FAQ FOR ITHACASTOCK.COM
Q. What is IthacaStock.com?
A. IthacaStock.com is a collection of local, iconic images for use by graphic artists, web designers, businesses and anyone who needs local images to tie their businesses image to the local community. We started in Ithaca, but are by no means limited to Central New York. We have contributors throughout New York and the whole United States, including Alaska and Hawaii!
Q. What makes IthacaStock.com different from other stock agencies?
A. Our customer service.
We know your time is valuable, and you don't want to spend the whole day searching for the perfect image. If you don't find what you need right away, either fill out the form on the “Request A Photo” page, or give us a call. We will either find it for you, contact our extensive field of professional photographers to see if they have it, or go out and GET the image for you, all at no additional charge.
When you ask us for an image, you are defining a need that is not being met, so you are actually helping us help you now and in the future. We appreciate your inquiries.
We try to personally answer each phone call that comes in. We do not even have a call routing system. You deserve personal service, and we aim to give it to you.
Q. You have different prices for “single use” and “full rights”. What does that mean?
A. Single use means what it says: using an image within a single online article or for a brochure that gets published once.
Full rights, by contrast, is an image that becomes part of your corporate identity, logo, trademark or web site. You may use and reuse the image as long as you wish.
Q. How do I order?
A. We are trying to keep it as simple as possible. For downloads, just click on your image and follow the prompts. If you want prints, select the size you want and order. If you need a size that is not listed, call or e-mail and we will handle your order personally. We guaranty that you will be delighted with our service and product.
Q. How do I become part of IthacaStock.com?
A. Go to our “Become a Contributor” page. If you are a photographer with a web site, input your URL and your contact information. If you don't have a site, send a CD with ten (10) of your images to:
IthacaStock.com LLC
South Hill Business Campus
950 Danby Rd, Suite 206
Ithaca, NY 14850
Please do NOT e-mail your images to us! On a CD you can send them at full resolution, so we can look at your images in all of their digital glory.
As soon as we have examined your photographs, we will contact you with our decision.
Q. What do you require of submitters?
A. First, you need to sign up, and accept our terms and conditions. We want to pass on the greatest percentage we can, yet still run a successful business. We need a current address and some verification that the images you submit are, indeed, yours.
Q. Do you have a minimum number of submissions per month or year?
A. We require that you submit to us on a regular basis. Although some stock houses require a set minimum per month, we would rather have 20 great submissions a year than 200 mediocre ones every month. Of course, the more images you have in the database, the greater your chance of multiple sales!
Our hope is to have a quantity of delightful, artistic images in stock.
Q. Do you accept submissions on film?
A. No. We are digital only.
Q. What are the minimum parameters for images?
A. Images submitted must be a minimum of five (5) megapixels. This can be a 2000 X 2500 pixel image, even if the jpeg image has a smaller file size because of compression. Images must be clear, sharp and otherwise worthy of publication. We approve every single image individually before including them in the database.
Q. How do I submit images?
A. This is a work in progress, and will become easier as time goes by. Go to the "Login" button at the top of the first page on the web site. Enter your name and password, and then upload your images per the instructions.
Our database is being designed by 544 Productions in Ithaca, NY. We are delighted so far, but as it is a work in progress, we are always looking for bugs and ways to make it easier and more efficient to use. We would appreciate your feedback when you see some way we could improve.
One feature we are working on is a way to upload as many as ten images at a time. Another is to remember your keywords while you enter batches of photos. Copy and paste is the way to go for now.
Remember, quality before quantity.
Q. When and how do I get paid?
A. This is the most important subject! The amount of every sale of your images is recorded for each calendar month. On the 15th of the following month, you will be mailed a check equal to a set percentage of your sales, minimum $75. If your royalties don't total $75, it is rolled over to the next month. We are paying you a 60% royalty for digital files purchased, and 50% of net proceeds (after expenses) from print sales. From time to time, we may adjust that percentage, depending on the volume of sales in relation to our expenses. In the future, we will be offering direct deposit and / or PayPal, but not at this time.
Q. I saw that you offer custom photography -- and that you will have your photographers get the image. Do we get paid extra for this?
A. No, but this is actually a benefit to us.
Let me give you a recent example. I have a client who needed a photo of a parking garage in Ithaca. His article had to do with the problems of parking, and how Ithaca has more people than parking spaces. We went out and photographed the parking garage, and took a number of other related photos.
Not only did he buy the image I created specifically for the project, but many of the others have sold as well. When our clients request specific images, they are expressing a need that stock agencies are not filling. So they are actually helping us to create a more targeted, useful database of images. This benefits all of us. We may not make money of the first sale, but we definitely will make money on the subsequent sales.
This particular client will be back every time he needs an image. He may not buy every time, but the service he received will keep him coming back.
