Refund Policy?

Hi can, anyone link me to the Pond5 refund policy? I want to preview an ad to my client in full res without watermark, so will purchase my clips as normal. If the client decide against any of the stock shots used, can I get a refund?

Unfortunately for us contributors who provide you with these stock clips, I think return policies on these intangible items of ours are quite liberal.

But, I would HOPE that agencies like Pond5 and others have safeguards in place to keep an eye on the number of clips that get returned and start denying return requests after a certain amount (or a certain period of time) to combat fraud.

Watermarked clips are provided for a reason. You're trying to get around this reason. Yes, it's unfortunate these videos are low res and aggressively watermarked, but as an editor myself who knows what it feels like as a contributor to get return notifications and money taken out of our accounts, I use the available watermarked comps to do my rough cuts to get client approval.

There are valid reasons for returning a clip or two, but I think "I wanted to show the client a full resolution unwatermarked version" shouldn't be one of them for a standard buyer's account. I understand agencies do have programs for buyers that provide them with special services, one of which are unwatermarked full-rez comps. These buyers pay more for these conveniences, but then again, you get what you pay for in this world. I don't know if Pond5 is one of these agencies that provide this level service. Perhaps you should inquire if this is something you think you'll be doing more of in the future.

Maybe it's time for agencies to rethink how they provide watermarked comps. I think they still should be watermarked, but perhaps they need to be higher resolution to avoid these kinds of returns. I, myself would be all for 1080 HD watermarked comps. It would, after all, help me in my day job as an editor.

So, return if you must, but keep in mind how it affects those of us who take the time to shoot, edit, and contribute these clips that help you in your job as an editor.

(And I'm sure all these customers who return clips are deleting the media files from their hard drives as required, right? Yeah, I thought so...)

Thank you ODesigns, well said. We do want our customers/clients/end users to be well-served, and I'm sure most people who need to demand a refund are honest, but I'm almost certain there are those who would abuse the ability to attain refunds. It is not a "return" since the goods have already been downloaded.

With virtual instrument libraries (for music) it is a similar situation. All too easy to find one's self in a situation where a downloaded/activated library fails to live up to expectations (all too often) and yet very very few offer satisfaction guarantees. It is slightly different, at least in the Native Instruments world, in that the license "could" be revoked, but in the footage world there is no such protection. We can only urge companies like Pond5 to look twice, hard, at requests for refund.

Thank you for the responses. Pond5 have scheduled a call to discuss. I appreciate your position.