Hi gang:
Yesterday I got an email from Photobucket offering to host pictures for 3rd party use for $99.99/year. That is $8.33 per month as opposed to the $39.99/month fee that they were demanding to continue to host 3rd party access when they first dropped their free service. That is an 80% drop in price. Ya don't suppose they have figured out that they shot themselves in the foot with the original price hike do ya? I asked specifically if that included restoring the old photos and they said yes.
So, my question: Is getting your Photobucket pictures back onto the forums worth $100 per year. I'm pretty sure I'm going to see a predominantly negative response. IMHO it is still a rip off.
Cheers!!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
I'm not going to bother to go back to Photobucket. I am happy with imgbb.com
Rich
Alton Junction
hon30critterSo, my question: Is getting your Photobucket pictures back onto the forums worth $100 per year.
I would not use them if they paid me $100 per year. I like to spend my money and devote my support to people and places I trust and respect. That don't scam people who relied on them.
Are they still in business ?....
Remarkable.
GARRY
HEARTLAND DIVISION, CB&Q RR
EVERYWHERE LOST; WE HUSTLE OUR CABOOSE FOR YOU
No Photobucket for me.
No.
Flickr still is FREE.
I not only dumped photobucket, I removed all my pictures from them, and took the step of deleting my entire photobucket account.
When they asked me why, I told them that highway robbery was not something I supported, and that they could keep their stupid 3rd party hosting issues to themselves, as I was going to Flickr as they are FREE. Even for 3rd party hosting.
And, far fewer stupid pop-up ads on Flickr.
So I will NEVER go back to pukebucket for photo hosting.
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
And they think $100 a year is a bargain???
George In Midcoast Maine, 'bout halfway up the Rockland branch
hon30critter Yesterday I got an email from Photobucket offering to host pictures for 3rd party use for $99.99/year. I asked specifically if that included restoring the old photos and they said yes.
Yesterday I got an email from Photobucket offering to host pictures for 3rd party use for $99.99/year.
I asked specifically if that included restoring the old photos and they said yes.
We'll restore your daughter to you if you buy our daughter-restoring sevice for only $99.99 per year.
That would look like extortion, if it were done by competent criminals.
Ed
I left all my Photobucket photos right where they were. On the rare occasions that I have linked to one of them (in a Diner thread to CudaKen) he said the pop up ads made viewing the image worthless.
When I log in to Photobucket there is a window that say's I'm using 300% of my storage, please click here to buy more Like that's going to happen.
I had opened a Flickr account about four years ago so I had a plan B in place.
Still, I miss the easier functionality of PB however, Flickr is serving my needs very well and the photos I upload there are in their original size (some are 15 Mb. each)
Sorry Photobucket
I haven't gotten the offer for the $99/yr. and when I do it will go into my delete basket!
Regards, Ed
Initially, I appeciated what PB offered me for nothing. Then....little annoyances crept in. More chaff presented before I got to an unfettered view of my gallery. Then came their demand that I pay for the privilege. All of that was evolutionary, and thankfully, not compelling. I simply deleted my account. They warned that I had a grace period of 90 days or something before they would delete my files.
I never looked back. I've always had railimages.com, an associate of the only forum that I support financially. Lots of storage there.
Always have a Plan B in the digital world. Always.
Geez guys! Don't nobody want to go back to the thieves?
I'm going to watch this thread for a few days to see if we get any positive responses. Then I'm going to sum up all of the answers and send Photobucket a message.
Nope
When Photobucket blocked all of my previously posted photos, it gave me absolutely no warning. It just did it. Why in the world would I ever use Photobucket again even it allowed me to use it for free?
The way PB changed the rules is simply bad business...
There should've been a "grandfather" date all photos before then would be unaffected and still viewable...
Then 500 bucks a year they must be sniffing some funky fluids... 100 still outrageous!!!
I started using PB about 6 monthso ago specifically for posting photos in the forum then I learned of their lies and the pop up/redirect scams that ravage the site have persuaded me to move my photos when I get the chance I only have about a dozen and they're all on my phone or computer so I really wouldn't have too much work...
That's the trouble with big business they make these unilateral decisions that affect their patrons Apple springs to mind! As Tom Cat at the club said "some people swear by it, some people swear at it!" And I'm not the profanity spurting kind but boy I have some "choice adjectives" for Apple!
Did I miss any?!
Steve
If everything seems under control, you're not going fast enough!
Photo who?
I had years of photo's in the bucket of 100s if not 1000s of kids at hockey tournaments and other special hockey related events. They were open to anyone that wanted to see them. We had teams from all over the U.S. and Canada at some of these tournaments and I get e-mails still asking if they are available anywhere else as PB appears to have gobbled them up. Sorry to say, no, as there were just way too many for me to hold on to.
Oh well, you get what you pay for.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
NWP SWP....There should've been a "grandfather" date all photos before then would be unaffected and still viewable...
I agree that their policy change shouldn't have been sprung without warning like it was, but I had a basic paid account (about $40.00/year) and was offered renewal, on my anniversary of joining, at about $50.00, with full third party hosting. They also grandfathered my account at that rate until the end of this year.
When I attempted to renew my subscription, I learned that my credit card had been compromised (not by photobucket) and therefore missed the renewal date. Photobucket contacted me to enquire why I hadn't renewed, and when I explained, their tech guy extended my subscription until my new credit card arrived. I then had difficulty with the renewal process, and they again contacted me explaining that they were having technical difficulties and would contact me when that was cleared-up.
While I agree that their new policy was very poorly introduced, and is outrageously priced, I can't say enough good things about their support staff. They've always been quick to respond, very helpful, and very polite, too.For those reasons, I am seriously considering their recent offer, although I intend to use the grandfathered rate right to the end of the year. I get no pop-up ads, the site is easy to use, whether adding new photos (earlier this evening I put over 60 fairly large photos into a new album, all in a minute-or-so) or when adding photos here.Wayne
In a word...."no". I am now on imgur, although I still have my photobucket acct because I have not transferred all my pictures. This has happened to me before with a couple of other sites. It is almost like bait and switch.
Bear "It's all about having fun."
A snowballs chance....
Cheers,the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
"Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me."
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
NO WAY!!
There are multiple free options Google, Imgur, ImgBB and more.
Gary
I'm not the sure the $99 offer is real? I clicked on the link in the Email, and tried to email the customer service email on the page explaining the new offer, and my mail was returned undeliverable.
That returned mail page had an attachment I did not open...........
Also, from that page, link buttons to other plans or what should have been back to the Photobucket main page, did not work at all?
Is the Email a scam to get you to open that attachment on the returned mail?
From the photobucket main page, if you click on "plans", you cannot find the $99 offer as decribed in the Email?
The question remains, how long will those others remain free? Nothing on the internet is free, we are all paying one way or another. Eventually, the "industry" will figure out its "best" economic model.
But as an electrician who helped build the infrastructure of the internet in its early days, I can tell you that most of you have no idea how much expensive electrical infrastructure it takes for you to post on this forum........
Sheldon
I was wondering what 3rd party imaging sites people were using instead of photobucket, and saw this post.
No way I would want to be a photobucket customer after what they did.
I have noticed that my photobucket images will show up when I do a Google search on various things, but of course when you visit the link where the image is you get the "Photobucket Please Update Your Account" image.
Thanks for the suggestions for the other 3rd party sites !
Ken H in OH
Never been there; Never will be.
Mark P.
Website: http://www.thecbandqinwyoming.comVideos: https://www.youtube.com/user/mabrunton
And- lest we forget- Photo bucket removed the active links in older forum responses so that when a reader looks up a reference to a topic, no images are there anymore, rendering many of those responses less beneficial. Photo bucket appears to practice "historical revisionism" in this manner, so why give them any more business? And as for the cost of the Internet's infrastructure, don't think that the initial investment hasn't been repaid hundreds of times since, given the high profits enjoyed by many internet-reliant companies. Given all this money being made, one would think that we could enjoy a pricing structure that cuts us a bit of slack!
Cedarwoodron
ATLANTIC CENTRAL But as an electrician who helped build the infrastructure of the internet in its early days, I can tell you that most of you have no idea how much expensive electrical infrastructure it takes for you to post on this forum........ Sheldon
Seriously, though, in your estimate, how much expensive electrical infrastructure does it take for us to post on this forum?
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
ATLANTIC CENTRAL I'm not the sure the $99 offer is real? I clicked on the link in the Email, and tried to email the customer service email on the page explaining the new offer, and my mail was returned undeliverable. That returned mail page had an attachment I did not open........... Also, from that page, link buttons to other plans or what should have been back to the Photobucket main page, did not work at all? Is the Email a scam to get you to open that attachment on the returned mail? From the photobucket main page, if you click on "plans", you cannot find the $99 offer as decribed in the Email? The question remains, how long will those others remain free? Nothing on the internet is free, we are all paying one way or another. Eventually, the "industry" will figure out its "best" economic model. But as an electrician who helped build the infrastructure of the internet in its early days, I can tell you that most of you have no idea how much expensive electrical infrastructure it takes for you to post on this forum........ Sheldon
Not that I don't doubt you sheldon.,but with fiber and improved hardware that same data is now pennies on the dollar. Less than 1/1000th what it was back in the day to install better copper. They just replace the copper with fiber now.
The real cost is in redundant storage, backups, hardware maintenance. That's why cloud services are so popular. You are handing your IT responsibilities to someone else.
LION posts on puter of him. Him has got 10+ TB of space. Got seven puters running in my office.
ROAR
The Route of the Broadway Lion The Largest Subway Layout in North Dakota.
Here there be cats. LIONS with CAMERAS
Ok, you are starting to witness the teck crumble where investors are going to demand that companys be profitable, over 50% of tech companys are not. This always starts at small companys and works its way up. Some companys like the one in question shoot themselves in the foot as they try to adapt instead of having a viable long range plan without the hype.
When something is free it is customer volume that pays the bills. I wonder what the drop in customers coming through that virtual door was/is.
A local oil change place went from boom to bust when they dropped the free $14.00 touchless car wash with every oil change. I don't know what the cost of every carwash was to them but they are slowly recovering by reinstating it. Still, there were loyal customers they will never get back.