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Cheapskates purchase stock images. They cannot pass the chance to buy a photo for a dollar a throw. They make more money, by paying photographers less. Stock libraries, seeing the chance to sell thousands of cheap images created a bandwagon that many have jumped on. Some of bigger names in the photo library field have also jumped on this crowded bandwagon, with the pathetic excuse that they are keeping up with the times.
Photographers rights are often abused with stock libraries, so if you intend to supply such places, beware!
Fotolibra is possibly the best out there right now. They have refused to run with the herd and are sticking to the principal of fair prices for images. But be warned, selling images today is possibly harder than it has ever been. So you will be joining a flooded market where a photographs value has in most cases been set back to that of 30 years ago.
Cheapskate newspapers and magazines have added to this woe by offering the publication of images in competitions or whatever. "Show us your snow photos" show us whatever. All for free of course, the photographer gets nothing except his/her name in print, although sometimes there are prizes of cameras or whatever. But, for the cost of a camera ( usually donated by a sponsor ) a newspaper can get thousands of free stock images.
So don't get suckered into supplying free pictures unless there is the chance of getting something really worthwhile out of it. Don't expect that any selected submissions to photo libraries will sell tomorrow or next week, or next month even. The truth is, that in this flooded market there are thousands as good as or just like yours. But, good luck whichever way you decide to go. Just don't plan any world cruises based on sales and don't hold your breath either.
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