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.