500px To Open Market Place For Photography Sales
From a site starting out offering images at 500 pixels on a side, 500px is making the jump to stock agency with a just announced Market offering. In a message this morning, 500px was a bit vague about the nuts and bolts of the offering, but did state the images need to be a bit bigger than 500 pixels. More than 3600 pixels on the long edge and not watermarked is what they are looking for. And you need to have the proper release (an obstacle for some) while uploading in JPEG format. Images will be available for download and for print (no details on sizes, paper, countries, etc…) and presuamably photographers will need to sign up for the service.
And that was it. A hype note that is getting some attention in the biz.
I would like to know what you think about this option for creating yet another market for photos to be sold. Sure enough, the images on 500px are typically a cut above other sites such as Flickr and I have enjoyed being a small part of the community there. I don’t post often, but this option may find me uploading more of my seconds (shots that aren’t the primary for shoot, but still marketable). Yes the market is saturated and mountain pictures likely won’t be flying off the shelf, but as many aspiring photographers may be hoping, it’s another avenue to possible earn some beer money. According to the release, photographers will be allowed to set their price for selling items which might also create a ‘race to the bottom’, possibly devaluing photographers’ art (while acknowledging quality art almost always fetches a premium because of its scarcity).
NOTE: After the redesign release yesterday, photos now offer a “I want to buy this photo” button in anticipation of Market being turned on. Users will be notified if the photo is available for purchase in the future.
When 500px starts the Market offering and allows photographers to sell their uploads via download or print format, do you plan on jumping on board?
34 Responses to “500px To Open Market Place For Photography Sales” - Add Yours
February 24th, 2012 at 1:26 am
Well, I know I certainly have a long ways to go before consistently producing “sellable” photos, but I welcome another place where I might get some exposure and also maybe some $$$.
February 24th, 2012 at 1:36 am
This is an interesting transition for them. I guess it’s nice to see them aggressively trying to improve the platform, but it looks like this upgrade was pretty bumpy for them. Lots of downtime yesterday, and they still seem to be missing some of their old functionality. I’d like to see them get better at adding new stuff without killing old stuff.
February 24th, 2012 at 1:50 am
I’ve never offered photos for sale through agencies such as this. The returns just never seemed worth it to me. I’ll be interested to hear what happens with this site (and other photographer’s opinions) once the new service is launched, but I probably won’t be participating.
February 24th, 2012 at 1:59 am
The ability to generate sales through 500px was implicit anyway, since any user can contact the photographer of an image they like. So this isn’t as big as it first seems.
It’s also a extra hassle to upload all images in the format they require for sales if you already have that photo for sale elsewhere (ie, your website). Especially since you can’t replace an existing image with an updated version of it.
Personally, I’d rather just have a price displayed, and a ‘contact’ button for sales. That way, I only need to keep the high-res file on my website, and can post low-res versions to 500px along with, Flickr et al.
Having said all that, yes, I’ll probably use this option once it’s available. It seems naive to ignore a potential revenue stream.
I hope it doesn’t create a swarm of ‘seconds’ or a devaluation of the photos on there. At the moment 500px has a relatively high standard of work up there, so I hope they’re able to sustain that quality.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:06 am
It’s an interesting concept, and certainly one I was anticipating. I love the community and of course the inspiration garnered there, but I don’t suspect that i’ll be printing/selling through them. This comes under much deliberation, but it comes down to one very simple thing: Quality. It’s not that I don’t think their print service is of the quality that I need/desire, but they don’t offer much information about it. Personally, I’m headed the Smug Mug route simply because I love and respect Bay Photo. But therein is the real issue…Bay Photo is a name I can trust and have a relationship with.
Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a good move and one that will benefit many. But I want far more control over my print sourcing, and I think Smugmug and Zenfolio have several hands above 500px in that regard.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:36 am
Travis you nailed it. There is hardly any information regarding selling on the site. Heck the only offer 3 print sizes. What? Forget it. Yesterday was a disaster for them. Instead of jumping on the selling bandwagon and a redesign, they need to work on building a better community. Flickr has one thing going for it right now, groups. 500px needs to figure out how to get that community going.
February 24th, 2012 at 2:53 am
Since you wrote the post, more details have come out. 500px offers two products: canvas prints at $500 and digital downloads at $2.99. Canvas prints at $500 are way too expensive to be attractive for customers. Digital downloads at $2.99 are way too cheap for me to let them be sold via 500px. It looks like their pricing strategy is unclear. For the time being, I am not planning to sign up for this service.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:02 am
500px is one of the way to showcase our photographs.
The homepage is also covers many pictures to view.
To buy button it may change the marketing field
http://500px.com/mobile-photography
February 24th, 2012 at 3:06 am
As of yesterday the site only mentioned 30×30 or 24×36 canvas, or download options. The canvas it said was $500, the download $2.99. The canvas you keep 70%, after cost, and the download $2. There is no paper option listed and I have not seen the ability to set your own price mentioned. Personally, I’ve purchased canvas from Artistic Photo Canvas, and these sizes are less than $200. So, for a $2.99 download I can print it myself at 60% less. Selling full res versions for download at $2.99 is nuts.
Also, the release, watermark and res are issues. First it clearly states sales are non-commercial. My understanding is that for art purposes you don’t need releases as often as for commercial.. And without a feature to update an image you would have to upload a second copy, if the current ver is watermarked or say 900px. That affects other 500px features like ratings. Last, the market seems to show the ratings, so a person browsing may see an image that was a 98 rating two months ago appear as a 57 and that might negatively influence a purchaser that misunderstands the rating system.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:17 am
Just what we need; another place to sell our work.
I’m finding that there is far more benefit in trying to use other sites to bring people into one centralized purchasing point rather than pushing my work out to multiple purchasing points. One of the biggest reasons for that is simply because of the weight of the additional workflow involved in prepping different versions of images for different outlets. Even with a collection of export presets in Lightroom, there is still the process of uploading (either through Lightroom or via a web interface), and typically key wording, titling, and describing each of these images. My time is valuable and the more of it I spend interacting with all of these sites, the smaller the return on my investment.
And, you could make an argument that I (anyone) should just pick a few sites for posting. However, as any photographer knows, you never know which image is going to be popular on any site – and what is popular changes moment to moment. It is easier to predict the outcome of the daily lottery.
My preference is to show the photo – thumbnails or whatever I can get away with – and drive the potential buyer directly to my selected point for sales.
Steven
February 24th, 2012 at 3:17 am
Yet another microstock-type place? Do we really need another one? There are already so many…
February 24th, 2012 at 3:23 am
Jim – Agree on the groups thing. I run an online community that has a group set up through Flickr. I’d love to move it all to 500px, and so I’ve been in talks with them as to how such a program would be implemented. They’re trying to do the right thing so that the site doesn’t get spammy – and I respect that – but I almost think they need to just up and do something under a “beta” tag to see if they can develop it organically. As for community…they need to simply figure a way to get more interaction. I had suggested member-curated galleries (on my 500px blog, which I just discovered is no longer a feature), which would align well with their own history and approach. But it didn’t seem to amount to much. In terms of community…I hate to admit it, but Flickr still has the corner (I just wish Flickr would freshen things up a bit).
February 24th, 2012 at 3:47 am
Travis—thanks for your insightful comments. I like 500px very much but you’re right, there’s very little opportunity to interact and that’s one of the elements of Flickr that I enjoy.
Flickr is about to roll out a fresher interface and I am looking forward to that. Now it seems too cluttered. I would also like Flickr to display all available metadata.
February 24th, 2012 at 3:53 am
Interesting concept, I’m off to have a look…………….
February 24th, 2012 at 4:07 am
The more info they can provide the better. With no info online or in a newsletter its tough to make a decision about their marketplace offering. Are prints and downloads tied together? Can you offer one or the other? Etc. Lots of questions and no answers yet. I await more info.
February 24th, 2012 at 4:37 am
Personally, I’m in the “not happy” camp with the changes as they’ve rolled out. They’ve pretty much ensured that 500px will never be anything more than an additional display platform for me.
February 24th, 2012 at 5:07 am
I may have one image that is worthy of someone buying on 500px but if you can’t upload a replacement then I won’t be participating. If I shoot something really great in the future I may size it as required. I guess my stance is wait and see…
February 24th, 2012 at 5:50 am
I love the idea
Here’s the link to my store
http://500px.com/robertosacasa/store
February 24th, 2012 at 7:27 am
This is curious. I am very new to 500px and to photography in general. I currently have some photos up on SmugMug. There is no logical reason why — Trey Ratcliff says he uses it so I signed-up. From a competitive stand point 500px can’t simply do the something as SmugMug or even similar.
They have to come up with something significantly different. Perhaps giving current members a 6 month free subscription. Other than that the purchase experience must be incredibly easy.
February 24th, 2012 at 9:11 am
One of the reasons I went to 500px to begin with, was to sell photos. They used to have a pretty robust solution for selling. It seems there was a falling out, and that got removed, so all my work setting up the account, and tweaking prices for sizes, went down the tube. I really would like more choices so I can have a premium for $500, and then economically minded, lower priced solutions.
February 24th, 2012 at 11:32 am
I signed on to 500px last year to use the site as a storefront for my work . After they parted company with Fotomoto they kept saying a replacement would be coming soon. With the Christmas Holiday approaching I felt I had to move on and signed on with Fine Art America. I’m really pleased with the marketplace there and have no plans to use the 500px storefront which at first blush appears incredibly complex. I’m still on the site. I post a shot quite often and I have a few wonderful contacts but I get nowhere near the hits I get at FAA or at flickr which, by the way, is unveiling their own makeover on the 28th. I’m not thrilled with 500′s recent do-over. Perhaps after driving it for a while, I’ll warm up to it but for me the storefront is a nonstarter. .
February 24th, 2012 at 1:02 pm
Why doesn’t 500px (or Flickr for that matter) allow the photographer to establish pricing? The way 500px pricing makes no sense to me. If someone wants to sell prints for 50% over cost, they should be allowed to do so. If someone else wants to sell prints at 150% over cost, they too should be allowed to do so. Further, we should have the ability to establish royalty free licensing using any pricing we want based on how the user wants to use the image. Every stock photography site sets their own pricing; would be nice to find one that allows users to set their own pricing for once.
February 24th, 2012 at 1:47 pm
This sounds like something that may be worth a look. I currently use Fototime.com for my sales. Anything that will increase exposure is a good thing.
February 24th, 2012 at 7:30 pm
500px have killed any sense of community they had. They’ve made a pig’s ear of what was a decent site and turned it into a money making venture – for them! The site now promotes other peoples photos rather than yours.
February 24th, 2012 at 10:28 pm
I recently came across the following company: http://www.peecho.com/
It allows you to sell prints (even on cups) from your own site using their API that connects with local print factories.
Mentioned on TNW: http://thenextweb.com/eu/2011/04/27/peecho-launches-print-button-for-the-internet/
Disclaimer: I do not have any affiliation with the company.
February 25th, 2012 at 12:03 am
I don’t know. It sounds like it will come out pretty much like RedBubble, Imagekind or any of those others, which make tons of money for the company and pennies for the contributor. Also, who is going to pay $500 for a canvas? They don’t have anything between the $2.99 download and the expensive canvas. I need more convincing before I sign up.
February 25th, 2012 at 12:17 am
Photographers (myself included) seem to always be seeking out new places to post their work. That isn’t a bad idea at all. When it comes to selling, however, without being able to control the numbers, you are going to annoy your customers.
Imagine someone who discovers your work on 500px and buys something. Great, right? But what are you then going to tell them when they discover the same image available somewhere else at a different price? Are they going to purchase from you again, continue to follow your work, or recommend you to others? I would doubt it.
When selling, you need control. Unless (or until) 500px (and the others like them) offers that capability, I think you are just asking for unnecessary complications. And as I mentioned before, you’ve also got the hassle of managing all of the different outlets for your photographs.
Find yourself a place to sell and point everything else toward it.
Just my two cents…
February 25th, 2012 at 1:45 am
The more I read about 500px’s “Market” and the moreI hear everybody else’s comments, the more I realize that it is a good idea, but VERY POORLY EXECUTED. If anyone form 500px is reading this: PLEASE, STOP THE PROGRAM, RETHINK IT AND RE-START IT FROM SCRATCH!
February 25th, 2012 at 2:35 am
I’m increasingly less enamored with this new update from 500px. It’s not just the market stuff, though others mentioned some of the problems with that. I’m really disappointed that they lost the “friends” view they used to show, and I’m also disappointed that they don’t seem to be doing much to improve the blogging capabilities (beyond renaming them to “stories”).
Up to the point of this update, 500px was a fantastic way for me to connect with some awesome photographers, follow them to see their stuff, and be inspired by their new work. Now, all I’ve got is my stuff, jumbled up in no particular order in “flow”, and the firehoses of “popular”, “upcoming”, etc., where I can’t see the stuff my friends are doing.
I hope 500px fixes the stuff they’ve left behind with this update, because if they don’t, I think I’m done with them.
February 25th, 2012 at 4:10 am
After spending some good times on 500px, i’m almost at the verge of leaving it now…
Why??
The answers all lie in this blog-post that I wrote yesterday after being greatly disappointed by their change…
http://50mmstreettog.blogspot.in/2012/02/500px-old-vs-new.html
Kindly have a look and feel free to give your views…
February 26th, 2012 at 9:22 pm
I always avoided stock photography because of the percentage of the agency takes from me is too large, but if I were to set my own price to my own work and a price I feel is fair and competitive, not over or under priced, but also if its a unique stock photograph I could set it at a premium price. I don’t know much of stock photography at all but I stayed away from it just because lack of control of setting my prices for my photographs.
February 27th, 2012 at 6:45 am
Though most of my photography is of events and the people involved, I have several events coming in the next few months with some great potential for some “sell-able” pictures. Thanks for posting this info and I will certainly upload if I think I’ve captured something worth publishing.
March 7th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Hmm, will have to just watch this and see what happens!
March 9th, 2012 at 11:01 am
500px + Controlling product pricing = Huge fail!
My pricing strategy involves pricing certain types of work consistently. The policy where 500px determines the pricing closes the door for me ever using their store front option. And HD downloads for $2.99 each? Price needs to be determined by how the image will be used.
I would rather pay (and I do pay it) a nominal fee like Fine Art America and have control over my pricing.
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