We all got to pay our bills

Today I started to be a seller on envato and posted my first video.
As everyone, I’m quiet excited to see if my video will be accepted and if I will get some money out of it.
However there are some points which cooled me already seriously down.

Of course the horrific % envato takes away on every sell, the not very transparent price politics …
Ok, one could argue that all the other similar platforms do the same and often quiet close to scam…by example freelancer which uses an exact reversed system and where you have to compete against thousands of other freelancers living in countries where the life costs are often only a fraction of yours.
Once you are in a situation where money and human beings are involved there will always be people who try to cheat, scam, whatever…I know, it is part of the game.
However once it touches creation, Art, creative people, artists, authors… how is it possible to judge someone else’s job apart of a potential client?

Envato uses a reviewer system and this, as such, is in my opinion, a very dangerous approach for any “artistic” creative job. By definition humans are everything but perfect and the envato staff is surely not an exception to this rule.
I would by far prefer that an algorithm, a piece of software based on offer and demand judges my creations than human beings. Because at the end, once it comes to “art” are not all forms, colours, tastes permitted ?

What’s your opinion?

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All the best on your submission :slight_smile:

As far as the percentage taken goes, honestly it’s not that bad. For the amount of exposure your products get without any effort here, it’s not a bad price to pay. I’d rather my tracks sell 20 times here and give Envato 50% than sell once or twice on another market and get full price.

And yeah, the reviewer system can be scary, but in my experience, the only files I’ve ever had rejected have totally deserved it, and the feedback they gave was enough to turn them into better, more marketable products.

Best of luck, and welcome to the community!

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Well, that’s exactly the point, if they are serious my post would never influece their judgement, they would even consider this kind of critic/suggestion to improve the platform…there are enough sheeps in this world :wink:

How would an algorithm be used to just a visual product?

Even with an algorithm a scale needs to be put in place which requires human interference or decision so not sure how this would make any difference?

For what it is worth the review system is exactly the same with iTunes, the App store, Google Play etc. etc. and just about every other marketplace around.

Reviews themselves are not about ‘personal opinion’ or ‘potential client interest’. As you said this is impossible whether you use humans or algorithms; so reviewers here and everywhere else can only ever be put in to asses and ensure ‘best practice’ and suitability

Reviewers are selected based on merit and experience. They are all pros in the industry and in the case of here have a good knowledge of the marketplace, what is/is not needed and what suits/does not suit.

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It’s envato’s market and in the end it’s up to you if you want to sell here & accept the rules or go somewhere else. Agreed with @dimarzomusic here, the rejections (soft in my case) I had were understandable, the staff always wants the best I guess. It’s both good for you and for them to keep doing the highest quality items.

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how do you know there are enough sheeps in this world? Is there an algorithm to calculate that as well hmmphh :ghost:

The sheeps was also a reference to Isaac Asimov :wink: and of course evolution…without debate, critic no improvement = no evolution…

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If there was no review system, then there would be 10 times more items than there is now… and around 90% of them would be pretty poor. I vote we stick with the current review system.

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I have to agree about the commission - they take 64% if you are non exclusive.

As far as the market gos, I can only speak for stock music, but Envato targets a very specific client (the commercial market) and sort of rejects anything that falls outside of the needs of that market. If you come to sell here with this in mind, the rejection and the review process starts to make sense. However, most people - and again, I can only speak to stock music - come here valuing their creativity and egos more than the demands of the market, so their expectations don’t usually meet up with reality.

As far as changing things…I’m sorry, but it’s not going to happen. I’ve been here for 3 years, I’ve seen thousands of people complain about hundreds of things, and besides this forum being changed - weirdly, something I don’t recall anyone complaining about or asking for - I’ve seen almost no change. It’s Envato’s way or the ol’ digital highway.

Just do it! And be Great. :moneybag: