NEW PARADIGM SHIFTS IN STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY - PART II (Continued)

COMPARING FOUR ADDITIONAL ONLINE MARKETPLACES (#1 of 4)
    Background: Alamy currently has about 3 million images online from 4600 photographers and 296 agencies. By comparison, all of the four marketplaces we are comparing in this article currently have less than 100,000 images online. All five online marketplaces (Alamy included) do not require an exclusive agreement, and we've noticed many image suppliers are represented by two or more of these marketplaces (and often with the same images). We'll now attempt to offer some overall comparisons and unique features that these four online marketplaces offer. NOTE: Your editor has placed images with all four online marketplaces, and has interviewed contributors at each marketplace to help with this comparison.
ABSOLUTE STOCK PHOTO

Operated by Julie Landman
Operated out of Natick, MA
Domain first registered August 20, 2004

Absolute has about 21,000 images online from over 80 contributors (most of these images have been uploaded since January by about 30 photographers).

Contributors receive 65% of each sale. Royalties to contributors are paid monthly. Here's Absolute's contributor information and contributor agreement:
http://www.absolutestockphoto.com/ContributingPhotographerInfo.htm
http://www.absolutestockphoto.com/coppermine/ContributorTermsAndConditions.htm

Absolute only offers royalty free images on its site.

Unique features: Absolute and Acclaim are the only two marketplaces offering print/poster sales in addition to online stock image licensing. Julie Landman responded with these "Value-add features" of Absolute Stock Photo:
  1. Profits are paid out monthly to photographers.
  2. Embedded IPTC data from files are automatically loaded into database.
  3. Functionality available to embed IPTC data (entered into Absolute’s system) into photos which do not already contain IPTC data. For a fee, the photographer's portfolio with embedded IPTC can be written to DVD.
  4. Comma separation between keywords is allowed but not required.
  5. 65% commission paid on all sales (for prints and posters, printing fees are subtracted before split is allocated).
  6. 10 images can be uploaded at a time and resizing is performed by Absolute Stock Photo. For photographers with a large portfolio, FTP and Batch loading can be arranged.
  7. DVD submission is also an option based on photographer's need and portfolio size.
  8. Photos are not reviewed before availability for sale on site. This allows for quicker time-to-market for photographers artwork. Bulletin board available for photographers to facilitate discussion of all subjects and problems.
  9. Photographers have the freedom to create their own categories for their images.
  10. Site sales reports are available to all established photographers.
  11. User search phrase reporting available to photographers so they can keep abreast of client needs and trends.
  12. Ability to leave comments on fellow photographer's images and they are only visible for logged in photographers. Ranking of photos gets the best images at the top of the search.
  13. Absolute Stock Photo facilitates negotiation of assignment work or rights managed per customer request.
  14. Free Photo Club encourages potential buyers to register and to keep coming back to the site:
    http://absolutestockphoto.com/custRegister.php
  15. Our Photo Bargain venue allows Absolute Stock Photo to continuously test the market for optimal pricing. [Editor's note: This is an internal methodology where Absolute discounts a rotating set of photos to evaluate customer's purchasing patterns so Absolute can ensure their prices are as high as possible without sacrificing quantity of sales.]
Features we wish Absolute had: Absolute's prices are the lowest of the four sites we have featured in this article. (We only presume their market research indicates that these prices are the best balance for their site's customer base and the quantity of sales Absolute is trying to achieve.)

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(Reprinted by permission from the InkjetART.com "Inkjet NEWS & Tips" newsletter, July 5, 2005)