So you are the owner.
-and entrepreneur.

Where are you from?

Maybe the agencies now have enough content so they dont need contributors anymore and can make a living by selling our content back and forth between eachother.

It seems that more and more of the deals are the kinds of deals where agencies interact with eachother with no regard to the original provider of content.

Now, anybody who does not understand why the agencies treat contributors as they do, read this thread. May be we all should shape up and become a little bit more professional.


Strike (removing images) never works, and if more established contributors try to tell newbies not to apply .......... I don't even want to finish this sentence.


Be so good that nobody can ignore you, make yourself needed, then they will come and pay you.


Somebody mentioned Walmart. Walmart became so big because they pay next to nothing for merchandise. Their buying power is so strong that they don't have too. Same happens in Micro right now. The only exception to get into Walmart is having an item they need and you are one who can deliver for less.
As a manufacturer, if you want your product displayed, they charge rent for shelf space, don't wanna go further into that, but micro stock has the same future. Only top notch photographers will be on display and for newbies and weak "Merchants" will be no room. 
Enjoy the time as long as you can make money in this industry and raise the bar. Once everything is dialed in, max 2 more years (In my opinion) they will not accept new applications and you will have to have big connections to become part of it.
So, newbies,  sign up NOW. Established contributors (many made a killing, especially the ones who do it since 2005) do not want new competition, which is ok and understandable, but for my part, I will not listen and will try to get a piece of the pie. That's what free market is all about. May the best win.

Excuse me.
For me it is NOT about competition. Not at all.
Im deleting my pictures there.

yes, that might be a problem. Maybe we should try to direct Karma towards the more decent of the upcoming agencies.

Sc.....

Ja, Jens, we have better relax a bit.
I have seen your homepage and I can see you can photograph and that you can produce valuable content.

...And you should not give that content to istock, both for your own sake but also for others�sake.

I have been a contributor to istock since June 2007 and there is no end to how much they have annoyed me:
First the disgracefull commision of 20% then later on 16%. It is an insult.
Then all the lies and greed. Every oppertunity they had, every choice they had, always ended up in shady, half illegal, immoral and unetical "business" decisions that ONLY benifited istock. Always at the contributors cost.

istock is the Nigerian scam of stock agencies. They lie and they will do everything to press the last penny out of you.
They will even give your pictures away for free. That means free for everybody to use, and free of any payment to you. The will of course harvest an amount, that you will never hear about and they will spread your pictures in ways you cannot imagine.

For at time we contributors took a lot of beatings, because they actually earned us a bit of money.
But those days are over, they cannot earn money anymore, since bad Karma has spread.
And that is well deserved.

Basically istock is not interested in contributors as long as they have a "nice" ATA, so they can do fancy trades with your content.

I suggest you upload ONE picture to them, and have the pleasure of meeting the famous upload system, and see that the devil lies in the details.
Then delete it again, and come to reason and never work with them again.

Friendly forum or not.
Apologies or not.
Union or not.

You are still a screw breaker.
At first you could be excused because you didnt know.

Now you know better, and try to turn things around as if "there is something wrong with the forum or certain persons".
There is not.

Not even when you painted the Aston Martin you inherited?

I have learned by dealing with this kind of stuff in real life, that those varmints dont thrive in the light.

So expose everything.
Put the email up.
Say who you are and what has happened, and post it for everyone to see and judge.

or not.
Burry it.
Emails not clicked on, do not excist.
and then again, you might want to ask questions.

yes, but why do a content provider have to sit and adapt his keywords to grammar or specifications in searches.
The searches should find the relevant picture for the customer, not opposite. The contributor should not have to sit and think heavy thoughts on what would be found or not.
Relevancy for the customer, not all kinds of fancy opinions of what will lead to views.

Quote from: JPSDK on January 19, 2013, 19:01

Evolve:

Tripod
Change perspective
HDR
Photoshop pop
Composites

In almost all your pictures, perspective and framing greatly limits the sales potential.

but jens, isnt that you doing push ups?

Sorry Mantis,
I dont know what you mean (push ups)? Did I say something wrong?

Evolve:

Tripod
Change perspective
HDR
Photoshop pop
Composites

In almost all your pictures, perspective and framing greatly limits the sales potential.

of course they delete. They have a whole pack of wolves running around and removing carcasses.

They need to.
Any company with a bad reputation must make sure that critique meets expectations.

Oh ho ho ho.
Smart move to post this message , shutterstock.
Strategic.

I like it.
And written exactly like it should be.
It is all in the timing and what is not written.