If you have been in this business long, you have learned that at times it can seem like a rip-off artist haven. With content providers licensing content to webmasters that isn’t even theirs to begin with, partnership programs that never pay, billing companies that close without notice… There are a few basic things that you can do to help protect yourself from companies like this, and I have learned these things the hard way:When Dealing with All Companies

Before purchasing content, signing up for a partnership program, or doing any kind of business with a website in which you will be spending money, or they will be paying you- email them! Just ask any old question that is not so obvious that you frustrate the owner. Do not sign up for the program or purchase anything until your email is answered.

Why? If a company selling something, or asking for enough personal information on you to send checks to you does not post an email address, or answer your email quickly, you probably do not want to do business with them. Honest companies want to help you and work with you, and therefore post email addresses and answer the email they receive promptly.

Before Purchasing Content

Look for their title 18 statement and a license agreement. These two documents should be easily found on any content providers website that you purchase content from. You should wonder about the legality of the site and content if you cannot find this information.

Read the license agreement. Some content providers that steal the content they are licensing will also ‘steal’ another companies license agreement and leave that companies name in the agreement. Make sure the agreement states the name of the company and acknowledges the company as "licensee" Also, make sure that the number of sites you may use the content on, the ways in which you may use it (cropping, renaming, graphics, etc.) and the types of sites you can display the content on will work for your needs.

Read the terms of purchase. Some content providers do not offer refunds on downloadable content. Since you have a copy of the content almost immediately after purchase, it would be hard to control theft if refunds were a general policy. Make sure you know what the terms of purchase are and agree to them.

LOOK at the samples. As obvious as this one sounds, I have had many people email me comments on their purchases as if they had no clue as to what they were buying ahead of time. I offer exact samples of all my content, however I have a feeling a lot of people do not bother to click on them and inspect them. Thumbnail photos can appear of higher quality than their large counterparts, and do not give you any clues as to the actual size of the photos you are purchasing. If large samples are available, look at them. Do not assume anything as to what the samples tell you about the set, other than quality, and what the models look like…

Do not assume that samples from CD’s and downloadable sets are simply the companies ‘best pics’. While I like to choose samples that look good, I also base my decision as to what photos to post as samples on the idea that they should be representative of the entire set (IE- if 1/2 the photos in the set were taken in the shower, 1/2 my samples will be shower scenes.

Do not assume that samples from CD’s and downloadable sets are representative of the entire set. While Faithful Designs samples are, other companies samples may be ‘best pics’ (IE- Just because one sample shows actual penetration, doesn’t mean that any more than that do.) See if you can find contact sheets, a word or two about how samples are chosen, or -if you must- a way to view the entire set if you are not sure.