APPENDIX 1

Microstock Library Links

Don’t read too much into the order. These are basic links so that you can find and visit a wide range of microstock sites for yourself. I make no promise that this list is exhaustive. Good hunting!

1. iStockphoto. The original microstock, credit purchase (single sale), now owned by Getty. Prices are $1–$15, dependent on resolution; base commission 20%. www.istockphoto.com
2. Shutterstock. The largest specialized subscription microstock. Pays $0.25 until $500 earned, and then $0.30 per download. www.shutterstock.com; photographer submissions via www.submit.shutterstock.com
3. Dreamstime. Mixed subscription and credit purchase site. Minimum 50% commission paid. www.dreamstime.com
4. Fotolia. Strong European customer base, fast growth. Credit purchase site; commission 33% for nonexclusive image and 50% of the sales price for exclusive image. www.fotolia.com (click on national flags at bottom of page to find local sites/languages)
5. Stockxpert. Owned by JupiterMedia, with recent heavy investment, should be the one to watch. $1 starting price, 50% commission on sales to photo graphers. www.stockxpert.com
6. SnapVillage. Corbis’s late entry in to the microstock market means that both the largest traditional players are gambling on microstock success. Single sale and subscription; photographer fixes selling price for credit sales. www.snapvillage.com
7. 123RF. Mixed monthly subscription and single-sale (credit-purchase) site. Rebranded from 123 Royalty Free. Wholly owned subsidiary of Inmagine Corp LLC. Recent site revamp and skills of Inmagine should boost popularity. Pays $0.36 per subscription download and 50% of credit sales. www.123RF.com
8. Big Stock Photo. Credit-purchase site. $0.50–$1 commission per down load. www.bigstockphoto.com
9. StockPhotoMedia. Swedish-based credit-purchase site. Commission 35% small, 45% medium, and 55% large images; 50% for illustrations. www.stockphotomedia.com
10. Gimmestock. Credit-purchase site. Images priced at $1, of which the photographer gets $0.50. www.gimmestock.com
11. Shuttermap. Credit-purchase site. Variable pricing based on resolution. 25% commission paid to the photographer. www.shuttermap.com
12. Can Stock Photo. Canadian-based credit purchase and subscription site. www.canstockphoto.com
13. Lucky Oliver. California-based “token” (credit) purchase site with a funky Web design. Basic royalty of 30%. www.luckyoliver.com
14. Albumo. New minimalist site. 50% plus commission. www.albumo.com
15. ScandinavianStockPhoto. Norwegian-based credit-purchase site, with Euro 1 commission per download. www.scanstockphoto.com
16. Galastock. Registration for new photographers is closed, and my security program advised me to leave, so I did. www.galastock.com
17. Geckostock. Reasonably smart-looking UK-based site. Credit based; each credit £0.50, single use only. 50% commission for standard licenses, 60% for extended licenses. www.geckostock.co.uk
18. Moodboard. Separate searches for “Premium” royalty-free and “Quality” microstock. UK-based site owned by Mike Watson Images Limited. Launched July 2007. Looks to be an attempt to move microstock “upmarket.” Prices start at £8, so maybe it’s not a microstock after all. www.moodboard.com
19. Cadmium. Another UK-based site. www.cadmium.co.uk
20. Featurepics. Single sale site with a generous 70% commission for photog raphers. Based in Fremont, California, USA. Sells images on both royalty free and rights managed terms, but the pricing is microstock based, even for rights managed images. www.featurepics.com
21. FotoMind. New credit purchase and subscription sale site. Various packages available. FotoMind is part of Firestorm srl, a Romanian software development company, and is based in Romania. It launched in August 2007. www.fotomind.com
22. Image Vortex. Single sale site. Prices set by photographers, from $20 to $300, so its borderline whether you regard this as a microstock site or not. Owned by Image Vortex LLC of Bradenton, Florida. 70% commission for photog raphers. www.imagevortex.com
23. thephotostorage. New credit purchase site. www.thephotostorage.com
24. MicroStockPhoto. It’s all in the name. Fairly new single sale (credit package) site. Now run by Norwegian IT company ViaStep. 35% commission payable to the photographer. www.microstockphoto.com
25. USPhotostock. Credit purchase site. Commissions from 40%–50%. www.usphotostock.com