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Messages - Artemis

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301
iStockPhoto.com / Re: iStock changing royalty structure
« on: September 22, 2010, 22:00 »
So far, mine are consistently updating the day after the sales.
Really?! Hmm.... strange, mine have updated 3 or 4 times after 'the announcement', every time for a fraction of the amount i sold. Maybe time to shoot a mail to support.

302
iStockPhoto.com / Re: iStock changing royalty structure
« on: September 22, 2010, 20:07 »
We get those 'redeemed credits' shoven into our faces but there's no way to keep track of them? Mine keep going up with small random amounts now and then on a random timeframe, but they seem in no way related to my sales. I guess i have to take 'their word' that in the end the amount will be correct? "Their word", ha! (hahaha!)
This is seriously annoying me some extra though >:( Anyone managed to keep track of their RC's, found a pattern, anything?

303
Veer / Re: Dash for Cash Editing and Payment Update
« on: September 15, 2010, 13:56 »
Thats normal oboy, it takes a couple of days (this was confirmed in one of the other threads but its tough to keep track sometimes :)).

Thanks for listening and actually considering/implementing our suggestions Brian; quite refreshing to see in these days ;)

304
Veer / Re: Dash for Cash Editing and Payment Update
« on: September 15, 2010, 07:14 »
You're doing a great job so far Veer, my only point of critique would also be the royalties that are pretty confusing.
There seems to be no way to know how much you earned after your last payout and also the invoice Veer sent me gives me 2 numbers which are added up to a total. The 2 numbers show no date range or anything so i dont know where they come from...
A balance that resets after payout to keep track of current royalties would be very welcome...

305
General Photography Discussion / Re: Photoshopped or not?
« on: September 13, 2010, 11:37 »
I bet it has a lot of tonal contrast added; the one you can get with topaz adjust, or just in the ACR slider. No way this is not manipulated.

306
Veer, imho they have spunk, are doing a pretty good job with their marketing and for me are showing a lot of potential.
I will NOT send them to the FT*ssholes.

307
Shutterstock.com / Re: Whats this SS editing business?
« on: September 07, 2010, 04:23 »
I get that too lagereek...
When i have keywords and title in IPTC it takes me to the usual page, when the IPTC data is empty it takes me to this new confusing pafe.

308
iStockPhoto.com / istock phone calls with portfolio critique
« on: September 05, 2010, 17:32 »
I was a bit baffled to read this on the istock forums:
http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=251222&page=1

istock offered a (non-exclusive) to call and give them personal feedback, tips and tricks on how to improve their portfolio. They even send PSD's with their improvements etc! JJRD confirms in the thread its now part of the official istock program.

Thought i'd share :)
Im (pleasantly) surprised they're willing to put so much energy into this, and double surprised they offer this personal service to non-exclusives.

309
Dreamstime.com / Re: Dreamstime's New Tax Center
« on: September 01, 2010, 08:55 »
Gah, this once again  >:(
I saw this thread and assumed i'd go through the easy process of filling the online form and presto, but no, we get the ITIN sh*t again; why cant they get their facts straight, why would the law be different for DT?!
We do NOT need an ITIN number and I also will not toss out my info to the IRS. Bleh.

310
iStockPhoto.com / Re: I'm on Thinkstock?
« on: August 31, 2010, 12:50 »
and also in addition: they dont display your name next to your pictures...well, they dont display it at all  >:(

311
Veer / Re: Veer Dash for Cash
« on: August 27, 2010, 18:21 »
Sweet! DFC payed prompt on time :)
Imho Veer is doing a really good job, i have good hopes for them. Sales are there, and they're there at very reasonable commissions + they're doing a very good marketing job (loved their puzzle book for its creativity).

312
iStockPhoto.com / Re: I'm on Thinkstock?
« on: August 27, 2010, 12:32 »
I go and opt out. But every time I go back to the page the check box is ticked again.
Yep, i noticed this too. I opted out firmly on istock when this TS thing was announced, but since F5 its set to opt-in and no way to opt-out again because it always resets to opt-in. The only reason im not screaming in fury is that the migration of files has stopped since the last 4 months or so + hopefully its only a displaying glitch. But if you're in it seems you'll be locked in for now...

313
Ahh, all love peace and harmony here again  ;D
Been catching up with this thread and i think there are some great ideas floating here! Still so much questionmarks... how to maintain quality, which is crucial imho (no clue..we all love our pics like they're our children and all would be hurt to be left out); would it be a website (costy + time intensive for the victims maintaining it), or a public lightbox (coming from which site, and where and how to host?)
ETA *snip*
(meh, my english is ditching me; cant get my point across, will try again at a more decent hour )

314
Veer / Re: Veer sales increasing?
« on: August 25, 2010, 20:08 »
wow, that activity book looks truly great, a marketing job well done Veer team!! Looking forward to sales going up even more.

315
iStockPhoto.com / Re: "Istock Collections" what ??
« on: August 25, 2010, 12:34 »
The question is how important or effective are these lightboxes in generating sales? I have images of mine included in the "Compelling Critters" lightbox and I don't see any increase in sales of those images or my portfolio as a whole. In fact this month is dismal for me of IS.  

I agree I should think most buyers don't use these lightboxes unless they're really pressed for time.
Maybe they would if the ligtboxes would represent a well rounded collection with something for each; instead of 90% vetta's which arent included in most buyers wallets anyways. In that aspect its probably backfiring already... buyers wont even look at them anymore (as opposed to SS where you usually can find one of your images in a lightbox when it suddenly starts selling suspiciously well)

316
Veer / Re: Veer sales increasing?
« on: August 25, 2010, 12:29 »
Had an EL today, they're still doing ok for me. I had my last ones from Dash for Cash inspected and cant complain there either...no rejections.
About disappearing sales (not the strange 0.00 ones): there was an answer somewhere in their forum but i cant find the link anymore. It has to do with the timeline; as it moves sales at the beginning of the line fall off, showing a lower total balance, but the sales are not really gone...its a bit confusing.

317
Shutterstock.com / Re: Feeding the beast
« on: August 19, 2010, 10:28 »
If you have to keep 'feeding the beast' to maintain sales then it just means that your images aren't good enough to compete with the best in their subject matter. Images that attain a prominent position in the default sort order can enjoy regular and sustained downloads over many years. Don't blame 'the beast' but instead try to improve the saleability of your work.
Agreed, up to a certain level (i do believe truly outstanding work will keep floating above).
It's critical to have your pictures raise up in the most popular before they die out in the newest first. That's become increasingly difficult because of the fierce competition + the ones up in "most popular" keep strengthening their position as well because of their improved visibility. Not for nothing the top 50 ever is barely changing anymore.

318
Shutterstock.com / Re: Feeding the beast
« on: August 19, 2010, 09:18 »
Ditto lagereek; Im getting pretty fed up with the beast and feeding it.
Its so disencouraging to see a new picture sell 10ish times aday the first couple of days (must mean its a good picture with a market for it); and then see it die off completely the next week burried deeply somewhere in the oversupply.

319
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Sales slump
« on: August 18, 2010, 08:11 »
Yesterday i bumped into someone who works for a big production house that buys a lot of stock.
He said they have always used istock, but recently moved over to Shutterstock as istock got way too expensive. He was also complaining about so many images that cost easily $50/image. (Vetta).
Because we're so involved in stock we know what Vetta is about, but apparently not all buyers are aware and the fact that Vetta's are pushed to the front of the best match so agressively doesnt seem to be helping istock... that in combination with the other price raises makes maybe istock for big buyers isnt as interesting as it was anymore.
Of course this is only one company but i thought it was interesting to hear. (and was relieved they prefer shutterstock over TS ;))

This is interesting as I have experienced the same thing and have spent allot of time assuring friends which deal with Istock to just look further back in the search and the less expensive choices are there, whether or not they are prepared to put the time in of course is another matter, no wonder my sales are still tumbling  >:( This really need to be addressed imo

Have no problem with Vetta Pricing as such but for heavens sake why not have a separate category after all if it really is that good and in demand it should sell itself without hogging the first pages of every search
I agree, I also think Vetta is a great collection and an excellent idea, but stop shoving it in the buyers faces like that already!
What does the 'typical' buyer do? They dont read newsletters or forums; they go to the site and perform a search. If they get as first results images that cost $50 i can vivdly imagine they walk out to somewhere else (which seems already to be the case).
I think Paulie's idea with the 2 different search-result boxes both with a 'see more of this collection' would be a perfect solution.

320
iStockPhoto.com / Re: Sales slump
« on: August 15, 2010, 07:27 »
Yesterday i bumped into someone who works for a big production house that buys a lot of stock.
He said they have always used istock, but recently moved over to Shutterstock as istock got way too expensive. He was also complaining about so many images that cost easily $50/image. (Vetta).
Because we're so involved in stock we know what Vetta is about, but apparently not all buyers are aware and the fact that Vetta's are pushed to the front of the best match so agressively doesnt seem to be helping istock... that in combination with the other price raises makes maybe istock for big buyers isnt as interesting as it was anymore.
Of course this is only one company but i thought it was interesting to hear. (and was relieved they prefer shutterstock over TS ;))

321
Crestock.com / Re: Crestock - new owner?
« on: August 14, 2010, 05:43 »
There are sites that don't sell much but that you want keep supporting out of sympathy. I count Canstockphoto amongst them. It was the first site that accepted me 5 years ago and it always has been the best programmed site around, thanks to the vision of Duncan. I always liked his style, and although he wasn't always the best communicator, he always has been the best "nerd".  ;) Even now, CanStockPhoto has the best upload and MRF attach module around. I think Artemis here on the forum is reviewing on CanStockPhoto (unless it's another Artemis).

Eep? If there's a reviewer called Artemis its definitely not me. I have no relations with Canstock or Crestock, i don't upload there and dont think i've ever had their site open. :)
The only "small" ones i contribute to are Veer and BigStock (gave Vivozoom a chance too but that one's a lesson learned as well)

322
i can see the numbers of views in my details page on istock too... it would just have been nice to get all the additional info google analytics provides (unique visitors vs returning ones, bounce rate, nationalities, traffic going up and down, etc...)

323
Pixmac / Re: Big ambition from Pixmac [Press Release]
« on: August 12, 2010, 06:56 »
In general I would welcome your effort to generate more sales. And I am not totally against the concept of distributing files I have already online to partner agencies.
What troubles me is the lack of control I have over this distributions (not really your problem, but maybe you can talk to FT and DT about that). Ideally I would like to have a list of all available partners with their exact conditions and an opt-out possibility on a case by case basis.
With FT I get nothing (no information, no opt-out), with DT close to nothing (no information, just a global opt-out).
That certainly is bad.


And I certainly have no problem with sites generating more sales, but the part bolded is the exact reason I don't opt in to partner programs. None of the sites seem willing to disclose this information, as if we have no right to it!

Quote
Quote from: zager on Today at 01:50
4. You'll be in our subscription (which most of you don't like) and you'll be in our API chain of partners as eg. http://www.ccvision.de/de/microstock/ but currently our focus is to generate serious sales. As we've started with paying for uploads as any other new agency did and found out that we were not able to satisfy contributors later on with sales.


And the chain goes on and on, and now there is no control. By the time my image gets sold at the end of the chain, my commission is what...one penny? I don't think so. We can't even get the top micros to help out with copyright infringement, how can we possibly keep control when we don't even know all the sites our images are at?

Agree very much so with every point. These are MY images and I want to keep control over them, not see them showing up on all sorts of sites i know nothing about, keeping my fingers crossed they'll only rip me off a little.

I only opted out of the DT alliances program yesterday (Fotolia was gone already), but NONE of my pictures showed up on Pixmac (i searched profoundly), so thats something that needs checking.
I do appreciate you Pixmac guys chiming in here to clear things out and definitely will consider uploading my portfolio directly, but no way i'll be doing it through sketchy partner programs, and it will also depend on the transparency of Pixmac's alliances.

324
Thanks a lot for your replies guys! Aww, its a pity we can't... in my ignorance i thought it could be possible to convert the javascript code you'd have to paste in your profile section in something UBB'ish.

325
I've been wondering if it's possible to use google analytics to track traffic to my istock portfolio like i do with my zazzle store. The tracking code i'd have to add to my member profile is javascript...is it technically possible? (i have close to zero coding knowledge). Been looking in the istock forums but everything vaguely related is locked without answer...
gracias :)

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