MicrostockGroup

Agency Based Discussion => Shutterstock.com => Topic started by: DAL57 on March 11, 2013, 14:20

Title: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: DAL57 on March 11, 2013, 14:20
Hi to everyone,

I'm a newbie on the microstock world.  :D
A friend recommended me shutterstock, a good place where I can sell my work... I worked for many years with an architect, so I made ​​a lot of textures and graphics works with 3D Studio Max.

I sent my 10 images Wednesday (6 March), but I haven't received any answer. My question is: it is "normal"?

Thank you,

Damiana.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: EmberMike on March 11, 2013, 15:01

Two weeks wait time is normal at SS lately.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: OM on March 11, 2013, 18:58
Reviewing slowed considerably in the past fortnight for me but perhaps not for others.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: fotografer on March 12, 2013, 04:36
Normal review is taking 5 or 6 days and the initial 10 always takes a lot longer
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: DAL57 on March 13, 2013, 08:50
Hi again!

Finally I have received a mail from Shutterstock:

"The images you submitted have been reviewed by our team of experts. You can check your status here:"

Good!, So.. I clicked on the link below and I found this:


Thank you for your submission:
Our team of experts is reviewing your submission.
You should hear from us in about 5 business days.
ID:Pending
Content:Accepted

what it means "ID: Pending"? I sent my Identity Card to Shutterstock... this isn't enough, maybe...?  :-[

Thanks,
Damiana.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 13, 2013, 09:49
Normal review is taking 5 or 6 days and the initial 10 always takes a lot longer
I experienced the opposite
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 13, 2013, 09:50
Hi again!

Finally I have received a mail from Shutterstock:

"The images you submitted have been reviewed by our team of experts. You can check your status here:"

Good!, So.. I clicked on the link below and I found this:


Thank you for your submission:
Our team of experts is reviewing your submission.
You should hear from us in about 5 business days.
ID:Pending
Content:Accepted

what it means "ID: Pending"? I sent my Identity Card to Shutterstock... this isn't enough, maybe...?  :-[

Thanks,
Damiana.
It means your ID is pending for approval. Once the ID is accepted, your images will appear in your port and you can start submitting all other images
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: DAL57 on March 13, 2013, 10:46
It means your ID is pending for approval. Once the ID is accepted, your images will appear in your port and you can start submitting all other images

So... my ID can be rejected ?!  :o ...I'm not too beautiful for shutterstock?  :P ;D
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Mantis on March 13, 2013, 10:53
It means your ID is pending for approval. Once the ID is accepted, your images will appear in your port and you can start submitting all other images

So... my ID can be rejected ?!  :o ...I'm not too beautiful for shutterstock?  :P ;D

Yes. If you slick your hair back or have a mohawk they will reject you. Other than that you should be good to go.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: w7lwi on March 13, 2013, 17:57
It depends on the type of I.D. you submitted.  Their preference is an international passport.  But even with that, the name and address must match, exactly, with what you entered on the application.  Otherwise it won't be accepted.  They will accept other types of I.D., but it almost seems to be on a case-by-case basis.  Again, name and address must match precisely.  If you sent in your passport and everything matches, it should be no problem.  Just be patient and they will get around to it.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: cascoly on March 14, 2013, 08:20
normal review time at SS for me is 2-5 days, but la5tely a bit slower;  editorial images from latest batch were reviewed next day
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Ploink on March 17, 2013, 05:09
normal review time at SS for me is 2-5 days, but la5tely a bit slower;  editorial images from latest batch were reviewed next day
Interesting that... I have a batch of editorials waiting since Feb, 25th and another since March, 8th. I sent them an e-mail but haven't heard back from them  :P
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: ruxpriencdiam on March 18, 2013, 21:40
There are posts in the SS forums of reviews taking anywhere from 1 week to 1 month or more right now.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: gillian vann on March 18, 2013, 23:02
perhaps they have a lot of ex iS contributors coming over? even a couple with giant ports would slow things down in the short term.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: michaeldb on March 19, 2013, 00:33
perhaps they have a lot of ex iS contributors coming over? even a couple with giant ports would slow things down in the short term.
Yes, it looks like the SS input pipes are jammed with a lot of something. The review and acceptance process seems to be behaving badly, almost to the point of breaking down. I've been at SS since 2005 and I have never seen anything like it. Must be those iS newbies.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 20, 2013, 11:18
12 days and counting. I am thinking of pulling all images and wait until the wait is over. Better chance for the images if they get reviewed and processed quickly. At this moment, the images stand little chance. Buried as soon as they go live.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: etienjones on March 20, 2013, 11:26
My last set just got approved, it took 7 days.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: tickstock on March 20, 2013, 11:28
.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Tryingmybest on March 20, 2013, 12:02
I'm at three weeks average.  :-[

Hi to everyone,

I'm a newbie on the microstock world.  :D
A friend recommended me shutterstock, a good place where I can sell my work... I worked for many years with an architect, so I made ​​a lot of textures and graphics works with 3D Studio Max.

I sent my 10 images Wednesday (6 March), but I haven't received any answer. My question is: it is "normal"?

Thank you,

Damiana.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: WarrenPrice on March 20, 2013, 12:06
I'm at three weeks average.  :-[

Hi to everyone,

I'm a newbie on the microstock world.  :D
A friend recommended me shutterstock, a good place where I can sell my work... I worked for many years with an architect, so I made ​​a lot of textures and graphics works with 3D Studio Max.

I sent my 10 images Wednesday (6 March), but I haven't received any answer. My question is: it is "normal"?

Thank you,

Damiana.

It seems illustrations/graphics are taking longer than photos.  Probably a different set of reviewers?
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: scottbraut on March 20, 2013, 16:52
12 days and counting. I am thinking of pulling all images and wait until the wait is over. Better chance for the images if they get reviewed and processed quickly. At this moment, the images stand little chance. Buried as soon as they go live.

Hello,

In general, our "regular" image queue can run between 2-6 days, depending on volume.  Our vector queue has been running higher lately due to the overall volume of submissions and because vector review is more specialized and requires specific expertise.  We shift additional specialists to vectors to bring the turnaround time down when volume peaks.

In general, if your images are taking more than 1-2 weeks, that suggests that the batch might have been flagged to be inspected by our most senior reviewers as part of a "second tier" review.  Feel free to email the support team if you suspect something's taking much longer than it should.

In general, we recommend sending images into the system over time (rather than single massive batches of thousands of images on one topic), but we wouldn't recommend taking images out of review and resubmitting.  It would only put you in the back of the queue and I personally don't think there would be any benefit in terms of assuming that it would help your earnings.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
 

 

Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: WarrenPrice on March 20, 2013, 17:04
12 days and counting. I am thinking of pulling all images and wait until the wait is over. Better chance for the images if they get reviewed and processed quickly. At this moment, the images stand little chance. Buried as soon as they go live.

Hello,

In general, our "regular" image queue can run between 2-6 days, depending on volume.  Our vector queue has been running higher lately due to the overall volume of submissions and because vector review is more specialized and requires specific expertise.  We shift additional specialists to vectors to bring the turnaround time down when volume peaks.

In general, if your images are taking more than 1-2 weeks, that suggests that the batch might have been flagged to be inspected by our most senior reviewers as part of a "second tier" review.  Feel free to email the support team if you suspect something's taking much longer than it should.

In general, we recommend sending images into the system over time (rather than single massive batches of thousands of images on one topic), but we wouldn't recommend taking images out of review and resubmitting.  It would only put you in the back of the queue and I personally don't think there would be any benefit in terms of assuming that it would help your earnings.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content

Thanks for responding here, Scott.  That may not be a satisfying answer but does answer some questions.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 20, 2013, 18:04
12 days and counting. I am thinking of pulling all images and wait until the wait is over. Better chance for the images if they get reviewed and processed quickly. At this moment, the images stand little chance. Buried as soon as they go live.

Hello,

In general, our "regular" image queue can run between 2-6 days, depending on volume.  Our vector queue has been running higher lately due to the overall volume of submissions and because vector review is more specialized and requires specific expertise.  We shift additional specialists to vectors to bring the turnaround time down when volume peaks.

In general, if your images are taking more than 1-2 weeks, that suggests that the batch might have been flagged to be inspected by our most senior reviewers as part of a "second tier" review.  Feel free to email the support team if you suspect something's taking much longer than it should.

In general, we recommend sending images into the system over time (rather than single massive batches of thousands of images on one topic), but we wouldn't recommend taking images out of review and resubmitting.  It would only put you in the back of the queue and I personally don't think there would be any benefit in terms of assuming that it would help your earnings.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Hi Scott,


Its 11 batches of only 17 photos. Various subjects. No vectors. I do submit only a few photos over time, but with your review times, you easily build up a large number of files, before a review. With your speed of reviewing, I can only submit 20 images per month. I actually need to hold back now.

I already emailed support, but to get a reply takes about 2-3 week as well.

As you can see, I follow all your advice but its helping no one. In the mean time, money is lost.

Thanks for the reply tho
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Tryingmybest on March 21, 2013, 10:40
I won't pull my images out of the queue. However, I find this "flagged" comment from Scott to be disturbing because I have been getting lots of arbitrary rejections for needing releases for my cartoons. So I can only presume that SS suspects I'm tracing other people's work. I've never had such problems. So I have forced myself to create more drawings solely in the computer, but they look like hand-drawn traced with cross-hatching with detailed comments to the reviewers in the submission process. I think you all (at SS) are being unfair.

I am about to go into the 4th week of a pile of 20 illustrations in that queue. I sent my support email.

These are just samples of how SS has been misjudging if work is "traced" or not (hence the probable "flagging" they're doing:

Traced from ink & paper drawing: http://us.fotolia.com/id/49859766 (http://us.fotolia.com/id/49859766)
Created in computer 100% in similar ink & paper style: http://us.fotolia.com/id/50343004 (http://us.fotolia.com/id/50343004)
Created in Illustrator only: http://us.fotolia.com/id/50512520 (http://us.fotolia.com/id/50512520)

12 days and counting. I am thinking of pulling all images and wait until the wait is over. Better chance for the images if they get reviewed and processed quickly. At this moment, the images stand little chance. Buried as soon as they go live.


Hello,

In general, our "regular" image queue can run between 2-6 days, depending on volume.  Our vector queue has been running higher lately due to the overall volume of submissions and because vector review is more specialized and requires specific expertise.  We shift additional specialists to vectors to bring the turnaround time down when volume peaks.

In general, if your images are taking more than 1-2 weeks, that suggests that the batch might have been flagged to be inspected by our most senior reviewers as part of a "second tier" review.  Feel free to email the support team if you suspect something's taking much longer than it should.

In general, we recommend sending images into the system over time (rather than single massive batches of thousands of images on one topic), but we wouldn't recommend taking images out of review and resubmitting.  It would only put you in the back of the queue and I personally don't think there would be any benefit in terms of assuming that it would help your earnings.

Best,

Scott
VP of Content

Hi Scott,


Its 11 batches of only 17 photos. Various subjects. No vectors. I do submit only a few photos over time, but with your review times, you easily build up a large number of files, before a review. With your speed of reviewing, I can only submit 20 images per month. I actually need to hold back now.

I already emailed support, but to get a reply takes about 2-3 week as well.

As you can see, I follow all your advice but its helping no one. In the mean time, money is lost.

Thanks for the reply tho
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: stockastic on March 22, 2013, 11:32
Is anyone currently getting responses to 'support' emails, and if so how long are they taking?

Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: luissantos84 on March 22, 2013, 11:50
Is anyone currently getting responses to 'support' emails, and if so how long are they taking?

12 days for the last time (March 8th - 20th)
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 22, 2013, 13:06
Is anyone currently getting responses to 'support' emails, and if so how long are they taking?
Nope.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: stockastic on March 22, 2013, 13:56
So let's see... 6 days for the bogus rejection, 2 weeks for (maybe) a response from support, re-submit, 6 more days for (maybe) approval.

From this, I think we can see just how badly SS wants new images. 



Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 22, 2013, 14:03
So let's see... 6 days for the bogus rejection, 2 weeks for (maybe) a response from support, re-submit, 6 more days for (maybe) approval.

From this, I think we can see just how badly SS wants new images.
Just recently I had such scenario indeed. Took me 6 weeks to get an illustration accepted.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Tryingmybest on March 22, 2013, 14:50
None. It's been over 3 days since my support contact. Next week will be one month of images sitting in queue. We've all been flagged it seems. Meanwhile all the real image thieves keep uploading without a second glance.  :(

Is anyone currently getting responses to 'support' emails, and if so how long are they taking?
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Tryingmybest on March 22, 2013, 14:52
6 weeks!? How many releases and blood samples did you give them?  :o

Update...Just had my batch of 20 finally reviewed and approved. I was very happy and grateful. But still no word from support.



So let's see... 6 days for the bogus rejection, 2 weeks for (maybe) a response from support, re-submit, 6 more days for (maybe) approval.

From this, I think we can see just how badly SS wants new images.
Just recently I had such scenario indeed. Took me 6 weeks to get an illustration accepted.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Tryingmybest on March 22, 2013, 17:36
I got my response this afternoon (included a suggestion that they state review times should be "3 weeks" instead of "3 days":

Your suggestion is duly noted and will be added to our team's backlog of ideas. If you are interested, you may also add feedback from within your contributor account as well.

Should you need anything else, please feel free to write back in to us here at Shutterstock.


Not a bad response.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: scottbraut on March 22, 2013, 19:57
Hi Guys,

To add a little background information here - when a group is selected for a more thorough review, it's typically because a reviewer had a specific policy or judgment question or there was a question that our team extended to the contributor, with the subsequent back-and-forth that ensues with Support.

Being put into a more thorough review doesn't indicate that there's any suspicion of wrongdoing.  It can mean that a reviewer has asked for a more authoritative judgment or answer before choosing to accept or reject a group of images (which is a good thing), or that the team is following standard policies and procedures related to ensuring the integrity of the collection (which is also a good thing).  Those procedures are in place to ultimately protect you and your images as a contributor, as well as protect our customers.

We understand that timely delivery is important to earnings and completely understand frustration you might have when there are delays and it's not clear to you why there are delays. There may be features we can add in the future to better communicate back where individual images are in the queue and our ultimate goal is build more transparency.   

Thanks for your patience and understanding in the meanwhile.   

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock



   

Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Tryingmybest on March 22, 2013, 20:05
Thanks Scott.  :D

Hi Guys,

To add a little background information here - when a group is selected for a more thorough review, it's typically because a reviewer had a specific policy or judgment question or there was a question that our team extended to the contributor, with the subsequent back-and-forth that ensues with Support.

Being put into a more thorough review doesn't indicate that there's any suspicion of wrongdoing.  It can mean that a reviewer has asked for a more authoritative judgment or answer before choosing to accept or reject a group of images (which is a good thing), or that the team is following standard policies and procedures related to ensuring the integrity of the collection (which is also a good thing).  Those procedures are in place to ultimately protect you and your images as a contributor, as well as protect our customers.

We understand that timely delivery is important to earnings and completely understand frustration you might have when there are delays and it's not clear to you why there are delays. There may be features we can add in the future to better communicate back where individual images are in the queue and our ultimate goal is build more transparency.   

Thanks for your patience and understanding in the meanwhile.   

Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock



 
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: gillian vann on March 22, 2013, 20:19
I've not noticed any real delay, @ two days, might be at 3 for my last batch. having a great month, I'm happy.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Tryingmybest on March 22, 2013, 20:23
I've not noticed any real delay, @ two days, might be at 3 for my last batch. having a great month, I'm happy.

Seems to not be such a problem for photographers. 3 days is really good.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 23, 2013, 03:51
I've not noticed any real delay, @ two days, might be at 3 for my last batch. having a great month, I'm happy.
Thats great for you, but really shocking to find out. Monday I will be on 17 days, as are many others. You have a review in 3 days. If this is general practice then my images will go live somewhere on page wherever, without any chance of every become best sellers. I know its subject related, but these different review times are not fair.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: gillian vann on March 23, 2013, 03:57
I've not noticed any real delay, @ two days, might be at 3 for my last batch. having a great month, I'm happy.
Thats great for you, but really shocking to find out. Monday I will be on 17 days, as are many others. You have a review in 3 days. If this is general practice then my images will go live somewhere on page wherever, without any chance of every become best sellers. I know its subject related, but these different review times are not fair.
subject related?

17 days?! ouchie.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 23, 2013, 04:07
I've not noticed any real delay, @ two days, might be at 3 for my last batch. having a great month, I'm happy.
Thats great for you, but really shocking to find out. Monday I will be on 17 days, as are many others. You have a review in 3 days. If this is general practice then my images will go live somewhere on page wherever, without any chance of every become best sellers. I know its subject related, but these different review times are not fair.
subject related?

17 days?! ouchie.

Subject, you know, if you shoot i.e. seniors in love, and I shoot london landmarks, then your faster approved images wont affect my later approved images. But if we shoot the same subject, then your images are leapfrogging my images when the come live on the new search.

And with the amount of images submitted to SS, you can count on it that someone is shooting the same stuff. So if my review of london landmarks takes 17 days, and someone else has em live in 3 days, I am disadvantaged.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: gostwyck on March 23, 2013, 04:42
My latest batch all approved in about 14 hours after uploading. Previous batch took about 48 hours. Good stuff!
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: gbalex on March 23, 2013, 16:08
I've not noticed any real delay, @ two days, might be at 3 for my last batch. having a great month, I'm happy.
Thats great for you, but really shocking to find out. Monday I will be on 17 days, as are many others. You have a review in 3 days. If this is general practice then my images will go live somewhere on page wherever, without any chance of every become best sellers. I know its subject related, but these different review times are not fair.

My latest batch all approved in about 14 hours after uploading. Previous batch took about 48 hours. Good stuff!

If a site were to treat all of its submitters fairly they would commit resources to ensure that they offer a level and consistent playing field for each and every submitter. It is clear that this is not the case at SS when some submitters are left without a review for literally weeks and in the same time period others have their content reviewed in 14 hours or less than one day.  As previously stated this also gives them a distinct fiscal advantage as far as image placement and thus significantly more sales.

Poor show all around SS, you are clearly show favoritism and financial advantage to some submitters while financially snubbing others.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: scottbraut on March 23, 2013, 17:34
Hi gbalex,

Our system is pretty straightforward - images are reviewed in the order in which they are received.   We have specialists who work on specific queues, such as the vector queue, which I've pointed out in the past.  That would apply to videos as well. First-time contributors go through a two-step process, since both IDs need to be approved and their first submissions. Having specialists improves the overall quality of the review.

Sometimes images are escalated to a second-level review if there are questions that require specialized knowledge, a policy call, or specific judgment.  That's a good thing - it means that the reviewer is trying to see that the images receive the best decision possible.

Those reviews also occasionally entail one or more support tickets - in other words, there's a back-and-forth exchange between members of the Review team, Support team (also known as Contributor Success) and the contributor to ask for more information about a particular submission.  We also work very closely with our legal department to establish and maintain policies regarding trademark, copyright, and fraud prevention to ensure the integrity of the marketplace.

Our turnaround times will generally hover between 2 and 6 days.  Our vector queue has been running high lately and our "second level" review will take longer as well, because those reviews are more time consuming and there are specialists working on them.  We do shift and add resources if submission volume spikes. 

Differences in review times is highly likely to be a difference in queues and whether a more-thorough review was requested for a specific batch of images.  Across all content types, our ultimate goal is to provide the highest quality reviews with the lowest turnaround times.  Individuals often come to the forums when they're frustrated or having an out-of-the-ordinary experience, but we own that - we want our contributors to have the best experience possible.   


Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock





Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: dirkr on March 23, 2013, 18:44
One proposal that would make the issue less important:
If SS would assign image IDs (which I believe is the key for the "newest" sort order) after acceptance and not after upload, a longer review time would not lead to a disadvantage in search order...

Essentially the "newest" search should sort after time accepted, not time uploaded.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 24, 2013, 13:31
One proposal that would make the issue less important:
If SS would assign image IDs (which I believe is the key for the "newest" sort order) after acceptance and not after upload, a longer review time would not lead to a disadvantage in search order...

Essentially the "newest" search should sort after time accepted, not time uploaded.
Excellent
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: gillian vann on March 24, 2013, 20:29
One proposal that would make the issue less important:
If SS would assign image IDs (which I believe is the key for the "newest" sort order) after acceptance and not after upload, a longer review time would not lead to a disadvantage in search order...

Essentially the "newest" search should sort after time accepted, not time uploaded.
Excellent
ah, that also explains what you mean by being disadvantaged in the "newness" race. I wasn't quite understanding the problem but now I get it, anything I upload today is marked as 25March, so if it takes 2 weeks to review it's already "old" by the time it goes live? Is that really how it works at SS?
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: gbalex on March 25, 2013, 13:05
Hi gbalex,

Our system is pretty straightforward - images are reviewed in the order in which they are received.   We have specialists who work on specific queues, such as the vector queue, which I've pointed out in the past.  That would apply to videos as well. First-time contributors go through a two-step process, since both IDs need to be approved and their first submissions. Having specialists improves the overall quality of the review.

Sometimes images are escalated to a second-level review if there are questions that require specialized knowledge, a policy call, or specific judgment.  That's a good thing - it means that the reviewer is trying to see that the images receive the best decision possible.

Those reviews also occasionally entail one or more support tickets - in other words, there's a back-and-forth exchange between members of the Review team, Support team (also known as Contributor Success) and the contributor to ask for more information about a particular submission.  We also work very closely with our legal department to establish and maintain policies regarding trademark, copyright, and fraud prevention to ensure the integrity of the marketplace.

Our turnaround times will generally hover between 2 and 6 days.  Our vector queue has been running high lately and our "second level" review will take longer as well, because those reviews are more time consuming and there are specialists working on them.  We do shift and add resources if submission volume spikes. 

Differences in review times is highly likely to be a difference in queues and whether a more-thorough review was requested for a specific batch of images.  Across all content types, our ultimate goal is to provide the highest quality reviews with the lowest turnaround times.  Individuals often come to the forums when they're frustrated or having an out-of-the-ordinary experience, but we own that - we want our contributors to have the best experience possible.   


Best,

Scott
VP of Content
Shutterstock

Scott, I am sure you can understand that as contributors we have been talking between ourselves for years and our knowledge base comes from personal experience as well as the experience of other submitters who we know personally and well.

When one of us submits isolated fruits and vegetables or generic travel photos with no copyrighted material and it takes 1 day to review and the other submits similar images and it takes 21 days. After 21 days we do not even have to compare image ID numbers to know something is really off in the review process.

So yes we know from personal experience that our images are not being reviewed in the order they are received and we know from years of experience that our reviews should be straight forward and easily performed by any competent reviewer.   

As always actions speak louder than words:

"Our system is pretty straightforward - images are reviewed in the order in which they are received."

"Sometimes images are escalated to a second-level review if there are questions that require specialized knowledge, a policy call, or specific judgment."
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 25, 2013, 16:03
I dont understand the difference of 2 days for some and 21 days for others. Even if there is a 2nd tier review, that is still unfair competition and I still dont get the difference of 19 days. If the images were placed on when they come online instead of when they were submitted, it would matter.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Mantis on March 25, 2013, 16:16
My image submissions ALWAYS take 7-14 days, never sooner.  So I guess I am screwed.  I really like the idea of tagging the image with the acceptance date, and not the submission date....if indeed the positioning of images is based on that.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 25, 2013, 17:35
Just got reviewed after 17 days, and the rejections were disheartening. Sigh.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: stockastic on March 26, 2013, 13:06
6 days to get a bogus 'lighting/white balance' rejection on a perfectly executed isolation.  Resubmit with note: "the white balance is correct, please look again".  6 more days for approval.   So, 12 days to get a single, very simple photo approved.

What bothers me more is the lack of response to a support question I sent in many days ago (can no longer even remember the exact date).

I think they must have cut staff, or outsourced things about 3 layers deep.   Hey, it's their business.  I'm just a small time photographer who's steadily losing motivation. 
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 26, 2013, 13:09
I have sent an email and basically all rejections were found incorrect. So thats a resubmit, wait another two weeks. Basically those images will take 5 weeks to get online.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: stockastic on March 26, 2013, 13:11
Wait - you got a response to a support email? 

I must be even lower on the totem pole than I thought.   :(
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Poncke on March 26, 2013, 13:14
Wait - you got a response to a support email? 

I must be even lower on the totem pole than I thought.   :(
I am sorry, I was in conversation with them over a rejection from 2 weeks ago and added these new ones in the same email thread. It wasnt a new email they replied too. I takes me 1 or 2 weeks to get a reply too.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Noedelhap on March 26, 2013, 18:30
Reviews are indeed ridiculously slow lately, on vectors.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: stockastic on March 26, 2013, 20:44
Late today I did get a reply from support, and it did address the problem.  It took a week.  So everything still happens, just a lot slower than it used to.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: gillian vann on March 28, 2013, 03:29
last batches just through, 7 days.
annoyingly I think there's a glitch with attaching MR to multiple images at once, as I had a couple from a series rejected for this reason (even though clearly there was one attached to others). *sigh, resubmit*
but, one of them has sold in the first day, you gotta love SS for that.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: Mantis on March 28, 2013, 07:26
last batches just through, 7 days.
annoyingly I think there's a glitch with attaching MR to multiple images at once, as I had a couple from a series rejected for this reason (even though clearly there was one attached to others). *sigh, resubmit*
but, one of them has sold in the first day, you gotta love SS for that.

There has to be.  I had a couple of rejections recently for no model release when I know that I attached them.  Before I do the final submit, I scroll up and down the page to make sure the "attachment file" is visible on the image prep field.  Ever since they went to this new system it behaves a lot like Deepmeta, which also loses model releases from time to time.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: gillian vann on March 28, 2013, 08:02
did you mention it in the notes?

I certainly did. two times, as the 2 images I had to resubmit wouldn't go through together so I got to put my MR glitch argument to them again.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: stockastic on April 09, 2013, 14:15
So let's see... 6 days for the bogus rejection, 2 weeks for (maybe) a response from support, re-submit, 6 more days for (maybe) approval.

Well, I was wrong about 6 days for the re-submission.  It's now been 10. Still sitting there.

Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: daveh900 on April 09, 2013, 15:19
Has anyone noticed that the submissions that have been in the queue the longest also end up way down in the "new" search results when they get approved, or is that just me?

I had some images approved that had been in queue for 2+ weeks and later in the day when they appeared in the search results they were on page 8 on a "new" files search.

I have started uploading one of my less important files immediately after a batch is approved to "get in the approval line" and then start uploading better files after 7-10 days.

Great strategy or delusional waste of time?
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: tickstock on April 09, 2013, 15:30
.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: daveh900 on April 09, 2013, 16:26
You should also try to time your files to first show up in the search on Monday.

That would be great, but review times aren't that predictable.

Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: stockastic on April 12, 2013, 10:54
13 days and still sitting.

Obviously something has changed at SS.  Either they've cut staff, or they have workflow problems or - dare I suggest - contributors are no longer 'equal': some of us have Disney Fast Passes and some wait in line.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: gbalex on April 12, 2013, 11:17
Yes many threads on SS with little or no answers from admin.  Some people have been waiting for over a month.  Just one thread example.

http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=128001&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=210 (http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=128001&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=210)
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: WindyTai on April 12, 2013, 19:01
My photo and illustration (not vector) are in pending since 22 March and it's very painful to see someone around me got approve in 3-7 days and said there are selling as usual while I put a lot of effort in all my works and experience this.  :(

Last time on my photograph I have to wait almost a month as well... and the result came out like... 90% rejection from all photo which I normally got 70-90% approval rate in the last few months.

I hope this time it won't happen again...
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: WindyTai on April 12, 2013, 19:04
I delete some of my images in the middle batch and resubmit them again. I don't know this will ruin the queue or not, but just can't stand that all my work which I give all effort to just get buried right away after online.
Title: Re: Days required for approval on Shutterstock
Post by: fritz on April 12, 2013, 19:39
I guess the honeymoon is over!