Switch to Single Resolution for Photos

So this is final? I and other authors and customers need to know because i need to start thinking how am i going to redirect our clients to buy images which are not included in our themes. And to look an alternative source for images, since the current pricing model is just not acceptable for web usage specially for authors of themes investment of this kind without being able to include the images in themes is just to much when you launch a theme for which you cannot predict sales and with current bad sales track and a lot of distractions to detour buyers its just not holding the water.

So please is this here to stay and are you going to offer some additionally service for images that remedies the situation?

Cheers

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Do not forget where you come from. It is thanks to your “small customers” that you are still there today.
You have exactly the same quality of photos as other online sales sites, so why go where it’s more expensive?
I am a web professional, what you do is completely the opposite of reality.
Today everyone wants the same thing: buy at the lowest price.
The sites that currently operate are always the same: those that offer the cheapest prices on the web.
You do not have a niche market. It’s just a matter of profit and nothing else. The rest is blah blah communication.
For the first time in years I have just purchased credits at Fotolia!
I think you will lose a lot of small buyers but by all this is your business and you have to pay the wages of your shareholders …
To the wise !

Edit: It is a perfectly illegal commercial practice. You can claim your credits if you wish. No company has the right to increase its tariffs without the consumer accepting these new conditions or not. Envato did not respect this right from purchasers. Envato is illegal if he refuses to repay those who still have outstanding credits on their site.

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Looking at the discussion above photodune is going to decrease its customers and photographers as well since there will not be any more sales like before :frowning:

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I rarely post on forums but do feel strongly about this. I am disappointed to discover the changes today when intending to download an image. As I have outstanding credit on my account , bought on the basis of purchasing low res images for $1, can I now have a refund ? I have been a loyal customer and have recommended photodune to many people. I cannot justify $9 for an image that a couple of days ago would have only cost $1. As my credit will not enable me to buy the number of images anticipated I would like to have my money back. As I have paid via paypal is it possible to request a refund through them? We should at least have been able to use our paid for credits as per the original pricing - instead of being able to buy an additional 15 images it would appear I will be luck if my credits now stretch to 2.

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Well you can, but you won’t. Your ignorance of authors’ and buyers’ opinion says it all. Wondering what was your intention to make this move?

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I think you don’t have a clue how this business works!

Your comment proves it all!

In web design you don’t need a 300dpi 6000x4000 image for a small size image, but if you believe print is the only future I think you missed some developments in the last 10 years!

Regards,

David

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I feel the envato staff has taken a decision very blindly and please can the staff bring back the former system of different types of resolution images. Since the new system will definitely make the staff to SHUT DOWN PHOTODUNE and bid goodbye to photodune.net! ! :frowning:

I just wanted to add my voice to this thread. Ive purchased 500+ products here and have had this account 7 years. I will no longer be using photodune.net, pricing by resolution was great! I guess i find somewhere else now.

So, basically, we hear you but we don’t really care what you have to say.

Honestly I hope this thing falls flat on its face.

Without the authors (across all the various Envato platforms) Envato would not exist. The very least Envato could have done was to discuss these changes with authors. Not a few select authors, but all authors, to find out if they actually want this change. Instead, somebody at Envato has taken a unilateral decision on behalf of EVERYBODY that uses this community. I say somebody because I cannot believe that a team of rational individuals could come to this kind of decision. It’s a shocking business decision and one that will more than likely see a major part of the community moving elsewhere.

Edit: And another thing. Why was this “new way of looking at things” not put in to some kind of closed beta (or similar) to test the waters? Did nobody at Envato actually predict the fallout or is it a case of, well everybody is charging ridiculous prices for high end images so let’s do the same? Bugger the fact that we have a niche in the market that nobody else really offers. We’ll just screw over the guys and girls that got us to where we are today.

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This all started roughly 2 years ago when the Envato team changed the forums by replacing the old system with this new forum, then they jacked up prices across the marketplaces. Themes that used to cost $30- $35 are now going upwards of $60 and even $70 a piece. Now Photodune is going to do the exact same thing.

There are many marketplaces and clubs that benefit from your mistakes. Every time Envato makes a change they seem to screw it up. The Authors are losing sales across all platforms because the buyers are not going to pay these prices and yet Envato tries to dictate to the buyers what is best for us.

Yes there will new buyers all the time but not in the masses and once they see what Envato has done they will also find alternatives. At this point I do not care how I voice my opinion. This is plain crazy, stupid and most of all down right greed! My entire team says this is called “company suicide”. When will all of us realize what ignorance this is.

In another post the authors who LOVE this feature are praising the idea of better resolution and pricing. Are they the ones who think they will make millions? A company should listen to their buyers. Just search the internet for other marketplaces and see what you will find. Sometimes it’s best not to keep all your “eggs” in one basket. This marketplace has become to big to serve smaller buyers, companies and their audience. Photodune was my best resource of all of Envato. This surely is the last straw. Are we angry or upset… yes we are. This was pulling a fast one on all of us. No beta, No initial warnings, no concerns. Really???

Will we just swallow this garbage and stay here and live with these decisions? Maybe some of you will but we will not.

Best of luck to all of you.

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When did these answers become acceptable for a “community-driven marketplace” ?
You’re bluntly acting like a bully here.
Dictating whatever rules you want & telling others to go away if they don’t like it.

P.S : Props for using popular buzzwords such as “_Fully respect your decisio_n” and “Geniuely thank you” - impressive yet there’s an arrogant undertone to it.

Will Envato ever be humble (again) to admit they’ve made a mistake?
Those were some nice days back in 2012 :slight_smile:

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We really don’t intend to be a bully @johnnybd, in fact, quite the opposite. Everyone at Envato does what they do because they want what’s best for our community of contributors. That might not always be visible to those contributors, but it’s genuinely the case. Sometimes we have to make decisions that are uncomfortable in the short term in order to make way for longer term sustainability. This is one of those instances.

To be clear, Envato does not make decisions by creating a consensus from volunteers within the community. We’re not Linux or Wikipedia, we are a private company. We listen to our forums, but we also look closely at data which plays the most prominent role in informing our team’s decision making. Sometimes we do make mistakes, and we will course correct appropriately.

Fundamentally however, these changes are being made because we can admit that the previous model of PhotoDune was not working and needed to change.

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What about buyers? what’s one’s worth as a contributor if there’s no one left to buy?
Additionally, can you please also elaborate how disabling over thousands of personal portfolios is ever going to benefit these contributors ?

@matthewcoxy Envato turned my life into pure bliss for the past 4.5 years, and for that you have my obsolete gratitude.
All that’s left is to hope now, crossing fingers.
You’ve definitely clarified, (in tactics some of us disagree with) that this change is irreversible.
Looking forward many years of incredibly happy buyers and authors.
Love you.

If this is the case, kindly let me know how I can obtain a refund on my existing credit to take my business elsewhere.

Thank you.

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Shalom! The author of this idea is not smart, because photodune sales will fails after that, i (and 95% customers) will NEVER buy a photo for $7 or $9 because i need a small size for $2-3, so bye Photodune!! Good luck, guys.

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This is a major blow to us. Just did a project where I used a bunch of photos thinking if we are approved, we’ll go buy the extended license. We carefully choose only the sizes we needed and budgeted accordingly. Now coming back to purchase the extended license on these photos and they are soooo expensive. So items that were budgeted at $24 are now $40-$90, even more then Shutterstock! Absurd! I’ve always realized the quality in Shutterstock was a little better overall but def not worth paying $89 per commercial image. Now Photodune comes along and stabs everyone with this ridiculous price. Ugh. Of course they’ll do what they want but they lost me as a customer. Shutterstock’s library is way more extensive and the quality is way better, so tell me Envato, why stay with you? You had the price advantage but not the quality which many, including myself, did not mind. Now, you have officially become more expensive than your competition who offers better quality stuff. Going to shutterstock for quality and price now. Bye

I requested a refund via paypal as I was unable to use my credits at the price and image resolution when purchased, My account was instantly blocked and I was unable to respond to the email requesting me to liaise with the help centre as I was blocked and unable to sign in. Extremely disappointed having bought hundreds of images from you previously - and having received to response no previous concerns posted on this forum. I have run a service based business for more than 20 years - never have I treated a customer with such a total lack of respect.

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Interesting we gor quite a few purchase reversals. Meaning clients did that and the system refunded them.

It seems to me that their refund system is not set up for block credits but for disputes with specific authors.My request is more generic as cannot but the quantity of images at the resolution I believed I was purchasing prior to the unannounced changes. I have used photodune extensively so am extremely disappointed at the way they are handling this - if they choose to make changes and not honour the credits previously purchased they should at least offer a refund.

Hi @fabafterfifty the Help team will be in contact with you about your account asap