I haven't logged in in _months_, except for today when I received another notification of a sold image. If I click on the link to the image in the email, I get a page not found error. Whether it's malicious or just a poorly written platform, the fact is your images still exist somewhere on 500px no matter what you do.

Twice now (and I had a tiny port on there), once in June 2016 and again today, I've received notification that a photo of mine was sold on 500px. I removed my entire portfolio from there well over a year ago now.

As I've closed my shop on the site, I have zero visibility of the sale nor any way to actually retrieve the money short of another email back'n'forth with them.

After the first sale, I emailed them and was told that this sale was via a Distributor and that they took longer to process which is why there was such a big delay. I'm struggling to imagine that there's this long a delay on this tiny sale (I made $0.90).

I don't believe 500px remove photos even after you've deleted your port. They can continue to make money but make it difficult for you to claim your share (I was eventually offered a payment after I emailed them). You lose control of these images entirely.

I originally uploaded a lot of my more "arty" less microstock photos to 500px back before they joined the microstock market. I removed them precisely because I didn't want these particular images on the microstock market. But be warned, 500px do not honour your wishes or your ownership of your photos.

Despite deleting all my photos weeks ago, I received this email from 500px today:

"Congratulations! A license of your photo Happy Mother's Day at the Beach was sold and you earned $7.69 USD."

I did have one pending sale before I deleted everything, but to be honest I can't remember if it was that image. I also now can't access my sales or payment page to check or request payout.

I have emailed them asking how they sold a license of a deleted photo and how I'm supposed to access my payment. Just wanted to post a heads-up that deleting your photos on there may not be enough.

Basically, yup. I do find trademarking of really simple phrases mind-boggling, and I wonder if it would actually stand in a court of law, but the companies have the weight of lots of money and influence behind them and it's not worth my while to stand up to them. I did sell a few prints of that image and I've lost that placement for that product, but I suspect if I upload the again without that keyword it'll be fine.

Although whether even that's worth it or not is another argument. Zazzle isn't doing so well for me these days.

So, Zazzle finally got back to me. It wasn't a problem with my image, but the Game of Thrones people were on my tail because of the keyword "winter is coming". That keyword isn't on the image in my lightroom but I suspect I added it in a keyword-brain-storming session just for zazzle, as they've started dropping products from the marketplace that aren't updated once every six months (so once in a while I go around and update everything). I haven't watched GoT so I don't think I even consciously linked the phrase with the tv show! Goes to show how insidious marketing is. Anyway, zazzle kindly deleted all my products rather than just the keyword or warning me first. And the lesson is - beware where you might subconsciously be getting your keyword inspiration from.

Do you connect on a non-standard port? I tried again from home (before I was on a corporate network) and it's worked fine now.

It's great software by the way, thanks so much for bringing it to Mac.

Thank you everyone. I'll send them my stock photography links, and yes I have the raw file and it is cropped, well rotated, very slightly. I've also found I have some photos from a slightly different angle but clearly the same place.

Just tried an google image search, can't find any references to the image beyond mine really.

@Jo Ann Snover - I'm such small fry I don't have any competitors known to me by name. It's all very odd.

Nope, also because I deleted all my photos. I had uploaded more there than most places due to the nice Lightroom plugin.

It's forcing me to update when I open Stocksubmitter, and failing near the end with "The installer encountered an error". Nothing more useful than that unfortunately! I last opened StockSubmitter on 28th April. I'm running Yosemite 10.10.5, and I'm installing to the default location etc.

Zazzle Content Review have emailed me saying that:

Design contains an image or text that may infringe on intellectual property rights. We have been contacted by the intellectual property right holder and we will be removing your product from Zazzle's Marketplace due to infringement claims.

All my designs with this photo on it have been removed. The photo is absolutely mine (http://www.silken.photography/-/galleries/landscapes/-/medias/ecb52352-6ad2-4533-b60e-01211b9a5082-winter-sunset-in-iceland), taken in 2011.

Has anyone else ever had this? Any advice on the best way to prove that the image is mine?

I have responded to the email saying as much but I'm wondering what other options I have or if there's anything else I should do. I'm in Australia if that makes any difference.

On deleting photos at 500px:

"If these photos have been submitted for licensing, they will no longer be available after 45 days and you will no longer be able to earn 70% of sales of the photos."

... and in a few days time you'll no longer be able to earn 70% of sales of the photos anyway

Kudos for earning interest on the money they're sitting on - you sell an image on the 1st August, you get told about it on early-mid September, and you'll get the actual money for it mid-November.

Quote from: ShadySue on July 03, 2015, 22:38

Quote from: Gannet77 on July 03, 2015, 21:53
Personally, my June was pretty good, by current standards on IS - BMY for credit sales in fact, thanks to two ELs.  But one swallow doesn't make a summer, as they say - it'll take a few more good months before I feel there's any sort of improvement in the trend.

Good to read that someone is at least stable.
BTW, your post in this thread, and the total thread, highlights the problem with iStock's management. No matter how stupid their decisions, they are always right.
If I were you, and no reply with a day or two, I'd deactivate and resubmit. This is totally insufferable: http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=365797&messageid=7108599

Wow, that is... really quite special 

Sounds like it's part of "Canva for Work" which I think is still "coming soon".

Seconding reading the description IPTC field not the title for the title/description box.  Or both.

And of course losing or at least simplifying the categories.  They cause physical pain.

Wow, now that's service.  Perhaps a remarkable coincidence, but since I posted all my images have appeared in my portfolio, and all have already been reviewed (and most approved, yay!).  Thank you SO much.

Hi Lee,

When connecting via FTP I can see files I've uploaded recently in _processing, but they're all 0 bytes in size.  Is that ok?  I don't see any of these in my portfolio, and some have been there over a month... though admittedly I've lost track of what the expected turnaround times are these days.

I expected this thread to be shooting down Ana in negativity, glad to be wrong!  Really refreshing to see some positivity here.

Like if you like! https://www.facebook.com/SilkenPhotography

Latest update fixes this.

I actually find it interesting to see what images of mine work for an audience.  I know it's not the be all and end all, and I'm definitely not going to spend time running around trying to force my stuff up higher or changing my style massively to suit, but it gives me a different perspective on my work than my friends and family and that's not a bad thing. 

I've read the other recent threads on 500px and I understand the pros and cons discussed in those.  None of those related to my question.  I was just curious to know if being "popular" had any practical implications.

P.S. I haven't seen any ads on 500px.  Not sure it's _quite_ like facebook...

Does anyone have a feel for whether sales on 500px are affected by how "popular" your images are?  Ie is an image with a higher current or past pulse more likely to sell?

I checked my latest upload batch of 5, they all have the watermark.

Sony A6000 here also, with SEL18-200, as recommended by PaulieWalnuts a while back.  I wish the lens wasn't silver, makes it stand out a bit, but it takes great shots.  It's not fast to start up though, and chews through batteries.

Photodeck or Squarespace.  I ended up on Photodeck so I had the option of selling digital files, but I like them both.  I miss the ability to select a focus point that Squarespace has, but if you use Lightroom, there's now a Publish plugin for Photodeck which makes uploading and organising your gallery so much easier (written by my husband *proud*). 

Long after I thought PP was finished, I had $37.50 appear overnight yesterday for PP sales, although I can't for the life of me work out what images were sold.  Checking iStock's stats I can see 4 PP sales on 4th March with a total of 37.78, but Livestock only shows one 0.28 sale on that day (even after refreshing).  Happy to take the money but would love to know what sold!