Activeden (formally Flashden) has put together a rather tantalising holiday bundle

$30 gets you $399 worth of killer OOP Flash templates, a code package from GreenSock, and secureSWF. In addition, you’ll receive a 10% off voucher for any Rockable eBook.

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The popular Flash stock site Flashden, has been ordered to remove Flash from their url and branding by the Adobe legal team (which I hope are not reading this blog). They have decided upon the rather awkward sounding Activeden.

Adobe have something of a tradition of aggressively protecting their apparent trademarks, even if the words are as common as “air” or “flash”. James Whittaker (freshAIRApps), Kelvin Luck (shAIR) and Geoff Stearns (flashObject) can all attest to this. Clearly the Adobe legal team has enough sway to make these sites change names – without much resistance.

Some of you will argue that Adobe has to do this, that is the only way to ensure the brand is not diluted. Its just a legal question that any large company would pursue. The problem is what all of these sites have in common is they were actively promoting Adobe brands. Flashden in particular is one of Adobe’s biggest evangelists, introducing more people to the Flash platform than any Adobe owned site could ever dream of.

Legal questions aside, these kind of actions do nothing for the goodwill of the very people who are looking to promote the technology. If Adobe can`t be more creative in enforcing these trademarks, many will soon become disillusioned with the company. Adobe must realise these seemingly ridiculous law suits are starting to make them look like the 800lb gorilla in the room.

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Buy Stock Flash (a name built for SEO!) is one of the newest contenders to enter the competitive Flash stock market. Clearly inspired by the success of companies like envato, they have a rapidly expanding network of stock & tutorial based sites, after just one year.

Design

Aesthetically, things are ok; everything is consistently put together and there is a nice attention to detail. Overall the design does a great job of letting the content take the front seat. The logo however, is.. bewildering.

3.5 out of 5 stars

Usability

The homepage is really well thought out, providing a quick snapshot of new and popular files. There is also a latest files RSS feed, but unfortunately there are currently no individual category feeds.

The search is one the strongest we have reviewed with accurate results, large thumbnails and useful filters for further refinement. A small improvement could be made by displaying a summary of each file, rather than just the attributes. The search is backed up by a category browser, which has the nice feature of being able to filter by: Just Added, Most Popular, Most Viewed and Just Downloaded. Each file has also been extensively tagged making it easy to find similar items using the tag clouds present throughout the site.

The good news continues with the payment process, which has huge selection of payment options. Sadly they have stuck to the standard model of credit deposits, but this is negated somewhat by discounts for larger amounts and a very low minimum deposit. The bottom line is Buy Stock Flash has great usability, ranking right at the top of every site we have reviewed.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Library & pricing

At the time of writing Buy Stock Flash has over 1500 files in their library (impressive indeed, for the short time they have been open). The large majority of these files are coded in AS2, including a good proportion of the very latest ones. This is surprising as AS3 has been around for a long time now. That aside there is a good mix of files within all the usual categories. You certainly won’t be overwhelmed with choice, but are likely to find something suitable for most requirements.

Pricing is a little lower than a lot of competitors, and with a relaxed multi-use licence (the only restriction is resell) you really are going to get incredible value for money in most cases.

4 out of 5 stars

File quality & support

The file quality, is on the whole ok, but not great. If you are prepared to hunt around, you will find some nicely designed and well coded files, but you might well end up with a few regrettable purchases littering your hard drive. Unlike other sites there is no author test, and the quality threshold does not appear to be that high. Perhaps once the library has reached a greater mass, quality control can be reigned in. The overall sales figures are very modest for the marketplace, which might be deterring the better authors from investing in the site.

File support is pretty bare, mainly just because of the lack of sales, but each file does have a comments page and is required to include a help file. There is no community forum which is a huge mistake, as this is one of the keys to success of sites like Flashden. Contacting Buy Stock Flash should be made easy by using the live chat feature, but our messages where left unanswered. See the results below for response times to our emails.

2.5 out of 5 stars

Overall rating

Buy Stock Flash has great promise due to a good level of functionality, an excellent payment process and a very relaxed standard license. Its also one of the most usable sites out there. Unfortunately there is no stable of quality exclusive authors, no community of active buyers and so the site feels pretty vacant at times. Sales are low, whether through a lack of marketing or simply failing to attract good authors due to low sales (a real catch 22). This is a shame because the site has a lot going for it. The current site is a good platform to build from so as it matures, this is definitely one to watch.

3.5 out of 5 stars

At a glance

• www.buystockflash.com
• Established: 2008
• Total files:1595
• Lowest priced file: $1
• Highest priced file: $100
• Minimum deposit: $5
• Payment methods: PayPal, Western Union, MoneyGram, SWIFT, WebMoney, e-gold, Moneybookers, Credit Card.
• Standard licences restrictions: Nothing apart from resell
• Time before deposits expire: Never
• Volume discounts available: Yes
• Refunds: Yes, they claim a 100% money back guarantee

Tests

• Response time for non-urgent question: 2 hours
• Usefulness of response: Very good
• Total files found for “xml gallery”: 496 (at least half of these results were not relevant)

Disclaimer: We have sold and/or brought on all the stock sites we review. We do have some of these sites as our “sponsors”, but this is no way dictates any of the views expressed. The adverts on the Flash blog are not paid for by the site but are part of referral programs. These reviews represent our own opinions only. Key facts have been verified with the site owners and are correct at the time of writing, but are open to change.

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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.

Design

In 2006 a much needed site wide re-design was completed. Since then, nothing really seems to have changed a great deal. While perhaps starting to show its age, the design is functional, simple and clean. You can change the colour scheme (a popular trend a few years ago) and everything slots nicely into place throughout. There is a strong feeling of “it ain`t broke, don`t fix it”.

Usability

To find files on iStock you use the same tried and tested search bar that has proved so successful for its image search. There are helpful sort options and its possible to search within terms to further refine your results. Unfortunately this is where the good news stops, searching is literally the only way to find files. This does not even work that well as the results display no title, summery or price. They have even removed the handy larger views you get on rollover when using the image search.

There is no popular files section or even the most basic of file categorisation. Good luck trying to watch for new files, as there are no RSS feeds or email notifications.

Things get even more frustrating when you try to buy a file, there is no version information so its up to the author to enlighten you. iStock do provide the rather useless warning: “To edit this file you will need Adobe Flash or compatible editing software” thanks iStock that really clears things up.

The payments system obviously works well for them, but personally we are not thrilled about any site that creates is own credit “currency” and imposes time limits of spending deposits.

Library & pricing

There is not getting away from it, the library is stale. There is virtually no AS3 and the same old files seem to command the search results as they have done for literally years. The review process is notoriously slow, our guess is nearly all of the good authors simply gave up and starting making money elsewhere long before they got the approval email.

Pricing is inconsistent, you get the distinct impression that the iStock reviewers are not Flash users themselves. Prices are low, so low in fact you can get a site template for just $1, the only catch is you might need a copy of Flash 5 to open it. This is not to say you can`t find some great bargains. Somehow find and stick to the few authors who know what they are doing and you might well be happy with your purchases.

The standard license suggests single use only, but our emails with istock gave the impression that no one was really sure about this when it came to Flash. A extended license is available for images, but we could not find it applied to any of the Flash files.

File quality & support

Overall file quality is as low as the prices. There are some truly atrocious files, the sort of files that would never grace the pages of any of the other sites we are reviewing. This is surprising as the image department of iStock has a formidable reputation for rejection. Once again its looks like the Flash department is suffering from moonlighting image reviewers.

Apart from an under utilized reviews page, there is no provision for support. They have not even bothered to create a section on the forum for Flash. Files often have little or no code comments and there is no guarantee they will be written in English. The majority of files require a good understanding of Flash, are often horribly coded and with heavy reliance on the timeline. You really do get what you pay for here.

Overall rating

iStock might have lead the way initially, but a lack of updates and willingness to adapt for the Flash market, has seen this sleeping giant go further into hibernation. The low prices might look attractive at first but the lack of quality means this will likely be a false economy.

With Getty behind them now we hope for something so much better. Maybe they don`t realise how profitable Flash files can be, maybe a dedicated site is in the works. Until this surfaces we recommend giving iStock a miss unless you have a few credits burning a hole in your pocket before the 1 year deadline kicks in.

At a glance

• www.istockphoto.com
  
• Established: 2000
• Total files: No Information available
• Lowest priced file: $1
• Highest priced file: $10
• Minimum deposit: $20
• Payment methods: Paypal, Credit Card
• Standard licences restrictions: Single use only
• Time before deposits expire: 1 year
• Volume discounts available: Yes
• Refunds: Yes, but only in store credit

Tests

• Response time for non-urgent question: 12 hours
• Usefulness of response: Very confusing, did not read question properly.
• Total files found for “xml gallery”: 141 (its debatable how relevant some of these result were)

Disclaimer: We have sold and/or brought on all the stock sites we review. We do have some of these sites as our “sponsors”, but this is no way dictates any of the views expressed. The adverts on the Flash blog are not paid for by the site but are part of referral programs. These reviews represent our own opinions only. Key facts have been verified with the site owners and are correct at the time of writing, but are open to change.

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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.

Design

The web 2.0 bandwagon has rolled on past and left the Flash components site in its wake. There isn’t anything terribly wrong with it, its just so utterly forgettable. The logo epitomizes the design approach with one (or five) too many Photoshop filters applied.

Once we got past the predictability of it all, the layout starts to make a lot of sense. Everything is where you would expect it to be and the homepage is fantastic for getting a quick overview of the latest and greatest files.

Usability

At first glance all seems well here, the search bar remains highly visible throughout and you rarely get lost thanks to the breadcrumb navigation. The category and search systems are logical and work well with useful filters allowing for further refinement.

There are some confusing navigation elements, especially on the individual file pages. This however, pales in to comparison next to the colossal mistake made with the buying process. The “buy now” button does not in fact buy now; you are expected to hunt around for the “add to basket” button at the bottom of the page. This is the sort of error that loses sales and frustrates buyers. Once you get past this stupidity its nice to find that you can buy the file without first depositing money or even signing up.

Library & pricing

The Flash components library is by no means huge considering its apparently been around for 8 years! (we are not convinced by this claim). That said there is a good mixture of files and its debatable how many menus and xml galleries you will need to choose from anyway. There are rss feeds and email notifications so its easy to keep track of new files.

Pricing seems a bit inconsistent, which is not surprising as the author`s can suggest the prices themselves. We are pretty confused about the license agreements, there are 4 or 5 to choose from, none of which are very clearly explained. The most commonly used Regular license looks like outstanding value allowing for unlimited, unrestricted use (apart from resale).

There seems to be little control over undercutting as its now common to see an entire author`s portfolio at a massively knocked down price. While this is good for buyers in the short term, its debatable how sustainable this. Flash components are in danger of losing authors who do not want to compete in a race to the bottom of the bargain bin.

File quality & support

File quality is the lifeblood of any stock site, without good files a marketplace will soon die. Flash components does not have the excellent exclusive authors that other sites have, but there are still some great authors with great files. There is a ratings system and a popular files section so it easy to find the real quality. The review process seems to stop the worst getting through, but we would still like a higher level of quality control as there are some very average files here.

Support is a mixed bag, you can leave the author comments and send private messages, but there is no guarantee of getting a helpful response. Considering the low prices this should be no surprise. One big plus is there are active forum topics for the most popular files, so you can benefit from a bit of community spirit.

Support staff were very good in our experience, replying within 3 hours with a helpful response.

Overall rating

Flash components has a lot of things going for it, if you can get past the uninspired interface you will find a good selection of reasonably priced and fairly well supported files. Quality is average, but find files with the Regular licence and you will get an amazing deal. We have some serious concerns over the buying process, but loved the simple one off, registration free, payment option.

At a glance

• www.flashcomponents.net
  
• Established: 2001
• Total files: 1473
• Lowest priced file: $1
• Highest priced file: $189 (Regular license)
• Minimum deposit: N/A
• Payment methods: Paypal, Credit Card
• Standard licences restrictions: The regular license is a steal with no restrictions
• Time before deposits expire: N/A
• Volume discounts available: Yes
• Refunds: Yes, but only in store credit

Tests

• Response time for non-urgent question: Less than 3 hours
• Usefulness of response: Very good
• Total files found for “xml gallery”: 31

Disclaimer: We have sold and/or brought on all the stock sites we review. We do have some of these sites as our “sponsors”, but this is no way dictates any of the views expressed. The adverts on the Flash blog are not paid for by the site but are part of referral programs. These reviews represent our own opinions only. Key facts have been verified with the site owners and are correct at the time of writing, but are open to change.

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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

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