There is a significant amount of items being removed…
This is getting absurd. Approximately over 50% of items have been removed…
My dashboard
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There was a huge restructure of photodune recently which will be the cause of this.
Understandably frustrating though it is - everyone got warning mails to download their images, and it is not something which happens (on this scale) often and not comparable to usual activity.
Well that sucks. What a terrible decision. How ridiculous that a purchased item can be removed (yes, allow the seller to stop selling it, but don’t remove it from our accounts.
Hundreds of dollars down the drain elsewhere on the ‘envato’ network.
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Again I do 100% sympathise (we’ve had tens of not hundreds of files removed), but the way it works is all in the T&Cs we agree to as buyers, and is exactly the same on every other marketplace from themes to iTunes, that uses the author owned copyright model.
I’m not suggesting that makes it ok - am just putting it into context
Oh my! This is an alert I download all my items and keep it safe.
happened to one of the logo stingers I bought on videohive once. Didn’t even get to use it. Purchased it with the intention of downloading it and using it a few days later and never got the chance. It was pulled down less than 48 hours after I’d purchased it. Ever since then, anything I’ve purchased I’ve downloaded instantly and created my own little library on my computer. And thankfully I did because I have since had dozens of purchases go offline, however I have copies of them so I’ll always get to use them 
But you’re right - I’ve since started to lose serious faith in Envato. I used to come here as a first option. Now I only come here as a last resort. Too unreliable… plus the “handling fee” BS is an absolute joke, too. What handling is involved in processing an automated payment?
Hey @sletts02, judging from your picture it looks like the items that have been removed are photos. There was a fairly major cleanup of the photodune library.
If you need these items, you can just reach out to the help team and they should be able to assist you.
Usually around 1.9% of the amount, plus 10 cents, plus the infrastructure and ongoing fees to accept those automated payments. But yes, most companies swallow these as a cost of doing business. Some don’t.
The thing to note is that if somebody wants their item removed from the site, then Envato are obliged to do so. Envato have no ownership or rights to the files that are sold here, so they have no right to hold onto the files if an author no longer wants them on the site. And if an item is removed for some kind of copyright issue, then for Envato to allow ongoing access to such a file, would make them liable for any issues that might come from it.
So if you’ve lost faith in certain authors on Envato, that’s completely understandable… but the rules and regulations relating to Envato’s policies on removing items have not changed, so a lack of faith in Envato would be slightly misplaced in my opinion.
Although, the exception would be the recent mass removal of PhotoDune items which is slightly different. The idea was to streamline the portfolio, remove items that lack commercial appeal and focus on high quality items that should result in increased revenues for Envato and the authors involved… plus a higher overall standard of images. That’s unlikely to be something that happens with any kind of regularity though, so I can’t see it happening again any time soon.
Downloading items straight away is a great idea though, and it’s actually strongly recommended every time you make a purchase with a note at the top of the downloads page. Keep in mind that if an item is removed shortly after purchase (48 hours would probably qualify), or you didn’t get a chance to download it in a reasonable timescale before it was removed… support should be able to refund the amount.
Considering the products are digital products - then this should be a cost they should be swallowing (or at least being made inclusive into the price we’re seeing when we click add to cart)… especially if they’re swallowing it when people choose to “top up” or “pre-pay” their accounts. But they choose to charge the fee when people purchase individually… This inconsistency is one of the reasons why Envato is now my last resort rather than my first option like it used to be. Because other owners of royalty free stock music/video/effects websites don’t have these hidden fees when you go to check out. There have been many occasions where I am about to check out on Envato and am reminded of the fee when I am about to pay, so I then leave the checkout and go shopping elsewhere. $1… $2… I don’t care. It’s the principle of trying to sneakily claw an extra couple of dollars out of me makes me decide not to give them anything at all.
As for allowing authors to take down content after they’ve published it and allowed people to purchase it but then deny those people access to it - that’s not on (and in many countries is actually completely illegal). Imagine going into a restaurant and paying for a meal… but then being told you will never be served or be allowed to eat that meal. That would upset you, wouldn’t it? It would upset anyone and you’d feel like you’d been completely stolen from. That’s how we feel when we purchase a song, video or effect but then aren’t even allowed to use it or access it later down the line. We aren’t sold products as much as we’re sold licences. Once you’ve sold a licence, you can’t take it back. Whether that licence is for a 1 time use or for unlimited uses… You’re entitled to the usage you’ve paid for - plain and simple. You can’t even argue against that fact.
When they allow authors to publish and sell on their website, those authors should be restricted from pulling that content down or at the very very least restricted from denying people who have already purchased it to continue to obtain it. And since they don’t appear to write that in their T’s and C’s, then it is 110% completely understandable that people are losing faith in Envato. Not the authors that publish on Envato - but Envato themselves. It’s up to Envato to change that rule - not the purchasers or the authors.
A genuine question as I have asked this several times before and no one is yet to be able to give me an answer -
If what envato do by removing access to downloads once an author removes the item is so wrong or borderline illegal, then surely someone can show me another marketplace (that functions using the same model where the author retains copyright and not the marketplace) that operates by allowing continued access?
I’m not looking for a dispute on this and everyone is entitled to their opinion. All I am asking is for what should be easy evidence to provide as this is not the first time it has been discussed.
Thanks
I would love to give you an answer to that, but unfortunately out of all of the stock websites I use - Envato is the only one that’s ever deleted any of my purchases. Maybe the other ones I use (Premium beat, Audio Network, Audio blocks as well as many others) do have similar policies but I’ve always been fortunate to not purchase music that was deleted down the line? I’m looking at music I purchased nearly 10 years ago on other websites and I still have access to them.
Usage licences are effectively contracts. “I’m paying ‘x’ amount to use your product ‘y’ amount of times” (x and y depend on what licence you purchase)… But you’d think that if you’d bought an open, unlimited licence… how can they then deny you access to it without giving you a refund? If authors want to pull their stuff down - fine. But by making that decision you should be forced to give full or partial refunds to the customers who have purchased licences.
I’m really not familiar enough with audio to comment on those there sites (although they look like the artists provide content that is ten regulated and copyrighted by the site not them).
As I said you are not the first person to talk about this and my question is not an attack on you personally. Coincidentally this is how it works with iTunes and other major markets places which until someone is able to show me a site which says otherwise leads me to believe that this is not an envato exclusive situation.
One last thing (genuinely appreciating your feedback) that I have also been trying to understand…
We see threads complaining and about, removed files, fees, support, and various other aspects of buying/selling here. Of course envato will never be able to please everyone in a multi million user environment, but (and I do get your frustration with the removed files etc.) I just can’t understand why, if any of these features are so bad or disagreeable, then why do people continue to agree to T&Cs that explain these, and subsequently purchase items?!
Please remember - I do not work for envato and this is purely me taking a chance to better understand things given you are kindly taking the time to reply.
Thanks
In that instance, you’d get a refund. But if you regurgitate your meal, then they’re not obligated to bring you a new plate of food.
My account is the same, so many items removed, should not remove them from downloads, as we have paid for them, yes we bought the rights to use them, basically anytime we want, so If I buy something today and use in 6 months time, I should still be able to download, even if Author is gone, or removed his items.
I didnt get to download my files upon the supposed changes they implemented sadly. Wont be buying pictures here again.
Not really.
It would be the same as being served your food, and as you go to eat it, it’s taken from your table and not replaced. Of course you’re still charged.
A better analogy is purchasing a phone. After using it for a few months the store requests the phone back with no refund…
Just going to put it out there again as before ( genuine interest as a solution for envato) - please could someone show me another marketplace which uses author own copyright that allows buyers to download deleted or removed items?
In that example, you would get a refund… in line with Envato’ s policy on items that have been removed from the site before you can download them.