Where will it stop. Now it's photos of people. Next will be food adds. I know my  Whopper from Burger King certainly never looks like the ad.  It all sounds a bit silly to me. But I'll be glad to see some of the photos go.  The reflections in the eyes bother me. Especially in the Estee Lauder ads. It does help figure out the lighting set up though. Just my opinion.

Quote from: 123XXX on February 03, 2011, 02:22
"It is mutually assumed and understood that uploading your images to the iStock web site is done purely at your own risk. It is possible once your digital images are entrusted to our servers that your images could be stolen, misused, or possibly even distributed for free. iStock assumes no responsibility or liability if this is to happen. It has happened in the past and may happen again in the future. The estimated financial damage and losses of future revenue on your images from this type of occurrence is unknown. iStock will not share in any of the losses occuring to you from such potential thefts. So before uploading your images to our server please consider all the potential risks to you property in doing so."

Add it to all of them. It seems to be catching on.

It was fishy when Big Stock did it also.  Where is the proof? After ten years why haven't these companies figured it out. These things don't just happen. They are allowed to happen by the stock companies. I did not loose much at all but why would I want to give them more responsibility for my work if they allow these things to happen. Maybe it's time to verify buyers better.

Is that maybe a box elder bug

Quote from: Randy McKown on June 06, 2010, 05:48
Show of hands .. how many people have ever forked over the $25 for a yearly copy of the photographers market ... and actually used it 
Don't like $0.25 sales then take business into your own hands .. you don't have to belong to a single agency micro or macro or whatever to pull in bigger sales ... but it takes motivation and you have to treat it as a career. Treat photography as a hobby and you'll bring in a hobby income which is nobodys fault but your own.
Face it people, no matter how many "pro shooters" become contributors microstock will always be at the bottom of the barrel in the overall photography industry .. that's where it was designed to be and that's where it belongs .. take it for what it is.

Raising Hand

 It was a panic state around here for awhile. Closing schools for one reported case. Cancelling events.  Now people are being told to stay home if they are sick. Schools will stay open now.  We have had some deaths around here. Most were people that had other illnesses but there were some healthy people that died also. There are still a few being reported even as recent as last week.  I remember it was a big deal back in the mid/late '70s also and it seemed to quietly go away. I think it makes news because it is a flu that is contracted out of "flu season". If these were regular flu deaths or illnesses you wouldn't even hear of it. It wouldn't be news.  I guess the best you can do is take precautions like washing your hands and such.

That is how many apartments here are. All white. Cheap paint. You are not allowed to change it. Some do not even let you hang pictures. They do not want holes in the walls. Most apartments around here are rented(leased).

Quote from: farhad on June 02, 2009, 03:04
YES we all know paying taxes is a pain and a reality.
YES we know it's the IRS how is demanding these taxes
YES some SS contributors could have been more professional
YES Jon/SS handled this in a textbook 101 WRONG way

But the bottom line is, Jon/SS handled this entire taxation in a most mediocre way. Lack of foresight and maturity.  I earn good money from the stock sites and would like to see this continue on a long term basis.

Was Jon's actions really good long-term for SS?  Try putting yourseif in a board of director's shoes when thinking about long term investments. He's not a very capable CEO if he likes going into tantrum mode when things are not smooth sailing. 

Yes it should have been handled better. By EVERYONE.

Quote from: Milinz on June 02, 2009, 00:46

Quote from: cclapper on June 02, 2009, 00:39
By the way, I'm thinking this whole issue has turned political. When people start quoting institutes and talking about Obama and who he consults, I gotta believe it's a bigger agenda than filling out a tax form.

And since I am no politician, I'm * out of the conversation now. I think I'll sit back and enjoy the show.

If you'd been careful in reading this tread from begining, you'd conclude:

1. Cidepix IS NOT AGAINST US and HE SYMPHATISES WITH THAT WE ARE GOING TO BE DOUBLE-TAXED

2. It is POLITICAL PROTECTIONISM AGAINST COUNTRIES WHICH DOESN'T COMPLY TO US FOREIGN POLICY - SO THEIR CITIZENS WILL BE DOUBLE TAXED

3. Don't play someone who is PATRIOT because you AREN'T - You are supporting ACTIONS OF YOUR GOVERNMENT IN POLITICAL PROTECTIONISM (or DISCRIMINATION of other countries citizens).

4. Would you pay tax in SERBIA 40% and then again 30% tax in USA just because USA didn't signed some stupid treaty which cause and basic goal is to AVOID DOUBLE TAXING?

I guess I would try to understand Serbia's Tax laws before I did business there.  As anyone should have done before doing business with a US company.  You are responsible for yourself. Ignorance of the laws is not an excuse.

Quote from: averil on May 31, 2009, 07:22
I doubt that SS will be deducting your expenses (gear, models, travel, whatever) before calculating the withholding tax.

Individuals will need to do their own tax returns to do this. I would think if someone gets stuck paying the 30% tax, that in theory you would also be able to (may be required to) file a tax return. Which is where you calculate the taxes actually owed.  Any overpayment would be refunded.

Quote from: KiwiRob on May 30, 2009, 16:55

Quote from: sharpshot on May 29, 2009, 10:38
I think istock would make sure they pay people through their Canadian finance offices, to get around this.  I can't understand why shutterstock don't move their finances outside the US.  It seems every other big internet company has done that with no problems, so why can't SS?  Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, e-bay,Amazon and many more are located in Ireland, I wonder why

Jon isn't that smart, I feel confident that a significant number of his non US based submitters will fly the coop.

Wow that is bad. How big is your company?   Why should a company be forced to move their finaces.  And don't let the "big Internet" companies fool you. They have done nothing in your interests. Certainly not at eBay.

Quote from: FlemishDreams on May 31, 2009, 04:11
Quickly over-reading all this some logical issues popped up in my mind.

1. Taxes have to be paid since buyers deduct their costs from their own taxes. The problem is with non-US buyers that deduct the costs from their government's taxes but that's not a contributor's issue.

2. By taxing gross income and not net income, the IRS denies the costs involved in making the images. For many contributors, costs are probably higher than their income. The IRS considers royalties as "passive" income. It's not. The right way should be that contributors are taxed in their own country where they also have the means to deduct their costs.

3. The red tape involved in all this is huge, depending on your nationality, place of residence and fiscal status. SS could help by negotiating a group deal with the IRS where they handle all the red tape themselves, after collecting passport copies (certified or not).

#2 doesn't sound true as deduction are taken off gross income. You are then taxed on the adjusted gross income.
I'm guessing it would be the same for the companies/people buying the from SS. It would be an expense that comes off of the gross income.

Red tape is probably just as big a problem for Americans wanting to do business in other countries. I know from US to Canada isn't a picnic either. Lots of red tape there.  People are just going to have to do what needs to be done for them. It sucks, but with the slow economy here I imagine the government is coming up short and started looking for the missing taxes.  SS won't be the last stop on the IRS' rampage.
Good luck to all. Don't give up.

I've been using PayPal for about 6 years and have not ever had a problem. Receiving, sending, spending or transferring to my checking acount. I have a Premeir account and also use the debit card  and get cash back from it.

It could be on your computer already. It is supposed to go active on the first. I just had to clean up my daughters PC. The virus blocks you from updating at Microsoft. I needed to restore to an earlier date. About a month then go through all of the updates.  The virus also turns off your automatic update.  So far it looks to be working.

Quote from: ibogdan on February 18, 2009, 01:48
I found another variations of the same silhouette.

http://yaymicro.com/preview.action?search.offset=8&search.id=758001&search.limit=20&search.numResults=10&search.search=raised%2c+silhouette%2c+standing%2c+success%2c+successful%2c+triumph%2c+&search.filterExplicit=true&search.sort=relevancy

and

http://yaymicro.com/preview.action?search.offset=5&search.id=559903&search.limit=20&search.numResults=10&search.search=raised%2c+silhouette%2c+standing%2c+success%2c+successful%2c+triumph%2c+&search.filterExplicit=true&search.sort=relevancy

From the original author I believe.

Quote from: JerryL5 on January 17, 2009, 18:27
As Borg said, what they actually want is the W9 for US, and W8 for others.
It is for their records only. Although US citizens should report all income,
even if not enough to pay taxes on, the 1099 form is only sent to
submitters who have more than $400 in sales.

So go ahead and download the W9 or W8, fill it in and send it to SS in the way they ask.

My answer from SS was they are changing the $400 rule to $10.(even though the least would be $75.00???)  According to support you will receive a 1099 if you cashed out last year. US anyways. Not sure how it would be for non US.

Have not been spending nearly enough time. But I have set a goal to put aside a couple hours a day for myself to work on MS.

Go to IRS.GOV and type 'employ children' in the search box and you will find some answers. Tax wise any ways. Do the same for your state. I am sure it won't be simple.

 I have also had a mother sign as guardian with a different last name as the minor an it was never questioned by any site.
  I would contact support at the site and ask why it would be rejected.

Quote from: azurelaroux on December 20, 2008, 12:58
I think all the micros require the photographer/guardian at a minimum. I know that IS, SS, FT, DT, CC, 123 and BigStock have all accepted my releases that were done this way. Alamy doesn't look at the MR so it doesn't matter how you do it. That said I think most prefer that it's 3 different people.

I have never had a problem being the photographer and guardian on the MR at any of the micro sites.

Sorry you had a bad experience selling. But if you would have taken the time to not be the unsuspecting seller this wouldn't have happened. It has always been policy for you to be able to prove shipment. You could have used USPS delivery confirmation and more than likely got it for free if you did your mailing label through PayPal. Or even online at USPS.  While I agree that eBay is going in the wrong direction this last year or so, I believe you have no one to blame but yourself.  It is up to you to protect yourself.  Again I am sorry you had a bad experience. I have had a few also with sellers and buyers.

Quote from: melastmohican on December 15, 2008, 21:10
Thanks God they did not patent internet :-)

Didn't Al Gore invent that??

Quote from: madelaide on November 15, 2008, 01:35
I don't know if this also by Attila, but these two images:



Got rejected:

  3953209 New Year 2009 - 1
  Reason: please provide and appropriate title. thanks
  3953210 New Year 2009 - 2
  Reason: please provide and appropriate title. thanks

What is inappropriate, New Year?   

These images in BigStock are also named New Year 2009:


So I am really puzzled.

Regards,
Adelaide

It may be the "-1" and "-2" that are unacceptable.  I have had this problem before. I believe it has to do with an issue of positioning in the search or something like that.  Did you change the title and resubmit them?

Quote from: whatalife on November 07, 2008, 00:20

Quote from: alpy7 on November 06, 2008, 20:57
The electoral votes are based on the population od the state. Or by how many representatives and senators there are which is based on the population of the state.  T

Actually only congressional seats are based on population, but every state only has two senate seats.

yes

Quote from: litifeta on November 06, 2008, 00:19
For the life of me I cannot understand how the US Election system works. I was reading on wikipedia about the electoral colleges etc. it is all strange to me.

Think of it as 50 seperate elections. The electoral votes are based on the population od the state. Or by how many representatives and senators there are which is based on the population of the state.  This is why one could lose the popular vote and still win the election.
  As for voter fruad or rigging; it seems to be a part of every election.  At least it is here in Wisconsin.
    As for the winner Mr Obama; it doesn't appear his winning the election has helped the stock markets any.  Change will not only be up to him, it will take cooperation from all of the polititions in Washington and at state levels.