I Thought I would try 3DStudio for my stock Images
I don’t normally try out new image libraries as many are just a waste of time, they may have high hopes, nice easy uploading, great commission rates but they do not have an existing customer base, it is ok being Photographer friendly and ‘talking the talk’, but there needs to be either a unique selling point or the website needs to have an added value to ‘walk the walk’.
A new start-up announced their move into the stock images world in the Micro Stock Group forums, no new start-up gets an easy ride and they were looked at and many searching questions asked, the response was as usual initially quite defensive, but they turned things around, listened to the feedback contacted a few forum members privately to discuss some points of concern, and they made a few changes based on the feedback and left us with a feeling that they were willing to communicate both ways.
After a few days I had another look at them and decided to try them out, the driver for me was they already had customers for their other products, so I joined 3dStudio as a contributor and here is my Affiliate Link, I would not expect anyone to join on my say so, but here is a summary of my experience with them to help you make an informed decision.
The3dStudio.com looks a little different when you visit the website, they are well know and trusted in other circles as one of the largest and oldest companies on the Internet offering 3D and 2D resources.
The company was formed around 1996, like the origins of microstock offering only free resources, they received requests from authors who wanted sell 3D products, and turned The3dStudio.com a full time business.
They offer both free and priced resources including 3D models, textures, tutorials, plug-ins, gallery art, software, and now they are moving into stock photos, with an existing customer base this makes them different to other start-ups and why I joined them, but the question is always was I right to do this, well have a read and make up your own mind.
27th July: I registered and uploaded 86 images, these were full size RF images with a mix of subjects, the upload was nice and smooth via the website pages, with the image metadata embedded in the images used putting them live was a simple process of assigning any releases and selecting a category which was just one or two clicks, I chose to accept the default pricing of $4.00 small, $8.00 medium and $12 large, the images were instantly live as ‘editorial’ until they were checked by the 3DStudio staff who assign the correct licence.
It is ok getting the images online but what about activity and sales, I was more than surprised when just two days later I had a sale of a medium size for $8:00, this has been followed by three others and at 60% commission gives me a net $24.00 in royalties from $40.00 of sales which is more than fair.
My first sale was this image and you can see they have a good watermark
Here is the history latest download in first place,
08/07/09: Teen Girl with Cell Phone Price: $8.00, Commission: $4.80
08/04/09: Amur Tiger Price: $12.00, Commission: $7.20
07/31/09: Colorful Wooden Toy Price: $12.00, Commission: $7.20
07/29/09: Young Boy Price: $8.00, Commission: $4.80
Total active products 86
Total Downloads: 4
Total product views: 2,302
Royalties owed: $24.00
Your watermarked image can be shared from the 3DStudio preview page to social networking sites allowing you another opportunity to market your own images.
In conclusion I do not normally promote new services, but I am quite happy to contribute to 3DStudio and wish them well, and with 60% commission I hope many others have a good selling experience as well, and it also proves that buyers will pay more than $1-$2 a download.
