Information for Crestock Customers

Main FAQ » Customer FAQ

How to buy images

It's easy to buy images at Crestock. Just follow these 4 steps:

Open a free account: It only takes a few minutes. If you've already registered, you'll need to login.
Pay & Go, Credits or Subscription? You can buy images individually, purchase a package of credits or obtain a subscription. To buy images individually, simply click "Add to cart" under any image thumbnail in your search results or beside image previews.
Checkout: Once you've chosen your image, you're ready to checkout. If you're buying individual image(s) without credits or a subscription, you'll be taken to PayPal* to finalize your transaction before you can download your image(s). If you're using credits or your subscription, you'll be asked to verify your file sizes.
Download your image(s): Once you've selected your images and resolution and paid via your subscription, credits or via PayPal*, you'll be able to download your image(s).

*You don't need a PayPal account. PayPal will process your credit card even if you do not have an account.

Have more questions? See our full FAQ for image buyers below.

Registering & buying images Using Crestock images Downloading imagesImage size & qualityBookmarking (saving) & Collections (lightboxes) Payment options, privacy and security Affiliate Program »

Is there a charge for registering as a customer?
No.
How do I buy images at Crestock?
1. Start by signing up for a free account.
2. Next, you can choose to either buy a Credit package or Subscription, or search for and purchase individual images with our "Pay & Go" option.
3. Once the images you want are in your Shopping Cart, click Checkout to complete the purchase.
4. After payment is complete, you will be able to download the purchased image directly to your computer.
How much do your images cost?
We offer a number of different ways to buy images; you can buy individual images, Credit packages or subscriptions. For more information about our different purchasing options, please see our Credits and subscriptions purchase page.
Are there any discounts?
Yes. By purchasing larger packages of Credits, the unit cost is lowered and this translates to lower costs to use images. For even better value, check out our subscription deals.
How do I buy credits or a subscription?
After login/signup, buy credits or a subscription and proceed to checkout.
How do I buy a single image?
When you have found an image you want to buy just add it to your cart and checkout, then follow the steps to payment and download.
What is is the value of the 'credits'?
1 credit = $1 (US dollars)
Will I need to register to buy photos, even if I only want to buy one image?
Yes, we do require all customers to register, but the registration process is very fast and simple and can be done while you buy your first image.
How long does the registration process take?
We only need your name, address and, email address. It shouldn't take more than 2 minutes to sign up with us.
I need an image really fast. How long is this going to take?
Once you've found the image you want, it should only take a few minutes to sign up, pay and download your first image.

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What licensing options do you offer?
All our images are Royalty-Free, meaning that you pay a one-time fee for their use. Learn more about Royalty-Free image licensing in this Wikipedia article.

We offer a number of Extended License options in addition to our Standard License, as detailed below.
What can I use Crestock images for?
Unlike some other photo libraries, we put few restrictions on how our images can and cannot be used. We charge the same, low price regardless of whether an image is going to be reproduced 10 or 100,000 times.

Our Standard Image License covers:
  • Printed advertising
  • Printed documents
  • Web and screen-based advertising
  • Press and publishing editorial
  • Website and blog illustrations
  • Social media: personal, professional and corporate channels
  • Multimedia presentations
  • Book and CD covers
  • Display advertising and signage
  • Software applications: games, iOSTM, AndroidTM and other apps, whether commercial, freeware or shareware
  • TV, film and video productions
  • Educational materials
  • Art prints or interior decoration not for resale

For further details please see our Image License Agreement.
Extended License options
  • Consumer Merchandise – For placement of images on products or product packaging for commercial resale or redistribution. Some examples include: all product packaging, mugs, mouse pads, t-shirts and other apparel, toys; greeting cards, stationary, calendars, stickers, posters and similar paper products.
  • Electronic Templates – This license includes permission to resell or distribute the image as part of an electronic template, such as an e-greeting card, PowerPointTM slideshow template, WordPressTM theme or software deployment package.
  • Unlimited Print Run – Our standard license limits the number of printed reproductions to 500,000. This extended license has no limit.
  • Multi-Seat license – Enables multiple employees within the same company to use an image.

To acquire an Extended License, please contact us. We can arrange an Extended License for you within one (1) business day. A separate Extended License fee will apply.
What can I NOT use Crestock images for?
There are a number of restrictions that are common to most companies licensing royalty-free images. For full details please see our Image License Agreement.

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How do I download images?
Simply add the images you need to your cart, go to checkout and you will be taken through the purchase and download process.
Something went wrong during downloading!
if you experience problems while downloading an image, or you can't locate the downloaded file, go to My Account and choose Downloads & purchases in the menu to the left. If the image was successfully purchased and credits deducted from your account, the image will be listed here. There is also a link allowing you to download the image again for 30 days from when you first bought it.
The file I downloaded is corrupt, or cannot be used for other reasons.
First you could try downloading the file again, as described in the paragraph above. If this does not resolve the problem, contact us at help@crestock.com. Please include the reference number of the image (this can be found next to the image preview) and a description of the problem. We will respond to your problem within one business day.
How do I obtain a tax invoice for my purchases?
We will be automating this function in future. In the meantime, if the email receipt generated by PayPal is not sufficient for record keeping purposes, please send an email to help@crestock.com with your request. Be sure to include any details you need shown, such as your company name or physical address. We will create a custom invoice/receipt and return it to you via email.
Will I have to go through the whole ordering process for each image I buy?
No. As long as you have sufficient credits in your Crestock account, you can download images with just a couple of mouse clicks.
Do I need my credit card every time I want to download an image?
No. You only need your credit card or PayPal account when you want to add more credits to your account, renew a subscription, or purchase images without using credits.
Can I get images delivered on a CD?
No, we offer no delivery options apart from direct download to your computer.

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Can I download a low-res image for my design drafts?
You can use our watermarked preview images for comping purposes. On a PC, right click on the image and choose 'Save image as...' On a Mac, Ctrl + click and choose 'Save image to ...'
Are all your images watermarked?
No. Only the preview images have watermarks (the cross and Crestock logo overlaid on the image). This is to prevent unauthorized use of our images. The original, high resolution images that you buy are never watermarked.
What sizes and resolutions are available?
The range of sizes varies depending on the original image. The sizes available can be found beside each image preview:

Image Sizes
How large can your images be reproduced?
Use our Size Calculator on every image preview page to check how large the image can be reproduced at a given resolution in printed media such as brochures, magazines, flyers and newspapers.

Size Calculator
Why are some images not available in the larger sizes?
We do not scale up images to sizes larger than their original resolution as this causes a degradation of image quality. If the original image supplied by the artist is not large enough, we will not offer it in the larger file sizes.
What colour mode are your images?
All our JPEG images are in RGB colour mode.
JPEG images have been compressed. Does this mean they're low quality?
No, because we advise our artists to save their images at the highest available JPEG quality setting. This gives relatively small file sizes (to provide faster download times) with minimal, usually undetectable, loss of detail compared to the original uncompressed file. Learn more about JPEG compression in this Wikipedia article.
What format are the illustrations on your site?
Many of our illustrations are supplied only in jpeg format. Most vector illustrations also have a jpeg file option available; the exact sizes and formats available are listed beside the image preview for all images on the site. Vector illustrations are supplied as either .eps or .ai files.

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How can I bookmark (save) images?
You could simply bookmark an image page in your browser, but to keep track of a number of images, our Collection feature (see below) is a much better option.
How do I use Collections (Lightboxes)?
This feature allows registered users to organize their own collections of images, making it easy to locate images again later, group related images together or compare them side by side.

To create or add to a collection, just click the 'Add to Collection' link below any image on the website. Note that collections can only be saved when you are registered and logged-in.

Choose the 'New Collection' option to create a new collection, or add the image to one of your existing collections.

To view or edit the collections you have created, go to 'My Collections' on the upper navigation bar on the website. You can create as many different collections as you want.
How can I find out more about your photographers and illustrators?
Next to each image preview you will find the photographer/illustrator's username. Click this link to view their full portfolio and to find out more about them.
What information is required to register at Crestock?
We only need your name, address, email address and telephone number. This information is kept in our database, but not shared with any third party under any circumstance.
Do I need a credit card to register at Crestock?
No financial information is required for you to register, but you will need either a credit card, debit card or a PayPal account to buy images.
Are my credit card details secure at Crestock.com?
Yes. All our online payments are powered by PayPal - the market leader in online payments. We do not store your credit card details, nor are they accessible to Crestock staff at any point.
Paying with PayPal
All our online payments are powered by PayPal, but you don't need a PayPal account to buy images; you can choose during checkout if you want to pay by credit card, debit card or with your PayPal account if you have one.

For full details on how we use the information collected from our users, refer to our Privacy Policy.

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