*Bump*

Any New York based videographers interested in creating a few custom clips?

Hello everyone,

I'm looking for a videographer based in New York City, who would be willing to shoot a ~45 seconds clip at 4 to 5 very specific locations throughout New York for a reasonable fee. Simple pans, using a tripod with fluid head stuff, afaik no permit needed. I will need the source files, no editing or post required.

The clips will be used in a creative brief and short trailer for a historical documentary.

Please send me a DM if you're interested.

Thanks,

Hugo

Any news on this? They were to send out invitations for those, who would qualify to continue uploading in 2017. Anyone received an update on who's eligible to start uploading, again?

100%. Broad question, broad answer.

Decided to give them another try and uploaded a handful of images earlier this month, after a long break. Fine images, which sell regularly. Quite a few of them were rejected: "They were not what they are looking for". Guess that should be the other way around - I've ceased uploading again, they're not what I'm looking for. A pity.

Bigstock is owned by Shutterstock. Shutterstock has the direct line to Bigstock, and invites / invited high selling contributors to distribute images uploaded to Shutterstock automatically to Bigstock. So that's been done by Shutterstock directly.

As Dreamstime is independent, there's no such thing as a Shutterstock bridge to Dreamstime. You'll have to upload there yourself, or use one of the batch distribution tools available. AFAIK, you'll still need to finish submitting images with categories and releases yourself. with those tools.

A minor detail:

AFAIK, This new law applies to when you're buying something as an EU consumer from a business, also located in the EU. VAT regulations on B2B purchases are unchanged.

Bump.

Has anyone heard of the promised solution? I still hope Alex, or anyone from 123RF will chime in again, as they promised me by email, to address the unresolved issues.

If clients use a coupon, promotion, or get another type of discount, and thus purchase a subscription package for less than it usually is, we also receive less, I believe.

As expressed by others, too Alex' reply doesn't address the issues raised by Rob and others.

- Providing an opt out would address any undesired consequences of this 'deal', but does not solve the issue that caused it, nor the breach of trust by not sharing this information / intention in advance.
- Neglecting the currency exchange rate between Euro and Dollar prior to calculating royalties seems to be nothing more than wiggling out of paying contributors a few cents more. If this is the case, it's very poor practice.

I'm also curious to hear if these Inmagine sales also count towards the dreaded contributor levels and credit targets, and to what extend.

I think some etiquette in announcing deals prior to implementing them are in order here. Agency upon agency is loosing face when a contributor finds out about these shady constructions. I'm not arguing all deals are shady or bad, and there might be a logical, plausible and fully acceptable explanation. Either way, the only way to save face is to take control of the situation, and either fess up, or provide the genuine, credible and undiluted intentions behind it, please.

Kudos to Rob for finding out!


Kudos to Rob!

That's because of the time difference. Photodune operates on Australian time.

This thread made me examine my stats more closely, and it seems you're right. The drop is much stronger than any "summer slowdown" I've experienced. According to Stockperformer, the stats are currently down with -12% (end of month prognosis).

Quote"...Dollar Photo Club can now sell Extended Licenses to customers from untapped markets..."

Strikes me as an uncanning 'untruthfulness'. Subscriptions for high volume users, who only need 10 images. Heck, even I buy more stock than that. They're openly attacking SS, and if they're planning to replace FT (which I think is highly unlinkely) they're still fishing in the same pool.

Mantis is gets my heart. Spot on.

My guess (driven by hope) is they're in a catch 22, here.

Quote from: cthoman on March 10, 2014, 14:18
I thought you could search with your name or username on Thinkstock to find your images.

Yes, that's possible, but then you still need to go back and forth to check which files are "orphaned" on Thinkstock. iStock should be doing that if they cant get the automation working properly, don't you think?

Quote from: Mantis on March 10, 2014, 14:04

Quote from: corepics on March 10, 2014, 13:58
Ok. Back to the topic.

KelvinJay has been helpful enough to point me to the CR page to get orphaned images of deactivated iStock files removed from Thinkstock (see this locked thread. I doubt there's another way to find orphaned files on thinkstock, other than do the digging ourselves.

iStock violates our copyrights by licencing files via their Partner program for which we revoked iStock's permission by deactivating them. If they can't uphold our rights and honor their own promises and agreements, because of flaws in their system, they shouldn't have launched it in the first place.  I believe that superseeds any unbeneficial business move by Getty for contributors. To me it's yet another sign that marks the company (and not the individuals who represent it) as an inprofessional (no pun intended) unreliable and incompetent outfit. Can't say that surprises me anymore, either. It makes me bitter (again, no pun intended)

Got that off my chest, I'm moving on to something productive and fulfilling.

Oh how convenient that they now have a term called "orphaned" to justify keeping properly deactivated images instead of saying "our goal is to cheat you" or "our technology does not allow deactivation wholly. Whatever is left is up to you to find, otherwise we keep all the profits from properly deactivated files." Hell, are they taking the strategy from dp?

"Orphaned" is something I came up with, as I think it fits the situation.

Quote from: ShadySue on March 10, 2014, 14:13

Quote from: corepics on March 10, 2014, 13:58
KelvinJay has been helpful enough to point me to the CR page to get orphaned images of deactivated iStock files removed from Thinkstock (see this locked thread.

(Sorry, OT)
"Access Denied
You do not have permission to read the message."
(I can read other forum messages, just can't reply.) Can others access this link?

Sorry, correct link is here. Link in original post also fixed.

Ok. Back to the topic.

KelvinJay has been helpful enough to point me to the CR page to get orphaned images of deactivated iStock files removed from Thinkstock (see this locked thread. I doubt there's another way to find orphaned files on thinkstock, other than do the digging ourselves.

iStock violates our copyrights by licencing files via their Partner program for which we revoked iStock's permission by deactivating them. If they can't uphold our rights and honor their own promises and agreements, because of flaws in their system, they shouldn't have launched it in the first place.  I believe that superseeds any unbeneficial business move by Getty for contributors. To me it's yet another sign that marks the company (and not the individuals who represent it) as an inprofessional (no pun intended) unreliable and incompetent outfit. Can't say that surprises me anymore, either. It makes me bitter (again, no pun intended)

Got that off my chest, I'm moving on to something productive and fulfilling.

ETA - Link fixed

You are partially right. I've read many other threads in this forum about PP. But none, recently, about iStocks failure to remove images from Thinkstock. Does that matter? I think it's a serious issue, which needs to be addressed over and over again, until resolved.

Checking the recoupment CSV iStock sent me, I stumbled upon something I concider to be far worse than the pretty unusable list of affected filesthey sent me.

At least two photos, which appear in the list, have been deactivated from iStock in February 2013 (the Google Drive deal), but are apparently still active on thinkstock.

Deactivated iStock file
Active photo on Thinkstock

According to the download history on iStock, January 2014 PP sales are still reported. I think it's completely unacceptable, that these files are still online, 13 months after deactivating them.

You might want to check the file numbers in the recoupment CSV if you have any deactivated files, too.

Quote from: chromaco on February 19, 2014, 01:27
Thanks. I really love this project. I had some success with it which is nice but I really see it as a step in the right direction. Contributors need to step up and take some control of their own futures. There are a lot of ways to do it but Symbiostock is definitely a good start. It is also refreshing to see other people like yourself taking an interest and actually making something happen. This will be good for a lot of people.

That's the attitude, and I fully concur

Reading back to bunill's comment, it seems the issue is even more global, as it also applies (to a certain extend) to non-EU based sites dealing with EU customers. Can anyone confirm this?

Quote from: chromaco on February 19, 2014, 00:58
Looks like Leo has started to address this over at symbiostock.org. Not much detail. I doubt it will be part of the theme though. Probably some sort of paid plugin.

Hi Dennis,

Yes, it looks like it. I've contacted Leo via the user forum over at Symbiostock. All current details are in this thread anyway. Several symbiostock owners have a (legal) need for such a plugin, and both this thread as well as the one on symbiostock.org provide all the details, wishes and requirements necessary.

I presume you're US based, and will not have much use for such a plugin. Nice looking site you have, though. Really dig your style and the way you target your market..

Cheers,

Hugo

Ok, I know this is an old thread, but it's still relevant.

We're running in to similar issues you've all been posting, but getting this tax thing sorted out is a necessity for us, as it's required by law. (as it's required for all symbiostock site owners within the EU, who also have a business registration and VAT number!)

We've done the ground work, and worked out what information is required EU wide, together with our tax guy, and are willing to invest in developing a plugin, that enables this.

Here's the rough breakdown of the rules (see also at the end of this thread:

1. When registering, a EU customer needs to be able to register with his/her full company details:
- Company Name
- Company Address
- Country
- Contact information
- VAT number (can be verified during registration for EU customers)

2. The above information will also need to be stored for the site owner, if the Symbiostock site is registered to a company within the EU. (But this is also good practice for anyone else!)

3. A settings page, containing three (!) different VAT percentages, only applicable for EU symbiostock sites.. Although this is not quite relevant for 2014, the rules are likely to change in 2015, which'll make three VAT percentages necessary.

4. When a purchase is made, the system needs to run through the following script:
a. Is the customer a company? If no, then VAT %1. (regardless of location). If yes, then:
b. Is the customer from the same country as the site owner? If yes, then VAT %1. Else:
c. Is the customer from another country within the EU as the site owner? If yes, then VAT %2. Else:
d. The company is from outside the EU. Then VAT %3.

5. After payment is made, both EU site owner as well as all (EU) customers need to be able to access a PDF invoice / receipt. (either via download, or via email) This PDF invoice needs to display:

Transaction date
Full Sellers information
Full Buyers' information
Transaction statement: Item, Item type
Sales price, excluding VAT
Appropriate VAT %
The addition of Sales price + (sales price * VAT%)
Transaction statement: Paid

We're looking to cooperate with anyone for whom this is also relevant, and is willing to help out. Please send me a PM, or reply to this email in case you're interested!
- Can you code? We can co-develop.
- Do you know someone who would be interested in developing such a plugin or child theme? We're willing to pay (within reason, of course )
- Can you attribute in any other way?
- Would you be willing to purchase a plugin that enables this feature?

I'll be away on vacation until early march, but will check in from time to time, and reply when necessary.

Cheers,

Hugo

We've just started with building a symbiostock site, and ran in to an issue with the current  (pretty lean) registration and login pop up screen. It doesn't comply with EU tax laws, as it lacks, at least, the following information details:

- No company details
- No Chamber of Commerce numbers
- No VAT numbers
- No identity verification?

Then there are (a minority, i presume) of personal-use clients, for which the current system is sufficient.

I think a system, which allows a business client to fill in a complete profile is extremely important for the success of the symbiostock network. Especially if a centralized login can be implemented as well.

Also, creating a plugin which adds a VAT percentage to the sales price, based on a client's location, is essential. It'll open a business market, as it will allow them to deduct VAT from their purchase.

I'd like to probe you about your local tax requirements, in order to find a common denominator  or symbiosis (pun intended) - about your national tax requirements. 

For us, the Dutch tax laws apply. This means:
- For all sales from the Netherlands, we need to add a 21%VAT.
- For all sales from within the EU, a 0% tax applies, only if it's a business, and all business details (Spokes person, address and contact details, Chamber of commerce details as well as VAT numbers) are known, and displayed on a printed / printable invoice.
- I need to ask our tax guy about specifics about all sales outside the EU.

In order to access what changes are needed to the client registration, as well as  to the file-pricing part of symbiostock, I think it's useful to create an inventory of as broadly as possible.

So:

What client information do you need to properly report taxes (if any), regardless of where you live?
What changes to the current symbiostock theme would be required to meet those requirements?

From what I've seen about the Symbiostock network so far, I don't think it'll be an easy hack, but if successfully and effectively implemented, it might provide a significant added value. Most of our clients require a proper invoice, so a PDF printable / downloadable receipt will also be necessary

See also http://www.symbiostock.org/community/viewtopic.php?p=6619

Have to take a rain check. Last time was great, and I wish we would've been able to attend, this year, too. Client stuff is keeping me away. Wish all of you who will be going a great time!

To all you native English speakers: Is there a difference between incompetence and malpractice? In my book, incompetence is at least showing effort to solve things, but not succeeding, and malpractice is the failure to even try. And I'm seriously beginning to wonder if iStock is even trying to patch things up.

It feels like witnessing a house of cards collapse - a major avalanche of negatives, with only one direction in common. Down. I'm ready to wait out this storm until the new RC targets are enforced upon us. By the current stats and recent tack record, quitting istock entirely will not be such great a loss as it was 12 months ago, or during the Google deal issue.