"Many stock image agencies, including many of our direct competitors, already include a clause in their license that allows "sensitive uses."

Let's not forget that Shutterstock is politely asking for something that is the norm from smaller agencies and competitors and they plan to pay well, so it's yes from me and thanks for asking!

Does anybody have an example of which sites do this automatically as a standard practice?

Thanks,

Mat

Hi All,

We can allow your files to be deactivated (not on sale) and then deactivate your account. However, we have had instances when photographers literally told us that it's a crime to keep even a backup copy of their files when they leave. So which is which? To make things simple we just made a rule when you go, we'll delete all your files, it's much cleaner and simpler to explain in this manner.

So which is it now? Do advise!

Alex.

I think I know where you are coming from here Alex.  Damned if you do, damned if you don't.  That being said, this whole thing has a very "Ready-Fire-Aim" feel to it.  I would hope that you have at the very least a legal consultant in place to help you guys make decisions vs. relying on a photographer telling you it's a crime to keep a backup copy of your file. 

Reading between the lines of your post I am picking up that it is impossible to make everyone happy.  This is most unfortunately true in most every business in every industry.  I wish you the best of luck here sincerely as I believe 123rf is a site teetering precariously on the line of potential success.  With the existing commission structure and the (too) low prices it's probably a huge challenge to remain profitable.  Change it and you run the risk of pushing out the photographers that aren't making enough to stay truly loyal at this point as it is which also creates a challenge to become competitive.  The way you are implying it is going to be done is also implying a Grandfather clause that in all reality probably can't remain in place for a long time.  A result is that you could be setting yourself up to really burn some of your most loyal members down the road.  The lack of real information with the hints and innuendos is in my opinion making it look like you guys are really struggling to figure out what to do.  Sometimes you've got to just make a decision and own it.  Even if it's the wrong decision it might be better than not making a decision at all. 

You said to advise so here it is...Raise your prices, lower your commissions.  Make the dollar amount we earn higher on a lower percentage for photographers and earn more dollars yourself.  You've got the database, you've got some visibility and a bit of momentum...use it.

Is $30 about an average month for you there Luis? 

Quote from: MatHayward on January 28, 2012, 14:55

I'm very curious as to what qualifies a site in the majority opinion as showing potential in a real and tangible Dollar amount.

$100 a month?  $500?  $1,000?

$5?

I would be SHOCKED if anyone was making real money at Deposit Photos. 

I am sure there are many doing some "nice" money, if I do 30$ I am sure plenty are doing 10x that

There are 2 possible attitudes one can have. One is to scorn the agency, and the other one is to just take it as it is.

I think this is a great quote.  Because there really isn't much of an alternative.  As a lot of you know I'm pretty new to uploading at sites other than Fotolia.  I am making less than $100 a month at Dreamstime right now and to me the reason is pretty clear.  I've got just around 600 photos in my portfolio where with SS I started the exact same time and have over 2,000. 

There is a little bit of fear of uploading to DT because of their policy to lower your upload limits with excessive rejections which as has been thoroughly discussed come quickly and often regardless of the quality of the image or the ludicrous comparison to a moderately similar image.  So to avoid having my upload limit lowered for whatever reason, I let images sit in my queue un-submitted.  I am aware this is stupid because by doing so I'm not even maximizing my upload limit as it sits.   

I like the site.  I'm getting to like the concept more now of the increased price based on sales (it took a while for me to appreciate it).  I believe there is a lot of money to be made there.  I just see it as a real challenge to build a portfolio there that will consistently bring in large payouts.  As it stands, I put it second to last on my list of priorities when submitting images.

Mat

My infinite collection photos don't fly off the shelves either but the lack of quantity in the sales is definitely made up for with the higher sales and percentage.

Now that I'm thinking of it I really should shoot more aggressively with the Infinite collection in mind.

Mat

These images have been there since the beginning of the Infinite Collection.  Going on a few years now. 

Shoot support an email.  The files will probably appear at some point but I'm pretty sure they can do a refresh for your portfolio to expedite the process.

Good luck,

Mat

Might be time to switch to decaf.

I was just commenting on the topic at hand buddy.

Happy New Year.

Mat

Quote from: MatHayward on December 30, 2011, 13:32

Fotolia has always paid photographers the full commission rate even on promotional credits they give away for free. 

A little history lesson.

Right, they don't cut the full commissions on sales, they just do stupid things like this to screw the artists:

Quote from: bad to the bone on November 03, 2011, 20:36

Meanwhile I found 3 Images in my bestselling 100 set back to 1 Credit basic price for non selling. Well, FT, this is my answer: they go to all other agencies what can sell them!
You get them first and exclusive and you can't sell them.
That's not my problem it's yours.

With best regards.

Quote from: fotografer on November 04, 2011, 17:41

That's ironic considering that they plan on knocking our images back to 1 credit if we sell them on other sites for less than they do.

(quoting the Fotolia site:) If Fotolia becomes aware that a non exclusive contributor with a rank of �Emerald� or above is distributing any images, vectors or videos (the �Works�) through another stock agency or website (where at least some of such Works are the same as the Works being distributed through Fotolia), and if the pricing charged on such other stock agency or website for the downloading of any of such contributor�s Works are comparatively lower than the pricing charged on Fotolia for downloading Works of �White� ranking contributors, then, subject to applicable law, Fotolia reserves the right, at its discretion, to lower the pricing of any of such contributor's Works offered through Fotolia so as to match the pricing for the Works of �White� ranking contributors on Fotolia. Subject to applicable law, Fotolia reserves the right to inquire, from time to time, with any given contributor with a rank of �Emerald� or above as to whether such contributor is distributing any Works through any other stock agency or website, and such contributor shall promptly provide this information to Fotolia. For clarity, Fotolia is under no obligation to make any such inquiries.

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on September 26, 2011, 04:17

We've been citing Fotolia's base rate as 16%, based on Leaf's excellent analysis at the beginning of this year. I've just realised that his calculation was done when "white" was at the pretend 25% rate. It has since been reduced to a pretend 20% so the 16% has to be reduced by a fifth.

Just thought people might like to know.

2011 Commission Cuts:

Dear Fotolia Contributor,
2010 was another record year for the Fotolia community. We set new all-time highs for the number images in our collection, the number of members, and photographer royalty payouts. For 2011, we're implementing some changes in efforts to continue this trend.

Competition in the market is increasing, both amongst the photographers in the community, and amongst stock photography agencies. We've been monitoring the situation carefully, and have continued to increase our marketing spend in the number and frequency of ad campaigns. In addition, Fotolia continued its international leadership in new markets, with the opening of the Russian and Chinese web sites. With the increase in sales, the velocity of the rank changes has also accelerated. In order to sustain our continued efforts in marketing, we are making some changes to the royalty structures at the mid and lower tiers next week.

Fotolia continues to maintain photographer commissions at a significantly higher than those of our major competitors, and our increased efforts in marketing will result in an even higher velocity towards increased rankings.

Please note also that our new recency filter gives some priority to newer and fresher content, which means that the best new photographers with fresh content will have a better chance of rising to the higher ranks.

Thanks for your continued support, and we look forward to a great 2011 together.

Sincerely,
Fotolia.com

new rates (but I dont know the old)

Here is the price and royalty chart for non-exclusive files

Ranking    Contributor royalty (%)   
White    20   
Bronze    23   
Silver    25   
Gold         31
Emerald    37   
Sapphire    40   
Rubis    43   
Diamond    46

Quote from: Elenathewise on November 17, 2010, 00:48

Did Fotolia just changed the upper limit for EL license for emerald contributors or is just me? Used to be 200, now the upper limit is 100... What's going on? No announcements, no explanations... I am getting sick of this.

Reranked without notice thread, Dec 2008:

Now we are talking about a company led by a man who

1. Instituted subscription sales and tried to pay us 22 cents per download when the current market rate was 30 cents

2 . recently made unannounced attempts to take away referral earnings

3. Changed the ranking levels with no discussion and no annuncment just as a significant number of long time contributors where on the threshold of reaching their goals.

4. Refused to give subscription sales the same weight in the ranking scale as a standard sale. Instead forcing us to give away 4 sub sales to equal one sale for the purpose of rank increase even though their is no difference in the license terms  for either sale.

-=-=-

So you say, yes they give you the full commission, but there are some details left out like percentages, levels, commission cuts and back door tactics.

That is pretty cool!  Nice job Alex.

Hey there,

For those of you who are still at the gates waiting to make the cut by about 50 images or so, we're creating a last minute VIP line only for MSGers.

PM me with your 123RF userID, I'll get people to review it for you quickly

Happy New Year!

Alex.

I'm going to keep saving, buy the 1DX.  Continue to shoot, edit, upload and keyword for Fotolia, Shutterstock, Dreamstime and at times 123rf. 

Hopefully I will continue to get credentials for big concerts in the Seattle area.  I've got a plan for some magazines that will hopefully bring some $$.  I'd like to see my editorial work pick up volume with cash flow.

In addition, I've got pages and pages of ideas for shoots I want to do.  I hope to actually dive into the list and create most of the images. 

Should be a great year!

Mat

5dMarkII down to less than 2K now at Adorama:  http://www.adorama.com/ICA5DM2.html?emailprice=t&utm_term=Other&utm_medium=Others&utm_campaign=Other&utm_source=joelm

Could this be them dumping their stock as quickly as possible in anticipation of the new version hitting the shelves?

This can't be good news for anyone including 123rf, Grandfathered photogs and certainly not newbies or recent exclusive shooters. 

Their biggest problem in my opinion is their price.  I would rather see them double their prices and lower commissions 15 percent than go this route. 


Mat

I must be missing something here.  October was my best month by far at 123 with $26 in revenue coming my way.  Last month it was $19. 

Mat