photographersdirect.com?

[Col_M]

After deciding to finally get off my ass and try to sell some pics i've looked around and photographers direct seems a good site to start with, it doesn't have strict upload guidelines and it pays photographers well for their stock images. I figured I'd find my feet here first before going to Alamy.

Does anyone here use this site to sell their photos?
What are your experiences with them?
And i know this is very open ended and depends on the effort you put in, photographer and images but how much can I expect to make?

I've uploaded 20 images so far and eighteen have been rated 7 and two rated 8, it made me feel good as they say on average 1 in 20 photos is rated 8 or above so i'm already better than average :lol:

The only criticisms i can find at the moment are that the site although functions well doesn't seem to look as good as some others, but i can appreciate function over form :)
Also because you only upload images with a max dimension of 500px (you send the high res images direct to the client when they buy) the ratings they give surely can't be very accurate, i mean you get an overview of the photo but the resize makes noise, poor focus and other problems more difficult to see, which i think makes the rating process a tad inaccurate.

Other than that it all seems good :) and am looking forward to other's experiences.

[rparchen]

I would be curious to hear any experiences as well. I signed up today and starting uploading some images. None of mine are rated yet so I guess I don't know how well they will stand. How long until it gets rated? Do potential buyers or the people who run the site rate the shots?

[Col_M]

Hi rparchen, it only took about 48 hours to get my images rated which i was quite impressed with. The guys at photographers direct are the ones who rate the photos.

Doesn't look like many people use it on here though, keep us updated with your experiences, I'll probably be doing the same when anything interesting happens :)

[rparchen]

I'll keep this thread updated how well it works out. The good news is that it took them less than 24 hours to rate 4 pictures (all that I've uploaded so far). I got three 8's and a seven, I think I'm off to a good start :)

[mspringfield]

I signed up with them about 3 years ago. I haven't really kept my account up to date but I have licensed 1 photo to a greeting card company in the UK for 3 years. Payment was fast in coming and I thought their "finder's fee" was reasonable.

BTW if there are any UK members here that would be willing to look for my image on a card and send me some copies I would be eternally grateful. PM me.

Michael

[adam LC]

I signed up with them about 3 years ago. I haven't really kept my account up to date but I have licensed 1 photo to a greeting card company in the UK for 3 years. Payment was fast in coming and I thought their "finder's fee" was reasonable.

BTW if there are any UK members here that would be willing to look for my image on a card and send me some copies I would be eternally grateful. PM me.

Michael
So you basically had just 1 sale in three 3 years???

[dbvirago]

I use them, but basicall only update in response to a request. Had no sales, but a couple of close calls and one in negotiation now. It doens't cost anything and can be good exposure. You can also get the requests emailed to you. You get to be selective about which emails you get.

[mspringfield]

So you basically had just 1 sale in three 3 years???

Yup. That's all. I get the email updates daily but much of their requests are very, very specific so the odds of actually having what they are looking for is very small. Sometimes you can set up a shot that they may need but there is no guarantee that if you do you will get the sale so I have found it is not worth it. It is a much better site for buyers than for sellers.

Michael