Michael Warwick

I have learned that SS offers a variety of customized plans to select customers even for Enhanced images. That is how I earned only 61 cents for an enhanced download. Many customers are apparently offered discounted plans separate from what is offered online. So a customer can buy an image for large volume usage at high resolution for very little money.

And now I sold an Enhanced Image for $0.61. SS is giving images away.

But the ODs have never been 14 or 17 cents.

First, your welcome. It has taken some time and perseverance but I finally received somewhat honest answers. And you are right, we will never know what the actual selling price is and if we are compensated correctly. And if those high volume customers do not buy their entire allotment of images by years end, we will not benefit from the money left on the table. Again, I think you are right that the annual on demand arrangement did not exist before the new payout structure. And, btw, all letters to the CEO, CFO and Audit Committee Chair have been returned "undeliverable". I would probably

Again, I received further clarification from SS. Some customers are offered "Annual" subscription plans and are not bound by monthly purchase requirements but have an annual purchase requirement. So technically when they buy an image it is "on demand" but the extraordinary discount of the annual plan puts the sale in a "subscription" pricing range. Apparently, the annual plans are not advertised online.

I heard back from SS and I was told that "special" discounted pricing is offered to select customers where they can buy images On Demand for Subscription prices and maybe even less. I still do not understand why these sales are categorized as On Demand when, more appropriately, they are Subscription sales if what I am being told is correct. So select customers are being given huge discounts and, I suspect, some select photographers are being given special payouts. I still do not know how they would do their accounting for these sales since the published On Demand sales is >10 times than the

Agree! But we know that does not happen. I hope to get a response from Alfonse Jefferies who is the chair of the newly formed Audit Committee. He is a new Board member from Kaiser where he is the CFO.

I would agree with that but then SS would have an accounting issue with labeling a sale as On Demand at a subscription price. If it is truly an On Demand sale then it does not fit into their pricing plan model and would seem to create an accounting problem. Giving special pricing to large customers complicates the issue. which no one at SS wants to disclose.

I continue to receive messages from SS and they continue to provide in consistent information. Here is the link to the New Subscription Plans...https://www.shutterstock.com/pricing I confirmed with SS online chat that On Demand Plans are completely separate from Subscription Plans. The lowest cost On Demand plan cost $9.16/image which equates to $2.75 (Level 4 @ 30%) for the contributor. So, if SS has categorized the sale correctly as an On Demand sale, then there is no way we would earn 14 or 17 cents for an On Demand sale. And if their computer system as erred and has misidentifie

Here is the link to the New Subscription Plans...https://www.shutterstock.com/pricing I confirmed with SS online chat that On Demand Plans are completely separate from Subscription Plans. The lowest cost On Demand plan cost $9.16/image which equates to $2.75 (Level 4 @ 30%) for the contributor. So, if SS has categorized the sale correctly as an On Demand sale, then there is no way we would earn 14 or 17 cents for an On Demand sale. And if their computer system as erred and has misidentified the sale, we, contributors, should be very concerned.

Thank you for that information. I doubt that I will get an understandable response from the CEO, CFO or the chair of the newly formed audit committee but I had to make the effort. The widely extreme earnings for OD sales has never happened to me before and certainly not before the new earnings structure. And yes, I am aware of the confidentiality statement in SS emails and, if I get a written response, I am curious how they would handle that. Since the chair of the audit committee is an outside member and recent addition the to Board (CFO from Kaiser) I am hoping that this results in some clar

Actually, I have received another answer from SS. They assured me they are working on this issue and, since it involves earnings payout, it will take a while longer. But I also advised them I had written the CEO, CFO and the Chair of the Audit Committee ( a recently formed corporate committee headed by the CFO of Kaiser). And I have actually written them. No, I am not holding my breath on this but I would like to see an audit performed of contributor payouts. Something is amiss.

And so far the response is "In order to provide you with the best solution for this issue, I’ll need to review this information with my team"

If not, I will write to them directly to NY corporate headquarters. Contributors have a right to know their pricing structure to customers that results in widely erratic contributor payouts.

But I keep trying until I frustrate them to no end. I would like to know the pricing structure to customers who only pay 56 cents for an On Demand sale.