Back in 2011, I did an article about Dreamstime.com where I talked about how you could download unlimited, print-quality (300dpi) images from Dreamstime's free images section.
Well, that free images section on Dreamstime has been drastically reduced.
I emailed the folks at Dreamstimes when I noticed I was having a harder and harder time searching the free images section of their site. I got an email back that explained Dreamstime had deleted a lot of the free images that weren't getting any downloads.
The email said that Dreamstime was eventually moving all the free images to another site so they could "focus on the paid section which is our main priority."
The email assured me that the free image section on Dreamstime would be around for many more months to come, but I discovered this weekend that about 80% of the images I was linked to on my Pinterest account are no more.
I've been in the process of deleting images and consolidating Boards, so that visitors don't end up on pages that say "We`re sorry, this image is no longer available..." or "This image is unavailable," which is what has been happening when I click many of the images.
Dreamstime's free stock images have been moved to a spin-off site called StockFreeImages.com . There are two important things to know about this spin-off site:
you can only download ten (10) print-quality (300dpi) images for free you can only download fifty (50) web-ready (72dpi) images for free
After you hit these limits, you are required to switch to a weekly or monthly paid plan.
So...
Make sure you choose your free images wisely, because unlike the old model on Dreamstime.com, the unlimited free images party is over.
via Examiner National Edition Gadgets & Tech Channel Articles http://www.examiner.com/article/the-dream-is-over-dreamstime-com-removes-all-free-images-to-stockfreeimages-com?cid=roadrunner