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The final insult in the race to the bottom.


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Dear Alamy, 

You can't possibly expect us to give away our images for no recompense. When will you sort out this complete insult to your contributors? Fair pay for a fair days work and all that? Tell China to shape up or ship out.

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I very rarely complain to Alamy (which I have just done) and this is my first time on the thread so it's not all bad news - great to meet you all!  I sold 18 pictures over night for $0.48 in total, averaging $0.026 each before distributor commission, alamy commission, exchange rate adjustment and tax.  Is there any way to avoid being insulted like this?  My only hope is that this is a relatively rare but regular event (it seems to happen every six months or so?).  A real dampener on my day.

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13 minutes ago, nixhome said:

I very rarely complain to Alamy (which I have just done) and this is my first time on the thread so it's not all bad news - great to meet you all!  I sold 18 pictures over night for $0.48 in total, averaging $0.026 each before distributor commission, alamy commission, exchange rate adjustment and tax.  Is there any way to avoid being insulted like this?  My only hope is that this is a relatively rare but regular event (it seems to happen every six months or so?).  A real dampener on my day.

 

Will Alamy just bury its proverbial head deeper into the sand? Or will they eventually listen to complaints and rectify a wrong? 

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I had 7 "sales" yesterday, with gross amount from .06 to .02. Leaving me with .02 to .00 per sale.
How can they think this is a good idea. And if they are using a distributor to help them sale the images, then let them pay the distributor commission!

They shouldn't sale any images at that price... but it they do, it should be a lot lower resolution.
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Surely our contributor contract with Alamy is for them to use their best endeavours to Sell our images to the maximum benefit of both parties. 
if they are in effect ( with our without distributors) giving them away from the contributors perspective, or taking 100% of the proceeds they are surely in breach of contract? Where in the agreement are they permitted to do that? Common sense and equity should dictate that this is unacceptable by any reasonable assessment. 

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The same happened to me - two sales to China for 2 cents each, where Alamy took one cent and the distributor one leaving me with a big, fat zero!  These were supposedly for editorial use in China, although they were not at all editorial-type images.  This cannot continue!  I have been an Alamy contributor since 2009 and the amounts for sales have declined dramatically over the years but to get nothing from a sale is beyond insulting.  I wrote to Alamy asking them to restrict sales to China and eliminate anything where the contributor gets nothing or they will lose people fast.

 

Alamy needs to do two things:  1) Allow contributors to opt out of sales to particular countries - China and Russia are first on my list; and 2) Eliminate all sales less than a dollar - it just isn't worth it for contributors for these low-value sales.  Spending time making, keywording and uploading images so that someone else can make money while contributors get nothing is not sustainable.  If anyone knows how to deactivate these sales in their Alamy accounts please let me know.

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In terms of business deals, ethics and simple morals how can any business justify this (or similar kinds of) deal.

 

And in the contract, it states;

 

7.2.  Alamy agrees to use its reasonable commercial endeavours to obtain reasonable Licence Fees.

 

Let's be hearing from you Emily Shelley, James A or someone from PA/Alamy.

 

 

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2 hours ago, Avpics said:

My uploads since Sunday have gone into QC and are still waiting. Are Alamy having an extended period of mourning?

 

From the sounds of it, we the contributors are.

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I no longer use my SLR with good lenses for stock. The phone comes out more these days. If they sell or give away my images, they are not worthy of me lugging heavy gear about.

 

And when are we going to get a keep signed-in facility on these forums ? So frustrating.

Edited by Marb
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My guess is that Alamy staff members are also appalled by some of the things that go on in the company. We should be clear that we are complaining about decisions, policies, and cock-ups* made by the company not by individuals simply  doing their job who have no say in these matters.

 

 

 

* Oxford comma used intentionally

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I emailed Alamy, contributors@alamy.com, this is the reply

 

We're aware that the sales you have seen through distribution have been quite lower than normal – this is because of a deal we have made with the distributor in China to secure business away from competitors in that specific market area. This was for images in accounts that were signed up for both Distribution in China and Novel use.

We realise that once the commission has been taken into account, it has meant that the amount owed to you is very small. Therefore, we’re giving you the option to opt out of distribution in China and/or novel use early to avoid any future low sales. If you wish to opt-out of distribution in China, and novel use now (before April) please let us know.

Thanks,

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