iStock was something of a pioneer; it was one of the first sites to start selling Flash files. However, it is and always will be, a photography marketplace first. Flash is a something of an afterthought here. That said, any site that can sell an image every 1.4 seconds should not be overlooked when it comes to any other digital downloads.

Flash Components is a dedicated Flash file marketplace established in 2001. Anyone can apply to be an author and each file is reviewed before upload.

Flash components save time and money, so in the current economic climate its no surprise that demand is at an all time high. No longer the unloved sister of photo stock sites, in the last few years there has been something of a digital gold rush with many companies vying to be the number one dedicated marketplace for Flash components.

Over the next few weeks we are going to take a detailed look at the current contenders for your hard earned cash. To start things off we are going to evaluate each site from the buyers perspective. We will be covering:

1. Flash Components Read review
2. iStock Read review
3. Buy stock flash Read review
4. Ultra Shock
5. Flashden
6. mmFiles
7. Flashloaded
8. Flash Juggler