Sultanpepa Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I withdrew from it last year but a sale from India just popped in under the scheme from May last year. (before my exit) I'm not sure it was worth the wait for the $1.89 that I'm due especially as the same image had a previous healthy sale. Do you still persevere with Distrib. sales? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Yes, there were a lot more of them last year, about 20% of sales with an average sale price very close to the general average. Lowest gross $12. Much less net of course, only about 5% but as they always say better than nowt. In previous years the distributor average was barely a third of the general average so it's more than made up for the commission cut. Incidentally I have an uncleared direct sale from India in August. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Thompson Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Sticking with it for now. A sale is a sale as far as I am concerned. It is a sale you would not have got otherwise. One of my best sales was to India. I can also see why people do not want to give their images away for peanuts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandyAppleRed Images Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I'm in it and have only had three (I think) sales through it, but as it takes no additional effort on my part I'll stick with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Yes Kumar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I don't understand why anybody wouldn't. I get regular distributor sales, so far this month I've had 4 for $250 my cut is only $75. Thats £50 I would not have had. Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Callie Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 yes. I do seem to have had quite a lot of distributor sales recently, some for very low fees, but my highest priced sale last year was a distributor sale to Russia at just over $500. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Number Six Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Yes for me too. I always groan when I see that a sale is via a distributor but, at the end of the day, a sale's a sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokie Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Yes for me too. I always groan when I see that a sale is via a distributor but, at the end of the day, a sale's a sale. ditto Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sultanpepa Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 So, it seems all very positive for distribution so far. I am of the school of thought that the internet is global and if someone wishes one of my images they'll find it here. I'll get 50% of sale and not 30. If I miss out on a few sales for 6 bucks then hey ho. I have to say I'm surprised that so far 100% replies are all for it. I thought it'd be around 50%. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiskerke Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Last year from distributor sales: 1270 gross; around 385 net. I'm not going to spit on that, as we say in Holland. wim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Robinson Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 My two biggest ever sales (net) have been through the scheme - both to Japan. I can understand opting out of certain regions if you object to filling Czech magazines and Italian travel websites with pix at $1 each, but I wouldn't consider pulling out altogether. I would much prefer that distribution didn't exist and all agencies competed on the strength of their images, but the world isn't like that at the moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IDP Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 The international nature of the internet is all very well for an individual looking for an image but there are many more factors to take into account when looking at the behaviour of businesses. These commercial entities may have built up long term relationships with suppliers in their own countries (and in their own language) and are much more likely to buy from a local source than from Alamy. The brand awareness of the local libraries will be far greater and they're unlikely to have even heard of companies in other countries. Consequently ,distribution enables you to reach markets you'd never otherwise reach. Personally, I think it's a no brainer. There are some very small sales and, a few years ago I opted out of a couple of countries, including Italy - where I only ever seemed to sell anything for around $4! However, Kumar (Doc) pointed out on this forum that he'd been getting some more recent 3 figure sales from the italians - and so I removed the restriction. Since then, I've also seen some better 3 figure licenses from there. So far this month, I've had just over $2000 in distributor sales and, even though I'm only getting 30%, I'm probably making more net $$ per image than for direct sales. I think I'll stay signed up! Ian D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CM photo Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I don't understand why anybody wouldn't. I get regular distributor sales, so far this month I've had 4 for $250 my cut is only $75. Thats £50 I would not have had. Tony Unless, of course, the buyer couldn't get what he wanted locally and ended up looking to Alamy for the image; this is the point of the internet, isn't it? Personally, I would be happy to let run-of-the-mill images go through distributors but it's cutting my own throat to allow specialist stuff to be sold for low fees and a low commission. If there was a way of creating two pseudonyms - one which allowed distributions and one which didn't - I would probably be up for it. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin P Wilson Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I don't understand why anybody wouldn't. I get regular distributor sales, so far this month I've had 4 for $250 my cut is only $75. Thats £50 I would not have had. Tony Unless, of course, the buyer couldn't get what he wanted locally and ended up looking to Alamy for the image; this is the point of the internet, isn't it? Personally, I would be happy to let run-of-the-mill images go through distributors but it's cutting my own throat to allow specialist stuff to be sold for low fees and a low commission. If there was a way of creating two pseudonyms - one which allowed distributions and one which didn't - I would probably be up for it. Chris I guess (unofficially) you could create two accounts... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sultanpepa Posted January 22, 2015 Author Share Posted January 22, 2015 Maybe if I'd had some very good sales like some of you I may have thought differently. However my best fee was around 40 odd $ (net) and that was under the 40 - 20 - 40 % scheme. Never say never though, I'll keep it under review Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I'd say that only about 25% of my leases are through distributors, so I persevere. Some of the sales are groaners, but others aren't that bad by today's standards. It all adds up in the long run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giphotostock Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I am of the school of thought ... the internet is global ... if someone wishes one of my images they'll find it here. Re: internet is global. Yes, it is. But if the buyer does not speak/read english (and that's a lot of buyers), they won't buy your image. Besides, many editorial buyers (Alamy's bulk of clients) buy a lot and have accounts with stock libraries. Why would a Korean publisher have an account with Alamy that is many time zones away? Re: if someone wishes.. If you are known enough that clients seek your images specifically, you have a lot of my respect. For the rest of us.. we'd have stock agencies and distrubutors. GI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phil Robinson Posted January 26, 2015 Share Posted January 26, 2015 I am of the school of thought ... the internet is global ... if someone wishes one of my images they'll find it here. Why would a Korean publisher have an account with Alamy that is many time zones away? They might, if they couldn't find all of Alamy's 55 million images with their local agent. Of course if they can find 55m pix at their local distributor, they won't go to Alamy for the same pictures. But if they can't find what they want with their local favourite and know that there is the world's biggest selection of images a few mouse clicks away, they might consider going direct. I know distribution is here to stay, but I don't like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Travelshots Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 Im not sure but do some distributors ony represent the creative section? Surely most distributors software storage would not handle 50 million images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 That's only 250ish TB. I have 2 TB on my desk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TokyoM1ke Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 That's only 250ish TB. I have 2 TB on my desk. But you don't have to give real-time access to several hundred simultaneous users who will abandon you if they experience irritating delays... 250-350 TB of data is no trivial amount to manage. [tongue in cheek emoticon missing from your post?] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 No emoticon missing. Just not my deepartment. He did just say storage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted January 27, 2015 Share Posted January 27, 2015 .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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