MicrostockGroup

@EVERYONE -

Okay, lets get organized and plan a coup! 

John Griffin has assured us that he can sell our photos if we give him enough good content. You may trust him......you may not. We can't change that fact, but we can do what is in our control...

So here is what I propose....

Ideally, it would be really great if many photographers could take the "leap of faith" and make all the stuff in their portfolio exclusive to cutcuster. But, for obvious reasons, i just don't see that happening. Its too boring, too tedious, too time consuming and what not....

So, lets do what PhotoShelter has done. Let's create new good unique content and make it available only to cutcaster. If cutcaster fails, you can take all your content and just sell it to the the other sites. No major risk. No major loss, just some time lost!

Basically here is what we do... for just 1 month, we concentrate on creating new fresh and unique content. We take that content and give it to cutcaster EXCLUSIVELY. We let John make the sales happen. If he succeeds and sales seem promising...we leave the content there. If not, we take all our content off cutcaster and give it to our regular big 6.

Basically, you will not loose the money your making now. You don't have to remove photos and re-upload them and that whole painful process.

If it succeeds, we have changed the microstock world. If it fails... then without much loss, we go on with our lives.

What say?

This will work if there are two things we do right...

1. If enough people are aware of this and contribute to it... (For this we need more people to know about the issues and contribute! Microstockgroup itself is huge. There are some big names here. Lets try to get them and many more people involved.)

2. If we know how to create good unique content.... (I believe that there are people like iornarrow here, who have small portfolios and still make huge number of sales. I believe that there are many people here who are also photo byers and designers. All these people can tell us what the current microstock industry is missing and what it needs. Maybe John can use some of his resources to prepare an in-depth survey about what we need to shoot and what the industry is missing.)

So, what say, thats my plan, any ideas.... and.... who's with me?

AMEN brudda (or sista)!

Having being on this old planet for many moons- I know this statement is true.  "the only thing you can count is there will be change".  What is considered the standard for today will be different for tomorrow.When I was young -the way to travel was by train or bus-not airplanes. What is the "big 6" will be different some time in the future. So if you want to make money in microstock you cater to the "big 6" for the present- but at the same time you should be risking some of you time and energy in what you think will be the future "big 6". As to who will  the "big 6" ,I don't know- but remember one big hit makes up for alot of misses.
Smiling Jack   

Warren - it's a butterfly flapping its wings

yep, sounds like LO resurrected

I believe that is true. Niche style agencies could blossom and thrive.
Conversely, the mass market for images may have only just begun. If I were starting a micrstock agency would try to get every possible good image and sell them at competetive prices. I would be Wal-Mart. To do this just offer:
-fast easy submission (and John has a good start on this)
-fast cheap reviewing
Cut costs so you sell cheaper without cutting royalties, and get tons of images. Then the buyers will come.

You could do the cheap reviewing by offering auto-reviewing, and take advantage of late entry into the business, turn it to your advantage. It could work like this: If the image has been accepted at other microstock sites, you would auto-accept it. If the submitter includes a link to the image on IS (the pickiest site) you would automatically accept the image. Alternatively, if the image has been accepted by any 2 of the other big 6, you would auto accept.

So you don't need real reviewers, just somebody to verify the links, or a program could do it. You not only cut out the cost of reviewers, you make the acceptance process almost instantaneous.

I agree with Chumley, what we are witnessing is only the beginning.

@Everyone -I started this topic. I want to assure everyone that this has got nothing to do with Cutcaster. And I don't care if you support CutCater or SnapVillage or Mostphotos. This is about, trying to change the prices in the microstock market.

@michaeldb - Awesome idea about the auto-reviewing. Awesome idea about the using the fact that you are late to your advantage. New way of thinking. John, you should use that idea. It seems pretty smart.

What I am wondering though is that, what are the costs of reviewers? Even if John cuts the cost of reviewers, do he cut down the overall cost substantially? Can he really give us a good percentage.

However, i don't agree with you about going back to the old prices.