I think the reason why P5 is now utterly dead is because customers are only buying within the subscription thingy for peanuts.
Let's take an average typical small buyer: he was buying maybe 60 clips a year, at an average of $70 each. $2,100 was going to the artists and the same to Pond 5.
Now that same small buyer can get his 60 clips from the subscription crap for about $500 per year. P5 still has to pay the peanuts fee to the artists that accepted the blackmail, so let's say P5 keeps about $350 a year from that customer instead of $2,100. The artists get practically nothing.
So the idiots at P5 are getting now 15% of what they were getting before from each customer, at the same time artists have no reason whatsoever to upload there, since there are practically no sales outside the pathetic membership thing

You can become a millionaire with stock...
... but you have to start as a billionaire

Thanks for the replies guys.
Here an update:
at the beginning my profile was at about 30% complete.
Then somehow I managed to add and confirm my mobile phone and it went up to 40%.
Then I added my bank account and entered the code they sent me, my account went to 60%.
Then I added my credit card and it went up to 80%.
I feel that I am almost getting there. The force is with me!
Can anyone tell me what the last 20% can be? Maybe they will send another code tonight during a dream?

I always use paypal. Touch wood (knock knock) I've never had any problems and my money gets transferred into my back account within seconds after clicking withdraw.

My guess is that you haven't completed all the registration details with Paypal. Do you have a bank account setup with them?

I wouldn't worry. The money is there for u. Really bad they haven't contacted you back though.
Good luck!

Thank you for your reply.
I was a PP user many years ago, but haven't used in the last 6-7 years.
Recently I have received my payments from stock agencies into PP, so money has been piling up there.
I have updated my profile with new address, bank account and telephone, they sent me codes for bank account and telephone which I have entered. But still I cannot withdraw any money.
Their website is totally useless, it does not explain in any way why my account is limited or how to lift the limit. Any thing I do I get a message: temporarily not working.
Most worrying, I have been trying to contact them by mail, message, phone, messages in a bottle. Absolutely no reply.
Even worse, I have done a google search and there are thousands of message reporting PP as fraudsters

Very strange things for me this month.
I only do footage and this month the number of downloads has very strongly decreased (about 20% of normal!).
But all my downloads have been for much higher prices than usual (I have never had $ 90 DL before).
So after all in dollar terms SS is on my monthly average, only with very few sales.
Go figure!

I understand that some (most?) agencies will eventually get involved in a price war and gradually lower the price of clips or the percentage going to artists in a way or another. That should partially be offset by increasing the number of sales to more budget conscious buyers.
But surely there is a market for professionals members of the industry who are happy to pay several hundreds for a clip and need an agency with the highest quality and a good selection.
It would be wrong if all agencies will go for the race to the bottom, one or two should take the higher segment of the market by keeping high prices and good retribution to artists, like some sort of "macroish" stock.
Pond 5, by allowing artists to set the price, was the closest thing to that: many artist upload their best clips exclusively at Pond 5 and set a price of several hundreds. At the same time, higher end buyers go to Pond 5 because they find special content.
It would not be a wise move if Pond 5 should position itself for the cheapest segment of the market