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Messages - JFP
51
« on: February 09, 2013, 07:00 »
Until 3 months ago, it definitely made no sense to leave istock exclusivity... but with the drop of at least 50% of revenues since December, it may not be the case anymore. Further, there is no sign that things will go better, and looking at the massive ban (from Lobo the Psycho) on istock forum that is being rolled over since the beginning of this week, we can expect a big news not in favor of exclusives! Then why do you insist to have your "all eggs in one basket" ? Why not want to secure your income and spread the risks if you are depending on microstock income?
If only it was that easy! I have been at iStock for 8 years, I have a portfolio of 4000+ images and a weekly income of 4 figures. My income is rising too, not reaching what it was 2 years ago or so, but rising. I know from others experience that giving up exclusivity would mean an immediate large drop in income of up to 75%. That would mean my weekly income might drop by, lets say $750, possibly more. That is a lot of money and an amount I could not possibly afford to lose. I could start to upload at other sites but how long would it take me to (a) upload 4000 images and (b) equal my income at IS? People I know who have given up exclusivity suggest it might take 2 years or more and may never equal the exclusivity income I now have. Some have given up exclusivity and returned to IS within a year, because the income drop is impossible to manage, and then, when they return to IS, have to fight to climb back to their previous figures. If I were starting out now I would definitely choose non exclusivity but I haven't and I continue for the present to reap the financial rewards, but with the negative aspects that come with that too. IS has changed and not for the better, but it is easy to be glib and suggest people spread risks, without really understanding the implications of that statement. Hope my explanation may go some way to explaining why myself, and probably many more people, are stuck with exclusivity for the time being.
52
« on: February 06, 2013, 06:04 »
My royalty rate with the new RC system has gone higher much faster than with the old system.
The problem with the RC system is when it is managed by a company which has no integrity and start playing with the best match at the end of the year to adjust their targets!
53
« on: January 16, 2013, 07:33 »
Guys, I am not sure if this has been mentioned in the 10 previous pages, but deleted x0,000 images from istock is completely useless if you only delete them. The news will not get to the decision makers at Getty or Carlyle.
This need to be followed by a PRESS RELEASE in newspapers if you want it to get noticed....
54
« on: November 23, 2012, 07:05 »
Over the last couple of years, istock/Getty keep underpaying contributors, having a broken site because their IT team s**ks, unitarily changing ASA without even informing contributors, etc, etc.... some example include:
- Not doing retro-payments when contributors go to a higher level
- Not transferring files to Getty as promised in exchange of lower royalties on Vettas
- Not paying royalties when they mess up the site by doing "upgrades" (a few times a year) as their IT team is not able to write scripts to correct their mess
- Not paying royalties based on what the customers are paying for the image (as initially indicated in the ASA), but based on a "net" amount on payment in non-USD currencies (with up-to 20% markup!). When some contributors realized that it was going one since a few years (thanks to the new Cash Sales), istock changed the ASA without telling anybody and not giving the choice to contributors to agree or not on the new terms.
Anybody knows a US/Canadian lawyer that would be able to act on behalf of contributors (class-action type), as individual contributors don't have a single chance to get paid what we are supposed to!
55
« on: April 05, 2012, 07:48 »
David, You and your customer support team keep saying that all is normal and that you charge only 3%, the remaining is either charged by the local bank or visa, or whoever else. Fair enough, but why in this case payoneer refuses to provide any specific transaction details when requested ? Maybe a payoneer screenshot from your system may help ! Hello Everyone,
Thanks for all your great feedback and warm welcome.
If anyone has any questions regarding Payoneer, also be sure to checkout our sub-forum: http://www.microstockgroup.com/payoneer/ and official thread: http://www.microstockgroup.com/payoneer/official-payoneer-support-thread/
56
« on: April 03, 2012, 04:03 »
Agreed, I got the same issue and Payoneer support refused to provide any information on the 6% fees perceived. The only reply was "we checked your account and didn't see any issue" ! I am really impressed by your willingness to engage here. You are really paying attention to what people are asking in an upfront way. That is a really rare thing from a company rep.
Is there any way to make a straight forward comparison between the rates you use for currency conversion and what Paypal uses?
I can't really comment as to paypal and their services. By looking at their site I see they list their fees as anywhere between 3.5% - 4.5% depending on the country.
As I mentioned above, for Payoneer, ours are up to 3% above MasterCard's official rate.
And that's the point why I often payed 6(!!!)% over the market rate on foreign currency payments. MasterCards official (rip off rate) is about 3% above market rate and payoneer hammers another 3% on top of it. Even though your Homepage clearly stats that you guys ONLY charge a max of 3%. Noone of my other credit card companies charge over 1% and ATM withdrawal has no extra fee.
I really hope people start using Oanda.com to compare the market rate with the rate they got.
And please don't come telling me about having to add 3% because of risk. I worked as a currency trader for years and I know that all credit card companies use a real time conversion rate and the 3% is straight profit. There are many banks like the DKB (in Europe) who charge 0% on top of the market rate.
I you guys at payoneer want to keep your customers you better start using fair rates. It was 2.2% last year btw and you guys increased it without any notice!
Here a screenshot of a withdrawal in Bangkok. The market rate at that day was $648.80 - payoneer charged me $686.10 !!! I think that speaks for itself.
57
« on: April 01, 2012, 23:51 »
David,
It would be nice if you could reply to some of the questions that have been posted on istock forum that have been completely ignored or refused to be answered by your support team when contacted (except saying that they do not see any issues on transactions).
i.e. ATM withdrawal in Bangkok: why is there a 6% fee charged on certain ATM withdrawal while your fee should be limited to 3% ?
Thanks
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