Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

What is Apexiel?

Apexiel is a platform that connects car owners and visual media professionals (e.g. photographers, videographers) at car events.

What does "Apexiel" stand for?

The name "Apexiel" comes from combining the words "Apex" and "Pixel".

Why should I use Apexiel?

Apexiel serves as a comprehensive hub for all aspects of media services at car events. Whether you're an event organizer, car owner, or part of the media team, Apexiel streamlines the entire process, including listing, booking, payment, and content delivery. This efficient platform saves you time and effort, allowing everyone to concentrate on their passions.

Is Apexiel free?

Apexiel is free for browsing and event hosting, and charges commission fees for media service booking.

For drivers/competitor (aka "clients") who book media services, Apexiel charges a 5% of the order package cost plus the sales tax. For example, if a media package price is $45, Apexiel 5% service fee is $2.25. This brings the total before sales tax to $47.25. If the sale tax is $4.87, then the total that a driver pays for this media package is $52.12.

For media professionals like photographers, videographers, Apexiel charges 3 cents plus 2.9% of the client transaction amount which includes the media package cost, Apexiel transaction fee, and sales tax) each event order. For example, for a total client transaction of $52.12, Apexiel will charge $1.81 to the media, and the media will receive roughly $43.18 which is $45 minus $1.81.

Is the post-event gallery watermark free?

For the post-event gallery, Apexiel offers optional automatic watermarking. If enabled, a customizable watermark is applied to each photo displayed in the galleries. When a photo from the post-event gallery is purchased with watermarking active, the watermark is automatically removed in the downloaded file. For media, 50 cents per sold photo is added to the transaction fee. No charge to display and customize watermark.

Do I need to create an account?

An account is need for media service listing and/or booking and personal profile.

Who is using Apexiel?

So far Apexiel has been used mostly in the Pacific Northwest area for stage rally, rallycross, ice racing, drifting, TSD rally and autocross by organizers such as the Porsche club of America PNW region, Northwest Rally Association, American Rally Association, DriftCon, Cars On Ice, and Evergreen Autocross. Over 50 events have been hosted since February 2023 with more than 250 client orders completed. One of the goals in 2024 is to extend to events across the US.

How many users does Apexiel have?

Currently, we have over 260 registered users. These include media, racing competitors, and event organizers.

How much do photo packages cost?

The price of media packages is determined by each media (photographers, videographers.) It varies depending on level of service such as turnaround time, content type (photos, video, drone, etc.), content style and quality.

Are there other services like Apexiel?

Currently Apexiel is the only one that we know of that provides such services.

How does it work?

How do I create an account?

Simply head to the sign-up page and follow the prompt.

As a driver, how does it work?

1. Register an account, and select "Driver" as your role. This role can be modified later in your settings page.
2. Find the event you are looking for. This can be done either on the front page, event page, or type in the name of the event in the search bar. Head to the event page once it's found.
3. On the event page, you'll see a list of media teams who have registered for this event. Make the selection based on your choices of price and style, and the media's availability, and follow the steps to make an order request to the media you selected. Your method of payment will not be charged until the media approves your order requests. After the event, the media will upload content to your order page, and you'll be able to download some or all of the content files in full resolution in a zip file.
4. Apexiel uses Stripe to process payment. We do not store any payment info such as credit card number. All payment transactions are handled by Stripe for the best security possible.

As a media (for example, photographer), how does it work?

1. Register an account, and select "Media" as your role. This role can be modified later in your setting.
2. Find the event you are looking for. This can be done either on the front page, event page, or type in the name of the event in the search bar. Head to the event page once it's found.
3. On the event page, and at the bottom of the page, it's where you can sign up to be a media for the event.
4. As a media at an event, you can create different media packages. Each package can have different prices and available spots, and delivery time. Once packages are created, you are registered for the event and package can be viewed by drivers, and they can make booking requests to any of these packages. An order request to your package needs to be approved by you. Once approved, all that's left is delivering content to the client after the event on the order page. This can be done by uploading content on the order page. The content is viewable to the client once the "Deliver" button is clicked.
5. Once an order is delivered, payment of the order (called "payout") will be ready to be sent to your stripe account. In your setting, your Stripe account to receiving payment can be created, and you can configure the payment to be sent to you automatically after delivering content, or manually. Once a payout ends in your Stripe account, you can schedule to transfer that into your back account that you have associated with your Stripe account.

How to create an event?

Event can be created by someone with an event organizer role. Currently, this feature is still in development. If there's an event you want to be hosted on Apexiel, please reach out to us using the "Contact Us" form, and we will work with you to have the event created.

What kind of event can be hosted?

Any event related to cars that work with media professionals can be hosted.

Can I cancel my order?

Both driver and media can cancel the order before an event. When an order is canceled, the driver will receive a full refund of the amount charged from their payment method. Once an event has started, an order approved by media cannot be canceled.

Can I order prints?

Apexiel currently does not offer any method to order print.

How can I use a discount code?

Discount code can be obtained from media. It can be applied during the payment process when creating an order.

How can I get a discount code?

Apexiel does not have an automated way to get a discount code by the media. Please use the "Contact Us" form to reach out to us to create a discount code.

What are the recent events or events near me?

Upcoming events can be found at the Events page. Past events are not shown on the website but can be found via the search bar at the top of the website page.

Setting page

Once logging in, Your setting can be modified at the general settings page.

How to reset the password?

In your setting page the general setting page.

How to change login name?

We do not have a way to change login name. Please contact us if you need to.

How to change email?

We do not have a way to change email. Please contact us if you need to.

Features

What features does Apexiel offer?

Apexiel streamlines the workflow of media booking at car events. This includes making appointments, payments, and content delivery. For event organizers, we also allow spectators to contribute content to the event.

What payment methods are accepted?

Apexiel works with credit cards and debit cards online, including Apple Pay and Google Pay. In the future, we will add more payment methods such as PayPal and Venmo.

How to contact others?

Apexiel provides a messaging feature where users can send messages and chat with each other. This is great if you need to contact a driver or media regarding any question about an order. If the receiving end does not reply within an hour, an email will be sent to the receiver.

As a media, do I still register with the event organizer after signing up on Apexiel?

Usually yes. Apexiel is a platform for drivers to connect with the media. It does not replace the event organizer's media screening/selection process. Please follow the event organizer's media application process in addition to signing up as a media on Apexiel.

How to get media content for free?

It takes skill, time, money to take great media content. Sometimes even to battle the elements to capture that best moment for the drivers. Therefore, the media's effort should be compensated. Apexiel is not involved in pricing photos. It's determined by the media. If a media offers a 100% off discount for their reasons, one could get media content for free.

What's a media approval list?

A media approval list consists of media individuals or teams verified by an event organizer to be eligible to attend events within a series over an extended period, such as annually. This feature is currently in the on-demand testing phase. If interested in integrating an approval list for your events, please use the "Contact Us" button to inquire.

What does "Third-Party image processing" mean?

We use 3rd party computer vision and AI services such as OpenAI to extract car information from images such as: Make, Model, Color, etc.

How does bulk discounts work?

The Bulk Discount system applies tiered discounts based on the quantity of items purchased regardless of the media type (e.g., photos or videos) within the same event by the same media. For example, "buying 2 or more items, get a 20% discount" applies to each of the item purchased from the same media in the same event, and "buying 4 or more, get a 30% discount" applies to each of the item purchased from the same media in the same event. Discounts are not cumulative.

Troubleshooting

I'm encountering issues. How can I troubleshoot? How do I report a bug?

At the bottom of the page, click the "Contact Us" button. It takes you to a form to send us your comments and questions. Questions are usually answered within 24–48 hours.

Legal

Who owns the media content (e.g., photos, videos) uploaded to Apexiel?

Apexiel does not own the right to any media content uploaded to Apexiel. For media content from event order, it's between the media persons and their clients to determine the ownership/copyright.

Who owns Apexiel?

Apexiel is owned by Apexiel, Inc.