On Sitejabber, businesses may not offer incentives or pay to remove reviews. Learn more about our Review Guidelines.
Shutterstock Reviews Summary
Shutterstock's reputation is marred by significant customer dissatisfaction primarily due to its subscription model and billing practices. Many users report feeling misled by the terms of their plans, often facing unexpected charges and high cancellation fees, which has led to accusations of deceptive practices. Despite these concerns, some customers appreciate the platform's diverse image selection and filtering capabilities, which enhance user experience. Overall, the feedback highlights a troubling disconnect between customer expectations and the company's service approach, suggesting a need for improved transparency and customer support to regain trust.
This summary is generated by AI, based on text from customer reviews
We monitor reviews for authenticity
Auto renewal is on even for 5 image bundle, when reaching their extremely "flexible" customer service they cannot do anything.
They are still around but surely they will get what they deserve.
Thanks
So easy to sign up but took me weeks to cancel my monthly billing! There is no easy way online to cancel, they make you call. Every time I called they said "Sorry, your breaking up, I can't hear you"... Every damn time!
So, to get around this instead of selecting 'cancel billing' when prompted on the phone, I selected other 'billing enquiries' and went straight to someone with no 'technical difficulties'. BUT, canceling has a $40AUD fee so watch out.
Such a big scam and very disappointed.
I'm certain i turned off auto renew last year as i always look for that! Yet a year later i find over £38 on my card statement! I think they turn it back on again! Plus, they've charged me more than the 'advertised package prices' as they have gone down by £3! That has really annoyed me! My advice: delete your card details as soon as you've bought the package... or use IStock!
I've basically had Shutterstock automatically deducting money from my account buying 5 images at a time. I noticed that I had paid for 8 images and went okay that's weird. Then I saw the reviews here and completely concur with the negative comments made about Shutterstock. These guys must have had loads of complaints and yet they fail to correct their system. Why? Because there is a lot of money in rorting customers. Bad news - find other stock image sites to buy from.
I want to cancel my subscription, but they ask me to call their office? What the heck is this. Even I purchase on monthly basis, they said if want to cancel need to wait at the end of the year? Not recommended if you dont want to loose your money.
Shutter stock is running a scam. As mentioned by previous reviewers, they enabled auto renew by default so you have to turn that off asap. Also, if you purchase a monthly plan in a shorter month like February, regardless of the day you start, they will only give you 28 days. However on their email receipts they say "30 days". Beware of this company, they are very sneaky and are unwilling to provide customer service. They will scam you and grin any chance they get.
They will put whatever you buy on autorenewal and they will not inform you about it (of course!). They will also cheat you on the number of days you buy a subscription for (a month for shutterstock is from January 5th to Febrary 2nd, on which day they have already charged your credit card. Dishonest company!
I purchased a pack for just 2 photos. This was NOT a subscription. Just choose two photos to download and that would be it. Unfortunately, shutterstock had the genius idea to make this auto-renew which means that once I downloaded 2 photos, they charged me again and said I could download 2 more photos. Absolutely stupid. Imagine if Amazon sends you a TV, and once you receive that TV, Amazon automatically charges you and sends you another one.
Purchased an annual subscription. Didn't see the automatic renewal default. A year later charged again for a subscription I didn't need. They won't refund it after 14 days.
BE CAREFUL, someone unauthorized ordered 2 Shutterstock subscriptions ($448.00) and charged them to my Visa. I have been a Shutterstock customer for at least 15 years, and when I contacted them about the unauthorized purchases I was told that they would get back to me in 24 hours. And they did, 18 hours later, to tell me to change my password! Fortunately I contacted Visa after my useless conversation with Shutterstock, they immediately changed my card number and replaced my Visa card. Today, 48 hours later, I got an email notifying me that they (Shutterstock) are looking into my request to refund the $448.00. Really? While I expect no less than a complete refund, they seem to be missing the point--Shutterstock doesn't have a secure website, the procedure to handle a mishap, or the customer service to reassure victims of fraud.
They state that the extended license can be used for merchandise, hats, shirts, etc. But apparently NOT if you intend to use your logo as well. Why would I give away promotional items without my logo? They said, "well only if the logo is far away". So I asked "How Far?" I mean it is a hat, correct? How big do they think it is? $179 turned to $10,000 really quick. Run, run quickly.
This is a bad company with bad customer service. The really good content is limited, and there are MUCH better sites out there that won't lock you in even after you are unsatisfied. Please don't make my mistake! There is a penalty fee if you try to cancel.
Account is not clear. It is BS. I wish I had read the reviews before I signed up for what I believed to be $29.00 for 10 downloads for the year! I had to pay to get out of this contract. After being charged over $300.00 and never, not once login to my account.
Accounts and contracts are not clear, when you try to cancel good luck. Ended up having my bank dispute the charges and canceled the card. Only resolution to stop the charges and fraud.
They auto renewed subscription even when i have not even logon to the website after my first download. They will not even roll over the downloads which they have billed me for and i didnot even use. I will never use shutterstock again
Images are great, but they auto-renew your plan once you complete the number of pictures you signed up for. I used my client's account so though I didn't set the "auto-renew" button when setting up the account, they will charge the $50 on my next paycheck. MERRY CHRISTMAS SHUTTERSTOCK...
Much to the same theme as everyone elses reviews, this Companies sneaky, underhanded opt-out auto renewal program is beyond dishonest! I would rather pay IStock more for their photos to have an upfront buying experience! Their customer service is trained to say No with no reasonable explainations to their practices. Avoid this company!
I've used shutterstock for a while but as some here have noted they've gotten greedy. When you get a plan, there's a new auto renewal button set as the default so once you've downloaded your pics they renew your package. So say you want five pics and dont notice the button you're basically going to end up paying twice. Its beyond sneaky and I really question the companies values for pulling this BS. I'll never use them again.
Their customer service is so shady. You can't cancel your membership unless you call them. If you can at all avoid them and use another service, save yourself some heartache and waiting on hold.
Sadly a company offering a good product, getting greedy and abusing its customers' confidence in it by sticking a sneaky tiny auto renew button to default to on. Worse still, it takes a payment straight after you have downloaded your 5 images "to make it easier for you". How dare they?! The onus is on the customer to try and get it back. Abuse your customers at your peril SS - there are lots of v good competitors out there now and you can't afford this nasty practice.
From the business
Search millions of royalty-free stock photos, illustrations, and vectors. Get inspired by ten thousand new, high-resolution images added daily.
- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members
- Sitejabber’s sole mission is to increase online transparency for buyers and businesses
- Sitejabber has helped over 200M buyers make better purchasing decisions online
- Suspicious reviews are flagged by our algorithms, moderators, and community members