Stock Photo Scam?

[spec]

I am trying to find out if the website called mediastock.co.uk is a legitimate business and means of making money online.

It is a stock photography site, whereby; professional and amateur photographers can sell there work.

I am sceptical as the administrator of the site is called "Mark Roper".

Now, having seen the TV programme "Hustle", I understand the jargon of the word "Mark" is someone who is the target of a con or scam. And, the word "Roper" is the outside man, who befriends the "Mark" and sets them up to be conned.

Any thoughts on this?

[brianp]

I am sceptical as the administrator of the site is called "Mark Roper".

The electoral roll website shows that there are around eighty-five adults in the UK with that name.

[brianp]

The electoral roll website shows that there are around eighty-five adults in the UK with that name.

Correction - that probably included duplicates - the figure for the 2007 electoral roll only is 65. See: http://www.eroll.co.uk/

[Muttley]

I am sceptical as the administrator of the site is called "Mark Roper".

Now, having seen the TV programme "Hustle", I understand the jargon of the word "Mark" is someone who is the target of a con or scam. And, the word "Roper" is the outside man, who befriends the "Mark" and sets them up to be conned.

Any thoughts on this?

I have done several minutes of research into this.

As well as Mediastock, Mark Roper runs Ropernet IT, a web design outfit. The address given for both companies is in Ixworth, near Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk. In the BT phone book this address is that of someone called S G Roper. A quick Google shows him to be Stephen Roper, and the web site showing his family tree (eight generations of Ropers) and other information reveals that he has a son called Mark who read computer science at Loughborough University. Mark is described as working for a multi-national company, but the web page is dated 2004, so presumably things have changed.

Ropernet IT is listed all over the place. I looked at a couple of websites designed by Ropernet - one of them, among other things, sells "paranormal equipment", but that's the most suspicious thing I have found, and I don't suppose website designers are too fussy about who they work for.

Overall, if this is a scam, it's an unusually elaborate one, and its nature as a scam is not at all obvious. I think you may be reading too much between the lines.

M.

PS. Usual disclaimers - I have nothing to do with anyone mentioned here. I simply had nothing better to do than see what I could dredge up, without moving from my chair, in an arbitrarily-chosen period of no more than 10 minutes.::)

[riggwelter]

Speaking as a PHOTOGRAPHER, I would avoid all sites that pay less than £40 per image.

If you sign up with a photo stock site that gives you a small amount for a picture you are just adding to a problem that is putting people out of business and you are basically giving your pictures away for free.

You will NOT make money this way.

Only use reputable Stock Librarys. (eg: Alamy, Photographers Direct) Not librarys which offer $1 or something similar as they are just conning you out of your hard work>:-)

[tkingdoll]

Speaking as a stock footage buyer, I almost never pay more than £10 for a picture these days as I can usually find an excellent quality pic on Stock Xchange or similar. There are enough amateurs with great cameras for the middle market to be saturated.

However, if I need high-end photography like a luxury car or fashion shot, I pay top money for it. An amateur simply can't reproduce the sort of quality those images require, which is often a restriction of not having a studio etc. But most of my clients just want a simple pic of a building or keyboard for their brochures and there's no point in paying wads for that when I can get it for them for nothing or next to nothing.

[DaveWood]

Speaking as a PHOTOGRAPHER, I would avoid all sites that pay less than £40 per image.

If you sign up with a photo stock site that gives you a small amount for a picture you are just adding to a problem that is putting people out of business and you are basically giving your pictures away for free.

You will NOT make money this way.

Only use reputable Stock Librarys. (eg: Alamy, Photographers Direct) Not librarys which offer $1 or something similar as they are just conning you out of your hard work>:-)

But from the other side of the fence those are quite useful ;-)

Delving further into controversy most of the free images on Wiki Commons are not of a quality to preproduce in a physical publication, but you do come across the odd one that will.

[Nicky]

Do you mean iStock?

[MarkRoper]

Speaking as a Mark Roper - we're not all con artists you know.


PSSST Wanna buy Tower Bridge?

[ZERO]

Speaking as a Mark Roper - we're not all con artists you know.


PSSST Wanna buy Tower Bridge?

How much and do you post?

[brodski]

How much and do you post?

If he didn't post, how could you quote him? ;)