SS has always been in New York. And inspite of the bad air they are trememdously successful. So either the location didn't hurt their success or is giving them an advantage over a place like istock, that is located in a tiny city compared to NY.

I am sorry, I really don't understand the problem. Why should they relocate to another city and force 300 (or 400?) employees and their families to move?

For me staying where the company was founded but moving into an upscale location that will increase brand awareness makes a lot of sense.

But if you don't approve of SS or the way they run their business, just focus your energies on other marketplaces. istock and Fotolia or Dreamstime. pond5?

Did you check if their offices have low rents and are located in cities you personally prefer?

If for you this is an important aspect and will influence your decisions where you uplpad, fair enough.

But for me this seems like a very positive business choice.

I dont care where they are located and if they have massage chairs and bonuses, and  I dont care if they pay 25 or 38 cents per download.
But I care if they sell many, the whole point of microstock is quantity.
Sell Many!

Quote from: farbled on March 24, 2014, 20:32

Oh the irony of an anonymous poster talking about courage. At least they are willing to put their names behind their opinions. Say what you will about SS, they are still by far better than most other MS agencies for contributors.

As a nnon-anonymous poster, I have no problem with Gbalex's choice to be anonymous here.  His posting history and knowledge of the industry establishes him as legitimate poster, whether or not you agree with what he's saying.  I have agreed with some of his opinions and taken issue with others. 

The issue of anonymity was VERY well covered last year, and everyone had their say.  Evidently Tyler decided there was value to continuing to allow it.  Therefore I am pretty surprised to see a long time contributing member to this forum called out for anonymity, much less getting 6 plus ones for it.  Wasn't that issue already put to bed??

It's very simple, really. If you are a world-class photographer with unique vision and fabulous subject matter then you would be an idiot to sell it as microstock. If you are a proficient technician who can produce excellent quality images like everybody else's then the value of your work reflects its ordinariness.  You can't change the value with wishful thinking or because the quality is up there alongside the best of all the other similar sort of images.

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on March 24, 2014, 14:07

It's very simple, really. If you are a world-class photographer with unique vision and fabulous subject matter then you would be an idiot to sell it as microstock. If you are a proficient technician who can produce excellent quality images like everybody else's then the value of your work reflects its ordinariness.  You can't change the value with wishful thinking or because the quality is up there alongside the best of all the other similar sort of images.

world class photographers ask world class prices, and they can do it because in one way or another they know how to get rich deals with rich clients, no matter if their photos su-ck big time as they often do.

i could write a long list of famous photographers doing sh-it and selling it like hotcakes, 99% is marketing and they know the score but it doesn't mean they're great photographers once you consider their clients are totally clueless and in the art world once you're famous even your far-ts are "artsy", it just means they managed to make a famous brand out of themselves, no matter how and why.

Agreed. But ain't it the same all over? I've worked with and for people who couldn't find their own arse even if it had a signpost sticking out of it. But they somehow became Vice President/Director of something or other. Main skills:

1. Able to talk at length on conference calls without actually saying anything useful.
2. Making successful results look like their own work
3. Making poor results look like someone else's fault
4. Making their own minor achievements look like a pivotal moment for the industry and for mankind as a whole
5. Ability to make a sentence like "engendering brand loyalty via a spectrum of marketing strategies based on real time cognizance of consumer buying imperatives" seem profound and ground breaking.