ShutterstockReviews 533

I started a free trial on June 22nd (currently writing this on July 20th) and downloaded only a couple of images I ended up not using. Since I wasn't using the service, I completely forgot about it. Comes July 20th, I get a charge on my CC for $29 and the only description was "FREE TRIAL ENDED" so, since I had forgotten about this subscription, I didn't know what the charge was for. I even called up my bank, they didn't help at all. I ended up going back to my browser history to see what the subscription could have been for. I found shutterstock.
First I was very upset because they charged me on the 20th instead of the 22nd. I was having none of it. I singed in, looked for the plans tab and there it was. So I clicked on cancel plan, which took me to their support page and I found that in order to cancel the plan I had to talk to a rep (which might not be a big deal for some, but some people would rather just pay every month instead of being "confronted" by a rep while trying to cancel a membership, so, not so 5-star on this part, but just keep reading).
I opened up the chat and was greeted by Caleb and I told him I wanted to cancell my plan. I prepared all my best arguments of how my trial month wasn't actually over and how I souldn't be charged a fee for cancelling my plan early, since the actual plan hadn't technically started yet. But instead of trying to pull a fast one on me the rep just informed me that he issued me a refund for the first month (which I hadn't asked for yet) and that he cancelled my plan for me. He then explained that the system makes the charge 2 days prior to ensure the card is good. So, I'm actually quite happy with my overall experience.

This site should have a 0 star rating. I don't know what gives any company the right to hide a reoccurring charge in purchases. This would not be tolerated anywhere else. I for one will be glad when enforcement's come to the internet to put places like this out of business. $29 may not mean anything to some people but it could be everything to another. Thank goodness for PayPal! They will take care of them!

I signed up for free trial and the next thing I knew I was receiving monthly charges. I did not worry about it, thinking I'd cancel after a month or so. When cancelling, they charge a fee equal to $49 each month. Outrageous fees for 10 photos. My cost for 3 months was $150!

After ended trial period automatically created invoice and payment was debited. Any notices, any question, any warnings! Looks like a steal.

As many others are saying this company absolutely tries to scam you. I got the free trial and then was automatically signed over to the yearly subscription, where they were charging $30 a month, when I went to cancel I was told that I had to pay the difference of what I had been 'saving' throughout the months I was charged. Ended up being nearly $100 AUD on top of the monthly fees I had already paid. I feel completely ripped off and the company clearly does not care about the fact that it's misleading customers. You can easily find a better service, this one is not worth it at all.

Free Trial is a joke. They offer a free trial, but if you read the fine print you're actually signing up for a 12-month commitment once you go into month 2. When you cancel your subscription, they come back with the full $49/month e.g. You sign up in May, rollover to June and cancel in July - they will come back and ask you for the $20+ Tax difference. They Charge you eventually for Free Trial.

BUYERS BE CAUTIOUS! I wish I could leave 1/2 star! I signed up with Shutterstock and did not read the fine print. There is a penalty for the discounted yearly rate. But having to pay almost $100 to discontinue my service! Essentially if you cancel early they still get their money for the year. It is extremely difficult to cancel the subscription so they can inform you that you will be charged an exorbitant amount to cancel. Trying to hold you hostage to the subscription.
The photo subscription sheet below reads: "To cancel go online to your My Plans page, click 'Cancel plan early' link as associated with your subscription and then click the ' Confirm cancellation' button to complete your cancellation. THIS IS NOT TRUE!

Charged me for canceling my subscription! The audacity of this company. Would never recommend anyone use this even during the free trial.

When I joined up as a contributor, they were paying 25 cents (yes, 25 cents) per subscription download.
Payment does not happen until reaching $35.
So I knew it would take two or three years of sales to get somewhere.
Since joining, Shutterstock reduces the payment from 25 cents to 10 cents.
This means it will take even longer to get to $35.
I suppose one day they could reduce the payment to $0.01 per download, which means it'll take ten times longer than now to reach $35.
In the meantime they are holding on to the $23 I have accumulated. Nice for them.

As for contributing images, their process is totally inconsistent. I have submitted images, had them approved, later deleted them, and then resubmitted them to then have them rejected for the most flimsy reasons.

Avoid Shutterstock if you can. It's a scam.

I paid $1,800 for an annual subscription of 25 film clips/month. There are 3-4 that I can't upload into any industry standard film editor such as imovie or VN editor. There is no way of knowing this BEFORE downloading and using up a credit. After 5-6 emails of me explaining this and receiving the same generic response "we will not give you credits bc you can currently view the files in VLC" which is a viewing device, not an editor, I am writing this angry review. They are either idiots and do not understand my complaint or they are predators and care much more about keeping film credits, and squabbling over a few dollars rather than standing behind their service and products and making sure you're happy when consuming from them.

I chose the free trial and I realized that they were charging my credit card without even informing me! I didn't receive any email, nothing! Unacceptable, at least they stopped my subscription without charging me extra money.

They automatically charge you auto-renewal money and don't tell you about it in their "fine print". They're a corrupt company that I'd happily join a class action lawsuit against.

This company is a huge scam, stay away. They rope you into an annual commitment by being very sneaky, then when you try to cancel, they hit you with an exit charge on your way out. This is not the way to do business. Shutterstock is at the bottom of the barrel in this category

I signed up for a free trial and decided to keep the subscription. In May they charged me multiple times for the subscription fee. When I contacted them they tried to charge me a cancellation fee. I shouldn't have to pay a cancellation fee when they are the one breaking their own terms and conditions by charging multiple times. NOT COOL

They get you with a "Free trial", but beware, you cannot cancel it from month to month, you're locked into an annual contract. They will then try and charge you a ridiculous fee for canceling early, so it ends up not being worth it. THEN, if you don't need 10 images a month or forget your billing cycle, you cannot roll over your images to the next month. Stay away, don't do a free trial. Good luck!

PS They have no monthly communications to remind you of how many downloads you have left this month. But you can guess that after my subscription expired, they were all about reminding me to download more. It's pretty messed up.

Read the cancellation policy, It's confusing because they talk about "Monthly" plans first, but your free trial is NOT for a monthly plan. "For monthly (no contract) subscriptions, you are free to cancel at any time by turning off auto renewal in your plan settings. Since you have already paid for the monthly subscription at the beginning of the billing cycle, you will still be able to use your remaining downloads or credits until the end of your billing cycle. If you need to terminate your Annual (billed monthly) subscription before the end of the 12 month term, you will be subject to a fee equivalent to the savings you received in comparison to the monthly (no contract) rate. Please contact us for assistance with your cancellation or if you have any questions."

Renew the subscription without authorization, impossible to cancel, forced to change the credit card number so they stop charging

I didn't want the annual plan, didn't agree to it. Wasn't notified of payment being taken. Wasn't notified after being taken. Only found out when saw it coming out of the bank. Horrible salesperson style customer service "pay us £20 to cancel". No I want a full refund. "Pay us £10 to cancel". No I want a full refund. "Pay £10 and we'll refund the last month". No I want a full refund.

Horrible experience, customer service stuck in the past.

If you forget to cancel your plan during the free period and you have an annual plan selected, they will charge you the difference in price between monthly and annually, and they will charge you FROM THE BEGINNING OF YOUR "FREE" TRIAL PERIOD! STAY AWAY AT ALL COST!

They were rejecting photos that were "unfocused" etc which was certainly not the case and there is no way to request further review. They rejected some of my best and sharpest photos while allowing some of my worst to slip through. I don't know who does the reviewing but I wasn't impressed.

My experience is the same as almost everyone else on here. Got roped into a subscription after a free trial and then they charged me to cancel it. Most of the downloads were not editable which makes no sense and their customer service is appalling. I don't know how they are getting away with what they are doing. It is blatant fraud. If you value your money... and your sanity... avoid SHUTTERSCAM at all costs!