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Author Topic: Just when you thought It couldn't get worse.  (Read 52484 times)

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« Reply #275 on: August 02, 2016, 11:51 »
+4
Look, the microstock world is pretty much crap.  We all know it and I know you just have to get on here and let of f some steam.  I get that.  The reason we all keep doing it is because it is so dang easy to do.  It's the passive income that we are really after.

Here is what is sad for me and probably many of you:

I go out (as a wildlife photographer) and shoot for days.  I get up at 4am, lay in the mud, crawl through fishy bird poop, ticks clinging to me, and get sun burns, but I can't see myself doing anything else as a photographer.  I love it.

After doing all that, I post a great shot and get at most a two dollar commission.  When I am really lucky I get an extended sale.  That my friends just ain't right so they say, but it is what the market will hold right now.  Yeah there is always full blown editorial writing/photography, but that sure isn't passive and takes a ton of marketing and smooth talking.  Most of us don't have the time and salesmanship to pull that off.

I guess what it all boils down to is we keeping hoping against all hope this thing will suddenly take off, but that isn't what is going to happen.  We either keep posting images and are happy with that or we leave.  For now, I am hanging in there because it's better than nothing.  Sad, but true.


« Reply #276 on: August 02, 2016, 12:17 »
+5
when i upload a similar image to ss they reject it they tell me because i already have that image in my portfolio.
ss also uses propriety software to review images

why dont they use that software then to scan their database (instead of my portfolio only) for similar images and when a flag goes up, they can review what is the matter

« Reply #277 on: August 02, 2016, 13:41 »
+2
Found an infringer with over 100 pieces of my work on SS. It was some of his best sellers too. This guy literally took my work, changed some colors and re-uploaded them. Just unbelievable. Who'd thought that one of my competitors would be... myself.


r u serious??? so what happened to that slime? did ss remove the thief?
Well, I just found out why my sales were down slightly for the month of July.

Found an infringer with over 100 pieces of my work on SS. It was some of his best sellers too. This guy literally took my work, changed some colors and re-uploaded them. Just unbelievable. Who'd thought that one of my competitors would be... myself.

If your sales are down, I suggest you do a search for your best sellers with the exact same title. These guys are too lazy to do their own titles and keywords. They copy everything word for word because they can't do it themselves.

Tell me how this works.   Are we assuming that the guy actually bought all 100 images from SS, at full size?  Any idea what that would cost?  The other possibility is that it's done by, or with the help of, an insider.   And given the screwy portfolios now turning up - like the one with thousands of bags of pot - I don't find that hard to believe.

good point. i doubt the thief actually bought the full size and copied it.
what's the benefit , without certainty of making money from it???

i would believe the other possibility ie. insider.
with all the dirty stuff happening these past years, i wouldn't be surprised most of the
unidentifiable cause of the losses of experienced contributors
has everything to do with "insider".

including fan boy coming in here to call everything that says loss of 50% as mere ranting.

« Reply #278 on: August 02, 2016, 13:50 »
0
Look, the microstock world is pretty much crap.  We all know it and I know you just have to get on here and let of f some steam.  I get that.  The reason we all keep doing it is because it is so dang easy to do.  It's the passive income that we are really after.

Here is what is sad for me and probably many of you:

I go out (as a wildlife photographer) and shoot for days.  I get up at 4am, lay in the mud, crawl through fishy bird poop, ticks clinging to me, and get sun burns, but I can't see myself doing anything else as a photographer.  I love it.

After doing all that, I post a great shot and get at most a two dollar commission.  When I am really lucky I get an extended sale.  That my friends just ain't right so they say, but it is what the market will hold right now.  Yeah there is always full blown editorial writing/photography, but that sure isn't passive and takes a ton of marketing and smooth talking.  Most of us don't have the time and salesmanship to pull that off.

I guess what it all boils down to is we keeping hoping against all hope this thing will suddenly take off, but that isn't what is going to happen.  We either keep posting images and are happy with that or we leave.  For now, I am hanging in there because it's better than nothing.  Sad, but true.

LOL, thx 4 helping us see the lighter side of this madness.
u r right, though!!!

only last month, at a sporting event i met several credential photographers and after that at the pub we talked about each others career and non-careers, good project, eff-up projects,etc..

i mentioned micro stock as an eff-up. but one of them said, how is it an eff-up? you only shoot and upload , and if there is long time passing, the money still comes in.
even if it's not as much as you used to make, it's still money coming in from doing nothing .

see you it like that too.

« Reply #279 on: August 02, 2016, 14:00 »
0
Found an infringer with over 100 pieces of my work on SS. It was some of his best sellers too. This guy literally took my work, changed some colors and re-uploaded them. Just unbelievable. Who'd thought that one of my competitors would be... myself.


r u serious??? so what happened to that slime? did ss remove the thief?
Well, I just found out why my sales were down slightly for the month of July.

Found an infringer with over 100 pieces of my work on SS. It was some of his best sellers too. This guy literally took my work, changed some colors and re-uploaded them. Just unbelievable. Who'd thought that one of my competitors would be... myself.

If your sales are down, I suggest you do a search for your best sellers with the exact same title. These guys are too lazy to do their own titles and keywords. They copy everything word for word because they can't do it themselves.

Tell me how this works.   Are we assuming that the guy actually bought all 100 images from SS, at full size?  Any idea what that would cost?  The other possibility is that it's done by, or with the help of, an insider.   And given the screwy portfolios now turning up - like the one with thousands of bags of pot - I don't find that hard to believe.

good point. i doubt the thief actually bought the full size and copied it.
what's the benefit , without certainty of making money from it???

i would believe the other possibility ie. insider.
with all the dirty stuff happening these past years, i wouldn't be surprised most of the
unidentifiable cause of the losses of experienced contributors
has everything to do with "insider".

including fan boy coming in here to call everything that says loss of 50% as mere ranting.

It's likely that he bought a 1 month subscription and downloaded as much as possible everyday. If he downloaded 25 images everyday, that's 750 images a month.

I'm just waiting right now. It may take some time to resolve it.

« Reply #280 on: August 02, 2016, 14:08 »
0
It's likely that he bought a 1 month subscription and downloaded as much as possible everyday. If he downloaded 25 images everyday, that's 750 images a month.

mm, thx!  still, the thief must expect some kind of returns for paying for the sub.
or else, what would be the incentive to steal your work???

methinks you have a competitor (conflict of interest insider) in there that does not want you to succeed ;)

Shelma1

  • stockcoalition.org
« Reply #281 on: August 02, 2016, 16:44 »
+1
when i upload a similar image to ss they reject it they tell me because i already have that image in my portfolio.
ss also uses propriety software to review images

why dont they use that software then to scan their database (instead of my portfolio only) for similar images and when a flag goes up, they can review what is the matter

When I walk in Central Park I'm guaranteed to see at least a half dozen photographers taking the same shots from the same vantage points of the same iconic landmarks. With so many millions of images there's just bound to be lots of overlap.

« Reply #282 on: August 02, 2016, 18:30 »
+3
when i upload a similar image to ss they reject it they tell me because i already have that image in my portfolio.
ss also uses propriety software to review images

why dont they use that software then to scan their database (instead of my portfolio only) for similar images and when a flag goes up, they can review what is the matter

When I walk in Central Park I'm guaranteed to see at least a half dozen photographers taking the same shots from the same vantage points of the same iconic landmarks. With so many millions of images there's just bound to be lots of overlap.

True, but they can also scan the title and keywords. An image that looks like another is a coincidence. A similar image with the exact same title is a miracle. A similar image with the same title and keywords...that's an impossibility.

Thieves are too lazy to create their own work and they're too lazy to create their own metadata. If SS does it right, they can easily identify who is legit and who is not.

« Reply #283 on: August 02, 2016, 22:03 »
+2
Well, I just found out why my sales were down slightly for the month of July.

Found an infringer with over 100 pieces of my work on SS. It was some of his best sellers too. This guy literally took my work, changed some colors and re-uploaded them. Just unbelievable. Who'd thought that one of my competitors would be... myself.

If your sales are down, I suggest you do a search for your best sellers with the exact same title. These guys are too lazy to do their own titles and keywords. They copy everything word for word because they can't do it themselves.
We need to be paid the money these people make.  If SS just kick them off and pocket the money, what incentive do they have to stop this happening?  It should be easy for SS to spot this, if they are using almost identical images with the same titles as the originals.  Have you asked how much money this person made and when SS are going to pay you?  Maybe they inform every buyer that they are using stolen images and need to buy the correct one but we are never told if that happens.

SS can keep the money and use it to fund and develop some kind of system to identify infringements quickly. All I ask for is for them to keep legit contributors safe from thieves. I found 3 people stealing my work this year and it's getting tiresome. At first, I kinda feel bad for the 1st person I reported, but now I have no sympathy.

I was able to find all 3 of them just by searching for my images. They copy my titles and keywords word for word. Some of the images show up near my search results which made it ridiculous easy to spot.

« Reply #284 on: August 03, 2016, 01:28 »
0
yes Metadata is part of the search when looking for similar images, CanStockPhoto and dreamstime use it as well

Justanotherphotographer

« Reply #285 on: August 03, 2016, 04:28 »
+1
Well, I just found out why my sales were down slightly for the month of July.

Found an infringer with over 100 pieces of my work on SS. It was some of his best sellers too. This guy literally took my work, changed some colors and re-uploaded them. Just unbelievable. Who'd thought that one of my competitors would be... myself.

If your sales are down, I suggest you do a search for your best sellers with the exact same title. These guys are too lazy to do their own titles and keywords. They copy everything word for word because they can't do it themselves.
We need to be paid the money these people make.  If SS just kick them off and pocket the money, what incentive do they have to stop this happening?  It should be easy for SS to spot this, if they are using almost identical images with the same titles as the originals.  Have you asked how much money this person made and when SS are going to pay you?  Maybe they inform every buyer that they are using stolen images and need to buy the correct one but we are never told if that happens.

SS can keep the money and use it to fund and develop some kind of system to identify infringements quickly. All I ask for is for them to keep legit contributors safe from thieves. I found 3 people stealing my work this year and it's getting tiresome. At first, I kinda feel bad for the 1st person I reported, but now I have no sympathy.

I was able to find all 3 of them just by searching for my images. They copy my titles and keywords word for word. Some of the images show up near my search results which made it ridiculous easy to spot.

Make sure you check all the sites for the same images, do a reverse image search. Usually the infringer will have uploaded the same rip offs to all the major micros.

You will also probably find the same images on various warez sites, that's often where they will have gotten the originals from. These sites often respond well to an email threatening to tell your agent (insert name of site usually SS) where they make their ad and affiliate earnings

« Reply #286 on: August 05, 2016, 04:27 »
0

It's likely that he bought a 1 month subscription and downloaded as much as possible everyday. If he downloaded 25 images everyday, that's 750 images a month.

I'm just waiting right now. It may take some time to resolve it.

At least, now you know, where your sales are coming from....
« Last Edit: August 05, 2016, 04:29 by Dumc »

« Reply #287 on: August 05, 2016, 12:36 »
0
Make sure you check all the sites for the same images, do a reverse image search. Usually the infringer will have uploaded the same rip offs to all the major micros.

You will also probably find the same images on various warez sites, that's often where they will have gotten the originals from. These sites often respond well to an email threatening to tell your agent (insert name of site usually SS) where they make their ad and affiliate earnings

Thanks. Did a search on a number of sites and luckily nothing turned up. It's hard to find on FT because they don't search titles, but nothing has turned up so far.

SS is the only place I've seen them show up. Haven't tried warez sites yet, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere.

« Reply #288 on: August 05, 2016, 12:54 »
0

It's likely that he bought a 1 month subscription and downloaded as much as possible everyday. If he downloaded 25 images everyday, that's 750 images a month.

I'm just waiting right now. It may take some time to resolve it.

At least, now you know, where your sales are coming from....

A download is a download, right? And every download help the images move up in the search results.

« Reply #289 on: August 05, 2016, 13:00 »
+1

It's likely that he bought a 1 month subscription and downloaded as much as possible everyday. If he downloaded 25 images everyday, that's 750 images a month.

I'm just waiting right now. It may take some time to resolve it.

At least, now you know, where your sales are coming from....

A download is a download, right? And every download help the images move up in the search results.
minsc - you kidding aren`t you?


 

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