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Messages - cthoman
Pages: 1 ... 92 93 94 95 96 [97] 98 99 100 101 102 ... 145
2401
« on: October 01, 2011, 14:19 »
I don't know if this will last all month, but I noticed FT was bumped out of the Big 4 by 123RF.
Edit: Oops. I noticed that this was mentioned a few times already. That whole pesky reading thing gets me every time.
2402
« on: October 01, 2011, 13:23 »
 My stock art site, mystockvectors.com, turns one year old this month. To celebrate and thank all our customers, were offering 50% off all orders for the month of October. So, tell your friends. Tell your neighbors. Tell your dog and anybody else you think needs to know. Just use the coupon code COUPON at checkout to receive your discount. Thanks for your support and enjoy our birthday celebration this month!
2403
« on: October 01, 2011, 11:36 »
Yep, my numbers are getting stranger and stranger, but that's a good thing. Aside from SS, it's more of a group effort now.
Shutterstock - 24%
Clipartof - 13%
Dreamstime - 13%
Drawshop - 12%
iStock - 11%
CanStock - 7%
123RF - 4%
mystockvectors - 4%
GraphicLeft - 2%
BigStock - 2%
Veer - 1%
Yay - 1%
Zazzle - 1%
StockFresh - 1%
Cutcaster - 0%
I guess I need to upload more and expand at some of these agencies to try and make up for leaving iStock.
2404
« on: September 29, 2011, 22:01 »
Soooo ... are you going to apply your new rules to Yuri or Andres or Monkey Business for example ... any time soon? It's the image factories who have their vast portfolios everywhere that are doing the most to undermine your pricing architecture. Why hammer the smaller contributor whilst turning a blind eye to the image factories?
That's an interesting question. Those would seem to be the biggest targets/offenders in this, and it will be interesting to see what happens and how it is applied. Oh well, I could argue about this topic forever with Chad, but it's probably time to bow out because it really doesn't affect me. He's been a good sport in humoring us. And... there is really no sense in continuing a silly argument.
2405
« on: September 29, 2011, 11:54 »
It's tricky not to be influenced in some small way by your reference material (if you don't shoot your own), but he didn't really even bother to try to deviate from it.
2406
« on: September 29, 2011, 10:46 »
Personally, I wouldn't want to be persuaded into giving a discount that I didn't think was fair. Sure, they could buy all the images from SS for cheaper, but that doesn't mean you want to offer the same prices as SS.
Since you are probably not going to be selling the same volume as other agencies, it doesn't make a lot of since to compete with them at their lowest prices. I don't even offer the smaller sizes on my site. It just seems too tedious to make a dollar at a time with the volume of traffic my site receives.
That's just my opinion though.
2407
« on: September 28, 2011, 22:01 »
This issue is more about destructive retail pricing than it is about
commissions.
Chad
Oh, you mean things like selling most vectors for 4 and 6 credits. Now, which site does that? hmm... Oh yeah, it's Fotolia. This policy is so hypocritical it's unbelievable. Look if you want to be the cheapest and lowest paying agency, that's fine. Then, just say that's what you want to do, but don't pretend like you're doing anybody any favors. Because FT is more a part of the problem than the solution. That's why I deleted my portfolio there and others have deleted their ports for the same reason. It may be harder, but maybe, just maybe, you should try developing some actual customer and contributor loyalty. You could start by offering some incentives instead of punishments to be part of or shop at your site. I know it's a novel concept in this day and age, and it's a long road to gain back the trust, goodwill and reputation that you squandered away. But, think about it.
2408
« on: September 28, 2011, 18:38 »
interesting, fairly low royalties though
Yeah, it could be better. 40-50% would have been nice. Hopefully, they can increase it in the future. It is good to see them offering individual sales though. The On Demand part of SS seems to be the biggest growth part, so this seems like the next logical step.
2409
« on: September 28, 2011, 11:29 »
I admire you! You left FT now IS! Congrats for the move, I cannot do it and I am a "newbie" comparing earnings with you, you have balls!
It's either that or I'm a total idiot for leaving.  I hope I'll eventually make that money up somewhere else, although income seemed to be dwindling at those two agencies anyway. I do kind of feel like that scene in Old School where Will Ferrell says, "C'mon everybody! We're going streaking!". Then, it's just me running in the street naked by myself. Anyway, congrats to all the others that left too. I know it wasn't an easy decision.
2410
« on: September 28, 2011, 10:18 »
It's official. I got my last image off the site last night. Can I get a Wooyay!?!?
2411
« on: September 28, 2011, 09:55 »
Maybe, it means they are trying to make iStock more palatable.
2412
« on: September 27, 2011, 20:28 »
I got my confirmation back for the opt out. I also decided to take the opportunity to give Veer some free advice. They are welcome to do whatever they want with it, but here it is: I appreciate the concern for contributors' opinions and that there was an opt out. I've never been a big fan of subscription plans, so I'm not too interested in opting into another one. I'd be more interested in eliminating the ones I already have. 
I think Veer could work a lot harder to separate itself from the other agencies by being more contributor friendly. I was excited when Veer first opened the doors, but a lot of that excitement has died down after multiple policy changes. I was unhappy when raster versions were offered for vectors. I was unhappy when larger higher resolution raster files were required for upload. Now, I'm disappointed to see a subs program implemented. I'm not leaving, but I don't see much of a future with Veer.
My perfect agency would be one that offered around 50% royalties, no subscription plans, and allows me set my own prices. I submit to a few agencies that do this, and these are the ones that get my new work.
I hope that helps.
2413
« on: September 26, 2011, 12:10 »
...I rather have a lot from greedy *insult removed*, then nothing from wannabees.
That's the sad truth. I put a good chunk of my portfolio on Stockfresh (for example) but the returns just aren't there. 50% of zero is still zero...
There's definitely something to that. I guess it comes down to whether you are planning for the future or just taking what is in front of you now. I think you can take baby steps and do both. That may be the most practical way to do it.
2414
« on: September 26, 2011, 11:37 »
Another 'great' idea that transfers the risk from the middlemen to the source.
We live in a world were creative and productive people has to take all the risks when they decide to create or produce something.
And middlemen and investors don't want any risks at all, they just want the money.
I want money too!
2415
« on: September 26, 2011, 11:16 »
Strange, I jus get a blank page too, not the usual message that the file is no longer available - contact support.
Yeah, I put my ticket in about a week ago. No response yet. How long does it take to respond to these things? I have a feeling they won't get to it and the image will migrate to the partner sites. Then, I'll need more emails to get it off of those. Maybe, I need to jump up and down and act like a child to get results?
2416
« on: September 24, 2011, 17:57 »
8 pages of countless posts and I am going to be the only one who actually agrees with this new policy from Fotolia.
Not only that I agree, but I would also love, love Shutterstock and Dreamstime to follow suit.
In my opinion this is not about some unknown 'offending' agencies out there.
This is clearly about IStock (driving everyone down, again!) and forcing independents to submit to ThinkStock.
The only way to stop ThinkStock and Getty from completely taking over the industry is for the other agencies themselves to take a stand. If we leave it to photographers, the battle is lost.
Photographers, newbies or professionals the same, will never, ever stop uploading.
No matter how low the Getty commission, no matter how measly IStock's 0.7 cent payments.
They will not do it.
They will never delete their ports and they will keep on uploading to ThinkStock, image after image, more and more, all the while hiding behind flimsy logics and sorry excuses.
This is not simply about money.
This is about pure greed.
Not money, or necessity, or the sad stories about, 'I can't afford to leave IStock because my 5 children are so sick and in hospitals', and not even the newer ThinkSock theory, -'It's OK to submit to ThinkStock because ThinkStock cannot hurt SS' holds any water or substance.
These are nothing but excuses.
Excuses to fuel photographers' greed.
I have been secretly hoping for such a statement from an agency for a long time.
And I hope that Shutterstock and Dreamstime follow suit soon.
Go on SS and DT, do it!
And don't worry about photographers deleting their ports.
They never will.
Speak for yourself. Some of us have already left both of these poor paying agencies. I agree that contributors should be more selective of where they submit, but I can't really see how this is a stand by Fotolia. Basically, they are saying that they want to be the cheapest and poorest paying agency out there. They will match anybody and everybody's crummy deal. If they really wanted people to leave their competition, then offer them incentives to do so (not threats). While I'd never go exclusive, I'd gladly dump many of the major sites for a quality deal with a major agency. I think Dreamstime may be the only agency left to be in a position to offer that though. The rest have gone down the opposite road pretty far and Shutterstock as a subs service can't really offer much more.
2417
« on: September 23, 2011, 18:53 »
"People like Yuri with the power to take a stand should do so in principle. It might cost them a percentage that is not insignificant but it should send a clear message to management that you can't expect to beat contributors to a pulp and get away with it."
If they wanted to send any message, they would have already done, by not uploading to the penny sites in the first place. It's likely they created this problem by uploading anywhere with a pulse, as Gostwyck said.
If I didn't know Fotolia better, I'd almost think they were doing us a favor by punishing people that submit to low paying agencies. That can't be right though. Can it?
2418
« on: September 23, 2011, 16:07 »
I bet they are referring e.g. to Photodune, since they never seemed to be interested in DT's or IS's pricing.
If it is really so and they don't refer to other big sites, I think this is the right move.
That would make sense to protect their turf from a new player.
2419
« on: September 23, 2011, 15:40 »
I'm not sure I have many images available for both a lower price and lower royalty than what FT offers. Regardless, why should royalty rates matter? Aren't they only competing on price for buyers? What a load of BS (and I don't mean Bigstock).
Whatever though, I'm so glad I left there. I guess I should get rid of my last image and close the book. I solved their competition problem by removing them as a competitor. Probably not what they had in mind though.
2420
« on: September 23, 2011, 11:34 »
I have to say Veer really knows how to push me off the site. First, they decide to sell raster sizes for vectors. Then, they make it tedious to upload by requiring extra high resolution jpegs. Now, subs. They've done a lot to destroy that initial excitement of Dash for Cash. Oh well.
2421
« on: September 23, 2011, 00:17 »
Do I have to draw the pirate or the turtle to get into the school?
Sounds like a good idea though. I guess I'll have to work on my school too. I've got that thing where I draw a turkey by tracing my hand and... umm... err... I've got nothing.
Seriously though, I wish him the best. It sounds like a fun opportunity.
2422
« on: September 22, 2011, 16:15 »
If you're on a Mac, you should just use their built in one. Just hold down Control and click on the file and select Compress. I used to use Dropstuff, but had problems with it. Or you can probably still submit SVG files too.
2423
« on: September 22, 2011, 13:01 »
One of biggest Istock fiascos ever.
I don't think it would make my top 10, but still a big blunder.
2424
« on: September 22, 2011, 11:39 »
I guess being lazy and taking a wait and see attitude pays off sometimes.
2425
« on: September 21, 2011, 14:16 »
Wow, I can't disagree with any of that, especially the second class citizen bit, It is a feeling I have had for a long time. Do you think there is any light at the end of the tunnel or it is better to cut one's losses?
If you think you are a second class citizen now, wait until you become independent. I waited and wondered if things would get better, but the latest move pushing independents to the partner program answered my question. I just don't think things will get better there, so I pulled my portfolio.
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