Help-selling pics

[lastboltnut]

Hi,

I am contacted by this person who claims to be an editor from an overseas magazine. He said that he would like to buy some of my pics for his magazine and quoted a price. I have a few questions that I need your advise:

1. How do you guys usually get payment for such deals? Paypal? Credit Card? Or?

2. How about the rights of the pic after I sell? What conditions must I state for the best of my interest as a photographer? I told that for that price I am only selling the right for him publish the pics only in that particular magazine and I still retain the copyrights of the pics and can still sell/print them as and when I like....is this ok?

3. Whatelse should I watch out for?

Hope to hear you reply soon as he may start a series discussion soon.

Thanks in advance!

[Dream Merchant]

What's the mag? Where and how widely is it distributed and what's the audited circulation?

Terms are whatever two of you agree on.

If it's one-time usage for one mag only, then the fees would be lower.

If it's Front Cover, Inside Cover or Cover for a feature, rates go up.

If it's just to illustrate an article, then rates would be lower.

If it's a major feature involving famous people or places, rates go up.

Since it's likely that this person is a complete stranger, never ever release anything till you receive full payment and a signed (hard) copy of your agreement. Payment mode is whatever is most comfortable/works for you.

Could you ask for more details?

It's probably best if you retain full rights, and just sell rights of usage (whatever terms you guys agree on) as that would not restrict your possible future usage or earnings on your pictures.

[Ashwin]

Originally Posted by Dream Merchant What's the mag? Where and how widely is it distributed and what's the audited circulation? Terms are whatever two of you agree on. If it's one-time usage for one mag only, then the fees would be lower. If it's Front Cover, Inside Cover or Cover for a feature, rates go up. If it's just to illustrate an article, then rates would be lower. If it's a major feature involving famous people or places, rates go up. Since it's likely that this person is a complete stranger, never ever release anything till you receive full payment and a signed (hard) copy of your agreement. Payment mode is whatever is most comfortable/works for you. Could you ask for more details? It's probably best if you retain full rights, and just sell rights of usage (whatever terms you guys agree on) as that would not restrict your possible future usage or earnings on your pictures.

Agree with what you said. If the buyer wants to purchase the full rights then the price you can demand can be very good. If you can reshoot the image without much difficulty then its worth selling the complete rights.

Good luck on the deal Do keep us posted.

[visualise]

Hi

As mentioned there are many factors you should be looking at that only the buyer can tell you. You should also ensure that there are no recognisable faces in the photographs unless it's a newsworthy event in which case you can only sell the photos under an Editorial Licence, which has certain restrictions. (unless you have a model release form signed)

Do check out the different licences under which you might be selling your photograph.

You can check out almost any stock photography website on the net for examples, and do ensure that you get him to sign the corresponding licence agreement.

Rgds

Isaiah

www.PhotoStocked.com - Royalty-Free Stock Photos

[visualise]

also, Paypal is ok...it accepts credit card payments.

www.PhotoStocked.com - Royalty-Free Stock Photos

[Sion]

Get the money and a written agreement to your conditions first before sending the pics to the buyer.

I did get a few interests to purchase my pics for publication. But after I named my price and insisted on getting the payment first before I emailed them the files, I never heard from these time wasters again.

[lastboltnut]

Thank you all for the reply.

Now that this guy is not based in SG, how to get him to sign the agreement?

Btw, where to get an agreement template? He has agreed that I am just selling him the rights to print on the magazine (an airline magazine with about 50000 viewership)....only once and I still hold the full copyright.

Thanks again!

[Dream Merchant]

You could always e-mail him a copy, with his full name, position and company's full name and address, contact nos etc, ask him to print out, sign, stamp and post it back to you via Air Mail. Not sure if any court (if there's a dispute or infringement) accepts electronic only copies as anything can be digitally manipulated at either end.

Remember, be sure to get full payment first - as in the CASH ends up in your hands. If you're using PayPal, be careful as there are glitches in the system where fraud can occur. The way things go nowadays, only accept PayPal from someone you can trust.

Depending on where this person is sending remittance from, bear in mind that SG Banks/post office only accepts cashier's orders, international bank drafts and postal/money orders from selected countries, and that there are counterfeit orders floating around. Most banks will impose a heavy fee if you bank in a foreign cheque, and clearance may take anywhere from 2 - 6 weeks. Best is to check in advance.

Guess you could ask for payment via Western Union in your negotiations. Once the cash is in your hands, it's yours. But bear in mind that any bank/remittance co will usually slash you a bit on the currency exchange to earn more so factor that in your fee.

Also don't forget to ask nicely if you could have a copy of the magazine, but unless credits and copies are part of the deal, it's only fair if you pay for it, including shipping.

BTW, CONGRATS!

[mattlock]

Originally Posted by lastboltnut Hi, I am contacted by this person who claims to be an editor from an overseas magazine. He said that he would like to buy some of my pics for his magazine and quoted a price. I have a few questions that I need your advise: 1. How do you guys usually get payment for such deals? Paypal? Credit Card? Or? 2. How about the rights of the pic after I sell? What conditions must I state for the best of my interest as a photographer? I told that for that price I am only selling the right for him publish the pics only in that particular magazine and I still retain the copyrights of the pics and can still sell/print them as and when I like....is this ok? 3. Whatelse should I watch out for? Hope to hear you reply soon as he may start a series discussion soon. Thanks in advance!

Hi there
I do some work for overseas magazines and what I do is to get them to issue a signed purchase order with all their contact details,business registration number and then send them an invoice together with your bank details.
he should email you a scan of the P/O plus mail you a physical copy.
Your terms should state the usage specifically and for editorials you own the copyrights, you are only selling usage of the photo.
usually the magazine will do a wire transfer. If it's not a well established magazine you may request payment upfront. If it's an airline magazine chances are it's safe.

[lastboltnut]

Thanks guys again....I have done my own google for the magazine and emailed to the company to verify for the request and it is genuine. So I think I will probably just ask him for a PO before I send the pics over. BTW, he said he will send me a standard invoice form to fill up as my invoice to their company.

Lets see how it goes. Thanks.

[nemesis32]

i think mattlock's suggestion is the most practical. An agreement, which may be very detailed is not so suitable for a single purchase.

[jamesong]

Be careful if you are accepting PAYPAL as payment. Buyer can claim back money from PayPal.
If big amount better to get a TT payment to your bank, once you confirmed money in bank, you can release your goods.

[Dream Merchant]

What the other guys said. Mattlock sounds like he has done this countless times.

CHEERS!

[lastboltnut]

Hi all,

I am update on the deal, just for the benefit of all who are interested with this topic.

1. Checking that the company and the contact person is genuine.
2. Ask for an electronics PO with the company's letterhead stating the followings:

a. Name of photo (link to my flickr account) and price for that photo.

b. State that the photo rights is still with the photographer and the publisher is only using the photo for the "magazine name and issue #".

c. Get the editor to sign on the PO.

3. Then upload the pic to the publisher FTP account.
4. After the magazine was published, get ready to send them the Invoice (just fill up the invoice provided by the publisher) for the payment.

For payment they TT the money to my POSB account and POSB will convert to SG$ before depositing, and POSB will charge SG$10 for the process. Regarding the TT information, just approach any POSB branch for a copy of TT account details and furnished it with your POSB account and you are ready to sent it over to the publisher.

Hope this helps whoever reads this thread.

Thanks all who have given their advice in one way or another.