Getty Images

[EndzoneSports]

I received an email from Jay about 5-6 weeks ago stating that it had been a pleasure doing business with everyone and he was extremely sorry but he was completely DONE providing these photos. He was very thankful to everyone but he was finished! This was very upsetting to me! He did great work and was always kind to me. It will be tough to find the same quality service, Not good!!

In speaking with a player's agent yesterday, I was told that Jay was purchasing original photos from another source (Steve ?) who had access to the Getty Images photos. From these originals, new negatives were being shot, allowing him to then reproduce photos at will from these 2nd-generation negatives (which explains the slight cropping and quality issues). Getty got word of "Steve's" activities, filing suit and essentially shutting down Jay's source.

Whether or not this is taken as gospel is up to the reader, however, this info came to me by what I consider a reliable source.

Regards,

[SoCalEd]

I was a customer of Jay's and as a collector I was very disappointed to hear that he was no longer in business, he contacted me directly to inform me that he was no longer selling photos. It is very difficult to find high quality 5x7 or 8x10 sports images, not to mention the variety. Does anyone know where I could find something similar to what Jay was offering? I'm mostly interested in high quality 5x7 sports images (NFL & college football, baseball, basketball, etc.). If anyone knows of a source, I'd certainly appreciate the information.
Thank you...

[grandpahoo]

Hello Everyone,

I understand that this topic will likely come up periodically on the forum given there will be new members who may not be aware of GUU's stance regarding the reselling of Getty images. For those who are not familiar with our policy, I am re-posting below a previous post I made on the subject:

I have spoken to Getty Images directly about individuals attempting to resell Getty Images to our members. As per that conversation, I have been informed that Getty Images does not give authorization for this type of activity. Therefore, I deleted an earlier message on this forum where the poster proposed they can offer such a service. That post, and others similar to it, will remain off this site unless the poster can provide us with evidence of authorization from Getty Images.

In addition, since Game Used Universe does not condone the unauthorized distribution of licensed properties, all future posts regarding the resale of Getty Images will be deleted from this site. Now that Getty Images has made this point clear, while individuals can certainly make their our choice of purchasing anything they want in the open market, any unauthorized purchase of licensed materials will have to be done outside of Game Used Universe.

Please feel free to post your comments here or email me directly if you have any questions about this issue.

Sincerely,
Christopher Cavalier
CEO - Game Used Universe

Smart move.

[ChrisCavalier]

Apparently there are still people on the forum who are either not aware or have chosen to disregard my previous posts articulating Game Used Universe's stance pertaining to the reselling of Getty Images. In fact, just today someone made a post offering a "limited time" service for the re-selling of these images.

Once again, here is the information I have posted previously:

I have spoken to Getty Images directly about individuals attempting to resell Getty Images to our members. As per that conversation, I have been informed that Getty Images does not give authorization for this type of activity. Therefore, I deleted an earlier message on this forum where the poster proposed they can offer such a service. That post, and others similar to it, will remain off this site unless the poster can provide us with evidence of authorization from Getty Images.

In addition, since Game Used Universe does not condone the unauthorized distribution of licensed properties, all future posts regarding the resale of Getty Images will be deleted from this site. Now that Getty Images has made this point clear, while individuals can certainly make their our choice of purchasing anything they want in the open market, any unauthorized purchase of licensed materials will have to be done outside of Game Used Universe.

Going forward, any posts offering to resell Getty Images on this site without providing evidence of prior authorization will be forwarded to Getty Images for their review.

Please feel free to let me know if you have any questions.

Sincerely,
Christopher Cavalier
CEO - Game Used Universe

[nyjetsfan14]

I have had so much more luck photo matching older jerseys (of non superstar/mega players) with football cards (and yearbooks/programs/etc...) than I have ever had with Getty. I have literally 1,000's of Jets cards from every brand conceivable covering almost every style the Jets have ever worn. Is it neat to have an 8x10 or 16x20 showing your exact jersey? I am sure it is but for the older stuff and non superstar stuff that sometimes just isn't feasible with Getty. A lot of collectors just don't know they have or can get a their own image collection in the forum of cards (other media). It takes a little more work - having to sift through stacks or pages, depending on what you are using, rather than just banging on a keyboard - but the excitement of a cool photomatch is still the same or even better. Just personal opinion

[aeneas01]

not to ruin a good thing, but i don't think getty is too hip with having their photos copied and pasted to other sites either...

[mvandor]

not to ruin a good thing, but i don't think getty is too hip with having their photos copied and pasted to other sites either...

Getty is running a huge scam. Every other photo site watermarks their pics to prevent unauthorized use, EXCEPT Getty's. Upon login all watermarks disappear.

Why would they do that? Because they have a rather large legal department and operation scouring the Internet for their pics (some of which are available from other sources of course) and then sending threatening letters demanding far more than the orig price of the pics as shown on their site for "unauthorized use". Many of those hit did purchase pics legally through other sources, or even Getty themselves, but did not save the documentation. Under threat of litigation alot of people fold and pay the extortion, generating millions to Getty.

This is a carefully crafted shakedown by this company IMHO, protecting their copyrights was and is easily resolvable by simply watermarking their pictures like everyone else.

They should be prosecuted for this tactic, and certainly not used as a vendor. My web development company ceased using them this year in fact solely because of their tactics.

[brianborsch]

Does anyone know the formal process to buy photos from them legally? Do you just inform them what you are using it for and they charge you accordingly? After that can you use the photo for a game used display in your home? Or does buying from them put you at risk for potentially breaking the rights alotted when you buy the photo? Do they give you access to a digital file? Or do they send you a photo? How does it work? Let me know...

Brian B

brianborsch@yahoo.com

[brianborsch]

Is Getty like the black plague that no one wants to touch? Or does no one have experience in purchasing pics from their site? I just want to see the process so I am not flying blind when purchasing a pic from their site. Anyone? Please! You are my only hope! (not really but...)

[10thMan]

I called them about buying one photo. The answer was that it would cost me "a few hundred" for a single pic. Being honest, I don`t remember the entire conversation, it was about 2 years ago. The guy casually suggested I go elsewhere, unless I really wanted to spend. If you can find someone with a connection to them, you have a good chance, like a Photographer, or someone that does business with them.

I have an Item that looks close to a Getty photo match, but need the actual pic. This was/is an issue on here due to people getting product from someone, or possibly a licensing issue. Just trying to help,
Sean