Local practices result in some odd inconsistencies in the pricing of RM stock images, despite the fact that the use of virtually any image can be paid for online, the image file downloaded without additional delivery charges and the file used anywhere in the world.
One could understand why it might be necessary to license rights for lower rates in countries with lower overall standards of living. But that does not explain why one country's prices are significantly lower or higher than another's.
To illustrate my point, I looked at some comparative prices for brochure use in the U.S., UK and Germany. I focused on one-quarter and full-page uses with 100,000 circulation. For U.S. prices, I examined the price for Stone+ (Getty's premium priced brand), Getty's Photographer's Choice (PC) and Alamy. For the UK, Alamy's price. For Germany, Alamy's price plus the list price in the 2008 BVPA pricing guide, the accepted pricing source used by many German photographers and agencies. The results are as follows:
| Brochure, 1/4 page, 100,000 | | | | |
U.S. | U.S. | UK | U.S. | Â Germany | Â Germany |
| Â Stone+ | Photog. Choice | Alamy | Alamy | Â Alamy | Â BVPA |
$905 | $710 | £210 | $370 |  290 Euros |  270 Euros |
| | | | | |
| Brochure, full page, 100,000 | | | | |
U.S. | U.S. | UK | U.S. | Â Â Â Â Â Germany | Â Germany |
| Stone+ | Photog. Choice | Alamy | Alamy | Â Alamy | Â BVPA |
$1,175 | $920 | £415 | $725 |  575 Euros |  435 Euros |
To make it easier to do comparisons, I converted the Pounds and Euros to U.S. dollars at the current exchange rates of one pound equaling $1.96 and one euro equaling $1.49.
| Brochure, 1/4 page, 100,000 | | | | |
U.S. | U.S. | UK | U.S. | Â Germany | Â Germany |
| Â Stone+ | Photog. Choice | Â Â Alamy | Â Alamy | Â Alamy | Â BVPA |
$905 | $710 | $538.99 | $370 | $430.64 | $400.94 |
| | | | | |
| Brochure, full page, 100,000 | | | | |
U.S. | U.S. | UK | U.S. | Â Germany | Â Germany |
| Stone+ | Photog. Choice | Â Alamy | Â Alamy | Â Alamy | Â BVPA |
$1,175 | $920 | $813.38 | $725 | $853.85 | $645.96 |
The first thing to notice is that there are significant differences in Alamy's fees for 1/4 page use depending on whether the image is purchased for use in the U.S., Germany or the UK. However, when we get to full-page use, the differences country-to-country are small. In the UK, the full-page price is about 1.5 times the quarter page price, but in the U.S., the full-page price is almost two times the quarter-page price.
It is interesting that Alamy's price for a quarter-page use in the U.S. is about half the price of a PC image. But what Alamy charges UK customers for this use is two-thirds more than they charge a U.S. customer for the same use, and only 25% below the PC fee.
In Germany, the fee for quarter-page use is close to Alamy's, but significantly cheaper than the PC fee. However, BVPA's fee for full-page use is 25% less than Alamy's and 30% less than the PC price. Note also that full page for Getty is about 1.3 times the 1/4 page, but the BVPA's full-page price is about 1.6 times its 1/4 page.
The differences in the cost-of-living in these countries does not account for the variations. Alamy is charging the Germans more than they charge the Americans; both are being charged less than Alamy charges people in its own country, its biggest market.
Another interesting comparison is Fotolia, which offers its site in eight different languages. The prices for France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Portugal are all in euros. The price for the UK is in pounds. And the U.S. and Brazil are in dollars. Thus, if people in the UK were to buy credits in the U.S., they could get almost twice as many for the same amount of money as they get by buying in the UK.
If those buying in the Euro countries were to buy in the U.S., they could get almost three credits for every two they would buy in their home country. Maybe there is a business in setting up a U.S. office to buy pictures for those from other countries. On the other hand, maybe microstock images are so cheap that those in Europe don't mind paying twice as much for images as U.S. buyers pay.
I have chosen these sources for illustration purposes because the data was easiest to find.
But I believe the same kinds of variations and inconsistencies are true of most other companies selling across international borders.
As the world becomes a village, it might be useful to develop universal standards for various types and quantities of use that could be universally accepted in all markets. This would, in no way, fix prices. Every seller would be free to establish a different base price. But there would be consistent logic as to why one use costs more than another.