|
Welcome / You are in: Help / FAQ
| FAQ |  |
| | About the Great Stock! Website | |
Q Is the Great Stock site e-commerce enabled?
A No we have elected not to provide e-commerce at this time. Be sure to let us know if this is
facility you would like to use.
Q What do I do if I can't find what I'm looking for on this site?
A Go directly to Contact Us. We have thousands of images not yet represented on this site.
A sales representative will pick up your request and direct your brief to one of our researchers who will service your research request at no charge.
Q How can I effectively use the advanced search function?
A If you are searching for conceptual images, try typing your search criteria in the keyword field under advanced search. This will maximise your search results. You can also opt to search by photographer, image number, category or collection when using the advanced search function,
Q When I submit a form or add to my CART am I committed to buying or paying?
A You're under no obligation to buy at any stage when using our site. The Order, Cart, Lightbox and other functions on this site will all result in contact with a sales representative who will confirm your usage requirements before any transaction takes place.
Q What's the quickest way to get service via the website?
A Click on Contact Us for our e-mail, telephone or fax details. Whichever communication method you select, a Great Stock! sales representative will respond to your request promptly.
| | About Rights Managed Images | |
Q What is Rights Managed imagery?
A Rights Managed (RM) images are licensed for a specific use, medium and time period. You never own a RM image but simply purchase a license to use the specific image for a narrowly specified use or reproduction. Every use attracts a fee and you may obtain varying degrees of exclusivity such as Industry and Territorial Exclusivity, if available, at an additional charge.
ALL SALES ARE NON-EXCLUSIVE, UNLESS OTHERWISE SPECIFIED
Q What factors determine the price of Rights Managed imagery?
A
- Type of use (like advertising or editorial)
- The media in which the image will appear
- Size of reproduction
- Prominence of image (eg. Cover)
- Duration of use
- Quantity of distribution
- Frequency of use
- Territory of distribution
- Degree of exclusivity required
Q Are different Rights Managed collections or images priced the same?
A Yes. We have negotiated the right with each of our suppliers so that we charge the same rates for all our Rights Managed suppliers.
Q Do you have a price guide?
A Due to the number of permutations we do not publish a price guide. We intend incorporating a price calculator on this site in the next phase of development,
Q What resolution are your Rights Managed images scanned to?
A Our hi-res scans are the current industry-standard: A4 300dpi JPEG format and are Mac and PC compatible. We can usually arrange A3 and custom scans if required. These may attract additional charges.
Q What are your payment terms for Rights Managed?
A If you have an approved account with us, the terms are strictly 30 days. All other clients will need to pay C.O.D. (Cash on Delivery). Contact Us if you would like to become an approved client.
Q Besides the usage fee, what additional costs may there be?
A Additional charges, such as delivery, scanning, handling and research fees may apply in certain circumstances. A Great Stock! sales representative will always detail these on your quote ahead of purchase.
Q Do you charge for layout?
A Low-res digital images via CD, the website, or e-mailed to you do NOT attract layout fee. For physical media we charge a R500 layout fee ONLY WHEN THE SEAL OF THE LOAN TRANSPARENCY IS BROKEN.
| | About Royalty Free | |
Q What is Royalty Free imagery?
A Royalty Free (RF) images are available as single images or as thematic collections on CD.
When you purchase a single image or CD you have the right to use those images as many times as you want for your own projects, for almost any type of usage. You are allowed to use and re-use RF images for multiple projects without regard to time period or media, without incurring any additional charges.
Important: Please be aware that individual RF suppliers have their own terms and technical specs. We suggest you acquaint yourself with the specific terms relating to the CD or Image you wish to license as RF. Contact Us if you are unsure.
THERE ARE NO EXCLUSIVE RIGHTS AVAILABLE FOR ROYALTY FREE IMAGES.
Q Are all RF CD's or images priced the same?
A No. Prices vary, depending on the collection, file size and other factors.
Q How are RF images or CDs paid for and delivered?
A All RF images and CDs are subject to pre-payment or C.O.D payment for all clients. Single images may be ordered and delivered via e-mail or an FTP site once payment has been received and verified. CD Collections may be collected from Great Stock! or delivered subject to delivery charges
Q What are your payment terms for Royalty Free?
A Payment terms for Royalty Free products are strictly C.O.D for all clients.
Q What resolution are your Royalty Free images scanned to?
A Royalty Free images are generally scanned to industry standard, A4 300 dpi JPEG format (Mac and PC compatible). A small percentage are scanned to slightly different specifications.
| | About Charges & Payments | |
Q Are discounts available?
A For RM images you will qualify for discounts in certain circumstances, such as large orders or multiple additional uses. RF CD's may also be subject to discounts and regular special promotions.
A Great Stock! sales representative will be happy to advise you.
| | About Catalogues | |
The International trend is that most suppliers are discontinuing printed catalogues in favour of comprehensive and searchable websites. We are however able to offer some current catalogues and back issues.
Q How do I order current or back issues of a catalogue?
A Click on REQUEST A CATALOGUE or Contact Us to e-mail your request, detailing which catalogue you would like to receive. If you are on our regular mailing list, the latest catalogue will be sent to you automatically. Supply of catalogues, particularly back issues, is subject to availability.
If you would prefer a CD catalogue, we would like to know. Please Contact Us
Q Is there a charge for catalogues?
A There is no charge for Rights Managed (RM) catalogues. There may be a charge for Royalty Free (RF) catalogues if you are not on our database of regular clients - but this charge will be deducted from your first purchase of RF products.
| | Customer Service | |
Q Should I manage Rights Managed (RM) images separately from Royalty Free (RF) images?
A Yes. If you are likely to select a mixture of RF and RP images you should create two different lightboxes - one for RF and one for RP.
Q How will you send images I've requested in my research brief?
A Mostly we email a selection of low-res viewing files. We recommend electronic means (emails or CD's) to save time, possible delivery charges, and to protect transparencies.
Q Can I use a low-res image directly from the website or other source in my Ad, brochure or web design project?
A Not before you purchase the rights to use the image, regardless of the resolution or usage you require. Images accessed from this site are strictly for layout and approval purposes only. All other uses will be charged for. All images and portions thereof, on this site, are protected by copyright.
Q How much information do I need to provide to get a quote?
A Please provide as much information as you can when Contacting Us or follow the prompts via ORDER so that we can give you an accurate quote. We will, in all cases, contact you to discuss your needs and give you the best price.
Q Who do I speak to for any queries or comments on this site or any other related subject?
A Contact Us We will gladly help with any questions. We'd also like to hear your comments
|
| Advanced Search | |
Q How do I ensure that I search effectively?
A Our SEARCH is set to find the best image using keywords. This search is not case-sensitive. Just type in your keywords with spaces between multiple keywords (e.g. if you are looking for a woman on a beach with a ball, type in: woman beach ball). Do not use any punctuation such as commas. If you want to further refine your results, click on “Search within results” and add further clarifiers such as “dusk” or “deserted”. If your initial search contains words with several meanings (for example orange can mean a fruit or a colour), you may get unwanted results. Searching in “Search within results” you can specify “fruit” or “colour” which should eliminate unwanted meanings of the word. You do not need to re-enter your initial search keywords.
Q When do I need to use the Advanced Search option?
A The advanced search is used when you cannot find what you are looking for, when a keyword search gives you too many results and you therefore need to increase the number of parameters of your search or when you are looking for more specific images not easily found through the standard search. Each criteria you select on the Advanced Search page will refine your search even further. The caption field allows you to do a Boolean search. This means you can add the operators AND, OR and NOT to the field to refine your search. E.g.: Cat not Dog will return a result with cats but no dogs in the images. Cats and Dogs will return a result with both cats and dogs in the images. Cats or Dogs will return a result of images with either cats or dogs or both.
Q Which advanced search criteria does the Advance Search page offer to narrow down a search?
- Rights Managed. This criterion is selected by default. If you deselect this option, your search will exclude all Rights Managed images.
- Royalty Free. This criterion is also selected by default. If you deselect this option your search will exclude all Royalty Free images.
- Single Images: Click this checkbox if you need to perform a search for images that can be purchased individually
- Images on CD: Find images that are available as single images as well as images available on CD
- CD: Use this option if you would like to search for complete CDs. The result will display the CD covers of CDs that match your search criteria.
- The view images only option is the default setting and will allow you to view three images per line of the search result but does not include any text descriptions.
If you select view images and text, your search result will show a single image per line with a text description if there is one. Not all images have a text description.
- Formats: All the different format options are selected by default. If you want to narrow your search to a specific or number of specific formats (such as black and white), then simply deselect the ones you don't want to search through.
- Release Status: Only Model Released and Only Property Released are selected by default.
- Rights Managed Collections. Search through specific RM collections available on the website.
- Royalty Free Collections. Search through specific RM collections available on the website.
Q What if I misspelled a keyword?
A By clicking the Spell Checker checkbox on the Advanced Search page, the system will pick out a word that best matches your misspelled keyword from the spell checker
database, and display it on the search results page. You may click on the resultant keyword in order to perform the search again.
Q How do I change the amount of images displayed on the search results page?
A Select an amount of images to be displayed on the Images Per Page drop-down menu on the Advanced Search page
Q How do I limit the amount of images displayed?
A The " Limit display to" drop-down menu on the Advanced Search page will allow you to reduce the length of time that a search may take by reducing the total number
of results required for the whole search. The lower the number of results the quicker the search will be.
|
| Lightboxs | |
Q What is a lightbox?
A A lightbox is your own virtual project folder on the website to which you can add images for later review or share with other registered users. You can create as many lightboxes as you need, fill them with the images you like, and name them accordingly. You can add an image to the lightbox by clicking its lightbox icon , and view the details of the contents of the lightbox on the Lightbox Preview page. You can delete images form your lightbox on the Lighbox Preview page, or you could add them to your shopping cart by clicking the icon.
Q How do I use the Lightbox Manager?
A With the help of the Lightbox Manager, you can store images that you would like to either order at a later date, or show to a client before placing an order. As a nonregistered member you will be able to use a single default lightbox, but will not be able to use any of the lightbox features. If the lightbox name is shown in bold, red text on the Lightbox Manager page, there are images in the corresponding lightbox. (Dull grey text it indicates that the lightbox is empty.) The number in the images column on the Lightbox Manager page tells you how many images are currently stored in a particular lightbox. Once you’ve registered on the website (registration is FREE), the Lightbox Manager will offer you the following advanced features:
- The "Create New Lightbox" function will allow you to create and activate as many lighboxes as you need.
- The "Email Lightbox" function will allow you to share your Lightbox with another person.
- The eye icon
 or the small thumb nails will take you to the Lightbox Preview page where you can view all the images in the selected lightbox, add them to your Shopping Cart, or delete them from the lightbox.
- For your own benefit, you can also add or modify comments about images on a lightbox.
Please note that in order to save space in our database system, lightboxes older than 6 months may be deleted without notification.
|
| Shopping Cart | |
Q How do I add images to my shopping cart?
A Click the shopping cart icon  of the images you wish to add to your shopping cart on either the Search Results page or the Lightbox Preview page.
Q How do I order a quote for the images in my shopping cart?
A Go to the Shopping Cart page. Select a Purpose of Use for all your selected images by clicking on the Purpose of Use button. If a number of images in your
shopping cart all have the same purpose of use, you can click on their corresponding checkboxes before selecting the Purpose of Use. This will ripple the Purpose of Use across all selected images in one go. After selecting a Purpose of Use for all the images, click the VIEW tab at the bottom of the Shopping Cart page. Check your personal details and the details of your shopping cart, and click the SEND ORDER tab. Your request will automatically be sent to a Great Stock! sales representative who will respond to your request as soon as possible.
Q Why do I need to select a “Purpose of use” for each image?
A The cost of image usage depend greatly on the purpose for which the image will be used (i.e. the advertising medium, the print run, the advertising period, etc.). For this reason you will be prompted to select the Purpose of use for each item you have put in your shopping cart before you can order a quote for the elements in your shopping cart.
|
|
|
|