The iStockPhoto swindle

Mon, 30 Jul 2007 09:16:55 +0100

I've seen others write about this so I knew, sooner or later, it would be coming:

This message is a friendly reminder to you that iStockphoto credits expire within 1 year of the date of purchase. You have credits in your account that will expire in the next 90 days if not used:

Thank you so much iStockPhoto for your friendly reminder that you are about to put your hand in my pocket and help yourself.

As an occasional user of stock photos I thought that iStockPhoto had a good selection and reasonable search & navigation and that the price wasn't too bad. All in all I guess I was a happy, if low volume, user of their site.

But tell me how does a credit just go and expire? What kind of low-quality credits are these people using? Or is it that their database is whithering away faster than they can shore it up. I imagine desperate scenes in their datacentre as they race against time to rescue as many credits as they can!

No, I can't think of any legitimate reason why my credits should "expire" other than as a means of stealing value that rightfully belongs to me. What kind of company feels the need to steal from its customers? In my view a reputable company would not "expire" my credits or, if there is some legitimate reason for the expiry, refund me the cash equivalent of what I paid for the unused credits.

See me give money or recommendations to this company now.

Curiouser and Curiouser! on istockphoto

The iStockPhoto swindle