Extended Licences on Fotolia itself are very rare. I am probably right when I say that they will be even fewer at DPC, where buyers are more price sensitive. I don't think EL sales will account to much.

I think Mantis and Jo Ann are right. They are just trying to lure contributors back.

Quote from: Allsa on May 20, 2014, 02:24
I'm still getting some 40 cent subscription downloads, in spite of the fact that I've opted out of the DPC. How can I verify that my images are no longer available in the DPC?

I see that some contributors are confused and think that the new higher commission rates only apply if we are in the DPC and/or that this raise applies to all subscription sales. But this is not the case.

We are now getting 20% commission rate if we are opted out of DPC (and 25% commission rate for those opted in). And this raise affects only some of the monthly subscription packages, not all subscriptions. For example, in the $25 monthly subscription for 5 XXL images, we used to get an appalling flat rate of 5-8% commission from 0.25 to 0.40 credits depending on ranking and now we are getting 20% (or 25% if we are in the DPC) of the price paid for a subscription download.

Allsa, to check if you are opted out of the DPC go to Fotolia website: My Account > My Profile > Contributor Parameters. The text should read "Don't sell my files on DPC". If it says "Sell my files on DPC" and you want to opt out, follow these steps:

To opt out of the DPC: My Account > My Profile > Contributors Parameters > Sell my files on DPC - Modify (Click "Modify" and make sure the text now reads "Don't sell my files on DPC") and Save parameters.

Quote from: lisafx on May 05, 2014, 18:19

Quote from: tickstock on May 05, 2014, 15:28

Quote from: lisafx on May 04, 2014, 17:00

Quote from: BDS on May 04, 2014, 09:02
For me it would be better to have ability adding some files to DPC (but some , not all). Everyone have some files with 0 sales after over 12 month. It could give oportunity to sell them with lower price.

This is exactly what I would like to see as well.  That, better commissions, and a higher minimum buy in.

Does that mean you won't be opting out?

Not at all.  It means if those conditions were met I would not be opting out.  As time goes by with no word from them on improving the deal, it is looking less likely.

Fotolia improved the deal a tiny little bit (the hidden opt-out button and the limited print run) only because some contributors started deleting files. They will not improve the deal any further if contributors do not keep opting out of the DPC and/or deleting files.

Quote from: Lizard on May 03, 2014, 13:11
Im not to active on forums, I just saw this but Im not up to reading trough 25 pages so can someone please tell me in short where to deactivate images from this...

Thanks

In Fotolia website: My Account > My Profile > Contributor Parameters > Sell my files on DPC - Modify (Make sure the text now reads "Don't sell my files on DPC) and Save parameters

I thought I would start this thread so that this text is not lost in the "Fotolia D-Day (Deactivation Day) – May, 1" thread. It is a generic text that we can use to send directly to contributors who still have their images in the Dollar Photo Club to let them know that there is an option to opt out in case they don't know. It is courtesy of Jo Ann Snover (http://www.microstockgroup.com/fotolia-com/fotolia-d-day-(deactivation-day)-may-1/msg377176/#msg377176). Thanks a lot, Jo Ann!!

QuoteEarlier in 2014, Fotolia introduced the Dollar Photo Club, a stock site with all Fotolia's photos and illustrations but with very different pricing. Although Fotolia is presenting this site as exclusive and targeted at high volume buyers, the reality is that for just $10 a month you can sign up for a 10-image "subscription" - $1 per  image, all sizes. Anyone can sign up - and some contributors who had never purchased a single image were sent the offer e-mail!

And the contributor makes a subscription royalty for each sale. Subscription prices without a requirement for the buyer to commit to a high volume of purchases is very very bad news for contributor income.

Contributors were not notified about the drastically different pricing and were initially told there was no way to opt out of this sales channel - except by leaving Fotolia. With the encouragement of a group of contributors pledging to remove their files if things didn't change, Fotolia has relented and provided an option to opt-out of sales at Dollar Photo Club (referred to as DPC in the Contributor Profile)

You can read Fotolia's intentions in their own words in this TechCrunch article:

http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/29/dollarphotoclub-expands-into-more-markets-hits-11000-users/

"In an effort to take on the entrenched players in the States, namely Shutterstock and iStock, he created DollarPhotoClub as a pricing play to break into the US." and "It's disrupting the business model of the two big U.S. players..."

If Dollar Photo Club succeeds, what will get disrupted is contributor income - this is replacing higher royalties with lower, not opening new markets or finding new buyers (and early responses on Twitter and Facebook indicate that's exactly what's happening).

So for your own sake, at a minimum opt out of Dollar Photo Club - on Fotolia, when logged in, it's in Profile, then Contributor Parameters. Another step to take is suspend uploading to Fotolia - subscription sites need a steady stream of new uploads to keep buyers coming back (and advertise the weekly/monthly number of new items). You could also consider whether or not it makes sense to continue with an agency that treats its contributors so shabbily. Remember, the opt out only became available as people started deleting work from Fotolia.

It was 28 million plus images; today, it's 27 million and falling.

Source: http://www.microstockgroup.com/fotolia-com/fotolia-d-day-(deactivation-day)-may-1/msg377176/#msg377176

And also the steps to opt out of the DPC:

In Fotolia website: My Account > My Profile > Contributor Parameters > Sell my files on DPC - Modify (Make sure the text now reads "Don't sell my files on DPC) and Save parameters

Email from Boycottfotolia.org:

QuoteDear colleagues!

We want to offer our deepest thanks for all your involvement so far in taking part in the protest over Fotolias actions. As a result of your exposure of the facts about what Dollar Photo Club really is, and the important principles at stake, many microstock contributors learned about the problem for the first time. Solely as a result of these efforts, Fotolia finally informed some contributors about the Dollar Photo Club project, added a Profile option to opt out, and changed the license terms to limit the print run.

None of this would have been achieved without you! Fotolia had to yield and the sole credit for this goes to all of you.
It is true that some goals have not yet been achieved, but the most important thing is we proved we can take a stand for our rights. We made all agencies aware that the contributor community has real power and they need to consider our opinions. We had very little time, insufficient resources, no experience and yet we still achieved so much.

As for the protest – it is not over yet. Lots of contributors still don't know about the Dollar Photo Club. Information about the changes Fotolia made as a direct result of your actions and about our next steps will be published on the website.

Please don't stop spreading the word among your colleagues. We need your support like never before!

With best regards, Boycottfotolia.org team.

Quote from: MxR on May 02, 2014, 14:05
Images now are raising....

Yes, but we should not feel demoralised. It has been a bigger success than expected in such short notice. Around 435,000 were deleted on D-Day and today plus some tens of thousands that were deleted before D-Day. And thanks to those deletions we were given the option to opt-out. Now we have to use it and to spread the word. Still loads of fellow contributors don't know about the DPC nor about the opt-out button or where to locate it.

Quote from: Anyka on May 02, 2014, 11:59
Has the Opt-Out button moved again?  Mine was there and now it's gone (no more on my Dashboard at "actions").  Logging out/in or deleting cache does not help either.

The opt-out button is now hidden: My Account > My Profile> Contributor Parameters > Sell my files on DPC - Modify. (Make sure the text now reads "Don't sell my files on DPC".)

Quote from: ShadySue on May 01, 2014, 23:42
27,935,717

Congratulations to all involved.

Around 425,000 files deleted today so far!

More important than deleting a portion of your portfolio from Fotolia is to opt-out of the DPC. Those of you who have not done so already, please consider doing it. You will do yourself and the whole microstock community a huge favor.

My Account > My Profile> Contributor Parameters > Sell my files on DPC - Modify. (Make sure the text now reads "Don't sell my files on DPC".)

I can see that some contributors are expressing their discontent with Fotolia's move, some are deleting files from Fotolia (and notifying those deletions here), but they are not opting out of the DPC. I can't understand why.

Quote from: bolsher on May 01, 2014, 08:32
I think the dollarphotclub will be growing in the next years, because its the cheapest non sub model in the microstock.

Shutterstock must be do something, or many buyers especially in europe will go to this agency. Fotolia will delete the opt out or the ranking without opt out will be uninteresting. We are in the hands of this agency and they are not very friendly.

Not many images are opt out at this time. I have take a look at food. There are round 3,650000 Images at DPC, fotolia 3,830000. So we must tell this to all contributors that there is an opt out and why it is urgent to do this.

That is why it is crucial that we keep on spreading the word about this fiasco to fellow contributors.

There are still loads of content providers that have no clue about the existence of DPC and D-Day. There's no way many contributors will keep their files in the DPC on their own accord. The quality content providers will not be able to afford that: it is unsustainable. It will cannibalise sales on the other agencies and we will not get enough income to make it worthwhile to continue in this industry. 

The DPC library will eventually be decimated up to a point when it will no longer be an interesting option for buyers.

If Fotolia have it their way with this, what's next?

Do you remember when in September 2011 Fotolia reserved the right to put higher-ranked contributors back to white level ranking because of DepositPhotos low prices? http://www.microstockgroup.com/fotolia-com/return-to-start-fotolia-reserves-right-to-put-you-back-at-white-ranking/

QuoteOver the last few months, we've seen new competitors offering pricing
and commission rates that are lower than our white ranking levels.
This is a threat to our business, for the market as whole, and for
you, our contributors. This is an issue that must be addressed for us
to remain competitive.

We have been obliged to modify our pricing and payment policies to
allow Fotolia to adjust prices/commissions on a case by case basis.
When a contributor sells on sites with significantly lower pricing and
commissions, we will reset their rank to white to allow for
competition.

Together, we'll work towards building a stronger stock photography
market, and continue to enhance Fotolia's reputation and
competitiveness as a leading microstock agency.

They were worried that these low prices were a threat for their business, for the market as a whole, and for the contributors. Ironically, what Fotolia have done now with DPC is so much worse!!

I believe that most content creators that do not opt out of DPC in the next few days, will do so later on, when they realise that their sales elsewhere are being cannibalised by the DPC, which will happen inevitably.

By the way, I received another email from Fotolia advertising DPC:

QuoteYou might be surprised what a dollar can buy you.

At Dollar Photo Club it's the key to over 27 million amazing stock images; so whatever you're working on, now there are no limits to your creativity and originality!

That's the Magic of a Dollar

$1 per image – that's the promise of Dollar Photo Club. Cutting straight through every complex and expensive pricing model with one super simple offer - $1 per image. Always $1. Always high-resolution. Always royalty-free.

Quote from: spamowanka on April 30, 2014, 08:45
Hi, I'm fotolia emerald and want to join you gyus, please help - where do I find the opt out button?

Go to My Account > My Profile > Contributor Parameters

Click on MODIFY after "Sell my files on DPC". The text will change to "Don't sell my files on DPC".

And this is the link to sign the Petition: http://boycottfotolia.org/en/petition.html#.U2CrofldUmv

Quote from: grumble on April 29, 2014, 18:05
Did anyone who watched from the sidelines (meaning didn't delete images, didn't write to FT support and didn't know/didn't touch the opt-out button) received "You probably heard that we have launched Dollar Photo Club" message from FT?

I did not receive the "You probably heard that we have launched Dollar Photo Club" message from Fotolia. (I didn't start deleting images yet, I didn't write to FT support but I already opted out.)

A comment from a buyer in the Dollar Photo Club's facebook page:

QuoteInitial impression is....WOW! Great prices for some good resolution photos. I've been an istockphoto.com user for years, even their low price stuff still runs a few bucks for the smallest resolution. Look forward to giving you a try on my next project!

And like this person, many others are commenting on how much money they will save using DPC compared to what they are spending now elsewhere.

Is this the "previously untapped market" that DPC is hitting?

Quote from: Noedelhap on April 29, 2014, 15:55
Now that the limit is set to 500.000 like the standard Fotolia license, what are the other disadvantages compared to the normal Fotolia subscription?

For starters, the customers do not buy in volume. The monthly membership includes 10 files for $10 and the annual membership 99 files for $99. If the customers want more files, they just buy them for $1.00 each. It is like selling our files "On Demand" and receiving subscription royalties.

Quote from: Ron on April 29, 2014, 15:01

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on April 29, 2014, 14:29

Quote from: Beppe Grillo on April 29, 2014, 12:38

Quote from: pixsol on April 29, 2014, 12:32
FT have added the option to OPT OUT OF DPC. You can find it on the 'My Account' Page under 'Actions'. The 'default' value is 'OPT IN'. I have modified to change it to 'OPT OUT'.

You have been faster than me

So it's "DPC" a set of initials that will mean nothing to most people, and the option is to "modify" not to opt out. My guess is that most people won't have a clue what it is about .... my second guess is the Fot know jolly well that most people won't see it and won't understand it if they do.

I wonder how long it will take for the option to "modify" to disappear, and for everything to be defaulted back in, something akin to iStock's behaviour over TS.

Even if they leave the opt-out there, I'll bet that more than 80% of the collection will appear in the "dollar club" purely as a result of inertia.

Once you confirm it, it doesnt show you you are opted out. [...]

When you opt out, the text "Sell my Files on DPC" changes to "Don't sell my Files on DPC", so it does show you that you are opted out.

Quote from: fotoramka on April 28, 2014, 18:20

Quote from: brisoca on April 28, 2014, 17:38

Jo Ann is right. The DPC is clearly not directed to high volume buyers, but to On Demand customers. I was also offered "preferred admission" via email and I have never purchased an image from Fotolia. I only downloaded a couple of free images a few years ago. The email said:

QuoteDollar Photo Club from Fotolia is the next wave in stock photos offering 25 million RF images for one easy price.

$1 for any high res image and any vector – guaranteed!

Discover downloads that NEVER expire - cancel your membership and purchased downloads will STILL be there when you need them, always...

Don't ever pay more than $1 for professional stock images and vectors!

Join Dollar Photo Club today!
P.S. Fotolia customers like you can get preferred admission to Dollar Photo Club; just choose "Fotolia" when asked which stock agencies you currently use – but hurry, places are strictly limited!

(My bold)

When you've receive this email?

I received two of them. The first one on 6th March and the second on 10th April.

Quote from: Christos Georghiou on April 28, 2014, 16:28

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on April 28, 2014, 16:04
....It's not for high volume buyers.....

I was also offered "preferred admission" via email, I have only purchased one image from Fotolia I think. The email was from their Wilogo site, I opened an account with them a couple of years ago and never used it.

Jo Ann is right. The DPC is clearly not directed to high volume buyers, but to On Demand customers, not only from Fotolia itself but mainly from other agencies. I was also offered "preferred admission" via email and I have never purchased an image from Fotolia. I only downloaded a couple of free images a few years ago. The email said:

QuoteDollar Photo Club from Fotolia is the next wave in stock photos offering 25 million RF images for one easy price.

$1 for any high res image and any vector – guaranteed!

Discover downloads that NEVER expire - cancel your membership and purchased downloads will STILL be there when you need them, always...

Don't ever pay more than $1 for professional stock images and vectors!

Join Dollar Photo Club today!
P.S. Fotolia customers like you can get preferred admission to Dollar Photo Club; just choose "Fotolia" when asked which stock agencies you currently use – but hurry, places are strictly limited!

(My bold)

Quote from: PhotoBomb on March 31, 2014, 17:07

Quote from: MatHayward on March 16, 2014, 18:27
Yes, Dollar Photo Club is using the Fotolia api.  Sales through DPC are posted to your FT account with a subscription commission.

-Mat

They may be using the Fotolia  API but the site owners are listed as Fotolia.
So this is just like IS and Thinkstock.

Not exactly. As I understand it, the customer has to buy a subscription package at Thinkstock, but they don't have to buy a subscription package at Dollar Photo Club.

In my experience, it always takes from a few minutes to up to a couple of hours for the sales to be shown in the "My Earnings" area.

In my case, the images I have deactivated are not available for purchase from the moment I deactivated them.

The thumbnails of the images I deactivated about a week ago are still showing, but they are not available for purchase. The thumbnails of the images I deactivated about two weeks ago have recently disappeared and cannot be found at Shotshop anymore.

Have you checked if your images are available for purchase when you click on the thumbnails?

I just realised today that when you open the Photos.com  website (http://www.photos.com) you can see this:

"Welcome to Photos.com by Getty Images

Coming soon, we will offer our world-renowned imagery as framed art ready to hang on your walls. Sign up to be among the first to know when we launch the site.

Looking for royalty-free subscriptions or image packs? Please visit Thinkstock. Looking for access to other digital images? Please visit Getty Images."



Edited to correct link.