StockXpert Steps Back

After what seemed a Submitters revolution, StockXpert decided to step back on their policy changes announced last week.

StockXpert had announced that subscription sales would stop being optional and that the site photos.com (a subsidiary of Jupiter Images) would also represent the full collection of StockXpert images.

The problem is photos.com EULA (User License Agreement) allows the use of subscription images for resale with products such as posters, mugs, pads, prints, etc, and this usually requires an Extended License on the microstock world.

A heated discussion took place on SXP forums and many people deleted their portfolios and many other suspended uploads to the site. The trust on SXP seems to be pretty shaken and only time will tell how this will end.

So, to avoid an exodus of submitters, StockXpert (or should we say Jupiter Images) had two choices. Give an opt-out to the program or modify the photos.com EULA not to allow resale products on subscription sales. I (and I believe most submitters) would obviously prefer the EULA revision. They've decided to give everyone an opt-out.

Many people have voiced their concerns and announced they will opt-out on subscription sales on SXP. Some are going for the wait and see approach and will stay opt-in and see how things go.

It's the second time this year (after the Fotolia subscription plan announcement) that submitters have joined and forced an agency to review their offers. This would never be possible if we, as submitters, were commited to only one agency (on an exclusive plan) or if there weren't at least 5 or 6 solid sites to submit to. For now, the strenght seems to be on our side... Let's wait and see what the future holds.