MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => Selling Stock Direct => Topic started by: cascoly on June 28, 2020, 16:21
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Anyone have experience selling digital downloads thru Etsy? When i looked a few years ago, this wasn't an option.
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I listed one thing but got no sales, and at the time it was easier to just sell on Shutterstock. However, there’s a Facebook group dedicated to selling digital files on Etsy.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/562343867519170/ (https://www.facebook.com/groups/562343867519170/)
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Just a note to beware. I got a chargeback of $25 + $20 from Paypal for a sale through Photoshelter four months after the fact. PP has zero protection for digital products for the buyer. I've read you should mail them a receipt with tracking and use that as proof, but I don't know if that works, and you need their address.
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Anyone have experience selling digital downloads thru Etsy? When i looked a few years ago, this wasn't an option.
It is an option, but you have to pay 0.20U$ per item listed every four months, no matter if it sells or not.
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LOTS of stolen work on etsy in my experience. Mostly know it for the number of DMCA take downs I've had to issue.
Oh, and sellers there know to dispute your claim and Etsy will let them repost, leaving you with the option of suing if you want to take it further.
Not a fan.
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LOTS of stolen work on etsy in my experience. Mostly know it for the number of DMCA take downs I've had to issue.
Oh, and sellers there know to dispute your claim and Etsy will let them repost, leaving you with the option of suing if you want to take it further.
Not a fan.
can you share some detailed experience of this?
I also see lot of my works being uploaded there.
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LOTS of stolen work on etsy in my experience. Mostly know it for the number of DMCA take downs I've had to issue.
Oh, and sellers there know to dispute your claim and Etsy will let them repost, leaving you with the option of suing if you want to take it further.
Not a fan.
can you share some detailed experience of this?
I also see lot of my works being uploaded there.
Use this form. You can report multiple thefts of the same work on one form.
Link to your work on a stock site in the right place.
Gets very quick and easy after the first couple of times (when you know the layout).
https://www.etsy.com/legal/ip/report (https://www.etsy.com/legal/ip/report)
Make sure you you email other people who's work you spot and organise them to send DMCAs too. As I said some thieves have learnt to send counter-notices every time, but Etsy will take down a shop if enough artists report the same one.
The scum bags probably have their own facebook groups too, advising each other on how to avoid takedowns!
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Anyone have experience selling digital downloads thru Etsy? When i looked a few years ago, this wasn't an option.
It is an option, but you have to pay 0.20U$ per item listed every four months, no matter if it sells or not.
If it sells, there is no listing fee, I believe.
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Anyone have experience selling digital downloads thru Etsy? When i looked a few years ago, this wasn't an option.
It is an option, but you have to pay 0.20U$ per item listed every four months, no matter if it sells or not.
If it sells, there is no listing fee, I believe.
" You will be charged a listing fee whether or not the listed item sells, "
https://www.etsy.com/legal/fees/ (https://www.etsy.com/legal/fees/)
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Yeah, I think I misunderstood what I read.
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Anyone have experience selling digital downloads thru Etsy? When i looked a few years ago, this wasn't an option.
It is an option, but you have to pay 0.20U$ per item listed every four months, no matter if it sells or not.
If it sells, there is no listing fee, I believe.
" You will be charged a listing fee whether or not the listed item sells, "
https://www.etsy.com/legal/fees/ (https://www.etsy.com/legal/fees/)
I gave up with it, the listing fee was annoying me too.
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Whether you sell on Esty or not, some sellers are probably still selling your content. That place is a infringement hotbed and the sellers abuse counter-infringement system like crazy. I keep killing the roaches and they come back like every few weeks.
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thanks for the input & what to watch for - my main concern would the time it takes to post an item, so guess i'll give it a test - i have a little extra time right now
i'm not too concerned about the listing fees - i sell (non-photo items) on ebay & amazon where costs run 15-30% - plus $15/mo for an ebay store that covers most listing fees and $25/mo for a daily repricing app for amazon
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I sell digital downloads on Etsy for a few years now, but it's not purely images. I sell templates to be used by professional baby photographers, so they can photoshop babies into it. As a baby photographer myself, I show the finished product (with baby) on Etsy and sell the empty PSD or JPG as a digital download for a price between 16 and 23 dollars (gross). With 48 templates active this gives me a net annual income of about 450 USD. Not much, I know, but I made these templates for my own studio, so no extra work except submitting them to Etsy. I have had not a single problem with client payments or infringements up till today.
(for the curious ones, this is my Etsy shop : [size=78%]https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnykaPhotography (https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnykaPhotography)[/size])
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I sell digital downloads on Etsy for a few years now, but it's not purely images. I sell templates to be used by professional baby photographers, so they can photoshop babies into it. As a baby photographer myself, I show the finished product (with baby) on Etsy and sell the empty PSD or JPG as a digital download for a price between 16 and 23 dollars (gross). With 48 templates active this gives me a net annual income of about 450 USD. Not much, I know, but I made these templates for my own studio, so no extra work except submitting them to Etsy. I have had not a single problem with client payments or infringements up till today.
(for the curious ones, this is my Etsy shop : [size=78%]https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnykaPhotography (https://www.etsy.com/shop/AnykaPhotography)[/size])
Outstanding work, not surprised you are doing well there!
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Clever! well done!
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I purchased a SVG file on Etsy that had a thin outline of a "C" across the front of it. Nah, couldn't have been from a poorly erased copyright symbol because Etsy didn't care when I brought it to their attention. They said if I had a problem I should ask for a refund from the Seller.
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I contacted a seller yesterday who was reselling some derivatives of my vector work. I said it's not permitted to (re)sell (altered versions of) my work, even with a license. She said she did buy an RF license but misread the terms. She apologized and removed the items from her shop.
Bottom line: if you ever find your items on Etsy, try contacting the shop owner and politely but sternly explain the situation. That might be more effective than contacting Etsy with a DMCA.
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I contacted a seller yesterday who was reselling some derivatives of my vector work. I said it's not permitted to (re)sell (altered versions of) my work, even with a license. She said she did buy an RF license but misread the terms. She apologized and removed the items from her shop.
Bottom line: if you ever find your items on Etsy, try contacting the shop owner and politely but sternly explain the situation. That might be more effective than contacting Etsy with a DMCA.
It's a mixed bag.
Some people will take it down. Some people gave me a hard time, asking for evidence of ownership or copyright. Some people think they own the artwork because they made slight changes to it. Some people just refuse to take it down. The people who refused to take it down forced me to file DMCA take down notices. Even then, some of them file counter claims and gave fake contact information (Shop in US, but their address is some random place in Europe).
I've gotten tired of contacting the shop owners. It's a waste of my time. Nowadays, I just file take DMCA take notices and let Etsy sort them out.
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I established a shop on etsy selling strictly digital downloads. That was 2 months ago. Haven't sold anything yet but still hoping.
:)
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For what it's worth, I'm just opening an Etsy "gallery" selling prints of my work. Only have a few listing up so no info yet on how well it's doing. I would not sell digital downloads there, read too many horror stories. Too cheap, and actually selling prints can give you a higher profit margin than downloads in spite of the overhead and cost of shipping. I've read a number of forum posts where buyers on balance prefer to buy prints over digital downloads anyway so they don't have to go through the effort of printing. There are printing companies that do drop shipping for photographers so photogs don't have to package and mail the prints. Just my two cents.
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Reading that forum on FB, sellers there are incredibly unknowledgeable about things like licenses and copyright. They have MS Paint, so they’re ready to go.
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what companies have you used for drop shipping? FAA will do it, but their prices are high and artist margin low
for me $5 net for a print is too low, considering the amt of work to set up & order, while $5 for a download is acceptable if it's automatic
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Hi Everyone
Reading this it appears there are a lot of issues regarding copyright and licensing, guess you got to be smart who to give out your work to. Its a shark tank out there.
I didn't know that the Drop Shipping Method is coming into fashion here as well, this seems to be something to look into, I agree. Where do you start is there a good address anyone knows of?
Sincere regards
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Etsy used to be a good place, it has now turned into JUST ANOTHER ripoff site, thet not only charge you to up load images but once you sell something they HOLD THE MONEY for quite sometime.
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I contacted a seller yesterday who was reselling some derivatives of my vector work. I said it's not permitted to (re)sell (altered versions of) my work, even with a license. She said she did buy an RF license but misread the terms. She apologized and removed the items from her shop.
Bottom line: if you ever find your items on Etsy, try contacting the shop owner and politely but sternly explain the situation. That might be more effective than contacting Etsy with a DMCA.
It's a mixed bag.
Some people will take it down. Some people gave me a hard time, asking for evidence of ownership or copyright. Some people think they own the artwork because they made slight changes to it. Some people just refuse to take it down. The people who refused to take it down forced me to file DMCA take down notices. Even then, some of them file counter claims and gave fake contact information (Shop in US, but their address is some random place in Europe).
I've gotten tired of contacting the shop owners. It's a waste of my time. Nowadays, I just file take DMCA take notices and let Etsy sort them out.
+1
I also find the DMCA notice the easier way. I used to contact them, but their response was almost always very annoying, most of them telling me they work with third party designers, and when I ask for the designer's name, they can never find it, he is not answering etc. It's probably the answer they think frees them from any responsibility.
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You can sell digital files in Etsy but Etsy is a completely different platform compared with other platform where you sell your content like Adobe, SS, Alamy etc. In Etsy you are responsible for everything connected with your shop - shop appearance, shop policies, marketing and advertising, writing listings, writing image licenses and everything else. If you want to have a successful shop you have to work hard - really hard. According to my experience only 40-50% of the time is spent to create the product. Most time is spent to sell the product and to have 5-star feedback, which is essential - customer service, advertising banners, seo, constantly adjusting your to content to be more competitive. Although it is much more difficult than just uploading files in Stock platforms it can be much more rewarding. Etsy gets fees around 13% + currency conversion it is 16% and you get the rest. You can also be payed on a daily basis in a bank account, not only Paypal. At the moment Etsy is the BEST platform to sell individually what you have created - physical or digital. Easy to use interface lots of instruments for marketing and promotions and everything you need to sell and make your shop look nice.
If you decide to sell in Etsy my advice is to make a serious research to understand how Esty works, who are shoppers, what can you sell, how to sell it - in one word it is a different game.
Yes, there are lots of copyright infringement in Etsy. If you report it Etsy will close the shops. I think that the authors have to be much more active to protect their content. Most of the shop owners that sell POD does not understand at all what is the difference between Standard and Extended Licence. And of course they never buy Extended license. In 70-80% of the cases you can contact the shop owners and they will quickly remove the listings or buy the licenses. In other cases you can report to Etsy.
If you only want to make a photography or illustrations Etsy is not for you. If you are eager to learn more Etsy is a school - you will learn how to sell online products. If you can sell your own content you will be able to sell lots of other products. I want to say that selling in Etsy will give you another perspective. Here you will meet your real customers and you will understand what do people do with your artwork. Knowing this you will know what to create and what not to create.
I have started to sell seriously in Etsy 2-3 years ago and at the moment I am absolutely grateful that I made this step. My shops are not as successful as I wanted to be but Etsy opened many doors and gave me new opportunities.
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With regard to selling prints on Etsy, there are useful threads on the FAA forum. IMHO it's basically a huge PITA. You have to provide free shipping, handle complaints and returns, and keep detailed tax records.
FAA can be your drop-ship fulillment 'partner' but their shipping charges are wildly unpredictable and can be very high. So to offer free shipping, you have to make a guess about shipping, and could lose a lot of money on a large framed print.
If the print doesn't arrive when expected, or is of poor quality, it's all on you. You have to work through FAA's spotty and slow customer service.
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https://www.annegeddes.com/ (https://www.annegeddes.com/)
very famous Woman Photographer. she sure is the best.
Nice work Anyka. you've been around quite awhile.
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thanks lark - glad to hear someone here has had a (mostly) good experience on Etsy. i've been selling collectible comics & maps on ebay & amazon for 20 years, so familiar with online sales. and etsy fees are about half what i pay on those sites. unfortunately neither allows digital downloads.
i don't intend to sell actual prints, but many sell digital images to be printed by the user (which of course is true of any digital DL!)
I plan to offer sets of images at competitive prices
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I put up about 50 stock images a month ago that I thought would make good backgrounds. Not a sale.
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I can't imagine who would buy photographs on Etsy! Actual posters, greeting cards, yes, but photos?
It's more of a marketplace for crafters to buy crafting stuff, or for shoppers to buy handmade items. AND it's becoming overrun with used stuff.
I buy on Etsy more than Amazon
Remember they are not curated so it's hit and miss with quality
These are some of the things I've purchased:
- Photoshop templates (trading cards etc. for youth sports photography)
- SVG files to cut on t-shirt vinyl
- PDF Sewing patterns
- Spandex
- Lace
- Rhinestones
The search is HORRENDOUS. If you search for "Child Leotard Sewing Pattern PDF", you get everything for sale - custom women's gymnastics leotards, mens shorts sewing patterns, monkey knitting pattern.