i have $99 footage in Pond5. it is sold and i got $35,9.
i should get $49.5   (50% because it is sold before 8 april (8 april is before exclusivity))

What i mean is their percentage share is not trustable in any case.

I don't know about trusted, or not, but now I understand what you had happen. You got 40% instead of 50% if the sale was $99.

I think George is right, contact support at least at Pond5 they respond within a couple days.

I'm officially exclusive on the 11th, cleaned out everything, all other places. I don't expect any great gain and I'd say for most people, the non-exclusive is probably going to be better in the long run. For me, one agency is fine. Personal choice and I don't advocate others should or shouldn't do anything. Personal choice.

hmmm. same here.  Looks like i have a little bug hunting to do.

LOL yes Inquiring Minds want Data!

Thanks both. I have a mix of real and "fake". And true some of the eBay batteries are weak or flat out lies. I mean they will promise 2500 mAh when they might be 1800, and the standard batteries are 1390 mAh. I've had a battery for different equipment, expand, while the real Canon keep their size.

Although I haven't had fake batteries that were so flawed and have had good results over many years with the BP-511A copies. The problem is finding a supplier with good quality vs the ones that are pedaling junk with false claims.

Back to the actual answer. The batteries were from assorted years (yes I mark mine when I get them, so I know) and some came in used cameras, some were mine. Also sometimes sets of batteries sit for months unused, until an event, where I charge everything before I leave. I'm not sure if cycling batteries makes any difference anymore with new battery types like it would have with NiCads. NiMH are less affected. However, low voltage can possibly be corrected by a deep cycle. YES

Newer batteries also have a life of up to 2000 charging cycles. The BP-511A is Lithium-Ion

Since these batteries are old or new or other sources, I don't know what charger someone else used. Heat is the enemy. If they over charged or fast charged, the batteries could be ruined. Mine I only charge in a Canon charger. What I'd really like is a smart charger, which I should invest in, some day. I keep putting it off.

The reason i was kind of closing the thread was, I bought four new batteries, on eBay, and the problem is gone.

Note, I always have IS off unless I need it, kind of opposite to many people. The working and adjusting makes the shutter lag longer, I want as fast as possible. I try to shut off the camera rather than dangling with it on, and view is 3 seconds. Anything to save battery life, especially when I'm up a hill and a mile or more from more. Always have two spares in my pocket and at least one more memory card.

Another problem, which I create, is saving things. With the analyzer I could see the actual values and "get over it" and throw the old worn out batteries away. 

Good that I was reminded, time to go shop for what I should have purchased years ago.

Not much luck finding one for camera batteries.

Quote from: leox83 on April 07, 2019, 06:28

i am not exclusive, but this video is only in pond5. They still offer 50% because they will start exclusivity 8 april.

they gave 50% after they cut 30% so $99 sale, i get $35...

I'd say that's out of order, they have no need to discount any item only to be found on Pond5 given that they can now price match against the lowest price anywhere.  I feel they may come a cropper if they try that with exclusive content without the consent of the contributor.

I didn't understand what you were writing at first. Maybe I don't still. Pond5 will price match of a same image, at the lowest price found anywhere else? Not sure I understand leox83 either. If the image was only on Pond5, not under exclusive terms, I read it as, they discounted his set price. Do they do that?

I do understand the last words, I think? They should hold the prices what we set them at for exclusive, and not offer discounts. Right?

I just noticed this and I wanted to update. I bought four new batteries, and everything seems fine. I suppose if I had something to actually cycle batteries and check for their power, I would have seen the problem. The new camera draws more current than the older models.

Quote from: franzi on April 06, 2019, 14:41

Quote from: stockman11 on April 06, 2019, 14:05

Maybe I'm missing something, but isn't the minimum artboard size at Fotolia / Adobe 15 megapixels? How do you submit there if your artboard size is less than 1 megapixel?

Where did you find this? Most of my artwork is saved at 450px x 300px and I never had a problem submitting these files to Fotolia / Adobe.

At Adobe click on the upload button and check the requirements for vectors on the right.

Also, larger jpg should be more appealing to buyers who want to buy the raster version. So I thought that almost everybody work with 15MP artboards.

Good idea, so I did and here's the link to make things easy for anyone else:  https://helpx.adobe.com/stock/contributor/help/vector-requirements.html


Standalone vector file upload

    AI and EPS formats only
    Artboard size: minimum 15 MP, maximum 68 MP
    File size maximum: 45 MB
    When saving, make sure Create PDF Compatible File is checked.


ZIP folder

    AI and EPS formats only
    Vectors must be placed in a ZIP archive along with a JPEG preview
    JPEG preview mimumum resolution: 5,000 pixels x 3,000 pixels or 15MP
    File size maximum: 45 MB
    When saving, make sure Create PDF Compatible File is checked.
    Make sure there are only two files inside each folder (vector file + JPEG preview).

Quote from: swisschocolate on April 03, 2019, 04:09

Quote from: dirkr on April 03, 2019, 04:07

Go to Insights, My Statistics, select data type Earnings, select Display daily.

Thanks a lot!

But then it only shows a number - not the images sold. They are somewhere else.

It must have taken a really clever committee to have devised this truly unhelpful interface. And probably one that hates contributors.

I know that a number of people have pointed this out, but once again. If you view https://contributor.stock.adobe.com/en/insights/sales-earnings and the last thing you look at is ACTIVITY then when you come back, you will see activity (which is sales in date order).

If the last thing you look at is Top Sellers, Downloads, Earnings, Witholdings... then the link will return you to that choice. There are cookies involved which remember your last choice that you viewed. The site isn't deciding what you see, you are.

Go to https://contributor.stock.adobe.com/en/insights/sales-earnings  look at My Statistics > Activity. The bookmark will always return to Activity not any of the other four choices.

Try this please?

What if there would be Banksy's mural on the wall... Would they sue him too?

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2019/jan/16/help-ive-been-banksied-how-we-coped-with-banksy-street-art-fame
"One person struggled to sell their home, another had to remove wall. We meet the people whose lives changed after Banksy left his mark"

Great isn't it? That's what's going to make the case interesting. The industrial giant attacking some artists.

As someone who works in advertising, I can assure you that social media posts are definitely advertising. There are ad agencies who specialize just in social. Their paid marketing team paid an ad agency to hire a paid photographer to purposely shoot their cars in front of these murals specifically. Everyone got paid but the artists who painted the murals. And the organization who commissioned the murals is standing behind the artists. (Also, they must have roped off the area they were shooting in, because there�s no other brand of cars or pedestrians in the shots....this was a commercial shoot.)

I'd agree, I just point out that legal arguments may not be as easy or self evident as what pretty much anyone here will find obvious. 

i am not exclusive, but this video is only in pond5. They still offer 50% because they will start exclusivity 8 april.

they gave 50% after they cut 30% so $99 sale, i get $35...

Lets use the same math for both. Commission will be 40% for non-exclusive video and 60% for Exclusive video.

Since anyone can have two accounts, we can choose. Do you want a video to make 60% at only one place or have it on many sites, but still get 40% on Pond5?

Problem sorted.

Oh good, no one had to talk you off the ledge. 

I don't think Canada withholds  (and note the word "think", I'm not sure).  They are probably doing non-U.S. photographers a service by paying through a Canadian company.  Remember that the IRS didn't get the bright idea to withhold until sometime in the last few years/decade.  [Question - does Canstock withhold, they are Canadian and did the original Istock withhold?]

But.... they do have to issue documents to Canadian residents.  Has anyone received those?

AND - if this contract went into effect on that date (without looking it up June 2018)..... they should not have collected taxes on International photographers since that date.  Some non-treaty countries had 20- 30 - 40% withholding rates!  If that's what I understand from above, and the contract was retroactive, Adobe better set it right.

9.1. Relationship. If you reside in the United States, your relationship is with Adobe Systems Incorporated, a United States company. If you reside outside of the United States, your relationship is with Adobe Canada Services Corporation, a Canadian company. 

About that withholding, that's why my paychecks have taxes taken out if I work for someone. (law in 1943) People would collect the money, spend it and then the IRS would be chasing to get paid. Now imagine them having to chase all over the world to get $20 from someone in Indonesia? 

So of course they created withholding to solve that impossible collection nightmare.

I had to go look, but you made me do that.    Foreign Account Taxpayer Compliance Act of 2010 (FATCA) and there's also another part that I learned today (and will probably forget by tomorrow?)

FDAP is an abbreviation for Fixed, Determinable, Annual or Periodic income.  FDAP income applies to foreign persons earning income in the U.S; such persons will be subject to 30% withholding tax, or a lower rate if there is a tax treaty between the United States and the country of residency.

Time to go plant tulips and wildflowers.

Quote from: Trippy on April 04, 2019, 15:22

All an agency needs to do is give their contributors a royalty raise.
Then the exclusive/non exclusive argument would be a mute point.

The first agency to do such a thing would cause massive waves throughout our industry.

Disagree. Pond5 gave a royalty rate raise right from the beginning offering 50% and most everyone still uploaded everywhere. Even to those places with a MUCH lower royalty rate.

Excellent Point!

This duplicate account seems like a very dirty temporary fix.

Why don't they implement a button that you can use to tick for exclusive files like some agencies do, and what will happen to all these duplicate accounts if they do? You'd then have to re-upload all your work on one account and lose your sales history?

From reading here and elsewhere apparently the answer is, they couldn't do that with one account, very easily, so they created the two account system. Has to do with software, commissions, accounting, kind of things not just something easy like buyers interface or uploading.

Also, wait and see, they claim to be promoting the exclusive content feature and works. Which would mean, instead of account based, they would have had to go image based.

Simple answer is, there wasn't a simple answer like add a button and magically you would have everything mixed, exclusive, non, commissions, promotions and all that, into one account.

Easy way, some people will be creating a new Exclusive account, which we can track against the old account. That sounds easy? Or in my case, I deleted everything from everywhere else and now I have an Exclusive account. Should I change my mind, I create an open account. But from my viewpoint, we have better control, and division means clean cut statistics to evaluate if the exclusive is a better idea or a waste of time. People can also choose what's new and where it goes to market.

I like the offer of 60% at an active site, over $1.50 or 15% at someplace where I'm buried. Don't look I'm hardly a video contributor, but I am "exclusive" ! 

I plan on working at some better efforts in the near future and 60% is a nice incentive.

You guys do realize that article was published on April 1st?

Well that would be a good one, but if you follow the links, why is the document showing an Alamy demand for money from December 2015?

https://www.scribd.com/embeds/404136234/content?start_page=1&view_mode=scroll&access_key=key-2BEWJYyA6xCFvDz4UlsL&show_recommendations=true

Good spot though!