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Messages - klsbear
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601
« on: January 18, 2011, 07:46 »
Why wait another 2 years for the Mark III?
Waiting sucks..... There is no pleasure.... at all in waiting.
He who waits........ gets f****d !! big time. Old Chinese proverb.
I guess you all missed the "(saving up)" part of my post..., besides, my acceptance rate with my 30D has been good - no rejections for image quality, mostly lighting (resolved now with the new strobes I just purchased) and an occasional LCV. So why swap out one camera for another with the same number of focal points? I'd rather save up and wait, and maybe get a new lens in the meantime. Besides, Patience is a Virtue.
602
« on: January 17, 2011, 20:57 »
Thanks for posting your comparisons. I have the 30D and I've been lusting for an upgrade and you've made a good case for it. I'm holding out (and saving up) for the 5D Mark III.
604
« on: January 05, 2011, 22:58 »
Shocked to see the poll showing 43% (at the time of this writing) saying that they are carrying on as normal.
I don't think it's that simple. This single little poll doesn't capture all the contributors who simply walked away, or brilliant photographers like myself  who've decided that submitting images into this chaotic mess would not be a good investment of time.
There are a lot of great stock images that IS isn't getting, and won't get in the future, from people who would read this forum and think - why would I spend time producing quality images for this crazy company that gives me no assurance that my commission a year from now won't be half of what it is today, or that my images won't be simply buried by new schemes to favor exclusives and high-margin images, or will even show up properly in searches based on keywords?
I voted for Carrying on as Usual because there wasn't a "take a wait-and-see attitude for awhile". I'm a relatively new contributor with a small portfolio. While I've only had a handful of DL's, my return-per-image is the highest of all the sites I'm on. I'm seeing higher overall dollars on SS and am getting close to my first payout -still a long way off on IS but the higher RPI is encouraging. I've had .18 and .19 at FT and IS so it's not the only site that's offering small returns. IS isn't going to be a priority to upload to, but for now I'll keep it in the mix and will be watching the overall return on investment. It's never fun to get a pay cut (hey - we've had to do that at my "real" job for the past few years - no paid holidays, furlough days, etc) but for now as mentioned, I'm on "wait and see" mode before I just walk away.
605
« on: January 04, 2011, 22:31 »
I suppose it's better than silence.
But just barely.
Yeah, nothing new. They know about all the problems, they're working on them. They've been saying that for 2 months or more. Just because they are saying it in the New Year, doesn't mean it really means anything different than it did before.
Maybe we should send a support ticket with the definition of SOON: SOON adverb, -er, -est. 1. within a short period after this or that time, event, etc. 2. before long; in the near future; at an early date 3. promptly or quickly They seem to define "soon" as some vague and distant point in time when they figure it out at which point the "fix" seems to be a gateway to more problems.
606
« on: January 02, 2011, 20:27 »
When you see what we pay on Long Island, NY you'll think we're absolutely crazy for living here. Of course the salaries in many case are higher too, but it's really starting to spiral out of control and we have no intention of retiring here. In the US the cost of many basic expenses can vary wildly so it's possible to find retirement living at a better cost. Many of the smaller expenses listing are things I don't spend on so I couldn't really say what a movie costs, or a pint of beer costs, but here are a few costs to make your head spin.
Rental apt - 1 bedroom, 1 bath, approx. $1200 a month
Small, older starter home (was probably a summer cottage 40 years ago) about $350,000 and probably NOT updated with newer appliances and bathroom fixtures.
Property taxes about $8000 - $12,000 a year to cover schools, police, fire department, road and street lighting, trash services, etc.
Electric - $120 a month (if you're frugal - can reach $400 a month in the summer if you have central air conditioning)
Cable and Internet - about $120 a month for broadcast and basic - if you want the movie channels and other bells and whistles add more, and they are moving to all digital - if we want to add that to all the TV's in the house (required if we want any reception at all on those units) it will be another $8.00 per unit per month
Gas is about $3.50 a gallon right now
Fuel Oil for heating - about the same
Our health insurance runs about $6800 a year plus co-pay expenses and dental is not included but I have to say it is really good coverage.
Of course we're just a few miles from the ocean, and an hour away from New York City so there are other advantages. If our jobs didn't keep us tied here and retirement wasn't that far off we'd be heading for other areas.
607
« on: December 31, 2010, 19:27 »
What kinda surprises me is how many are carrying on as usual.
I chose the "carry on as usual" option because there wasn't one that said "upload select images as allowed by the meager limitations and take a wait and see attitude before making a final decision". I just recently started uploading so I'm currently at the lowest level and have a small portfolio. My RPI has been better than what I'm getting on subs on other sites though the frequency is less. It's still coming in as my second highest earner after SS so I'm hesitant to stop yet, but I'll be watching with more than a little caution and may pull the plug if the chaos continues.
608
« on: December 29, 2010, 15:28 »
I think this frustrated buyer sums it up well....
Posted By GlitschkaStudios:
Your website is so bug ridden you should have ORKIN as a sponsor. I just bought $350 worth of credit and nearly every photo I've included in my album that the client signed off on gets me a 404 error when attempting to order? (Of course no 404 error when taking my money) WTH? Your customer service number cycles me through in seconds and than hangs up? Can you really call it customer support when someone phones you, tweets you, posts on Facebook, emails you, and now posts on your forum and you don't adequately responds?
609
« on: December 29, 2010, 14:16 »
Cathy, you and I are on the same page. IP has value, and it's theft is still theft. We don't really know how damaging this will be financially to the artists because we don't know where these images will end up. But IMO there is the potential to damage sales of Istock's high end collections.
I think that in general terms it also damages the value of IP as a whole too when it ends up on free download sites or cheap CD's. If the images were not easily available to use via access to stolen goods then some of those using them might just go to the legitimate sites and realize that you have to pay (sometimes dearly) for good content. I'm sure that there are users out there that will look for the least expensive option and not realize that the least expensive means is because they are accessing stolen goods. But it also puts it in their mind that they should not have to pay for that type of content when it's available cheaply or free, creating a devaluation of the overall marketplace.
610
« on: December 22, 2010, 11:23 »
Two sales in two days - one paying me $3.00  A surprise to me considering I only have a small portfolio of 35 images so far. Maybe it's a sign of better things to come?
611
« on: December 22, 2010, 11:20 »
I gave up on updating this list. I can't follow the fiascos. It's a lot of new fiascos everyday. No stats updates, no latest uploads, IS people say that the errors were corrected but in fact still there... It's a Herculean task.
Sorry, it's not sustainable.
- F5 fiasco
- Logo program fiasco
- Agency collection start fiasco
- Business card eternal fiasco
- EL percentage reduction fiasco
- Agency search fiasco
- Magical mystery changing vector prices fiasco
- A old and good live stats fiasco
- Partner Program fiasco. Once you're in you will never get out.
- Support tickets long times to response fiasco.
- Search engine Agency pics fiasco.
- Vector dudes are second rate contributors now fiasco.
- XXXL size removals fiasco.
- Fixes Released Nov 24 fiasco
- Stockys fiasco
- Vetta sale prices for of December with RC bonus. Again, nothing for illustrators.
- New faceted search start fiasco.
Sorry, it's not sustainable. LOL - that sums it all up!
612
« on: December 16, 2010, 20:16 »
I'm fairly new at this so I'm still finding my way. Plans for next year are to find my style, learn more about lighting and greatly increase my uploads. Not sure what is realistic considering I'm still working a full-time "regular" job but I'd like to see somewhere between 500 - 1000 images by this time next year.
613
« on: December 10, 2010, 19:35 »
I can't speak from experience, but I think if I were buying and were aware of multiple sites I might just start my search at the site that offered the best prices based on my status (subcription, on-demand, etc), then migrate to other sites if I wasn't finding what I wanted. Once I found what I wanted I might pop back to a better priced site just to do a quick check for a contributors portfolio to see if I could find the image thinking I may have missed it earlier (afterall, they all have different search features), but I can't see myself taking a lot of time searching for the image on several sites doing comparison shopping.
614
« on: December 08, 2010, 20:04 »
The point and shoot I'm lusting after is the Canon G-12, so maybe when a smart phone shoots RAW I might consider it. Otherwise, I'm OK just having my simple basic phone for emergency calls.
615
« on: December 01, 2010, 22:22 »
I'm relatively new at this and have only been uploading seriously for the past few months. I have about 45 - 50 images on most of the sites and saw at least a few sales on the majority of them. SS was and always has been my best site with consistant sales every week this past month (I more than doubled what I'd done in October). The other sites had just a few sales here and there. I'm encouraged by the growth and steady sales and I sure hope that the dark clouds of doom that seem to be hovering over the industry will disapate because I'm really enjoying this despite all the concerns that seem to be expressed here.
SS - 64%
IS - 6%
DT - 12%
FT - 10%
123 - 0%
CanStockPhoto - 0%
BS - 3%
DP - 4%
CRE-0%
616
« on: November 30, 2010, 18:14 »
I think google has a program with partner sites and if the advertiser has opted into the program it will place your ad on random sites that are deemed to be related topics. Not entirely sure, but what may be happening is the pirate sites join into the partner program saying they want to get paid for hosting ads, and the micro sites are in the program saying they want to be placed on related sites. In many cases they are being placed on sites that are photo blogs and forums, but in this case they are ending up on undesireable locations. I don't think you can select, it's probably all or nothing so to eliminate those you'd be eliminating all the desireable sites by opting out.
617
« on: November 23, 2010, 14:01 »
I feel like I'm standing on the sidelines and can't get into the game - LOL! I have 7 seasonal pictures that have been under review since last night. I am really hoping they get released today and get some notice in the New Images que so my dinky little portfolio has a hope of seeing a sale today. I really like DT and hope to be seeing more action there as my portfolio grows.
618
« on: November 22, 2010, 11:59 »
According to the timer we are now under 6 minutes before the 100% royalty.
Oh no! My new images are waiting to be grabbed for review - almost there! I was hoping they would be on line before the big moment since they are all seasonal images and hopefully would be well timed for the anticipated buying frenzy.
619
« on: November 21, 2010, 23:32 »
I have 7 images awaiting review and it may be the only time I've been wishing that ETR countdown clock would slow down a little! The ETR was far off the previous week. I had 120 hours and then suddenly accepted. It will be Tuesday for now. With 10 pending, I have a fair chance and you should too.
I'm hovering around 99 - 100 hours ETR. I notice they usually get grabbed for review as the get to the 80 - 90 hours ETR range, then sit there for about 24 - 30 hours. I guess anyone with images pending has a decent chance - you've got to be in it to win it!
620
« on: November 21, 2010, 20:30 »
It really is an unbelievable burden. Like we have time to track down an EIN from B&H or whatever. And the IRS is so incompetent, it's not like they'd be able to do anything with these billions of forms.
They will, however, be able to hire thousands of government employees to shuffle those form around around making it look like something is actually being done, therefore creating massive tax increases as we have to pay the salaries and pensions of these new employees, then they will claim that unemployment has dropped radically because they have created lots of new jobs!
621
« on: November 20, 2010, 21:05 »
I have 7 images awaiting review and it may be the only time I've been wishing that ETR countdown clock would slow down a little!
I guess it's better to have them approved sooner than later though, so they are online when the big moment occurs. It's been fun to watch and I hope that it jump-starts my small portfolio. My seven pending images are seasonal so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they are timely and in demand.
622
« on: November 07, 2010, 22:53 »
About a year ago I applied to the Big 4. I was immediately accepted at SS, FT and DT - IS accepted 1 of 3. I only had a few images on each site. Continued to upload some random shots, but got more serious about it this past summer - especially after I sold an EL on SS (that's enough to get you going!)
In the past month I've been agressively uploading, setting up and shooting images specifically designed for stock, and signed up with all the middle tier agencies (except Veer - haven't signed up there yet) plus Crestock and Stockfresh (hoping they will review my portfolio sometime before the end of 2011). During that time I was also accepted at IS - not sure how I feel about their changes yet, but as a matter of pride I wanted to be accepted, even if was to ultimately recect them.
SS has been by far my best selling agency and most consistant. Sales continue to grow there. DT - two sales early on, nothing since. FT, no sales until this past month when I got two. One sale on IS, no sales yet on any of the middle tier sites or those in the low-earner category.
My goal for this year is to get my portfolio up to 100 images by end of year - next year TBD as I learn more about what sells. I also plan to review the sales at the various sites over the next several months and by the end of next year I expect that I will eliminate some that are not giving me the return on time invested. That's the strategy I'd recommend - pick several, including the top tier, and see where you get accepted and shich sites start selling for you - it will help you assess which site or sites are a good match for your style and where you're getting sales, then you can eliminate those that don't fit.
623
« on: November 02, 2010, 22:20 »
624
« on: November 01, 2010, 20:31 »
Ann - thanks for the write up. I wasn't able to go to the seminar but I did get a chance to walk the show and gathered some good info. I remember you from the Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk at Jones Beach in 2009 - it's nice run into you here.
625
« on: October 13, 2010, 22:00 »
I love the quick turnaround with uploads and reviews. I just joined recently and my portfolio is small, but I'm getting views and that's the first step on the way to sales. I like seeing the green arrow in the sidebar here too - I see that as a hopeful sign. Keeping my fingers crossed for some sales soon.
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