MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: 22% decline In 2012 sales compared to 2011  (Read 20878 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

« on: July 04, 2012, 14:37 »
0
Ive just completed an analysis of the downloads of 193 of iStocks leading contributors.  As of June 30th these people had a total of 30,449,000+ downloads, or about 24% of iStocks total downloads since they the company was founded. On average this contributor group had 22% fewer sales in the first half of 2012 than they had during the same period in 2011. This doesnt necessarily mean revenue was down. Customers may have purchased higher priced images. But a drop of this magnitude in the number of images licensed is cause for concern. To see how I arrived at my conclusions check out http://www.selling-stock.com/Article/trends-at-istockphoto-unit-sales-decline. What do you think?


« Reply #1 on: July 04, 2012, 14:42 »
0
Not sure I want to pay to be told something I already know.

« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2012, 14:48 »
0
link aint working here (Server Error in '/' Application. The resource cannot be found. Description: HTTP 404.  Requested URL: /Article/trends-at-istockphoto-unit-sales-decline.)

apart from that we have seen and talked about it (a few time ago) more exaclty regarding the drop in downloads (25% less comparing 2011 to 2010), so your new research shows how it continues..

« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2012, 14:50 »
0
Your link doesn't work.  I suspect I read your story on your paid site yesterday.  Over the course of the last 2 full years my income and downloads are both cut in half.  So I don't doubt your analysis.  The price increases are in no way making up for the less downloads for me.

« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2012, 14:50 »
0
your link doesn't work even after you remove the period from the end.

How much slop is in the # of downloads reported by IS at those levels? I wonder if the revenue is down or up. Either way it doesn't look so good for the IS heavies - who in the past seem to have been very favored.


« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2012, 15:06 »
0
Well, I'm not one of iStock's leading contributors - just a very average one - but if I compare my figures for the same periods, I get

DLs : -17%
$$s : +47%

so for me, E+ and price increases have more than made up for loss of sales.

Make of it what you will...

« Reply #7 on: July 04, 2012, 15:08 »
0
Simply don't need to sign up for a site and pay to know we are getting less and less of the juice.  That's pretty well known.

« Reply #8 on: July 04, 2012, 15:13 »
0
pie graph made based on iStock exclusives reports at "their" forum



- 32 have less than 10k downloads
- 10 from 10k to 17k downloads
- 16 from 20k to 36k downloads
- 14 from 57k to 96k downloads
- 4 from 120k to 190k downloads
- 3 have more than 260k downloads


and free of charge!

« Reply #9 on: July 04, 2012, 15:25 »
0
you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows

« Reply #10 on: July 04, 2012, 15:25 »
0
For me, sales took a dive starting June 2011 and have remained fairly consistent since then.  These are IS's numbers without Thinkstock included. 

Jan-Jun 2011 - 758 sales
Jul-Dec 2011 - 419 sales down 45%
Jan-Jun 2012 - 399 sales down 48% from Jan-Jun 2011

Earnings are also decreasing, although not as rapidly.  Probably due to all the price increases.

Jan-Jun 2011 - $900
Jul-Dec 2011 - down 14%
Jan-Jun 2012 - down 28% from Jan-Jun 2011

« Reply #11 on: July 04, 2012, 15:55 »
0
regular/els (no thinkstock included but it is close to 50% of the regular sales)

Jan-Jun 2011 - 289 sales
Jul-Dec 2011 - 346 sales +20%
Jan-Jun 2012 - 457 sales +58% from Jan-Jun 2011

Jan-Jun 2011 - 295.66$
Jul-Dec 2011 - 441.39$ +49%
Jan-Jun 2012 - 668.69$ +126% from Jan-Jun 2011

only have close to 1500 sales in iStock, not +14k like you Karin, I have no new uploads in iStock for 4 months
« Last Edit: July 04, 2012, 16:01 by luissantos84 »

« Reply #12 on: July 04, 2012, 15:59 »
0
I haven't uploaded since Aug 2010.

lisafx

« Reply #13 on: July 04, 2012, 17:30 »
0
Thanks for doing the work of compiling this.  Personally, my own situation at Istock is quite a bit more dire.  Sales down 35% since this time last year, and $ down 25%. 

« Reply #14 on: July 05, 2012, 14:53 »
0
Sorry for the problems with the link. Thanks to jm for fixing it.

It is also that these 193 contributors are also adding a lot of new images -- 47,313 since the beginning of 2012. Although 25 have added no new images in the period and another 30 added less than 10. What happens when the most productive shooters stop contributing? And where do those shooters go to continue to cover their costs and make a living?

« Reply #15 on: July 05, 2012, 14:57 »
0
I'm 100% down from last year at iStock.  ;D

That joke never gets old to me.

wut

« Reply #16 on: July 05, 2012, 15:00 »
0
What happens when the most productive shooters stop contributing? And where do those shooters go to continue to cover their costs and make a living?

What costs? There's no costs if you stop producing. And yeah, poor guys earning high 4 and 5 figures how will they make a living...I really can't understand such way of thinking... :o

They probably stopped for a reason. They found something better than this devalued oversaturated business.


« Reply #17 on: July 05, 2012, 15:57 »
0
I'm 100% down from last year at iStock.  ;D

That joke never gets old to me.

 :D Me neither.

antistock

« Reply #18 on: July 06, 2012, 01:58 »
0
the funny thing is that Pickerell makes a living talking about selling stock but he wouldn't touch a stock agency with a 10 foot pole and he probably doesn't sell a stock photo since a few decades when he was a news reporter.

« Reply #19 on: July 06, 2012, 02:49 »
0
Frankly the number of DL does not truly reflect how the exclusives are doing financially.

My port performance was satisfactory from Jan - May 2012, though DLs were not something to call home about. June was disappointing but it is always the worst or near worst month for me. Part of the reason is the designers often buy small images to make plans for the final purchases when the summer is over.

Lagereek

« Reply #20 on: July 06, 2012, 02:57 »
0
Yeah well Im somewhere among their top,  550 contributors, Diamond,   and my drop is about the same as Lisas,  not a happy story at all. However, the vast increase in sales at SS, DT and the Getty-RM,  has ofcourse made up for it. Still, its a lousy story.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2012, 03:08 by Lagereek »

wut

« Reply #21 on: July 06, 2012, 03:51 »
0
I got more DLs in the first 5 days of July (even though there are the 4th of July holidays in the states), than in Jan ;D


ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #22 on: July 06, 2012, 06:40 »
0
Good for you.
My July 1-5 is down almost 35% on 1-5 Jan, though 1-3 Jan are holidays over here, and 1st is a universal holiday unlike July 4th.
(I don't accept 'summer slump' as being the answer: I'm down almost 30% on last July 1-5th.)
As those above have noted, I don't need to register for a site to read what I already know.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2012, 07:50 by ShadySue »

« Reply #23 on: July 06, 2012, 07:37 »
0
Good for you.
My July 1-5 is down almost 35% on 1-5 Jan, though 1-3 Jan are holidays over here, and 1st is a universal holiday unlike July 4th.
(I don't accept 'summer slump' as being the answer: I'm down almost 30% on last July 1-5th.)

Wow.  Just checked mine. 

Jan 1-5 compared to Jul 1-5, down 56% in July.
Jul 1-5 2012 compared to Jul 1-5 2011, down 40%.
Jan 1-5 2011 compared to Jul 1-5 2011, down 63% (my portfolio took a dive in June 2011 and never recovered).
Jan 1-5 2011 compared to Jul 1-5 2012, 78%.

Removing images from my portfolio does not account for the severe drop, because the vast majority were images that hadn't sold more than once in 5 years or more.

And I agree...the summer slowdown doesn't explain the drop, because July is typically better than January for me, as born out by numbers for the same time periods in 2009 and 2010, which at quick glance show DLs between 70-75% higher than they are now.

« Reply #24 on: July 06, 2012, 21:38 »
0
Ive just completed an analysis of the downloads of 193 of iStocks leading contributors.  As of June 30th these people had a total of 30,449,000+ downloads, or about 24% of iStocks total downloads since they the company was founded. On average this contributor group had 22% fewer sales in the first half of 2012 than they had during the same period in 2011. This doesnt necessarily mean revenue was down. Customers may have purchased higher priced images. But a drop of this magnitude in the number of images licensed is cause for concern. To see how I arrived at my conclusions check out http://www.selling-stock.com/Article/trends-at-istockphoto-unit-sales-decline. What do you think?


I think... earnings per download are over 22% higher than 2011.

Edit: Just checked, it's about twice that.
« Last Edit: July 06, 2012, 21:42 by asiseeit »


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
43 Replies
14495 Views
Last post May 18, 2012, 17:50
by djpadavona
71 Replies
45123 Views
Last post June 19, 2012, 08:14
by ProImage
38 Replies
11065 Views
Last post June 14, 2012, 10:55
by wut
1 Replies
5472 Views
Last post December 27, 2012, 15:44
by Microbius
11 Replies
13913 Views
Last post February 05, 2021, 14:43
by SpaceStockFootage

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors