
Canstockphoto announced they will close after nearly 20 years in business on 1 October 2023, this review is for historical reference.
Images are good value with credits costing 50c or less if you buy bulk. There is also a subscription option, with a weekly 70 images subscription currently at around 35 dollars.
The site has been gaining market share and growing their image collection since 2004
Good statistics monitor photograph views and an itemised history of sales. Since the affiliation with fotosearch the upload system has been streamlined, and sorry to use the cliche but there is no better way to say it, "uploading is a breeze" there is no need to spend time categorizing images.
For the photographer commissions rates are well above average, at the time of writing the sales are quite slow. The site features good stats and sales reporting tools.
Further to my previous comments on photos all being rejected with a standard "* Image does not meet our current content submission standards." it's been pleasing to see that recent submissions now receive useful rejection reasons which can help photographers reduce future rejections.
Conclusion
The site makeover (July2011) and changes to the search system has proven to make this site more somewhat attractive to buyers, but the fotosearch syndication as been the real success here (for me at least).
In 2012 Canstock just managed to bump themselves into 5th place in my earnings ranking, in 2015 up to 2nd place just ahead of istock, this was mostly due to syndication sales from fotosearch. Successful sales results year after year secure canstock a "must upload" recommendation.
Canstock Acquired
gary718 (not verified) on Wed, 2008-11-12 16:17November 12, 2008 Dear Can Stock Photo Contributor (gary718), We are pleased to announce that as the result of an acquisition, microstock innovator Can Stock Photo Inc. is now an affiliate of stock photography pioneer Fotosearch. Fotosearch is one of the largest stock photography agencies in the world and a true innovator in the industry. As part of the new relationship, Fotosearch will distribute Can Stock Photo imagery, which will provide access to the substantial worldwide network Fotosearch has built over the past 10 years, and afford Can Stock Photo contributors the opportunity to generate more revenue. Fotosearch boasts the largest network of non-English stock photography sites in the world, with sites localized for 47 countries. Introduction of Can Stock Photo content will begin on the Brazilian and Japanese sites, www.fotosearch.com.br and www.fotosearch.jp, with more sites to follow. Once the content is fully rolled-out, Can Stock Photo contributors will be exposed to millions of Fotosearch visitors every week. Through Fotosearch, contributors will be able to sell images as prints, and Fotosearch will soon have a program to include the best content in a professional brand. Your images will continue to be available at www.canstockphoto.com, and the payout structure for imagery licensed there will remain the same. Licensing on Can Stock Photo has been streamlined from five options to simply a standard license (limited to 500,000 reproductions) and enhanced license (with either unlimited reproductions or items for resale), to be more in line with industry standards and to encourage enhanced license sales. Click the first link below for Can Stock Photo license details. The upload process at Can Stock Photo will continue to be easy to use, and has been improved to now accept vector files. Further enhancements to the site will be made in the near future, including the acceptance of footage content. As a result of the new owner’s growth strategy, Can Stock Photo will be marketing its website aggressively to attract even more stock photography buyers for your images.
Great News
Steve Gibson on Fri, 2008-11-14 00:24This is great news for canstockphoto contributors who should see an increase in sales, more in a news post: microstockinsider.com/news/canstockphoto-images-fotosearch
Not at all good
Sipaphoto (not verified) on Mon, 2011-05-02 17:56it is the norm
Steve Gibson on Wed, 2011-05-04 02:36Not even a drip for me. Even
Steve (not verified) on Thu, 2013-08-08 10:20CanStock.com Bad image descriptions. Bad customer service.
Anonymous (not verified) on Fri, 2015-02-20 23:06