Veer's marathon Dash for Cash runs out of puff:

End of an era as Veer closes and makes final payments

That's it then. I've finally received my Dash For Cash uploading bonus from Veer which I earned way back in 2010.

New readers can be forgiven for not knowing what I'm talking about so backtracking to 2008 or so we had the launch of microstock photo agency Snap Village. SV was the first attempt at microstock from long established traditional photo agency Corbis (owned by Bill Gates -founder of Microsoft). Corbis was well known for editorial imagery and very much in a battle with Getty Images for dominance in that market.

Snapvillage (the very first online agency I signed up to) was never a great success -for them or me -and in 2009 its closure was announced with key portfolios being moved over to the Veer agency (another Corbis brand). Not surprisingly, my portfolio did not make the grade for transfer but they did allow photographers to sign up to the new Veer Marketplace (the budget part of the Veer site) and upload there. Most of my uploads got rejected -usually with snooty notes about being too journalistic or not meeting the aesthetic qualities their clients expected. It was very much an old school, traditional agency not having a clue about microstock and what sells. Worse, they never accepted editorial images -surprising given the background of Corbis (or maybe avoiding a conflict of interest?).

In 2010, Veer wanted to boost their image library so announced their Dash for Cash scheme. Essentially, for a limited period, they paid a fee for each image uploaded and accepted. I actually did quite well out of that and earned around $75 in bonus money. The problem with that was that Veer has a payout level of $100 (way too high for a slow selling site). Over the six years since I have had one Extended License paying out around $20 and a handful of minor sales -bringing me to just over $98. Close, but so far, from payout!

Acceptance actually got a lot better in the last year or so with virtually all my uploads making it into their library. The trouble is Veer was and remained a very low selling site. Over at Microstockgroup they never made it beyond the Low Earners section of the monthly polls. I did start to wonder if I would ever make this payout and considered closing my account just to get the money.

However, 2016 brought the news that the Corbis empire had been purchased by Visual China Group which would distribute Corbis images to the Chinese market and to the rest of the World through a partnership deal with Getty Images. Shortly afterwards is was announced that the Veer brand was being closed down altogether and that all contributors would be paid out (regardless of amount).

So, there we are then. The end of the second attempt by Corbis to crack the microstock market. I'm sorry for anyone at Veer who will no longer have a job and I will say that when I have needed to contact them they have never been less than friendly and helpful. The end of an era -with a direct link back to my start in microstock. Regards, David.

What? Another Extended Licence!

Just a couple of weeks after reporting my first ever EL, I just had my second one. Not exactly from an expected source either but from a site I hardly mention anymore -Veer.
The long established Veer agency opened to Microstock a couple of years ago when parent company Corbis closed down the amusingly named Snapvillage. I had one sale (of two Jack Russell dogs) in the first few weeks then nothing at all till now. Hardly surprising with only 231 images on the site. My images do not meet the "aesthetic quality required by Veer buyers" it seems. And, of course, they do not take Editorial.
I do not often upload to them these days and check the site even less so it was a nice surprise yesterday to find a regular sale ($2.10) followed by a Multi User EL ($17.50). Both of the same image -a Romanian flag flying on the Greek island of Nisyros (don't ask). Added to the $75 I made last year in their "Dash for Cash" upload promotion I am now just $7 away from their $100 payout level.
Of course, it could be a long time before I get that $7. It is a shame that Corbis ended their policy of paying out all outstanding commission at the end of each business year. Something that, in my opinion, all agents should do. Still, well done Veer. Regards, David.

August updates:

Well, August was really slow for me (and many others, judging by the forums) so I haven't rushed to post my figures. Vacation time, Summer Slowdown, call it what you will but this is what I scraped in:
Shutterstock produced 46 downloads ($11.50). Dreamstime 10 downloads ($9.85). Istock had 1 regular sale at $ 1.77 and 3 partner sales totalling $0.75.
Bigstock showed some life with 2 downloads ($3). And, finally, a pleasing high res sale at Yaymicro netted 5euros.
Nothing in August from Picturenation, Mostphotos or 123RF.

I have had images live at 123 for nearly five months now and not even a little subscription sale. I really hope they can build the marketing for their Editorial images as I know many (non editorial) contributors get regular sales there. One was kind enough to send me a screen shot of his earnings page recently. It was nice to see something other than a page of zeros.

However, not all bad news - I had the last of my "Dash For Cash" submissions reviewed at Veer and was pleased to find I had earned $74 bonus from them. This was double what I was expecting as I had forgotten that the bonus went up from $0.35 to $0.70 if you got more than 100 images accepted. I'd had 106! Now I just need $26 in actual sales to reach payout.
Regards, David.

Veer launch "Dash for Cash" incentive:

Not often I have much to say about Veer Marketplace but there's an interesting announcement today. From May 5 until June 30 they will be paying from 30c to $1.40 for each accepted image uploaded during this period. The amount depends on the quantity you get accepted. Full details via this link http://bit.ly/dflggq. After initially having high hopes for Veer, I soon found the high rejection rate and low views (and sales) off putting and have had them firmly on the back burner in recent months. I was always going to get round to uploading the rest of my portfolio eventually but this is certainly an incentive to do it sooner rather than later! Aside from the cash incentive what is interesting here is that parent company Corbis are clearly showing their committment to building Veer. There had always been a slight feeling that Corbis weren't really that interested in their Microstock side, but with a Veer re-launch coming soon and this new promotion it looks like Veer might start to get interesting. Certainly my views there have risen of late (sadly, not sales as yet). If you are not already a contributor to Veer you need to submit an initial 10 images for review and get 7/10 accepted before you are in. Good luck to anyone taking part in this promotion. Regards, David.