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How does iStockphoto.com's credit system work??

by JustaWizard
9 replies
One of the things that's cool about the WF is that you all are pretty helpful, even with stupid questions I have...

So my current stoopid question is about istockphoto.com - I've been looking at their credit system and I just don't get it.

Could you dumb it down and explain it to me?

Geez....

I just don't get why they don't put a simple price tag on graphics you want to buy... purchase credits... geez... they must be a good service because I've seen a lot of warriors recommend them.... seems like it would be MUCH easier if they just put a freaking price for each photo, the credit thing seems like it's confusing on purpose...??

So, thanks for your help! :-)

Best,
David
#credit #istockphotocom #system #work
  • Profile picture of the author blase40
    Its quite simple, purchase credits, use the credits to purchase the photos. The images are great and the service is definitely worth it. Not sure why they dont put an exact price tag on each image, probably so you have to buy more credits and have some left over... it helps with their continuity model I suppose.
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    • Profile picture of the author JustaWizard
      Originally Posted by blase40 View Post

      Its quite simple, purchase credits, use the credits to purchase the photos. The images are great and the service is definitely worth it. Not sure why they dont put an exact price tag on each image, probably so you have to buy more credits and have some left over... it helps with their continuity model I suppose.
      Yeah, that makes sense - this way you're likely to either have credits expire unused or you're having to purchase more credits because you don't have enough to buy the graphics you want.... I figured they had to be doing a credit system to favor them somehow....

      THANKS!
      David
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  • Profile picture of the author The Pension Guy
    It doesn't seem confusing to me. The more credits you buy the cheaper they are.
    It shows for me in CAD the following:
    12 credits = $24 (I will put round number for the sake of simplicity) --> 1 cr = $2
    ......
    2,000 credits = $2561 --> 1 cr = $1.28

    The price of the photos are always the same number of credits: from 1 to 28 depending on the size.
    Usually, for web site development it is enough to buy the small (1 credit) images. So, if you know how many images you would need during one year (the credits are good for one full year!) you can decide to purchase more credits at once and making your images cheaper.

    Does it help?
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    • Profile picture of the author JustaWizard
      Originally Posted by The Pension Guy View Post

      It doesn't seem confusing to me. The more credits you buy the cheaper they are.
      It shows for me in CAD the following:
      12 credits = $24 (I will put round number for the sake of simplicity) --> 1 cr = $2
      ......
      2,000 credits = $2561 --> 1 cr = $1.28

      The price of the photos are always the same number of credits: from 1 to 28 depending on the size.
      Usually, for web site development it is enough to buy the small (1 credit) images. So, if you know how many images you would need during one year (the credits are good for one full year!) you can decide to purchase more credits at once and making your images cheaper.

      Does it help?
      Yep, that helps, thanks!
      David
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  • Profile picture of the author Sam Rodrigo
    Hi,

    iStock does this because IF they sold by the pic, then you pay and leave.
    IF you purchase using credits, there's always money "left on the table" --that makes any balance sheet look pretty good.

    Even if it's a few dollars, times a million accounts, it adds up. Free money.

    The service is great. The Sage got his mug shot there!
    Sam
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  • Profile picture of the author Goatboy
    I bought 12 credits last night for $18.00. The credits are good for 1 year.

    The photos are priced based on the size of the picture. Small pics are something like 3 credits and then six credits, etc. So the first thing you have to decide is how big a picture you need. That will tell you how many credits to buy and then you go shopping.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    Be careful, I just had ten IS credits expire on me. IS is not so great, the pics are super small for one credit. You can get a much better price if you shop around at - albumo, gimmestock, stockexpert, bigstockphoto, etc

    Albumo gives you extended rights for 12 credits.
    pdphoto.org has free public domain photos.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lloyd Buchinski
    Thanks for the information here. I find it a bit unpleasant that your money can "expire" on you. That kind of business game just gets to me and they are going to be a last resort for me. (But I know better than to say I will never use them.)
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    • Profile picture of the author JustaWizard
      I was originally reaching out to WF members who've used iStockphoto for clarity on their fee structure because to me, if it's not straight-forward, then there's a reason WHY.

      I mean, WHY NOT just say "this picture is $1 for this size/res, $2 for this size/res" etc.?

      Clearly, it's for the reasons revealed by my fellow warriors here; it's because the credit system favors iStockphoto, not the user as credits will expire, and think about it - there's likely no way (or at least it's unlikely) to every make a clean break and use all your credits on one "final purchase".

      Again, to be clear, I didn't start this thread to bash iStockphoto - I've never used them - it just seems fishy to me to not have a clear purchase plan that doesn't require stopping and thinking about it, as noted above.

      Imagine going to the market and trying to buy groceries on such a system; I'd much rather see the price of milk or meat or apples and make my decision to buy or not, and the same with photos/graphics online.

      Thanks to all for your contributions!

      Best,
      David
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