Author Topic: Veer Dash for Cash (Read 67782 times)

PixelBitch · « **Reply #125 on:** May 12, 2010, 16:10 »

Veer existed in their own right for quite a few years before Corbis came along and bought them...to suggest that they do not know what they are doing is profoundly ignorant. It is the micros that are new, and have come along and undercut on pricing and greatly contributed to it being so tough to make a living shooting stock these days. Perhaps Veer are wanting to establish a viable microstock collection with out descending to the level of those sites that take all comers just for the numbers.

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This still doesn't explain why your rejection rate is far higher than any other micro I contribute to, and that includes iStock, the most rigorous, demanding micro in the business. Streamlining the upload process doesn't save us much time, when most submissions end up getting rejected anyway. Since Veer's rejection rate is far higher than all of the successful micros (this is borne out by complaints from many other contributors, not just me), your needs must differ substantially from the rest. Saying you want high quality, commercially relevant photography and illustration is a pretty generic statement, since all micros make the same claim. It doesn't tell me anything specific about why Veer's rejection rate is by far the highest in the business. This from a new micro with no proven track record! If you don't want certain types of content, you should state that clearly, so we don't waste time uploading imagery that Veer doesn't want in the first place.

The only reason Veer has made it this far is because of the Corbis name, and now this new Dash for Cash program.These things can't keep you going forever, people will become disillusioned, as I have. Where are the downloads? We need something of substance! Please show us some respect and have a little consideration for the value of our time.
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Albert Martin · « **Reply #126 on:** May 12, 2010, 16:54 »

Quote from: PixelBitch on May 12, 2010, 16:10

Veer existed in their own right for quite a few years before Corbis came along and bought them...to suggest that they do not know what they are doing is profoundly ignorant. It is the micros that are new, and have come along and undercut on pricing and greatly contributed to it being so tough to make a living shooting stock these days. Perhaps Veer are wanting to establish a viable microstock collection with out descending to the level of those sites that take all comers just for the numbers.

This still doesn't explain why your rejection rate is far higher than any other micro I contribute to, and that includes iStock, the most rigorous, demanding micro in the business. Streamlining the upload process doesn't save us much time, when most submissions end up getting rejected anyway. Since Veer's rejection rate is far higher than all of the successful micros (this is borne out by complaints from many other contributors, not just me), your needs must differ substantially from the rest. Saying you want high quality, commercially relevant photography and illustration is a pretty generic statement, since all micros make the same claim. It doesn't tell me anything specific about why Veer's rejection rate is by far the highest in the business. This from a new micro with no proven track record! If you don't want certain types of content, you should state that clearly, so we don't waste time uploading imagery that Veer doesn't want in the first place.

The only reason Veer has made it this far is because of the Corbis name, and now this new Dash for Cash program.These things can't keep you going forever, people will become disillusioned, as I have. Where are the downloads? We need something of substance! Please show us some respect and have a little consideration for the value of our time.
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Just to add a bit of difference:

iStock accepts crappy images... No further comment except Veer doesn't allow that to happen!

Allsa · « **Reply #127 on:** May 12, 2010, 17:52 »

Quote from: PixelBitch on May 12, 2010, 16:10

Veer existed in their own right for quite a few years before Corbis came along and bought them...to suggest that they do not know what they are doing is profoundly ignorant.

They are brand new to Microstock, true? BTW, you could have made your point without the profoundly rude comment.

Quote from: PixelBitch on May 12, 2010, 16:10

It is the micros that are new, and have come along and undercut on pricing and greatly contributed to it being so tough to make a living shooting stock these days. Perhaps Veer are wanting to establish a viable microstock collection with out descending to the level of those sites that take all comers just for the numbers.

If that is true I have no problem with it. I asked how Veer's approach is different from other micros, since their rejection rate is much higher than even the strictest agencies, and I never received an answer to this question. I started out very enthusiastic about Veer's potential, so I applied and was accepted. With my first two batches most submissions were accepted. Encouraged, I uploaded more, and shocked to discover that at least 80% of those were rejected. The same type and quality, yet suddenly a mass rejection? I thought that perhaps I just hit a bad inspector, so I checked the forum to see if the problem was confined to just me. I discovered that mass rejections were a very common complaint, and some of the complainers were extremely successful, doing top quality work. I came to the perfectly reasonable conclusion that they didn't know what they were doing in regards to the microstock model. Just my opinion, and I have a right to express it, which I did. I have yet to hear anything that conflicts with that assumption.

Phillip Minnis · « **Reply #128 on:** May 12, 2010, 18:39 »

Just wondering........

Has anyone with images submitted either on or after the 5th of May had them inspected as yet?

I submitted 100 on the 5th, and another 100 yesterday. As yet, I haven't had any inspected as yet.

Eco · « **Reply #129 on:** May 13, 2010, 01:33 »

Corbis tried to enter the MicroStock market with SnapVillage. We all know that SV was a miserable failure - that is now history. Then they decided to start all over with Veer Marketplace - this time to "do it right". I my opinion they have learned very little from the SV experiment.

While it is not unexpected that they would like to differentiate themselves from other MS sites, there are a few basic principles of the MS-model that cannot be changed or avoided. To be successful any MS site needs a constant supply of new images, and in order to achieve this you must keep contributors motivated to submit their images. Here they failed again, and the main reason being irrational rejections (with low sales). I think Veer MP is being run by people (with good intentions) who still cannot get to grips with the MS-model. Why pay contributors now to upload? The Corbis (and Veer) name was enough to attract most of the top microstock artist right from the beginning. Why did they lost motivation and stopped uploading? I predict that unless they change their whole approach to their review process they will get a large number of images from this promotion and then it will go back to stagnation. I have stopped uploading a long time ago. I will participate in this promotion, but unless there are positive changes I will most probably stop again after this promotion.

qwerty · « **Reply #130 on:** May 13, 2010, 03:20 »

Quote from: Eco on May 13, 2010, 01:33

Corbis tried to enter the MicroStock market with SnapVillage. We all know that SV was a miserable failure - that is now history. Then they decided to start all over with Veer Marketplace - this time to "do it right". I my opinion they have learned very little from the SV experiment.

and the worst thing is that I sold more on Snapvillage then Veer

eppic · « **Reply #131 on:** May 13, 2010, 05:10 »

Maybe its just a fluke I dont know but my acceptance ratio here historically has been pretty good. 319 images online and 126 rejected. For me that's fairly consistent with SS and DT.

qwerty · « **Reply #132 on:** May 13, 2010, 05:32 »

Quote from: eppic on May 13, 2010, 05:10

Maybe its just a fluke I dont know but my acceptance ratio here historically has been pretty good. 319 images online and 126 rejected. For me that's fairly consistent with SS and DT.

Initially my acceptance rate there was pretty bad, but random. Some whole batches going through then 90% of the next batch rejected. I slowed uploading. In the last 2 months or so they had been approving alot more, probably because number of photos being submitted had gone down they were starting to realise that they needed to let more through our they'd end up with no new photos.

I hope that this initiative and advertising gets veer on track and starts to replace some of the lost income from StockXpert.

gostwyck · « **Reply #133 on:** May 13, 2010, 05:48 »

Quote from: PixelBitch on May 12, 2010, 16:10

Veer existed in their own right for quite a few years before Corbis came along and bought them...to suggest that they do not know what they are doing is profoundly ignorant. It is the micros that are new, and have come along and undercut on pricing and greatly contributed to it being so tough to make a living shooting stock these days. Perhaps Veer are wanting to establish a viable microstock collection with out descending to the level of those sites that take all comers just for the numbers.

This re-launch of Veer will effectively be Corbis's 3rd attempt to break into the micro market. The first two attempts were abject failures. Oh, and btw, Corbis themselves have lost money every year that they have been in business. So they can't sell expensive images (at a profit) and so far they can't sell cheap images either. To suggest on that track record that they do know what they are doing ... is profoundly ignorant.

cathyslife · « **Reply #134 on:** May 17, 2010, 06:40 »

Quote from: RyanB on May 04, 2010, 16:35

Hi everyone, thanks for the early feedback. We’ll be posting more information about the Veer Dash for Cash program in the Veer Marketplace forum Wednesday morning and we’ll be available to respond to questions you may have. It’s going to be great!

The Veer Marketplace forum...can someone tell me how to get there from the contributor home page? I must be blind because I can't find a link.

I wanted to find info on the 100 per week image upload max. When does the 100 flip over to 0? On Monday morning? Or when exactly.

ETA: Never mind the question about the forum...it's called a group...I found the link on the Contributor page under Contact on the right side. I still have the question about when the upload limit changes back to zero every week.

Forgiss · « **Reply #135 on:** May 19, 2010, 03:13 »

Is it just me... or is the dash for cash more like a crawl? reviews just do not seem to be happening at any kind of pace?

sharpshot · « **Reply #136 on:** May 19, 2010, 03:24 »

They are going to be swamped with images and reviews will take a long time. It doesn't bother me, I just upload and forget about it. They accepted most of my last batch, if they rushed the reviews, I am sure the reviewers would just start hitting the rejection button.

Forgiss · « **Reply #137 on:** May 19, 2010, 03:27 »

Quote from: PixelBitch on May 12, 2010, 16:10

... It is the micros that are new, and have come along and undercut on pricing and greatly contributed to it being so tough to make a living shooting stock these days. Perhaps Veer are wanting to establish a viable microstock collection with out descending to the level of those sites that take all comers just for the numbers...

I read these statements and am always amazed at the absolute lack of thought that goes into them.

What protected traditional stock was "barrier of entry" (both from the agency side, and the cost of technology) that barrier was lowered drastically as technology made it possible for the buyer to sidestep expensive RM images completely for day-to-day functionality.

It's wouldn't surprise me if the OP made that statement from their iphone filled with happily purchased $1 apps

Secondly. The old model was a lock-in model... You buy from XYZ company because you allready invested a few thousand Dollars into getting their catalogues and search disks shipped to you. That doesn't fly anymore, Getty's new site quotes 41% of images buyers do their search through Google... So to survive, you are either a niche market site (i.e. all Medical, all the time) or you have everything that passes a technical spec, and improve your search system to allow a buyer/designer to find what they want, exactly.

Even if microstock didn't exist... do you really think that the old model would survive with Flikr and Deviant-art, etc images available to a designer?

FD · « **Reply #138 on:** May 19, 2010, 03:40 »

Quote from: Albert Martin on May 05, 2010, 14:12

I didn't said my exact figure... But it is larger than 400 ;-)

That and the absence of any of your portfolio links makes your info worthless. Allow me to ploink you.

leaf · « **Reply #139 on:** May 19, 2010, 03:58 »

Quote from: cclapper on May 17, 2010, 06:40

I wanted to find info on the 100 per week image upload max. When does the 100 flip over to 0? On Monday morning? Or when exactly.

I think it updates 7 days after you uploaded your previous images. I uploaded 10 images on a monday then 90 images on a wednesday. The following monday I have 10 slots available, then on wednesday I have another 90 slots opened up.

eppic · « **Reply #140 on:** May 19, 2010, 05:21 »

Yes that was my findings as well leaf. It seems to be exactly 7 days from your given block of uploaded images.

cathyslife · « **Reply #141 on:** May 19, 2010, 05:37 »

Thanks, Leaf and eppic.

PixelBitch · « **Reply #142 on:** May 19, 2010, 13:45 »

I confess to not being an iTard or owning an iPhone full of cheap apps...sorry!

As much as I need to try and like micro as it is here to stay and us old RM boys need to come to terms with it and approach it in a professional manner...I am still a firm believer in RM and focus the majority of my efforts there...that belief was confirmed this morning when I saw an RM sale through Getty of an image shot 12 years ago for a gross sales amount over 23K...so clients are still willing to pay good money for the right image for their needs. How many images would one need on micro for how long a time to see such a return on their efforts? Guess where I'm submitting my next few months worth of images?

?

Enough said.

Quote from: Forgiss on May 19, 2010, 03:27

Quote from: PixelBitch on May 12, 2010, 16:10
... It is the micros that are new, and have come along and undercut on pricing and greatly contributed to it being so tough to make a living shooting stock these days. Perhaps Veer are wanting to establish a viable microstock collection with out descending to the level of those sites that take all comers just for the numbers...

I read these statements and am always amazed at the absolute lack of thought that goes into them.

What protected traditional stock was "barrier of entry" (both from the agency side, and the cost of technology) that barrier was lowered drastically as technology made it possible for the buyer to sidestep expensive RM images completely for day-to-day functionality.

It's wouldn't surprise me if the OP made that statement from their iphone filled with happily purchased $1 apps

Secondly. The old model was a lock-in model... You buy from XYZ company because you allready invested a few thousand Dollars into getting their catalogues and search disks shipped to you. That doesn't fly anymore, Getty's new site quotes 41% of images buyers do their search through Google... So to survive, you are either a niche market site (i.e. all Medical, all the time) or you have everything that passes a technical spec, and improve your search system to allow a buyer/designer to find what they want, exactly.

Even if microstock didn't exist... do you really think that the old model would survive with Flikr and Deviant-art, etc images available to a designer?

Forgiss · « **Reply #143 on:** May 19, 2010, 13:55 »

@PB:

Please don't get me wrong... I am not Dissing RM at all. I think RM definitely has a place, and not all images are destined for microstock, but there are images that has no place for $23k sales...

By the way, congrats on the sales... I hope it sold some more in the 12 years before today.

PixelBitch · « **Reply #144 on:** May 19, 2010, 14:07 »

Thanks! I always like to hear the views of others...

Yes, those productions from way back then have done very well...and still earn every month.

There are images on each sales platform that may well be better placed on the other if you know what I mean...but we must not simply give our work away. This was recently brought home to me after an excited call from one of my models after her portrait appeared in a Match.com TV commercial...and I got a measly 28 dollars from Shutterstock...around 3 years back I got a similar RM sale of a portrait that was pretty similar and netted over 3K.

It's tough to know where to place our work!

Quote from: Forgiss on May 19, 2010, 13:55

@PB:

Please don't get me wrong... I am not Dissing RM at all. I think RM definitely has a place, and not all images are destined for microstock, but there are images that has no place for $23k sales...

By the way, congrats on the sales... I hope it sold some more in the 12 years before today.

ap · « **Reply #145 on:** May 19, 2010, 14:27 »

pb,

after a sale like that (sorry, i'm drooling), don't you feel you should concentrate your work in rm and not bother with microstock anymore? obviously this experiment has failed for you rm guys.

ap · « **Reply #146 on:** May 19, 2010, 14:34 »

Quote from: Forgiss on May 19, 2010, 03:13

Is it just me... or is the dash for cash more like a crawl? reviews just do not seem to be happening at any kind of pace?

i've just had my 1st 71 reviewed, 44 approved. a lot of property release rejections.

PixelBitch · « **Reply #147 on:** May 19, 2010, 14:42 »

I wish I had more like that...they don't come along very often unfortunately.

Each sales model has it's market and if one gets it right micro can be lucrative too...there are several artists who do well.

I'll certainly slow down on micro submissions for a while...but to ignore it would be silly as it is a growing market.

Quote from: ap on May 19, 2010, 14:27

pb,

after a sale like that (sorry, i'm drooling), don't you feel you should concentrate your work in rm and not bother with microstock anymore? obviously this experiment has failed for you rm guys.

youralleffingnuts · « **Reply #148 on:** May 20, 2010, 22:21 »

eppic · « **Reply #149 on:** May 21, 2010, 00:53 »

Oh I should also add that you can upload more than your limit of 100 and have them sitting in the "new" section of your workspace.
That way when the week is up, you can submit the images that you already have uploaded and waiting in the wings.

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Author Topic: Veer Dash for Cash (Read 67782 times)

PixelBitch

Albert Martin

Allsa

Phillip Minnis

Eco

qwerty

eppic

qwerty

gostwyck

cathyslife

Forgiss

sharpshot

Forgiss

FD

leaf

eppic

cathyslife

PixelBitch

Forgiss

PixelBitch

ap

ap

PixelBitch

youralleffingnuts

eppic

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