iStockPhoto Has Some Competition

[Fred Weiss]

Just got an email ad from clipart.com advertising a new site they have up called StockXpert.com (http://www.stockxpert.com/index.phtml). They have screened submissions from independent contributors in both stock photography and vector graphics. Very similar to iStockPhoto.com but they pay a better rate to their contributors as far as I can see.

Images and clipart ranges from $1 to $10 with no subscription fees.

[Flame]

Unless I am mistaken.... Istock has numerous photos for hundreds of dollars? Are you saying that you can get the same quality for much cheaper?

[signguy95]

istockphoto.com is pretty cheap...I purchased a reasonably size file (photo) for about $16.00. I used it for a banner for a tanning salon and the quality came out great! On the other hand, Gettyimages.com charges about $100 for the same quality and type graphic!

Jay

[bob]

Unless I am mistaken.... Istock has numerous photos for hundreds of dollars? Are you saying that you can get the same quality for much cheaper?

All of the stuff I've ever used from IStock was about $2 to $6, $10 max on rare occasion, per image. Perhaps there's images there for hundreds but I've never come across them.

[3dsignco]

Nice
Thanks Fred

[Pro Signs & Graphix]

StockXpert has been around for a 'lil bit now. Their stuff seems to be nice. We have been using them instead if iStock.

[Browner]

Unless I am mistaken.... Istock has numerous photos for hundreds of dollars? Are you saying that you can get the same quality for much cheaper?

You sure you're not thinking about masterfile.com ?

[Fred Weiss]

I'm not a user of iStockPhoto but the times I've been there it seemed like everything was in the $1 to $5 range. The artist or photographer only gets, as I recall, a 10% royalty and is encouraged to spend the money at iStockPhoto. StockXpert is paying 50%.

If you are finding images for more, I would guess that this would be for some kind of enhanced license. Most of these sites, if one reads the licensing agreement, are licensing for non-commercial use. Even sites like shutterstock.com at $159 a month for limited downloads is not licensing for commercial use unless you pay substantially more.

Here's a vector image selected at random from StockXpert that sells under a standard license for $5.00. If you read the licensing, the same image with rights to use it commercially is $50.00. I won't argue the proper license issue because I know most people ignore that anyways ... but there will come a time where enforcement of license rights will come into play.

http://www.stockxpert.com/pic/m/s/sa/sanyal/607966_32981244.jpg

[james2]

I hate to say it, but I am new to the Stock Photo websites out there.
If I need an image for a customer's vehicle, can I go on one of these sights and if I see something I like, download a low res image of it for free,
then if the customer likes it I can then buy it from the site for the vehicle?

sorry for the dumb question, I've just never used them before.
Does the price change when you get a higher res image?

[Fred Weiss]

Some sites offer "comps" to registered customers. Otherwise, you can grab the watermarked version for customer review. Check out the lightbox feature of most sites to save a bunch of time in this regard as well.

And yes, hi-rez costs more.

[iSign]

nice link, thanks!

[SBowlerDesign]

Thanks for the tip, Fred.

[james2]

thanks.
so, if I need an image for the side of a box truck and I see an image I like,
for 5 credits (or 5 dollars, I assume), that's all there is to it?

An image for example that I like shows it at 300dpi 10" x 7".
I would guess that I would not be able to enlarge this image to the size I need it. 40' long 9' high. Is there a formula I should be using for image size enlarging?

THX

[masterdesigns]

Stockepert has a pretty cool search function that lets you search by resolution as well as by category. I haven't used them yet either, but from a quick look they are pretty limited on their XXL images if you wanted to use them for larger applications. I'm sure they will grow over time, I've got them bookmarked.

Thanks
Bob

[signguy95]

I never realized about the licenses...I assumed that since the way they advertised them that they were for commercial use. I guess I owe someone a little more money! LOL

Next time I will make sure to buy the right one! Thanks for the info, Fred!

Jay

[Pro Signs & Graphix]

We charge a minimum of $50, usually $100, anytime we need to add a photo to a job. We just explain copyrights etc to the customer. The customers only alternative is to supply us with a photo that they have personally taken.

StockXpert has some of most lenient licensing there is.

[RJ California]

Thanks for the link Fred. Looks like good quality pix too.

[Jim Schneck]

Bigstock is another good source that we use.
http://www.bigstockphoto.com/howitworks.html

Jim

[paul luszcz]

I didn't know the licensing issue with iStockPhoto either. I just assumed that the price was the price. why would a consumer need a 40 mb image?

I'll admit I don't read the license agreements, and I know I "accept" them before I proceed. The software companies taught us not to read them with their forty two page agreements.

[Replicator]

I've been using http://www.sxc.hu for a couple of years now and have recommended it here before . . .

It is also known as : http://www.stockxpert.com/index.phtml . . . same site . . . same owners . . . same prices !

Awesome Images !