Germany. I  tested it again several times. connection - fast but,
image loading 20 sec and at afternoon close to 60sec.
50k internet connection, so no problem here.
Good luck with pixyloo, let us know when we can start uploading some images.

Ok that looks like the results we recorded for the homepage in Germany (which is a temporary layout that is being changed before launch) .. How does a product page like this one look? .. http://pixyloo.com/downloads/sexy-dirty-blonde-girl/ ... our spreadsheet shows me that it's loading in Frankfurt, Germany at 5.6 seconds ... which will be faster when we activate the CDN before our official launch.

Who keeps a hi res gallery online these days? Seems a bit naive.

Not me ... but you'd be amazed how many Flickr people do though. Of course for our purposes it doesn't have to be a pretty gallery on Flickr either .. It could also simply be a link to a hidden page on a Wordpress install that nobody else will find without being told. I don't expect to see a lot of applications done this way. I just threw that in because I didn't want people who were new to microstock to feel that they were being excluded from applying.

Quote from: stockuser on November 22, 2014, 05:07

I'm not a native speaker but I think 'based out of USA' means 'located in the USA but doing business worldwide' for a non-native speaker this could be easily misunderstood as 'not located in the USA'. I think this is the way fairplay understood it.

Yes, that's exactly what happened! 
Randy Mckown, please accept my apologies!

No need for apologies my friend. I'm sure that if I traveled to your native country I would misunderstand people on a daily basis. There's no harm in it. 

Quote from: PIXYLOO on November 21, 2014, 14:23

Quote from: tickstock on November 21, 2014, 13:00

I don't like the name but the terms seem fair.  What makes this site any different from all the other sites?  By that I mean if you are offering the same content as everyone else why will buyers go there, especially when I can find that content at lower prices on other sites?

It depends on what agency a buyer is comparing us to. We're pricing by usage and not image size. With that in mind our $10 web standard license is very competitive and in many cases more affordable than quite a few of the popular credit based micros where the same file size costs up to more than double our pricing .. forgive me for not being more specific but I'm not fond of namedropping .. When it comes to the extended usage .. yeah we're more pricy than the typical micro but we're also more affordable than many mid-stock sites. It's impossible to compete with everyone in terms of price because all the agencies have their prices just randomly scattered all across the board. However, one of our big focus points is competing on improving the buyers workflow and helping them find what they need faster. It's more difficult to see this in action right now because the site isn't loaded up with images. As it fills up this will become more apparent.

I understand you are pricing by usage but why would a buyer go to this site and pay $10 for web usage when they could go to iStock and pay almost the same for web + print usage?  Or why would a buyer spend $25 for print usage (does print usage include web usage or would you need to buy two licenses?) when they could spend about $10 at sites like iStock, Shutterstock, Dreamstime, etc...  I'm not sure which sites are charging nearly double for nonexclusive content, iStock charges $8-$12, Shutterstock $9-$15, Dreamstime about $11-$15, etc... with pretty much all those sites charging less for ELs.  I think you can't compare midstock or macrostock prices to these images since they are being licensed on other microstock sites, that's the competition isn't it?  My question is still what makes this site better for a buyer than any of the other sites that offer the same content?  You said something vague about improving buyers workflow, what does that mean?

All of our images will be equal to a max image size so on DT for example depending on how many sales the image has it will cost 10 Credits to 19 Credits which actually comes out to $13.60 to $25.84  � that price can be dropped as low as $8.80 to $16.72 but you�ll need to spend nearly a couple grand all at once buying bulk credits to get that discount. Now at IS you can get a high-res image just like ours for only $1 more .. but that is also restricted to only images in the essential collection. If the image you need is in their signature collection the price automatically triples.

Here's an earlier comment that might help give a quick idea about what I mean when I talk about buyer workflow & the customer experience.

Quote from: Mantis on November 21, 2014, 07:16

I went traveling after I got your email, and forgot to respond, so above are my initial thoughts.  Micro stock is on a critical mass downward spiral in terms of contributor royalties and agency honesty, integrity and trust. It will be very hard to compete in this bubble in a way that drives success and good partnerships, but I am behind you.

We went with 40% because out of our commission, we�re going to be initially using 10% for core expenses and then giving the rest back to the buyers to stimulate sales. The more we give back to buyers .. the more they�re going to spend .. which goes back into the contributors pockets. We also need to have enough of a buffer between non-exclusive % and the exclusive benefits once we put those into place .. or else there would be no �real� advantage to being exclusive. Of course once the buyer base is established and stable it�s more of an issue of what�s going to make our contributors happy and still be sustainable. You can always make people happy by giving them a raise later .. it�s when a business start out too generous and has to make temporary cutbacks later that gets people steaming.

Yes, the entire subscription issue is an annoying hurdle. To be perfectly blunt, the sub model should have never been created in the first place. Obviously, not the creation of anyone who has ever worked a day as a professional photographer. Too late now .. but we will not encourage them. Not only does the sub model insult the photographer .. it rips off the buyer, who typically doesn�t max their downloads due to fluctuating workloads and the fact that 2 days of the week they�re not even in the office. The only ones who benefit are the agencies who offer them � get paid for a sale without delivering a product or paying royalties on the sale. I know we could profit a lot more by offering them but the fact that I shoot for a living and my personal ethics won�t allow it.

Honestly, those who get in from the beginning are going to have the advantage. Do buyers need that image of an isolated tomato? Most definitely and we want to make that available for them. Are we going to continue accepting thousands of isolated tomatoes for the next decade? Nope.
We�re going to bring in new photographers in phases. The ones now are going to have a lot more flexibility in what they upload than those who join a year from now.

No, we don�t expect a problem with the 40 bazillion images issue anytime in the near future. LOL .. I�ve sat down with designers and content providers and a common complaint is that they can�t find what they�re looking for quickly because there�s simply too much crap to wade through. Back to that isolated tomato .. how long does it take to find the image you want for a project when you have to sit there browsing though page after page after page of tomatoes that all pretty much look identical. We don�t want to offer designers 50,000 images of tomatoes to choose from. We want them to search tomato and be given a decently sized yet diverse selection of quality tomato shots that they can quickly choose from and get back to work on their project. The designer is happy because we�ve taken away their frustration and the companies CFO is happy because their staff isn�t wasting man hours.

I don�t want to use Stockfresh as an example because I have nothing to do with them and I don�t wish to speak negatively about any of the agencies for that matter. However, I think a great example to get my point across is simply using photography studios in general. For the last decade my wife & I have owned a portrait studio in our metro area. I don�t even bother counting the competing studios in this city anymore .. there are literally thousands of them here within a 30 mile radius who charge a fraction of what we do � we know people who have had their all day wedding shot for 50 bucks. However, we still shoot more clients every year than 99% of them and commonly have portrait clients drive up to 2 1/2 hours to get here. My point being it is possible to operate successfully without even trying to compete with everybody. One of the things that made our studio one of the top studios in the region was not entirely our skilled experience but the human experience we created for our clients .. that�s something we want to bring to PIXYLOO.

and thanks for your detailed feedback .. it's greatly appreciated.

You also have to keep in mind that price is not always a factor for many consumers .. why would I pay $15 for a small coffee and muffin at Starbucks when I could get a pretty tasty muffin and an extra large coffee at the gas station / convenience store for $3? It's about the branding and the customer experience.
We've been offering an add-on to our portrait clients for years called "Rock the Dress - Tropical" high school seniors pay us an extra $150 for a 30 minute add-on where we let them put on "their own" prom dress and we shoot them in a local waterfall. They NEVER even purchase prints from this add-on but nearly all of them upgrade to it. They could put on a dress and roll around in the water all day every day for free .. but they pay us for it because they want to have that experience ... and we've branded it to the point that's it's no longer just about having a portrait in a waterfall .. it's about us photographing them in the waterfall.
Regardless of what business you go into, wether you're dealing with business professionals, brides or teenage girls ... branding and experience are 2 vital keys to success. That's something I have always stressed on when giving lectures.

Two things i noticed when I looked at the site today:

1) you don't show the pixel dimensions of the image. I know you have a minimum, but a print buyer will need to know how large it is to have an idea if it'll work for them. For very large applications, an 8MP image might not do but a 21MP image will

2) I can't go from a search or browsing on the home page to the detail page just by clicking on the thumbnail. I have to click inside the detail box in the center. That's massively irritating and I can't see how it adds anything useful.

I sent in an application

Hey Jo Ann. Yes the buyers absolutely need to know that information and the EXIF automation is actually being worked on now. That's something that will definitely be in place before we begin marketing to buyers.

I agree the details box in the thumbnails does seem annoying by itself. Right now it's there because we might be adding a couple more features that will appear alongside it that will at which point it will make more sense. However, if we decide not to implement the other features on the thumbnails then that details button will either be history or restyled appropriately. 

I don't like the name but the terms seem fair.  What makes this site any different from all the other sites?  By that I mean if you are offering the same content as everyone else why will buyers go there, especially when I can find that content at lower prices on other sites?

It depends on what agency a buyer is comparing us to. We're pricing by usage and not image size. With that in mind our $10 web standard license is very competitive and in many cases more affordable than quite a few of the popular credit based micros where the same file size costs up to more than double our pricing .. forgive me for not being more specific but I'm not fond of namedropping .. When it comes to the extended usage .. yeah we're more pricy than the typical micro but we're also more affordable than many mid-stock sites. It's impossible to compete with everyone in terms of price because all the agencies have their prices just randomly scattered all across the board. However, one of our big focus points is competing on improving the buyers workflow and helping them find what they need faster. It's more difficult to see this in action right now because the site isn't loaded up with images. As it fills up this will become more apparent.

Based purely on the honesty and quality of what you've written in this thread, I'm actually tempted to give you a chance as a contributor! Are you available for in-person meetings if I should stop by while in town?

I hear the word meeting and instantly get bored LOL .. just bring your camera and we'll go shoot something cool 

And question #2: How do I communicate to you, in my application on your web site, that the body of work you'll see of mine on agency XYZ is older and doesn't necessarily represent what I'd submit to you?

Is your portfolio extremely out of date compared to the work you do now? If it is, go ahead and include the link anyway and then either PM here or shoot me a message through the PIXYLOO support page with any other links you have to something more current even if it's a smaller collection on Flickr or your own website.

Are you located in Ann Arbor, MI or Kansas?

just outside the Kansas City metro on the Missouri side.

I went traveling after I got your email, and forgot to respond, so above are my initial thoughts.  Micro stock is on a critical mass downward spiral in terms of contributor royalties and agency honesty, integrity and trust. It will be very hard to compete in this bubble in a way that drives success and good partnerships, but I am behind you.

We went with 40% because out of our commission, we�re going to be initially using 10% for core expenses and then giving the rest back to the buyers to stimulate sales. The more we give back to buyers .. the more they�re going to spend .. which goes back into the contributors pockets. We also need to have enough of a buffer between non-exclusive % and the exclusive benefits once we put those into place .. or else there would be no �real� advantage to being exclusive. Of course once the buyer base is established and stable it�s more of an issue of what�s going to make our contributors happy and still be sustainable. You can always make people happy by giving them a raise later .. it�s when a business start out too generous and has to make temporary cutbacks later that gets people steaming.

Yes, the entire subscription issue is an annoying hurdle. To be perfectly blunt, the sub model should have never been created in the first place. Obviously, not the creation of anyone who has ever worked a day as a professional photographer. Too late now .. but we will not encourage them. Not only does the sub model insult the photographer .. it rips off the buyer, who typically doesn�t max their downloads due to fluctuating workloads and the fact that 2 days of the week they�re not even in the office. The only ones who benefit are the agencies who offer them � get paid for a sale without delivering a product or paying royalties on the sale. I know we could profit a lot more by offering them but the fact that I shoot for a living and my personal ethics won�t allow it.

Honestly, those who get in from the beginning are going to have the advantage. Do buyers need that image of an isolated tomato? Most definitely and we want to make that available for them. Are we going to continue accepting thousands of isolated tomatoes for the next decade? Nope.
We�re going to bring in new photographers in phases. The ones now are going to have a lot more flexibility in what they upload than those who join a year from now.

No, we don�t expect a problem with the 40 bazillion images issue anytime in the near future. LOL .. I�ve sat down with designers and content providers and a common complaint is that they can�t find what they�re looking for quickly because there�s simply too much crap to wade through. Back to that isolated tomato .. how long does it take to find the image you want for a project when you have to sit there browsing though page after page after page of tomatoes that all pretty much look identical. We don�t want to offer designers 50,000 images of tomatoes to choose from. We want them to search tomato and be given a decently sized yet diverse selection of quality tomato shots that they can quickly choose from and get back to work on their project. The designer is happy because we�ve taken away their frustration and the companies CFO is happy because their staff isn�t wasting man hours.

I don�t want to use Stockfresh as an example because I have nothing to do with them and I don�t wish to speak negatively about any of the agencies for that matter. However, I think a great example to get my point across is simply using photography studios in general. For the last decade my wife & I have owned a portrait studio in our metro area. I don�t even bother counting the competing studios in this city anymore .. there are literally thousands of them here within a 30 mile radius who charge a fraction of what we do � we know people who have had their all day wedding shot for 50 bucks. However, we still shoot more clients every year than 99% of them and commonly have portrait clients drive up to 2 1/2 hours to get here. My point being it is possible to operate successfully without even trying to compete with everybody. One of the things that made our studio one of the top studios in the region was not entirely our skilled experience but the human experience we created for our clients .. that�s something we want to bring to PIXYLOO.

and thanks for your detailed feedback .. it's greatly appreciated.

Pixy Loo? Are you taking the piss ? (pun intended  )

The name might frown some brows in the UK

LOL .. nicely played. I actually hadn't thought about that possibility in the UK but now that you've brought it up .. I love it! ... those designers won't easily forget us and be sitting around saying ... what was that site called .. PIXY something. 

I would say we planned it but in truth .. we created a list of around 2000 potential names and only 3 of them actually had a .COM available. LOL

ohhhh here it is .. the dreaded moment when you first announce something new Before I do though - I�d like to give out a special thank you to Sean Locke, Jo Ann Snover, Leaf & ShadySue. We used a lot of feedback from photographers & buyers and those of you here on MSG that I talked to have been a big help. Your thoughts were greatly appreciated and we hope to hear more from you.

Ok I�m going to give the super fast breakdown based on the common concerns and then everybody can feel free to drill me with any questions. First off, I'd like to introduce PIXYLOO

Royalties :: 40% for non-exclusivity. There will also be an exclusive option with higher royalties & benefits but that�s being added further down the road.

Subscriptions :: We do not support the industries sub model strategy. We will offer two RF base options � web $10 / print $25 .. Extended Add-ons range from $75-$500 � Image Dimension also plays no role in pricing therefore the minimum image size accepted is 8.6MP (3200x2400px).

Ease of Uploading :: Right now it�s super easy. Make sure that you have IPTC data filled out & send us the batches. We will take care of the rest for you.

Signing Up :: It�s by invite only. You will need to apply for consideration.

Review Times :: Let�s face it, review times have been an on-going complaint from contributors on all the agencies for the last 14 years. I�m not going to BS anyone by saying how fast PIXYLOO review times will be. In fact, we�re going to �intentionally� take longer because we are not moving forward with the standard review system that has been used by most of the micro agencies. We want to focus more on quality of service and less on how fast we can reach 40 bazillion images online.

Marketing :: I�m not going into detail about our marketing plan but it does involve us initially giving away all of our profits upfront to buyers for them to generate sales on your images. We will also be marketing directly to a pre-existing list of buyers when we exit the pre-launch phase. PIXYLOO is a new stock agency but there's several decades of experience behind it.

Just a quick touch on some other things to give you an idea of where we're going .. we plan on focusing a lot on community & education through the blog & youtube. We will also be putting effort into features (beyond a typical forum) that encourages communication between buyers & sellers on a local level. If a buyer in your area is looking to contract a job out to a local artist, we want to make that process as easy as possible and where you can profit 100% from the opportunity. That's just one way we want to help our contributors grow their businesses beyond selling stock should they choose to. There�s also the PIXYLOO Freedom of Speech policy which states that when the forums go live anyone who alters a contributors negative comment about PIXYLOO to read �comment removed by admin� will be severely beaten about the head. I absolutely cannot stand seeing agencies do that .. if we�re called out publicly on a mistake - you�re going to see us publicly take responsibility and make things right. We�re not going to play that game of censoring comments and deleting threads that don�t praise our actions. Honesty & Integrity is very important to our business model. We have a lot of ideas and a solid foundation to build them on.

Ok, questions? Feedback? Go take a peek at PIXYLOO and tell us what you think. We are always open to ideas. Keep in mind that we are in pre-launch and not currently marketing to buyers. So, you might come across a bug or two. If you want to be in our very first round of contributors, make sure to visit the Call to Artists.

personal safety should always come first .. unless the injury costs less than the equipment