2 this month, for the very first time since a year

I sent you an email about translating into Dutch.

I was wondering if sales at Veer have been picking up since that subscription system came into effect.

I had a portfolio there 6 months ago, but decided to delete everything because I had zero sales. I might just reupload when sales seem promising.

I had an e-mail this week from Poul regarding an upload and he said to me that it was down for some days more (probably maintenance or whatever) but it will soon be back online.

The site is down again. I get a login window stating "Pleas log in to se me" but I can't.

I should the $500 mark tomorrow, and that's when the big bucks start rolling in. 

Same here, I hit it today

Apparently, the site now shows the files I uploaded two days ago, in the unfinished section.

Reply from Fotolia:

Thanks for your email. We always appreciate feedback and suggestions from our members. A lot of thought goes into the pricing of files in Fotolia and there is a reason why a particular price is what it is, and there are no plans to adjust those particular prices at present.

Kind Regards

Fotolia EU

So that means I'll have to delete my vectors over there.

Fotolia offers vectors at a price similar to an "M" or "L" sized JPG version, often about 6 credits, while "XL" and "XLL" sizes are priced 8 and 10 credits respectively. I have sent Fotolia Support an email asking them to clarify this matter, since I believe no vector should be cheaper than its XXL JPG counterpart.

This is also the case with the relatively new StockFresh, and since Stockfresh won't change their vector prices, I've decided to pull my port there. I am now waiting for a reply from Fotolia, and if they come up with some lame excuse as to why vectors should be cheaper, then I'll pull my port there as well. Besides, after the recent commission cuts and absence of proper sales, that won't hurt me much.

Is there anyone who shares my opinion?

Any company with a logo and brand that uses the Hobo font, is not to be taken seriously. Bad logo design, bad site design, bad images. No thanks.

As a newly independent contributor (exclusive at DT From Dec 2008 to July 2011) I am new to MSG and all of the other sites. I have been reading almost everything posted in the last month and am trying to learn. But I feel like I need someone to catch me up. I don't quite understand all the chaos with this Istock thing and the current threads are very confusing to someone who doesn't have the history. Maybe someone could answer a few questions to get me up to speed?
I would appreciate it. Please pardon my cluelessness but I bet I'm not the only one.

1) Why would anyone be exclusive with Istock? Are there incentives that are so great that you wouldn't want to maximize your exposure by selling on other sites?

2) Why is the PP program so bad? Once again wouldn't you want to increase your potential customer base?

3) I get a very good RPD from DT but still most of the sales are subs. I have also had good success in the last two weeks with SS which are all subs. How is what Istock is doing with the PP different?

4) There must have been something in the past that made Istock the obvious choice for contributors that isn't there anymore... what was it?

I am not making judgements with these questions I just want to understand.
Thank you for clearing some of this up.

First of all, I am relatively new there too, and non-exclusive.

1) Exclusivity used to be a good thing. More sales, more exposure, more money, at the best microstock site that existed. But today, exclusivity has become almost worthless in my opinion. Sure, you might get more sales, more exposure and your earnings may go up, but you'll fall victim to regular pay cuts, sneaky contract changes and other tricks to make sure they'll earn money at your expense. The whole attitude of Istock has changed for the worse. As Kelly Thompson (used to be the guy in charge) put it: "...but money isn't going to be what makes you all happy." Nuff said.

One thing I do know: Istock is sinking deeper every day, judging from the poll results, unhappy contributors and dwindling sales. You don't want to put your eggs in one leaking basket.

2) I don't think the PP program is bad per say. My files get sold on partner sites, and Istock sales don't seem to fall behind. But most people don't want to sell their artwork for a meager $0,28 per download. They also feel that it cannibalizes their sales on Istock or other sites.
The problem with these recent changes, is that non-exclusives don't have a CHOICE anymore of opting-out of the PP program.

3) It's not, actually. Although I hate subs, because it feels like giving your work away for free, sites like ShutterStock actually compensate this with more sales. DT not so much in my experience. The PP sites do well too.

4) Istock used to be the #1 microstock site, with the best marketing, the most customers, the 'best' artwork. Now not so much anymore. Istocks reputation is screwed now, customers are leaving, contributors are unhappy, sales are dwindling.

As Istock is one of my two main sources for income (the other being SS), I can't affort to pull out unless SS offers exclusivity.

I also don't HATE the PP-program, since it gives me a fair payout without cannibalizing my IS sales (as far as I can see). But I still want the option to opt-out of the PP program, whenever I feel like. I also see this as a sign that things will get worse and they will stop at nothing to minimalize our incomes.

But I can't afford to pull out at this moment. Although it should be the most respectable thing to do.

If you delete your portfolio and still have outstanding earnings, you lose that, right?  So I'm better off leaving it there until I earn my next payout and then deleting my portfolio, right?

No, if you delete your account, you'll get paid whatever you have earned.