November 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.
Here's my own experience with CanStockPhoto.com as a contributing photographer for the last two years: Sales are extremely slow, even for pro photographers, and even with a great portfolio of 400+ photos. I'm using the term "great portfolio" not a self-evaluation, but rather as a term used by CanStockPhoto staff in their last reference to my portfolio. Contributors also should be aware that closing the account is a long and tedious process, where you have to go through and delete and and every photo manually through an edit process before the option to close the account is available. Last but definitely not least, the company will NOT, I repeat, they will NOT issue you a credit of your balance for your own photo sales if you close your account. They call this an industry standard, even though not all stock agencies do this. One thing is guaranteed: kiss your balance goodbye if you close the account. This information is buried in the fine print of the Member Agreement, but thrown in your face when requesting a refund of your balance.
putting poor sales aside... (for me 3 years, 400 files and 50 sales $86 US, not earth shattering, not dead, and well, to be honest exactly as I wrote above - potential for those with large ports, smooth workflow etc)
I think you can expect NOT to see revenue from any site if you don't meet the payment threshold, it genuinely is the industry norm. I never see the reason to remove a port from a site you have given up on - but I understand that lots of people out there do like to keep their images under tight leashes. For me once its up it's up - ive done the work then have fingers crossed that some sales will be made. Unlike a lot of dead sites I could mention at least canstock is 'dripping' - I'm hoping it might turn into a trickle while i'm not looking.
Bad item description. No way to contact by telephone. Written several times with screen shots of the image I paid for WITH description, requesting a refund. They wrote back and said, the image did NOT have that description. I wrote back again with the screen shot outlined PROVING my dispute. Remains unresolved at the moment. If you are a professional - NEVER EVER use this company for any reason. I should have know who I was dealing with because professionals list their contact number and handle emails and refunds in a timely and professional manner. My two cents are only the beginning of my full $12 value.
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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