your clients and deposit the money directly into your bank account! Photoshelter does that right now!
Wait for someone like Picture Editor or another web person to build a search engine, that will find our images and our images only. Someone that won't use the Agencies, but just all of us banded together!
Will it take time, yes...but what are you supposed to do, continue taking less and being treated each year more poorly? Wake up... get a clue the writing is on the wall for all of us!
Really the writing should be on the wall for all the Agencies, once we stand up and tell them the shove it!
3
« on: October 22, 2012, 12:33 »
After doing a little research on Picture Engine, my first impression is...This is EXACTLY what I'm looking for in regards for ALL of us to leave our Agencies and list our own images, and take back control of our images.
Now migrating all your images to Picture Engine is easy. You set up your own Web site, which is great, because you know all of us our picky and want total control of everything...LOL
So you can be creative and make your own, or like I chose to use PhotoShelter from me. You can use KTools or whom ever you'd like. Price your images your own way, and make 100% of the money owed to you!!!
NOW is the time to JOIN, and LEAVE your AGENCY!!!
OK I know most of you need money, and are scared! I am too, but WE NEED TO STICK TOGETHER if we want to have maximum impact on the market.
Here's my idea!
Set up your website... List it with PictureEngine...If your exclusive with anyone, make sure you change your Agreement with them. Get everything ready to leave your Agency...When Picture Engine has all of the bugs worked out and is ready to launch... Everyone at the same time puts in their 30 day notice to the Agencies all at once...A MASSIVE exit all at the same time.... Now the Agencies have to remove your images from their Library or be liable to be sued! Picture Engine will now be the ONE source for Art Buyers world wide to find images...OUR images that we have 100% control over..
Look we've got to do something... Stock Agencies are treating us worse and worse every year! Their taking more and more of our share of our sales. Enough is enough!!! Let's show them who the BOSS is and fight back and tell them where to stick it!!!
I encourage you to look at your industry, and ask yourself has it gotten better or worse? Are you making more money or less? Are you happy with your Stock Agency?
I think you know the answers, and our only option is to STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK...TAKE CONTROL YOUR IMAGES AND WIN THIS FIGHT!!!
4
« on: October 22, 2012, 12:31 »
...We MUST ALL STAND TOGETHER AS ONE!!!
Leave our Agencies and Sell DIRECT to our customers!
This CAN be done!!!...
After my experiences with leaving StockXpert, after it was turned in to a subs only site with cut commissions, and starting to leave istock, I noticed that nearly all of the big players were just carrying on as if nothing had happened. So there's no way I'm getting involved in a revolt until most of the top contributors have done it. They have all the power, the rest of us mean nothing to most of the sites, as they have shown us many times in the past few years.
If the money meant nothing to me, I could get involved but unfortunately, I rely to heavily on my microstock earnings.
We all live on our Sales... But ask yourself how much longer are you going to be taken advantage of? Is your Agency treating you fairly? Are you making 100% of the money owed to you? Of course you know the answers to this questions. The real question is how much longer will you stay on the sidelines and let them bully you around? I agree we need to get the big guys involved!!! But it starts with each one of us! Standing up for our rights, making a change, mostly telling other photographers to join the fight... Yes it's a fight for our rights and being paid properly! If your OK with the agencies making 80% of your money, and taking advantage of you, treating poorly...Then by all means stay where your at! I on the other hand am "MAD AS HELL AND I'M NOT TAKING IT ANYMORE" After doing a little research on Picture Engine, my first impression is...This is EXACTLY what I'm looking for in regards for ALL of us to leave our Agencies and list our own images, and take back control of our images.
Now migrating all your images to Picture Engine is easy. You set up your own Web site, which is great, because you know all of us our picky and want total control of everything...LOL
So you can be creative and make your own, or like I chose to use PhotoShelter from me. You can use KTools or whom ever you'd like. Price your images your own way, and make 100% of the money owed to you!!!
NOW is the time to JOIN, and LEAVE your AGENCY!!!
OK I know most of you need money, and are scared! I am too, but WE NEED TO STICK TOGETHER if we want to have maximum impact on the market.
Here's my idea!
Set up your website... List it with PictureEngine...If your exclusive with anyone, make sure you change your Agreement with them. Get everything ready to leave your Agency...When Picture Engine has all of the bugs worked out and is ready to launch... Everyone at the same time puts in their 30 day notice to the Agencies all at once...A MASSIVE exit all at the same time.... Now the Agencies have to remove your images from their Library or be liable to be sued! Picture Engine will now be the ONE source for Art Buyers world wide to find images...OUR images that we have 100% control over..
Look we've got to do something... Stock Agencies are treating us worse and worse every year! Their taking more and more of our share of our sales. Enough is enough!!! Let's show them who the BOSS is and fight back and tell them where to stick it!!!
I encourage you to look at your industry, and ask yourself has it gotten better or worse? Are you making more money or less? Are you happy with your Stock Agency?
I think you know the answers, and our only option is to STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK...TAKE CONTROL YOUR IMAGES AND WIN THIS FIGHT!!!
5
« on: October 22, 2012, 12:28 »
Well? dont know really, from 8 this morning up to now, I ve made, 420 bucks. Can picture engine beat that, if I leave all agencies? doubt it. SS alone stands for 35%.
Maybe not today... But ask yourself how much would you have made if you got 100% of the sales!!! Then you'd be even happier. Yes, I know it's hard... But really 10 years ago, it wasn't possible for us to have our own websites combined on a search engine. We relied on the Stock Agencies to do that. But now it is possible. So 10 years from now ask yourself this question..Where do you think Stock photography will be? I think we will all be in control of our images making more money than we have before. Call me a dreamer...I call myself a visionary!
6
« on: October 22, 2012, 12:10 »
After doing a little research on Picture Engine, my first impression is...This is EXACTLY what I'm looking for in regards for ALL of us to leave our Agencies and list our own images, and take back control of our images.
Now migrating all your images to Picture Engine is easy. You set up your own Web site, which is great, because you know all of us our picky and want total control of everything...LOL
So you can be creative and make your own, or like I chose to use PhotoShelter from me. You can use KTools or whom ever you'd like. Price your images your own way, and make 100% of the money owed to you!!!
NOW is the time to JOIN, and LEAVE your AGENCY!!!
OK I know most of you need money, and are scared! I am too, but WE NEED TO STICK TOGETHER if we want to have maximum impact on the market.
Here's my idea!
Set up your website... List it with PictureEngine...If your exclusive with anyone, make sure you change your Agreement with them. Get everything ready to leave your Agency...When Picture Engine has all of the bugs worked out and is ready to launch... Everyone at the same time puts in their 30 day notice to the Agencies all at once...A MASSIVE exit all at the same time.... Now the Agencies have to remove your images from their Library or be liable to be sued! Picture Engine will now be the ONE source for Art Buyers world wide to find images...OUR images that we have 100% control over..
Look we've got to do something... Stock Agencies are treating us worse and worse every year! Their taking more and more of our share of our sales. Enough is enough!!! Let's show them who the BOSS is and fight back and tell them where to stick it!!!
I encourage you to look at your industry, and ask yourself has it gotten better or worse? Are you making more money or less? Are you happy with your Stock Agency?
I think you know the answers, and our only option is to STAND UP AND FIGHT BACK...TAKE CONTROL YOUR IMAGES AND WIN THIS FIGHT!!!
7
« on: October 19, 2012, 19:10 »
Non-exclusive microstock photographers whose images sell frequently on the current microstock sites may want to take a hard look at PicturEngines new portal and marketing strategy.. (www.picturengine.com)
This portal has five primary goals:
1 To make it possible for customers to review, in a single search, all the images included in the major RM, RF and microstock collections as well as images from individual direct contributors to PicturEngine.
2 To answer customer complaints about finding the same images on multiple sites. To accomplish this they remove all duplicates from every search and only showing each unique image once.
3 - To give individual contributors priority over distributors.
4 To allow individual photographers to set the price for the use of their images.
5 To pay photographers 100% of the fees collected for the use of their images.
For more information check out my Selling-Stock.com article (http://www.selling-stock.com/Article/picturengine-a-unique-portal-for-microstocker) which is available for free for microstockers to review.
Just Checked out www.PictureEngine.comThey seem like exactly what I've been talking about. Or something very similar. Now what we need is to get EVERYONE on board and leave their Agencies! If this isn't what were talking about then please elaborate. Thanks
8
« on: October 19, 2012, 18:42 »
I started a thread similar here: http://www.microstockgroup.com/selling-direct/creating-one-agency-to-represent-us-all/I'd love more input from readers here to join in and try to put our heads together, by creating a collective of Artist stock agency. Sounds like the creator of this thread has the right idea. I'm all for it! The biggest thing once it's up and running is to recruit each and every photographer or Artist to leave their Agencies and pull their images from them. This way a complete REVOLT is guaranteed and the Agencies lose, and we WIN! We MUST ALL STAND TOGETHER AS ONE!!! Leave our Agencies and Sell DIRECT to our customers! This CAN be done!!! Some Ideas for OUR Agency to Work would be: Set up a Board of Directors. Their job would be the Direction of the Agency, using their vast knowledge to setting up this massive project. (They would donate time and energy at first. Then can be a paid position). IT People that can make this happen. Recruit and pay for passionate computer people that care about our industry. Lawyers, yes they're needed to make sure our Ass is covered. Each photographer would pay an Annual fee, to help offset costs, then once up and rolling, a very small percentage of all sales would be taken from images sold! OK let's hear the ideas people!!!
9
« on: October 19, 2012, 16:56 »
All very well but how would this master agency attract buyers? I mean its not exactly as if all the others are closing down, is it and with some 100 million pics already floating around, we could hardly offer anything new?
Its extremely difficult to lure away buyers from already established businesses, thats why newer agencies simply cant make it no matter what they promise.
This idea is great but at the moment it seems an uphill struggle, especially with most of todays buyers who doesnt seem to care about quality at all.
The Main Idea is for Each and every Photographer to leave the Agencies! Pull their images and have full control over them again. If we take our images back. The buyers have no choice but to buy from us direct! Yes it's an uphill battle, but were the ones who let them take control and pay us on an average 20-40%. Really we've shot ourselves in the foot more than once. Yes there are legal issues, yes there are problems with content not meeting quality standards. Yes there are going to be problems. But let's join together used what we've learned from the agencies and do better! There will be enough Advertising $$$ and more left over to pay for such things. The best thing we can do is get the word out, to our fellow photographers, that something great is coming for them, and explain were in this together, and that we control our images and destiny, not the big bully Stock Agencies. Stand up and fight for your Rights!!! (Bob Marley)
10
« on: October 19, 2012, 16:44 »
Wow I went away for 24hrs, and lots of great responses.
Lot of great ideas.
We are creatives here, and we're all on Microsites, or we wouldn't be here. The biggest problem we all have is the massive % of $$$ they take, and mostly terrible customer service.
Back to my original idea...
1.Creating a Stock Agency that pays the contributor at least 50% or more. (This is very complex Setting a new website up I know) Thus why I think Photoshelter is the best alternative for individual photographers can set up their own sites the way they like, and price their work they way they like.
2. The OurStockAgency.com idea would be a Google Image search idea. Client searches in the search box for their image. The site grabs images from each and every individual photographer sites keywords and put together pages of images for the client to view. When the client finds the image clicks on the image to buy. Site directs them to the photographers site, and makes the sale there. PHotoshelter delivers the digital image to the client, and photographer pays part of the royalty back to "OurStockAgency.com" website.
3. Money generated from the site would help pay for Advertising, website upkeep. Staff etc.
4. Important to recruit every photographer to join in and make a massive transition from all the agencies combined to have the maximum effect on the market.
I know this isn't an easy task, but there is enough of us out there that can pull our $$$ and talents together to make this a reality! I'm all for it...
Let's hear some more Ideas and let's get this rolling!
11
« on: October 18, 2012, 17:59 »
Well Build it Sean, and I will come! LOL
It may be easy for you, but not all of us are as talented as you on the computer.
I do like PhotoShelters site, and think if there was a way to join them together, in a one search database,
that would be interesting. Again we all have to jump over board together, and launch all at once together for it
to work, and have the most impact on the market as one.
12
« on: October 18, 2012, 16:46 »
Yes something like that!
I'd like to see a REVOLT with all of us standing up against the Agencies that take upwards to 80% of our money!!!
Really it's us that own our images, and it's up to us to take back control. So what I'm hoping for would be a big exit from all the agencies, into one collective, where we all share in the advertising expenses, and of running the site.
It can be done, if we all stand together. I know that's almost impossible, but why can't we?
13
« on: October 18, 2012, 16:14 »
Yes I agree, about Photoshelter. I've contacted them and they aren't interested in providing such service as of now. I'd love someone to make an agency for Artist by Artist so we can retain all of our hard earned money. There's got to be a way to have all of our individual sites linked together via search engine, under one website.
14
« on: October 18, 2012, 15:28 »
I'd like to see One Agency that could represent us all on our own websites. Is there anyone working on something like this? Listed below is a great idea by: cidepix Quoted in another Forum here! "There won't be a wake up call for the agencies unless someone makes a site where all artists can submit "their sites" and integrate it in the search so it functions as a huge stock photo search engine that when you click on a photo, you are redirected to that artist's website.. This site would have to be free to be any different from the agencies.. In fact this site must be built by us, contributors and when popular enough it will destroy the middle man.. Everybody will earn as much as their own potential and there will be no fees... artists will only pay an annual amount so the website can survive.. nothing more.. the more artists there are, the less fee to be paid.. probably only as much as pennies and cents  Instead of a contributors union like we discussed many times in the past, this is the only long term solution I can see.." Brilliant Idea... I'm all for it!!!
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