iStockphoto has introduced a new
Shopping Cart Checkout option that allows customers to pay for just the images they need without having to purchase credits.
Now, customers can choose whatever file they need – photos, illustrations, video or music - drop it in their shopping cart and check out with a credit card. It’s that simple! For customers buying files for a client’s project, the receipt provided for each purchase makes it easy to bill back clients.
However the
credit option is still available for customers who download lots of files frequently. Credits will still be the quickest, easiest option and the credit system makes it possible for volume users to obtain discounts.
Look for all the other microstock sites to follow suit as this method of purchasing images is a lot more attractive to occasional users that don’t like to have money tied up in an account they may forget about. Worse yet, customers could lose part of the value if they don’t use their credits in a timely manner as most credit purchases expire after 12 months.
The pay-as-you-go system also gives occasional users more flexibility to switch sites when prices at the site they have been using go up, or they can’t find an image there that they really want to use.