It's all very clear.
For non exclusive accounts, either you accept the terms or not.
For exclusive accounts, we have to know how will this 60% we get be calculated.
If it's 60% of our set price, then it's still ok for exclusive uploads.
If it's 60% of whatever Pond 5 decides, then exclusivity can be questioned already.
I will also have to write to Pond 5 support to find out I guess.

I hope you do.

Pond5 has not been performing well for me for a long time. Actually SS and GI have outperformed P5.

My exclusive account has had very few sales. My non-ex account is not doing well either.

As we know, JJNeff who proposed the exclusive option to P5, is quitting doing video full-time. I feel that the exclusive option is just not a P5 thing.   

Another update: The issue has been resolved.

Today I got a piece of important information from Alamy support. That is, Alamy has always been sending the payment to my abandoned email account. In the past, it was never an issue, because this email was also linked to me.

When Alamy sent my August payment, my old email was mysteriously removed from my account. I certainly did not do it. Paypay could not tell me who did it.

After some investigation, Paypal is satisfied that I am the owner of the abandoned email account, and the payment has been issued to me.

So everything is ok now.

Hope this story will somehow be beneficial to others.

Alamy has no further response today.

It was Alamy which sent the payment to my abandoned email address through Paypal, without authorization and notice to me. How can it blame Paypal for its mistake?

After realizing that it made a mistake, why is it so difficult to correct it? Is it fair to let a contributor wait until the money is returned as unclaimed through Paypal after 30 days?

Sue, after creating an account, I can access the forum. But my message has not been approved so other members cannot see it.

Hi James,

I found it unconvincing that Paypal would change my email address on its own.

It was Alamy which sent the payment to this abandoned email, wasn't it true?

The most strange thing is, if my payment email was changed, why didn't Alamy send me an alert?

Please forward my email to Madam Emily Shelley, if you are still looking at this thread.

Is Alamy secure and competent? Is Alamy still a responsibly company?

Here is the email. Thanks.


Attention: Madam Emily Shelley
Managing Director, Alamy

Dear Madam Shelley:

Recently my Alamy payment went missing, although Alamy webpage shows that it was initiated on August 2, 2021.

Since August 12, I have sent many emails to Alamy support to report this issue.

Today, after 13 days, an email from Shannon of Alamy support said the payment was sent to an email address which was abandoned many years ago.

Shannon seems to suggest that Alamy will not pay me until the payment is returned (as unclaimed) by Paypal after 30 days.

First, from who and where did Alamy get the authorization to send my payment to this abandoned email address? Is it fraud or incompetence? Is Alamy secure??

Then, why should I not be paid immediately when it is clearly Alamy's fault?

I ask that you investigate the issue and make immediate payment to me, with a due apology.

It is totally disheartening to be treated so unfairly and irresponsibly after being a contributor for more than 14 years.

Kind regards,

Note: Sorry I had to edit a few times for spelling mistakes as I was upset.

Today Alamy support says: "We�re just checking with our finance team about this."

I initiated the contact on August 12, it has been 8 days. The support is just checking with its finance team.

This has become a joke.

Alamy responded today, saying all payments were made yesterday.

But I have not received mine.

For my 16 years with multiple agencies, this is the first time my payment has gone missing.

JJneff, sorry it doesn't work out and wish you the best.

Are you still exclusive with P5 with your existing clips?

My exclusive clips rarely sell in P5. Wonder if you had better luck.

Yes, I sent three emails to Alamy. First two were making inquiries. The last one was to report the fraud.

I am pretty certain it was fraud, because my payment email was removed, and payment method became bank transfer. Alamy has never had my banking info.

Do you know how Alamy would deal with issues like that?

It's the end of 9th working day now.

This has never happened to me since I became a contributor more than a dozen years ago. I worry that my account is somehow compromised.

I can not find the page where you can choose your payment method. Does anyone know?

I am using different emails for communication and payment.

From my own experience, I know FAA is not instant money.

Just looked at my sales in August, all of the sales are from images 8-10 years ago.

I don't participate in FB, Instagram, or Twitter. I don't spam my family and friends with my images. Occasionally I share a link or two, solely because I thought they might be interested in the image.

Very rarely my friends bought my images, maybe 3-4 times in the past 10 years.

Actually I just took a look at my Alamy sales. In terms of money, my August FAA revenue is far more than what I have received from Alamy from January to August.

Just thought these info might be helpful so you can decide if FAA is for you.

Something must have happened this month. I have made quite a bit of sales which probably equals what would I get from Alamy in one entire year.

I had far better days. But these days have not repeated themselves in recent years.

Personally I have always been happy to pay the annual fee and never had a year that I did not make some profits.