Fotolia Contributor Review: A Picture Perfect Scam or Legit?


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We love taking photos, useless or otherwise. These photos probably end up getting lost, deleted or on social media. Did you know there are companies like Fotolia that can help you make money off them? Well, if you're reading this, chances are you do. You have probably gone through a couple of the Fotolia reviews, but you're still on the fence about if you can make money with the photos or videos you have.

Well, we have everything you want to know, including the dirt they don't want you to know about. So, you might want to read this Fotolia review to determine if it's worth your time or not.

What is Fotolia (aka Adobe Stock)?

Fotolia, found at www.fotolia.com is a Stock Photography service that enables people to buy and sell photos, illustrations, videos and vectors online. Fotolia is owned by Adobe and was founded by Oleg Tscheltzoff, Thibaud Elziere, and Patrick Chassany in 2004. It is headquartered in New York City, NY.

How Does Fotolia Work?

Obviously, there are thousands of freelance photographers out there. Fotolia provides an online platform where any freelance professional can get paid for their work. To sell your content, you can either choose to be a a licensed contributor or a normal contributor. Arguably, licensed contributors, sell images easier than normal contributors, as a license will make you a partner with Fotolia opening up more features that enable you sell more.

At the end of the day, the images you upload become available to anyone who might need it on the web. If the image sells, you get paid based on your rank in the website and which license you choose to subscribe to.

How Do I Sign Up to Sell Photos Online On Fotolia?

All you have to do is sign up as a contributor. Creating a contributor account is free.

To sign up on Fotolia, you must be at least 18 and be able to upload original content only. The company is a global entity so you can join from anywhere in the world. However, US residents will need to provide their SSN or EIN number.

Once you join, you can then upload the content you want to sell on the website. Any content you upload will be screened for quality and standardization by the team. If approved, it will be available to customers for purchase.

You will be able to see how much the image or vector is worth in terms of credit. If the content makes a sale they will credit your account with the corresponding amount.

The only way to know whether your content will sell on Fotolia is to upload and wait for approval. Moreover, Fotolia also accepts amateur photos.

So there is a lot of waiting around and approval to actually make money with Fotolia initially. But did you know you can start earning in other ways right away at Swagbucks.com or Fusioncash.com?

How Much Can I Make On Fotolia?

Your rank and license type will determine how much you earn. You can purchase ”exclusivity licenses” that will enable you commercialize your content even better and get royalties on the website. There's simply no limit as to how much you can make.

The minimum amount an image can sell for is 5 credits which translate to $1. Your rank will be determined by how many downloads you get and your license type.

Royalties

One-off sales earn you a commission of anywhere between 20% and 63% on top of how much the image sells for. Images sold through a subscription service earn you 33% commission for images and 35% for videos and any other type of content.

If you are not a fan of waiting around hoping to sell an image to make money, you can start earning in other ways right away at Swagbucks.com or Fusioncash.com.

How Do I Get Paid On Fotolia?

At the time of this review, Fotolia pays through either PayPal or Skrill. However, you will have to sit out a 45 day waiting period if you are withdrawing for the first time. The minimum number of credits you can redeem is 50, which is basically $10.

If you're not confident that uploading photos will make you a full time or part time income, you may want to check out My Top Work At Home Recommendation as another option as well.

What We Like About Fotolia

You get paid to do what you love

If you like spending time behind the camera, why not make money while at it?

No limits to how much you can earn

There's no telling how much you can earn on Fotolia. All in all, people have made thousands off just a single image. Actually, some users say if you are good at what you do it's quite simple to make sales.

Awesome Royalty Plan

You can get up to 63% commission on the content you upload, of which is a market best.

It's worldwide

You can earn from anywhere in the world, unlike some work at home opportunities out there. PayPal is also available in most countries, so they will pay you wherever you are.

Positive BBB

At the time of this review, Fotolia does not have a profile with the Better Business Bureau, but their parent company's BBB rating is a solid A+.

Fotolia Complaints

Everything smells like fresh morning coffee so far, but there would be no hero without a villain, would there? So with that said, of course, there are some complaints against Fotolia. You can decide if they are deal breakers or not for you.

“I Dare you put me on hold again!”

It appears their customer service is pathetic according to some folks. Contributors have complained of rude responses when they follow up on their payment request.

What The Hell Happened To My Account?

Apparently people have complained the company has a habit of closing down accounts for no good reason. A good number of users complained of their accounts getting shut down out of nowhere. If they restore the account, there's no guarantee that the content they uploaded would be intact.

If any of these complaints turn you off, you may want to check out Swagbucks.com or Fusioncash.com as alternative ways to earn. And if you prefer working full time online, check out My Best Work At Home Recommendation.

Is Fotolia Stock Photos (Adobe Stock) A Scam?

Flat out, Fotolia is not a scam. In fact, Adobe owns the company and people have actually made hundreds, if not thousands of dollars through the service. However, you'd have to be good at what you do to stand out from the millions of contributors.

At the end of the day, there may be easier ways to make a few extra bucks online at sites like Swagbucks.com or Fusioncash.com. You also stand a better chance of making your hard work count through My Top Work At Home Recommendation.

All things considered, that's my opinion on Fotolia. Do you have an experience you might want to share about stock photography? We would love to hear from you in the comments section below!

Until next time,

Eddy with a y

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