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Selling for pennies


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1 hour ago, Allan Bell said:

 

I must be getting old.  I opted OUT of "Distribution" sales back in May 2021.

 

I am also out of "Novel use" (left back in 2013) and "Image options" (left in 2017).

 

Allan

 

I think Alamy has some 'splainin to do.

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Perhaps after you opt out of distribution, it's up to the distributors in China (or wherever) to remove your images from their websites, and in this case it didn't happen. Just a thought...

 

P.S. I encountered this problem when I was requesting removal of images from other agencies in order to make them exclusive to Alamy (what a waste of time that was). One particular agency still hadn't removed my images after six months, so I had to contact them on at least two occasions.

 

 

Edited by John Mitchell
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Let's see... Alamy announce that the infringement team are going to be more proactive in chasing unreported uses. Several months later there's a flood of licences for token amounts, with no usage details, backdated to 1900 (which would automatically cover any previous unauthorised use, whenever it occurred). 2 + 2 = 4(cents)?

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3 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

I am also out of "Novel use" (left back in 2013) and "Image options" (left in 2017).

 

Allan

 

 

What's downside of "Image Options" use?  

 

I'm in - but have never had any sales under it.   Anyone else?

 

Have never seen any mention of it in contributor forums threads.

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23 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

What's downside of "Image Options" use?  

 

I'm in - but have never had any sales under it.   Anyone else?

 

Have never seen any mention of it in contributor forums threads.

 

Once upon a time, licensing details included the phrase "Novel Use," but apparently that is no longer the case. I opted out of NU a long time ago. I did have a few very low sales (in the 0.50 to 1.50 range) that looked like regular editorial ones to me -- i.e. I couldn't see anything "novel" about them except the mini prices (at that time, anyway).

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15 minutes ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Once upon a time, licensing details included the phrase "Novel Use," but apparently that is no longer the case. I opted out of NU a long time ago. I did have a few very low sales (in the 0.50 to 1.50 range) that looked like regular editorial ones to me -- i.e. I couldn't see anything "novel" about them except the mini prices (at that time, anyway).

 

Thanks John.  I've been out of NU for long time also.

 

My query was regarding the separate Image Options feature:   https://www.alamy.com/image-options.aspx

 

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46 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

What's downside of "Image Options" use?  

 

I'm in - but have never had any sales under it.   Anyone else?

 

Have never seen any mention of it in contributor forums threads.

 

 

I don't think Image Options has ever been operational.

Edited by geogphotos
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5 minutes ago, Phil said:

 

Thanks John.  I've been out of NU for long time also.

 

My query was regarding the separate Image Options feature:   https://www.alamy.com/image-options.aspx

 

 

I see. I'm in "image options" as well. It sounded good but nothing has ever become of it.

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2 minutes ago, Cryptoprocta said:

Like so many other Alamy 'promising' innovations. 😞

 

 

That seems harsh to me. Participation continues to be optional. I have looked around a lot and not seen anything better than Alamy.

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1 hour ago, John Mitchell said:

Perhaps after you opt out of distribution, it's up to the distributors in China (or wherever) to remove your images from their websites, and in this case it didn't happen. Just a thought...

 

P.S. I encountered this problem when I was requesting removal of images from other agencies in order to make them exclusive to Alamy (what a waste of time that was). One particular agency still hadn't removed my images after six months, so I had to contact them on at least two occasions.

 

 

 

i had found my images on an African distributor,  the day after i removed all of Africa, my images were gone, so i could still have had sales in following weeks based on reporting lag, but they were off line.

 

  I am still convinced all these sales are from the last 12 months, and there has been 0 reporting throughout the year, it makes no sense that they would have all been sold in last month or so, and we can be sure 4 cents sales net would have been mentioned, and this is why those of us who went out mid-year still have some sales. 

 

and even if my guess is right, to quote Reimar  "Alamy has some 'splainin to do" :

1)these sales should have been under the old contract

2)this is a major issue with their new tiers.  Someone could have sales today, that would not be reported until December, so if there is a Level drop that's unfair, and worse if these sales would have put someone over threshold....

 

 

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Hi all, 

 

Thank you for all of the information you have provided here, our CR team are just getting back into the swing of things after the Christmas break and this will be useful to help us look into what's happened in this case to give a clear answer. If you've got a specific question about your sales, please email contributors@alamy.com but be mindful that there may be a delayed response as we get back up to speed and work through the backlog from the festive period. 

 

All the best

Corin 

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  • Alamy locked this topic
  • Alamy locked this topic

Like many, I too have recently had some sales for pennies.  All are to China, and amazingly most are in perpetuity - quite incredible.  Just WHY are Alamy selling these at ridiculously low rates.

 

As someone who has been to Tibet for ethical reasons I do not want my photographs sold to China.  

 

If Alamy persist in treating us photographers like idiots then there is one simple solution - I will not be uploading any more material to Alamy.

 

Robbie Shaw

 

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6 minutes ago, Foreign Export said:

I haven't been on the receiving end of these sales - yet

I have skim read the thread that John has linked to though

I certainly won't be increasing my RF images as this seems to be a part of the problem- will be sticking to RM

 

Agreed, puts me off RF for sure.

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29 minutes ago, Foreign Export said:

I haven't been on the receiving end of these sales - yet

I have skim read the thread that John has linked to though

I certainly won't be increasing my RF images as this seems to be a part of the problem- will be sticking to RM

 

still not 100% proof, one of my Chinese Distributor "sale" was RM

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Alamy unlocked this topic

James @Alamy would you also consider giving us an update on, and advise us of future plans for the database and associated systems as per the issues that are highlighted here and elsewhere at times. Last weekend's freeze could potentially have lost Alamy a large number of sales.

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15 hours ago, Alamy said:

Hi All,

It's a tough, competitive market but we have some ambitious and exciting plans which we hope you can all be part of with us.

 

...............and our plans for growth are very promising - I hope those who are dissuaded from contributing as a result may reconsider and continue to work with us as we grow.

 

James Allsworth

Head of Content

 

Thanks for the update James. I'm sure that we would all feel more motivated if you could add some details ( as and when) so that we can feel involved in this excitement and ambition.

 

We need something!

Edited by geogphotos
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James and Ian -- two of my heroes. 

 

I just checked my sales for the past year and I see no sales to China and no sale under a US $. I get a lot of PU sales that I value since they are mostly for the full $19.99.

 

I admire the Chinese, lived just above Chinatown in NYC. They are focused and hardworking with a loyalty in the community. I used to go down early in the morning and do Tai Chi. The master never questioned or objected to my being there. (I do hate their music and their stock prices though.) 

 

Damn it! Can someone please tell me how to find the terms of my contract with the options in or out?

 

Edo

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