A completely different set up is OpenCart (free) which, like wordpress, has lots of themes and extensions available for it.  The base theme is capable of selling digital downloads and/or physical items, setting tax for different geo, zones from countries to US states.  Due to the VATMOSS vatmess my stock site is currently closed but I do use OpenCart for my Art and Nail Art site

Quote from: Ploink on March 13, 2014, 07:54


Pity one can click the "heart"-button only once...

Agree - Love your sense of humour or is it if you don't laugh you will cry

Good Idea Chromoco - one thing you have maybe missed out is that the even if some are getting low sales the value of those sales is way above that of agencies (depending on the prices chosen by the site owners of course).

Quote from: marthamarks on March 08, 2014, 23:44

Quote from: tickstock on March 08, 2014, 15:39

Quote from: marthamarks on March 08, 2014, 15:38

Quote from: tickstock on March 08, 2014, 15:36

Quote from: stock-will-eat-itself on March 08, 2014, 15:33
Personally I hope this is the straw that breaks the camels back and all the talented photographers go elsewhere leaving Getty with nothing but pictures of Cats and 'wot I ate for dinner' pictures uploaded from mobile phones.

Where should they go?

Symbiostock!

Thanks, I needed a laugh after reading this thread. 

Glad I gave you a good laugh, Tickstock! 

However, the truth is... if all those "talented photographers" mentioned above actually did leave Getty and start their own Symbiostock sites—and if we all made a lot of very public celebratory noise about it—the SYS network as a whole would take off. It's poised to do that right now but needs more strong artists to join in. A bold and gutsy collective act like that could be the straw that breaks the camel's back.

There's strength in numbers, but only if people have the courage to band together and fight for themselves.

Great post Martha and I would love to see it come to pass which it will if enough people have the courage to work for themselves, the skills and talent are available in abundance, just the will to do so is currently seems to be lacking.  I just wish there was as much energy put into Symbiostock as there is in complaining about certain other agencies

Quote from: Hobostocker on March 07, 2014, 07:34

Quote from: trek on March 07, 2014, 01:29
I hate this deal.  A good portion of my port is travel and travel editorial related.  Much of my material is subject matter they decided should be given away for free.  Deactivating my port maybe a sound business decision.  Certainly something I'm thinking over.

I see it differently : once your embedded images are clicked 100 or 200 times you could make one sale, the average conversion-rate on e-commerce sites is 0.5% to 1%, photos are a bit harder to sell so maybe you can expect 0.1%

So images could be used 100-200 times for free and you might get one sale out of it ?   

I do not use FB so sadly will now be out of the loop if everyone decides to take the discussion elsewhere

The first words on Ron's post read

"Symbostock must coast for a while"

It looks to me, from what is written there that Leo needs to start earning a living again with his illustrations as Symbiostock is not paying off for him.  He has spent most of the last year or more working on it, not forgetting everyone he has helped setting up their sites and sorting out their site problems - most, if not al,l for free so I imagine he needs some income now.  The wording "Symbiostock must coast for a while" is hardly the same as saying the project is dead.  Normally when Leo writes something he writes quite a bit more so unless he was in a hurry I suspect the original text could have been a bit longer ?

I know how he feels, I have helped quite a few people out with their sites, and done it with pleasure, but when I am doing that I am not doing my own work and being self employed that means a loss.  This is why I have added a line to my signature now 

Did you select both of these options

Save as defaults? (Will apply to uploads as well).

Update ALL existing images with new values? *Caution!*

The second one will change your existing images as well - it will also change anything else such as licence or model release options

Ron, you seem to be the only one who saw that message, was that the whole thing?

Flotsam - you mean creating your own site and being able to sell your own images directly to the customer at a price you choose is a waste of time.

Try searching for Kerioak - you will almost always be asked if you meant karaoke

Symbiostock exists, it works and it is still in it's early days being barely ten months since the first versions were released for testing.

Potential clients are finding us, if we have what they are looking for they will licence our images, if we don't then they will go elsewhere, simple as that.

If we complain about any of the agencies and what they are doing fair enough, we have no control whatsoever when they change their rules, search algorithms, finagle ways of paying us less etc. for our work.

If we complain about Symbiostock (and only those who are involved in it have any right to do so as far as I am concerned) that is totally different as we are potentially harming our own businesses, so in my opinion it should not be done - anyone remember Gerald Ratner?.  Symbiostock is not some entity where only a few actually make any money out of everyone else's work, we all have exactly the same opportunities, how we choose to use them is up to us.

Those who put in the effort deserve to get more out of it.  Yes, many of us link to Cascoly and/or AJT - but they in return link to every single one of us within the network.  They don't have to, they could be selective but without requiring anything from us in return they choose to spend their money (hosting) and time (listing and coding) their sites to benefit all of us in the network.

Yes, I do feel that only good things should be said about Symbiostock - my site runs using the software freely provided by Leo and links to his site which is my choice,  and it is MY Business.  Anyone who says or does anything against it is potentially harming My Business and I reserve the right to react accordingly

The Premium/Professional Plug-in allows for a variety of different licences

Not seconds maybe but can be done in a few minutes but a non-super advanced photoshop user I would think

Mark also set up a site for video at http://www.symbiostockvideo.com

I cancelled my account and took payment at similar times a few years ago as waited till I had enough for a payout.  However, earlier last year I discovered some of my images on another site that I had never even heard of, let alone uploaded to.  Eventually discovered it was down to istock/getty and that did take a long time to get them removed and receive a payout as everyone I spoke to or emailed or wrote to denied it was anything to do with them !

I do not envy you that snow and cold, it is bad enough here with the winds, rain and floods without freezing as well

I did go though it and answer most of the questions but it wanted more of them  it would not accept it - at least I tried

Quote from: Ron on January 09, 2014, 14:13
Who voted Kerioak~Christine post down? Is this what it has come to? Surely that has to be a mistake.

I missed that Ron, never mind everyone is entitled to their own opinions.  There was a suggestion earlier in the thread to show the mugs in various places around Europe so I took mine outside to do just that.

Mine arrived on Tuesday but I did not have time to take it out until today as it actually stopped raining for a while although it has just started - again!

In front of the flooded field - last time I went down this lane parts of the road were underwater as well


and at the most famous landmark I could think of in this area

Batemans, the home of the late Rudyard Kipling


Many thanks to Amos, Tyler and all involved in sending them out along with the other gifts, very much appreciated.

I am beginning to wonder if I am human with all those captchas that are supposed to keep non-humans out !

Go to Appearance, Themes and check the theme itself for updates.  Unless it needs a fresh install then the updates will show there.

Quote from: lisafx on December 29, 2013, 18:58
My daughter.

I went into labor on Christmas day over 4 weeks early.

What a wonderful Christmas present, hope Mum and Daughter are both doing well

If you cannot access it then try and log in and then ask it for a new password

Quote from: Ron on December 26, 2013, 09:40
So buyers wont be able to come on to the forum, and the image request forum is also obsolete now?

I think it was only other Symbiostock members that used it to date anyway 

There is not actually a premium version of Symbiostock

There is the base free version then there are plug-ins, including a Professional Plug-in that allows batch editing, twitter, alternative licences and collections