Brokered Artist Information and Benefits
Vanishing Point is constantly growing, and if you're considering joining our team, this page will give you some of the advantages and benefits of selling your products through our site.
Over the years, we've noticed many sites have added rule after rule that merchants must follow if they want to sell their products. Some are legal-based, such as including an exactly-worded copyright statement, some were put into place to placate complaining customers and some were put into place to punish bad merchants. And then there are some rules that feel like they were put into place almost as an obstacle to see which merchants are "serious" about selling their products.
Here at Vanishing Point, we believe the sooner your product is approved, the sooner you (and us) can make money. We feel it serves no one by holding your product for 5 days before re-testing it or forcing you to put certain files in certain folders.
In December 2014, we created a new policy called obstacle free selling, which seeks to remove the many obstacles sellers face when getting their product up for sale. After all, you have plenty of other things to worry about in life than to remember whether your readme file is in the correct folder or if your main thumbnail image is the exact size.
Here are some examples:
• Your thumbnail images aren't 100x100, I mean 150x150, I mean 200x200, I mean 250x250 pixels? (You are keeping up with the latest size requirements, right?)
Not at Vanishing Point: you don't even need to make thumbnail images if you don't want to: we'll do it for you.
• The site was redesigned again and now requires promotional images that are 1800x275 and 900x500 pixels, just in case your product is selected for extra marketing. Chances are high that your product won't be selected for this extra marketing, but the images are required so you have to make them and upload them.
Not at Vanishing Point: If we select your product for extra marketing, we'll make the images for you.
• The Upload Product page lost your product information, that you spent an hour entering, because your new promotional image was 1801x275 pixels? Sorry, you should have been more careful.
Not at Vanishing Point: This isn't even an issue when you don't need to make thumbnail images or promotional images.
• Was your product delayed or rejected because your readme file wasn't in the correct folder?
Not at Vanishing Point: as long as you include a readme file, we don't mind what folder you put it in, since this doesn't affect the usability of the product.
• Was your product delayed or rejected because you didn't put your UV templates in the correct folder? (And you did make templates for every single material, right?)
Not at Vanishing Point: you can put the templates in the same folder as the textures or in another folder. We don't mind either way, since this also doesn't affect the usability of the product.
• Was your product delayed or rejected because you forgot to create a separate zip file of just your templates, but with your readme file and license file? Or did you accidentally put your templates in your product zip file?
Not at Vanishing Point: just put everything in one zip file and you're good to go.
• The tester said you should include material collection files instead of poses, because that's what she prefers?
Not at Vanishing Point. We have no preference since this doesn't have an affect on the usability of the product.
• Your product was delayed or rejected because you didn't include the correct license file and the tester isn't allowed to add it to your product zip file?
Not at Vanishing Point: if you forget it, we'll add it for you so your product can start selling.
• Your product was delayed or rejected because your readme file or site license wasn't zipped in the correct folder? (And why should these be in a specific folder? Did the staff ever offer to explain the reason to you?)
Not at Vanishing Point. We have no preference since this doesn't have an affect on the usability of the product either.
• Your product was delayed (or rejected) because one path in one file said "c:\Program Files\Poser\Runtime"?
Not at Vanishing Point: we'll correct the reference for you and get your product up for sale so it can make money.
• Did your product have an issue that needed correcting, and you corrected it within a few hours? But then the site put your product into a holding queue for 14 days (2 weeks!) as punishment, keeping you from selling the product and making money?
Not at Vanishing Point: if we tell you something needs correcting (and assuming we don't fix it for you), we'll look at your product immediately after you send us a new version.
• Couldn't upload your product because the file-upload control went wonky?
Not at Vanishing Point: we have multiple ways for you to get your file to us, including: Google Drive, DropBox, or just attach your file to an email.
• Your product isn't even looked at for 3 or 4 or 5 days after you upload it because the testers are working on other (meaning top sellers') products?
Not at Vanishing Point: we test (and usually approve) products within a few hours of receiving them.
• Does a site punish you for not selling exclusively with them by giving you a lower cut?
Not at Vanishing Point: we believe merchants should be able to "shop around" and find the site that gives them the most amount of sales. If you sell exclusively with one site, how will you know if you could have made more money on another site?
• Do you need to update your product because of a customer suggestion? If so, you must purchase a $25 "Product Update" service so the admins can do it for you.
Not at Vanishing Point: if you have a product update, for any reason, just send us the new file and that's it! We will never charge merchants to update their products, especially if an update adds value to the product.
• Does another site give you free passes to a theme park when you make a certain amount in sales?
Vanishing Point does: check our our Theme Park Promotion page for full details on how you can earn one-day passes to the theme parks in Central Florida.
And on top of all this, we give you a 60% cut of the sales!
For more detailed information, please read over our Brokered Artist Information and Benefits for more information.
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| Becoming a Brokered Artist |
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To become a brokered artist, you must complete a few steps. These steps only have to be done once.
1) Decide on a product.
Please note that your product(s) must have an innovative feature or unique in some way. We'll be fairly loose with this guideline: vehicles (helicopters, trucks, cars, etc) will usually be fine, products such as Vicky 3 textures, poses, or hair probably not be accepted.
2) Complete the Member Information
Go to your Member Information page (located on the Profile Page) and make sure all of the information is filled in, especially the address and payment preference.
3) Download and complete the broker agreement (in Rich Text Format)
Type in your information and e-mail the document back to us, at this address.
That's it! You are now a merchant and you are now ready to upload your first product.
(The following steps must be repeated for every product that you upload.)
1) Create the following files:
• Product zip file: Simply e-mail us your product zip file. If your zip file is larger than 10M, please Contact Us for access to the the Google Drive or DropBox folder.
Note: don't forget to include a Readme file (instructions and notes about the products) in plain text format.
• Supporting files zip file:
• Sales images to show off your product, in JPG format. You can have as many or as few as you like, but we recommend at least 3 images. We prefer square images, at least 600x600 pixels in size. (Image #1 will be displayed on the main product page, the rest of the images will be displayed in a new window.)
For more specific information about the required files, please see our Product Checklist.
2) Go to the Upload Product Page and fill out the form.
If you have already sent us the product file, it may be easier to send us an e-mail with the product description and price, rather than filling out the form.
Note:
Per the US tax law, if you make more than $600 in income from this site, we are required to send you a 1099 form. Before we send you this form, however, we must receive a W-9 form from you. If you think you will make over $600 this year, then please download, complete, and MAIL us the following forms. Please consult a legal tax representative if you need help filling out the tax form.
• If you are a U.S. Resident, then you need to fill out a W9 form (instruction sheet).
• If you are not a U.S. Resident, then you need to fill out a W8BEN form (instruction sheet).
If you do not have Adobe's Acrobat Reader you can download it (for free) from:
Adobe Acrobat Reader download page.
Please note that you only need to send us the W-9 form *once*, unless your information changes (you move to another address, you marry and change your name, etc.).
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