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I am planning on offering a business proposition to a popular website that shares pictures and quotes. I make t-shirts and would like to use their photos and quotes to sell if they would put a link to my website on their website. I would give them a percentage of each sale. How much is right for something like this?
I see an article about a suit salesman making 8% commission. That is not online sales though.
It may be more of what % they want from you, than what % you are willing to give them.
Depending on your location, you may be able to sell large volumes of shirts to flea market vendors and on Ebay. Of course with your website being your best exposure.
If the photos and quotes that they are sharing are not their own, the copyrights for those photos and quotes still reside with the originator, not with the website.
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Originally Posted by oregonwoodsmoke
If the photos and quotes that they are sharing are not their own, the copyrights for those photos and quotes still reside with the originator, not with the website.
That is correct. If this website is legitimate, they have the permission of the copyright holders to share for private non-commercial use. You would then have to pay the copyright holder, and they generally do it by a flat amount plus percentage and limit the number of items. It's been my experience that this will cost far more than you will ever make selling the items. You are much better off taking your own photos.
That is correct. If this website is legitimate, they have the permission of the copyright holders to share for private non-commercial use. You would then have to pay the copyright holder, and they generally do it by a flat amount plus percentage and limit the number of items. It's been my experience that this will cost far more than you will ever make selling the items. You are much better off taking your own photos.
This is correct. You cannot assume that the owner of a website is the copyright holder of the content that appears on it. You must figure out who owns the copyright to protect yourself. The cost will probably be prohibitive.
Hunt down the owners of the copyright, anyway. If they are private persons and not professional photographers, they might be just as happy to get a free T shirt with their photo on it in exchange for giving you permission to use the photo.
For quotes, I suggest that you start researching famous quotes that are old enough to be out of copyright. There are books and websites full of them. Do your own research.
Or get yourself a listing in The Writer's Market and offer to pay for original 1 line jokes or amusing sayings.
I have no clue what is appropriate however you will have to determine if it is worth what they propose.
Revenue-variable costs = contribution margin.
Contribution margin less fixed costs = gross profit.
Before tax profit x (1-tax rate)= net profit.
As long as the variable cost of paying for the copyright material allows you to meet the desired contribution margin you should be ok. I would look at the problem differently- What can you afford to pay for the material? What can you pay and still make your desired profit?
There will probably be copyright holders with unrealistic expectations and others that will work for you. You have to determine what you can pay and work with those that meet your requirements.
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