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Messages - Phil
Pages: 1 [2] 3 4 5 6 7 ... 67
26
« on: April 16, 2013, 06:07 »
thanks for coming here and commenting and thankyou for responding to the email replies.
I'm tempted to think you will get your current customers buying images cheaper and the people who dont buy images, still not buying.
27
« on: April 16, 2013, 03:55 »
Way too cheap!
Really, there is no need to be that cheap, all it does undercut ourselves to a point of stupidity.
What a joke
28
« on: April 14, 2013, 17:25 »
On my screen, her face is a bit too yellow / bit lifeless for my taste and my attention keeps getting attracted to her hands but looks good.
29
« on: March 12, 2013, 06:23 »
may not be able to answer but once merged will pond / pixmac continue with the partner (fotolia from memory) or will its own collection be big enough to do without it?
30
« on: March 08, 2013, 19:08 »
just alamy at this stage, would like to explore some other places but haven't as yet.
32
« on: March 03, 2013, 20:57 »
Seems it like it is only for Americans, but I signed it anyway 
33
« on: February 26, 2013, 02:57 »
I've been running with Bluehost for years and not had too many issues, though I think if you have a massive library and expect tons of traffic you may want to look into something a little more robust, like MediaTemple.
A couple of places to start:
Bluehost.com - great support, Cpanel, one click Wordpress starts at around $7.00 per month
Pacifichost.com - I haven't used them personally but they were very high on my list when I researched setting up another photo store. They have plans even cheaper than Bluehost but they are specifically photo store friendly and will even help you move an existing site. (These guys are my back up plan!) Cpanel as well, easy Wordpress install
If you are looking for something for a larger site MediaTemple.com is by all accounts pretty rock solid. They have plans starting at $20.00 per month and lots of room to upgrade.
The ones to avoid:
Hostgator - Won't host photo sites
GoDaddy - I've had personal bad experiences with them (down time and such) and I've had many clients who were less tech savvy get sucked into buying a lot of un needed extras.
General Tips:
Most hosts will allow you to register your domain through them, this is great for beginners, you may find it a few dollars cheaper to register somewhere else but the potential headaches are probably not worth the $2.00 if you are new to hosting/domains etc.
Look for host that offers Cpanel, it will usually give you access to one click install for Wordpress which is an awesome time saver
I went to pacifichost between hostgator (who I found very good but as you say no photo sites) and bluehost (who I am happy with, very occasional issues and good support). Anyway it was a 3-4 years back (so I 'm working from memory) but had major problems with dns issues and other problems on their servers causing my sites to be invisible / die / etc. They said they had 24/7 support but the reality was that they only provided support US business hours, and it took a few days at the best of times, response was always we'll look into it, cant see anything wrong or something wrong on your site (I got to the point of a single page site to make sure). After months of it barely ever working I cancelled hosting. Hopefully they are better now, but I'd be a little cautious.
34
« on: February 15, 2013, 05:51 »
At the time (about 5 years ago) I was spending a lot on gear and travelling a lot and it was some quick calculations over dinner.
What I had got from the tax office a year or so before was them saying that it boils down to when do I expect to make a profit? if there was no foreseeable time when I would be making a ongoing profit, then it would be ruled a hobby. If it was expected that I would make a profit on a regular basis then it was a hobby. They gave an example of a melbourne race horse owner had made a couple of hundred thousand dollars one year and was still a hobby. He'd had a good / lucky year, it was expected that after that year he would be back to 'making a loss' and was still considered a hobby.
Yes I am due to check it all out again.
35
« on: February 14, 2013, 15:40 »
How many of their customers went to thinkstock? (even though it was going to be advertised to different market and a few weeks later encouraged istock customers to go there). How many of their buyers are also contributers who stopped buying with RC/other problems? I see the requests for more marketing in their forums and have to wonder (in my pure ignorance ) about how many buyers, particularly significant buyers, are out there that have not heard of istock? For that matter it is hard to imagine many "new" customers for any of the stock sites.
36
« on: February 12, 2013, 14:55 »
147 people have pony-tails, dont remember that one  Thanks leaf nice to see that many people are experiencing increases in income and that way people are positive about the future of microstock than I would have guessed, need to get out my negative mindset
37
« on: February 11, 2013, 17:09 »
in 2011 FT earn't 15% more than DT for me
in 2012 FT earn't slightly over half of what DT did.
DT was almost the same both years, so it was pure drop for FT.
I'm gold on FT. Looking at the way ranking has gone, the sales are still there, they are just being spread out more.
38
« on: February 11, 2013, 02:10 »
5% tax treaty with the US.
definitely keep some records to prove that your operating as a hobby.
A figure of $50k quoted by someone umm I'd make sure I had some good records to defend that one.
km's are a good thing to show the costs associated with microstock
yes, I travel a lot but I'm dubious of the $50k too, dont know what other people have been told. I haven't reached that much, but when I also spoke to her about it I was buying a lot of gear, which I dont do anymore.
39
« on: February 10, 2013, 15:05 »
Hi, You dont have to physically post anything for the tax side of things. Only 3dstudio require an itin number (so I haven't joined them) all the others you only fill out the form and submit electronically leaving the itin blank. After each site got it sorted that we dont need the itin number it was reasonably basic and painless. Withholding then goes to 5%. SS, DT, DP, maybe one or two others send me tax statements, which I promptly file and ignore I use etax and nothing from stock comes up for auto fill. I keep records of expenditure etc anyway just in case I ever have to prove being a hobby (my accountant said dont worry until over $50000?) Photodune payout says are you australian for tax and I put 'no' in the thinking of being a hobby (dont know if thats a good idea, but its what I do)
40
« on: February 09, 2013, 14:53 »
You can set up a separate account in another name and legally remain exclusive with IS while you move over to another exclusive arrangement (from now on) with newly created images. IS has agreed to this when asked.
If this was correct at any point in the past, I would not expect it now, in the current environment.
I'm not saying to do it but it can be done by creating a company then transferring your istock account to the company. The company is exclusive with istock but you personally are technically only an employee of the company and not exclusive. When you shoot for the company they go to istock exclusively and when you shoot under your own name you can do what you wish.
41
« on: February 09, 2013, 04:46 »
Sold 802 images there last year so $0.27 - oh joy  .As others have said, the number of new customers is nil so it will just cut customers from elsewhere. I want to send an email but have writers block I cant get past 'you suck'
42
« on: February 06, 2013, 14:38 »
Pond5 support told me the 2@contributor name was for pixmac; 1@contributor was for the now-ended 123rf. They also told me they would take down the pixmac mirror if I uploaded directly and asked them, so I'd write to support as it sounded from their reply to me as if you had to request it.
all my images are there with 4@contributor, id numbers match fotolia
43
« on: February 06, 2013, 02:12 »
I see your $525 and raise you $260! Image source is at $785
http://www.pond5.com/photo/10944696/mother-and-son-with-shopping.html
I think $200 for a blog size is a bit of a stretch - it's a fine stock image, but not really anything special
Wow! You always gotta win jsnover..
I humbly withdraw my measly $525
Is this kind of revealing though do you think? Is there something in this? I mean, should we be making the most of sites like Pond5 and trying to turn them into midstock type markets, like these big guys are doing? I've noticed with video for instance on P5 that many sell for $50-ish, but then there are lots for $500 too. And they are making sales!
Where is the balance between not killing P5 by making things too high to get sales, but making the most of an opportunity such as a site that lets you set your own price and gives 50%? If I knew how to make a poll I think this would make for an interesting one... "What should be the price per size on P5?"
I'm all for higher prices but is there much point when they millions of images from fotolia?
44
« on: February 06, 2013, 01:38 »
I dont think I can add anything but it certainly sounds great and I would be very keen to try it out when ready
45
« on: February 06, 2013, 01:36 »
Just another thought, I've seen quite a few people on Pond5 selling their high-res images for amounts like $3 and $5, for full 21mp+ files...Unbelievable...!
Pond5 is giving us the opportunity to set our own market price, and then some are of their own volition joining the race to the bottom?! I don't understand the logic. We would be all over Pond5 if they set the prices for us and had them at $3 or $5 for max file size.
Let's not turn P5 into another site that operates only on "cheapest images around" type mentality, we've got enough of those already.
Just my 2cents..
is it individuals or an agency, it wont let me put less than $10
46
« on: February 05, 2013, 15:50 »
I've just started uploading in the last few days, so everything is still pending.
The first images that I've clicked through, I set for $10 and hit 'set price for me'. Waiting for review to see how this breaks down prices for various sizes etc.
There is a fair bit of discussion on ponds forum but I didnt really find any good answers, I didnt see the point in being any more expensive than my images that are there from fotolia.
47
« on: February 02, 2013, 19:12 »
250 for me, bit over a 1000 for the past few weeks.
48
« on: January 31, 2013, 19:52 »
Lets just start it again. Lame joke 1:
What do you call a deer with no eyes?
no idea
PS For in case this is a pronunciation thing:
"no eye deer"
what do you call a deer with no eyes and no legs? still no idea whats brown and sticky? a stick. (this has been my sons favourite joke for over 10 years - sad but true)
49
« on: January 31, 2013, 18:07 »
thanks
50
« on: January 31, 2013, 17:48 »
Can I ask what an AoA search is?
me too I googled AoA search and the first two pages were about the Australian Osteopathic Association and after that something about flights, so I think that was a fail
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