- Browse Businesses
- Guides
- Beauty & Fashion
- Consumer Tips
- Write a Review
- For Business
- Request a Review
- Discussions
- Backed by the National Science Foundation
- Sign up
- Log in
Is this your business?
Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and manage your listing.
Claim Your Business
iStockPhoto has a rating of 1.2 stars from 184 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about iStockPhoto most frequently mention free trial, customer service, and year subscription problems. iStockPhoto ranks 66th among Stock Photos sites.
No positive highlights yet
Access to the Getty Library has always been a dream; this may be the most affordable means to get your feet wet. The iStock collection is a cross-section of the famed Getty Library and modeled after the subscription micro-stock sites... except... it costs a little more! But the quality of the photography stands out! This is a luxury for me, maybe not so much for a larger business, but I cannot say anything but good things regarding my subscriptions.
Ridiculously overpriced, automatic payment triggered at 1 minute after trial period ends and boom, zero refunds no exceptions, even if you immediately reach out and haven't downloaded a single thing. Then when they keep that money, they also immediately block your pre-paid account from access in exchange for not charging you in the future. Zero value given, zero cares given.
I initially signed up for a free 30-day trial but unfortunately didn't have the chance to use it as much as i planned before forgetting about it. My subscription began on April 27,2023, and was scheduled to end on May 27. According to the agreement, I had the option to cancel at any time during the trial period, which meant I could have canceled on May 27. However, to my surprise, they charged my card on May 27 instead. When I brought up the issue and explained that I should still be in the trial until midnight on the 27th, they canceled my subscription but refused to provide a refund. They didn't even offer me any credits for the 93.50 AUD they had withdrawn from my account, so essentially, they took the money without providing any service. Additionally, I was disappointed that they didn't send a reminder email notifying me that my trial was ending.
UPDATE:
IStock reached out to me and offered a genuine explanation of what happened and also made a refund. So I cannot fault their customer services.
Tip for consumers:
If not needed, cancel your trial a day early to avoid any issues.
Products used:
Free Trial
I've been using istockphoto on and off for about 5 years. In general, the site works well and the selection is great. I am not certain about this but it seems to me that their prices went up - alot - recently. They are much less affordable. That isn't a big deal since I can make my own decision not to shop a more expensive brand but it is their lack of customer service that led me to write this review. I bought an image for around $25 to use in print. When I downloaded the image, it became clear that it was slightly our of focus at full resolution. For a small banner, this would not be an issue but for print, it is. I contacted the customer service to ask for a refund since the photo was not usable for my purposes. I never heard back from them.
An overpriced service, $11 a credit is a bit too much for materials that cant be properly previewed in action, and then cant be returned. Still has some good templates.
IStockPhoto has excellent collection of photographs, backgrounds, technological perspectives, and so on. But all those collections are looking similar and I didnt find any variety in a particular category. Either a photographer or a technology enthusiast is always searching for unique and new concepts. Thus, this site is not up to the extent of the vision of enthusiasts.
Gain trust and grow your business with customer reviews.
Explore the official iStock website for millions of exclusive, royalty-free, stock files. Find the perfect stock for your project, fast. Search now.
Is this your business?
Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and manage your listing.
