@azurelaroux  i remember and now see that you did post in the forums and i redponsded.  the only thiing i can think of why a clipfolder would be deleted is if it only had one image or less in it.  we did a big cleanup of neglected clipfolders and anyone that only had an image or less got thrown out.  maybe that was the reason.  in any case, you can always email me if you have problems so please let me know in the future.  thanks.

There were at least  10 images in each folder.

I have yet to have a sale at CC. I'm hoping we get an email or something if someone license an image. I became frustrated when my Clip folders all disappeared for no apparent reason. I'm not spending the couple of hours it took before to but that together again.

My money was deposited on Tuesday the 17th. I had requested it on Sunday the 8th. I'd praise the fact that they managed to make this work but I would want to curse it.

I'm still trying to recover from "disambiguation".

If the characters are trademarked then it's not legal unless you have written permission from the trademark owner. If the pages are from a coloring book then that would violate the authors copyright.

If it didn't come from you, your design, your creative process, then you can't reproduce it and sell it has microstock. If caught you could face lawsuits from the trademark/copyright holders as well as be responsible for any legal fees that the site has to pay.

IS and SS are battling for first. DT is firmly in 3rd. Fourth is currently BigStock although FT is on their heels. CC, with no sales, and 123, with 2 sales, are trailing. StockXpert wouldn't take me when I applied but I applied after the Getty buyout. In fairness I've only been with most of these since late Oct or early Nov 2008 so there isn't enough data for a long term representation.

I can't find my average but it must not be very good. When I mouse over the upload link it tells me I can only upload 8 images a day. I'm not that worried about it though, I think I'm only averaging about 8 a week right now.

1. It wasn't a thread about stats. He specifically asked if there was change to the site which caused a 30% drop in sales despite uploading new images. Later posts mentioned ebb and flow but the OP specified that this was over the course of 5 months. As suppliers we need to know if IS is slowing it's promotional efforts so that we can focus on supplying images to sites that will promote them first. Ebb and Flow does not account for a 5 month decline in sales. Did I expect an answer. Heck No! It's Istock they don't answer to anybody.

2. There is a Getty forum and no one is allowed to mention Getty in the main forums in any negative light. Threads complaining about .25 cent payouts for images in the Getty collection were quickly removed so I could reference those ones. As a non Getty contributor how are you supposed to evaluate Getty sales to see if it would be a good step for you to take? You can't. The only answer given in that thread is Join Getty. As a non exclusive I'm expected to give up my sales at all other sites, apply for and get my crown, and then apply to and get accepted at a site, just so that I can find out if it's a good fit for me? The thread was started to weigh the pros and cons of joining Getty. If you have access to the Getty forum then you've joined and it doesn't matter how badly they treat you you've already given up everything just to find out.

3. He never said it was being punished. He said he noticed an interesting trend and wanted feedback on it. Apparently getting feedback is not allowed because the thread was locked. The link to the other thread was completely inappropiate and unhelpful.

4. Once again IS refuses to deal with an ongoing issue and locks threads pertaining to that issue. At the time that thread was started admin were not checking the keyword forum and were not responding.

It's hard to provide examples of a deleted thread because the thread just isn't there to show. I know that several of my posts have been deleted. I also know that the recent announcement about the new collections had several posts changed after they were made. Not only was the first post changed but several posts on other pages were changed as well. I remember because one admin wrote his entire post in bold stating that the highest paying collection would be exclusive only. You can't find that post now.

This thread lasted almost 24 hours before it was locked without addressing the OP's original question other than to say "Sorry - It's Eb and Flow"

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=80811&page=1

This thread lasted only a few hours making a few wonder why Getty can't be discussed in the open. RogerMexico does state that there is a discussion about Silvers applying to Getty "5 posts down" but that discussion was mostly cheers and didn't provide any real answers to the OP either. If I remember correctly the OP was denied by Getty anyway because he doesn't have a camera on the approved list. I could be wrong about that.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=80280&page=1

This thread was closed after only a few posts. A contributor noticed a pattern in his sales figures and wanted to discuss it. After several "not me" comments Rob locks the thread with a link to a thread about how changing your profile color can increase your sales.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=79344&page=1

Thread about spammed images being approved after the announcement of the supposed punishment for violators.

http://www.istockphoto.com/forum_messages.php?threadid=78237&page=1

There's a few to start you off.

Why? Most companies pay on a set basis. Once a week, Every other week, once a month. I don't think most contributors make enough to demand a check once a week. Those that do will be able to reliably know when their payment should come. The rest will be glad that we're know the schedule and can plan for things rather than request a payment and try to guess as to when the money will get to us.

The first sentence on SS home page:

Shutterstock is the largest subscription-based stock photo agency in the world.

Where does it say this in your contract? Where in the contract do they promise to represent the contributor as a client? What the site puts on their front page is marketing and not legally binding.

I agree with Ichiro17. We do need communication from the sites, particularly about site changes so that we can decide the best direction for our companies. I also think that we need to realize that we are not management. We don't run the microstock companies, we supply them.

I'm currently at 1/2 of what I made last month. I'm about 60% down from last year.

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.