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Messages - Pixart
Pages: 1 ... 76 77 78 79 80 [81] 82 83 84 85 86 ... 131
2001
« on: February 24, 2009, 10:47 »
The first big photo chain I've heard of in trouble. Likely not the last... UPDATE 1-Ritz Camera files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:12pm GMT Email |Print | Reprints [-] Text - NEW YORK, Feb 23 (Reuters) - Ritz Camera Centers Inc, which said it is the largest U.S. specialty camera and imaging chain, on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, hurt by the recession and consumers' shift to digital photography.
The Beltsville, Maryland-based company filed for protection from creditors with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Wilmington, Delaware. Ritz said it has between $100 million and $500 million of both assets and liabilities. Ritz operates under such names as Ritz Camera, Wolf Camera, Kits Cameras, Inkley's and The Camera Shops, and also operates the 130-store Boater's World Marine Centers chain. It said it had nearly $1 billion of revenue in the year ended Nov. 30, 2008. In an affidavit, Chief Restructuring Officer Marc Weinsweig said the company's lenders ordered the company in January to boost reserves, thereby reducing available credit. He said this came after the recession caused Ritz's 2008 holiday sales to be "materially lower" than a year earlier. Ritz was also hurt by losses at Boater's World, which suffered falling sales in 2008 as gas prices soared. "The loss of revenues and profit margins from the diminution in the photo-finishing business proved too much of a burden, coupled with the losses experienced by the Boater's World business in 2008," he wrote. Ritz said it will seek court permission to obtain $85 million of financing to keep operating while it restructures. Among the largest unsecured creditors are Nikon Inc (7731.T: Quote, Profile, Research), with a $26.6 million claim, and Canon USA Inc (7751.T: Quote, Profile, Research), with a $13.7 million claim, the bankruptcy petition shows. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)
2002
« on: February 23, 2009, 11:49 »
Yes, 25-38 cents from SS is painful too, but most of us old-timers send only 4-6mp to SS for that reason. For me it is the occasional XL sale from StockXpert that keeps me sending larger files, but now those sales are very rare. Is it worth it?
2003
« on: February 23, 2009, 10:37 »
It also seems that now that StockXpert is a subs agency they accept anything as long as it isn't missing a release. Many contributors downsize for SS, do you submit your downsized or your full sized ile to StockXpert now that you've evidence of the abundance of subs?
No one has an opinion on this question? I'm just really peeved at the moment to see yet another XL 30 cent JI sale. To rub salt in the wound JI doesn't even give artists a credit line. This seems to indicate exactly how they feel about us.
2004
« on: February 21, 2009, 10:28 »
I just had a couple rejects on DT for "overabundant category"(s). I can't remember ever getting such a reject from DT. I also had a lighting reject last week that I don't really agree with but no big deal. I don't lose much sleep over rejections, but I just checked FT where for sure they should have been refused on that criteria and those files were accepted. That makes me think that there may have been a shift in reviewing at DT this month? I don't have much of a sample to look at (FT definitely refused others that DT took). Wondering if others with perhaps more uploads have noticed any new reviewing trends this month/year?
It also seems that now that StockXpert is a subs agency they accept anything as long as it isn't missing a release. Many contributors downsize for SS, do you submit your downsized or your full sized ile to StockXpert now that you've evidence of the abundance of subs?
2005
« on: February 20, 2009, 11:09 »
For Saphire contributors on FT I Just went down 5% in commission. From 45 to 40. That will hurt my income for sure. No doubt. I am thinking about this today and I will comment it more in details when I have receive reply from Oleg.
Yuri, did they take away your Rubis status? I noticed they made changes to ranking almost immediately after you reached Rubis.
2006
« on: February 18, 2009, 13:51 »
Facebook sure changed their tune this morning after all the press they received the past 48 hours. I wonder if we should sent a well worded press release to a few trade publications and some of the newspapers about a content provider is abusing their absolute power. The NY Times has run quite a few get-rich stories on micro haven't they? Maybe their editors would like to hear about the dirty side of crowdsourcing.
2007
« on: February 17, 2009, 14:48 »
After the sale, I thought that StockXpert would be the microstock site and Istock would move to more of a mid-stock, or elite agency. Now, my hunch is that StockXpert is just a recruiting centre and remains only to provide content to their subscription models.
2008
« on: February 15, 2009, 16:05 »
2009
« on: February 14, 2009, 22:56 »
Hey Matt, didn't you do a story recently about sites you were thinking about dropping? Can't remember - was CS a keeper? How is it compared to 123 which is on the bottom of my list?
I went back to the first page of this post and I didn't realize that it was only 3 months (Nov 08) ago that this deal happened. Would be nice to see everyone's graphs after a full 12 months with Fotosearch.
2010
« on: February 14, 2009, 19:09 »
Do you need model releases for "C"'s and "V"s? (If you see the popular searches, you will know what I'm talking about)
2011
« on: February 14, 2009, 19:05 »
Hmm... methinks perhaps it is time to upload to CanStock?
I remember they went through a major rejection phase when they were acquired. Is it still as rigid?
2012
« on: February 14, 2009, 15:56 »
Is it just me, or when I looked at that photo a couple days ago was the unit more hidden in shadow, seems like more of the thing is revealed. Does it look like a more compact unit with a hotshoe on top? LOL, maybe if I look again tomorrow the light will be better. Hopefully fully compatible with the PW's and modules that we already have
2013
« on: February 14, 2009, 00:33 »
There is definitely not enough gin in that photo  , although the sight of that big bottle o' beer makes me think I'll wander over to the fridge while I wait for my uploads....
2014
« on: February 13, 2009, 22:59 »
That's very optimistic of you, but well done on the sale, maybe you'll get a certificate from them
Got one too. 0.5 euro a few days ago. I think I can buy a nail for my coffin from that.
No nails Flemish! Get that litre of gin! 
2016
« on: February 13, 2009, 13:08 »
You know what Adelaide, it's not .80 is it, it's worse - 70% of that.
I don't know how they can introduce this plan and allow us to keep our own set rates. Like Adelaide's example, why would they buy an image from her when they could spend much less and get 19 others on top of it.
Also, what is the time restriction on these volume discounts? Hopefully 24 hours.
2017
« on: February 13, 2009, 12:39 »
Love my Bees. Can't say a single bad thing about them, which is a contrast to other lights I've owned. Sorry, I can't compare the two brands you are looking at though.
I've never noticed a recycling lag, but I don't think I've ever used the 1600's at full power. With the type of work I do (portraits, small groups, a bit of micro), I can't see myself needing to ever upgrade. I've paid the same $ for other lights and they aren't even a fraction as good as the Bees. They've been fast enough for children, and who moves more than toddlers?
Elana, I think you are in Toronto. If you do order from Bees ask them about their pre-cleared shipping option. I've imported quite a bit of stuff from the U.S. so I have paid quite a bit for brokers, and in some cases I self-broker which is a pain in the butt (but saves quite a lot of money).
With AB I chose to ship pre-cleared. At first glance it will seem to you like it costs a LOT more to ship - but if you do it the other way UPS assigns a random broker, they go to customs and look up country codes and rates (possibly getting them wrong) they pay the duties and taxes, then you get an invoice in the mail for quite a sum about a week after you've received your item. (FEDEX makes you pay at the door). If your boxes are separated on the trucks, they will assign a different broker and you will pay double the brokerage fees. The precleared shipping method appeared (at the time) to be quite a good rate. All the paperwork is done in Nashville so they just get stamped by customs and UPS has already been paid in advance.
2018
« on: February 13, 2009, 11:39 »
I don't know if someone posted this before me, but it's on the subject:
http://www.bahneman.com/liem/blog/article.php?story=Ken_Rockwell_Facts
With this occassion I read a bit more from his blog, saw his photos, etc. I really have no idea why this guy is so popular. Perhaps because of the irony he provokes. Popular like.... don quijote. Or benny hill. People make fun of him and spread the word.
Ah... methinks this link has something to do with the Chuck Norris post on SS front page last week.... I was curious about the connection but not that curious to read the post.
2019
« on: February 12, 2009, 14:56 »
It sure is nice to be able to come to a photography forum and get such quick answers. Thanks guys, Flemish I downloaded trial version. Guess I'll have to cough up some $ and buy a full copy soon. One of those little used programs that everyone needs. I e-mailed the zip, hopefully I did it okay and that is the last of it.
2020
« on: February 12, 2009, 13:37 »
Specifically I need to send a font to the printer but Outlook won't let me attach, I tried from a different e-mail program and same thing - it looks like it is actually a Windows update thing.
It seems that when I got a new harddrive I lost Winzip. I thought that was a free program, apparantly I have to purchase a new copy?
Would I even be able zip the font and e-mail it?
Anyone have an answer for me? I've dwelled on this for a couple hours now. Maybe I'll have to do it the old fashioned way and get a disk to them.
2021
« on: February 12, 2009, 13:08 »
Posted on their site, hopefully a fix coming:
ALERT! SYSTEM UPDATE ON FEBRUARY 12th
We'll be upgrading our site on Thursday, Feb. 12th beginning at 9:00 PM EST. This should be completed in approximately 2 hours. The site will not be available during this time. We hope this advance notice will help you plan your projects accordingly.
2022
« on: February 11, 2009, 16:42 »
No pay, no play is my opinion.
I have to say I agree.
2023
« on: February 11, 2009, 13:28 »
Gin $1 a litre! I'm THERE!!!
2024
« on: February 11, 2009, 11:59 »
My regular sales have already dramatically dropped during the last few months on StockXpert...
How can a site that goes from being one of everyone's favorite (note that I did not say best selling) to such a mess. StockXpert sales have virtually stopped which makes me ask if they have stopped marketing, keeping StockXpert only as an umbrella company that funnels content to their more lucrative chanels. Their many reporting issues in the last few months have left me more than a little shy about trusting their fiduciary ability. The fact that you guys are having subscripton sales is just mind boggling. Your Intellectual Property has been devalued by being offered as subscription. I don't care if they made a mistake, they have violated your copyright. Please consider sending a cease and decist order. Edit: You'll have to modify the language from these but here's a couple samples: http://www.craftmarketer.com/cease-and-desist-sample.htm http://rising.blackstar.com/how-to-send-a-dmca-takedown-notice.html
2025
« on: February 09, 2009, 14:59 »
Maybe they just should have bought Lucky Oliver! 
Sorry Bryan. Had to say that.
Oh my, I bet someone wishes they had.
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