Author Topic: Is there any more room for another stock agency? (Read 1071 times)

stocker2011 · « **on:** July 14, 2011, 14:38 »

I had this thought kicking around my head and thought that it might be interesting to hear your thoughts.

So we all know there are plenty of online stock imagery/video/vector agencies out there and many of you might say that the marketplace is already too saturated.

However if another one were to come along, what do think it would need to do or provide in terms of its customers and contributors in order to be successful. Kinda like what are the current agencies doing right and wrong and if a new angency were to start up, what would be a surefire way for them to succeed? eg. good community/contributor relations, exclusivity option etc.

And no i am not thinking of starting my own agency

cthoman · « **Reply #1 on:** July 14, 2011, 15:05 »

It's hard to say. I think there is always an opportunity for a successful upstart. None of them are getting it even close to 100% right. I've been talking about micro 2.0 and what that will look like compared to the agencies that are out there now. iStock seems to be moving in one direction, but that differs from what other agencies like Shutterstock are doing. What the right answer is, I'm not sure.

If I were to guess, I would say a more specialized and smaller agency is the future. I think the point has been reached in micros where it will split between hobbyists agencies and the pro agencies. I think it is getting too muddled to keep them all together under one roof. I also think things should move more to an artist control system for things like setting prices, collections and branding of the artist. More of a traditional artist/agent relationship. That's just what I think. I'm sure I'll be wrong.

helix7 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 14, 2011, 15:14 »

There are a lot of things that I think agencies can do better. Every one of them is flawed in some way. SS, despite being the current top microstock agency, is flawed (in my opinion) by their horrible advertising and marketing campaigns. istock has a laundry list of flaws, first and foremost being the high and varied pricing.

The number one thing I think any new agency needs to do is develop a simple pricing structure. StockFresh almost has it right (except for pricing some vectors at 5 credits). Do a simple size-based pricing model, from $1 for Small up to $10 for XL, and $10 for vectors. And keep the credit system simple, too. 1 credit = $1. None of this shady variable credit cost bull.

Royalties for artists 50% across the board.

No exclusivity, no special collections.

And spend some decent money on a killer site design, UI design, and branding campaign. This is a business that caters largely to the creative industry, so the look of the site and marketing materials has to appeal to that crowd.

That would be a good start, anyway.

Oh, and secure some funding. It's going to take some serious coin to do battle with the well-established agencies these days. There's room for new companies, but not for under-funded home-based operations.

stockastic · « **Reply #3 on:** July 14, 2011, 15:22 »

Better search results, which means (among other things) not allowing keyword spamming.

And I suggest another indexable field, in addition to title/description/keywords: a declaration of what the photo actually contains.

For example, let's say I'm looking for a photo of some nuts and bolts, and I want to see photos of actual nuts and bolts, not a bunch of tired business metaphors, or photos of things like wrenches and screwdrivers, or models dressed like mechanics.

sjlocke · « **Reply #4 on:** July 14, 2011, 15:29 »

Quote from: stocker2011 on July 14, 2011, 14:38

However if another one were to come along, what do think it would need to do or provide in terms of its customers and contributors in order to be successful. Kinda like what are the current agencies doing right and wrong and if a new angency were to start up, what would be a surefire way for them to succeed? eg. good community/contributor relations, exclusivity option etc.

If you search through all the other threads about this, you'll probably find more discussion than you'd like to read.

stocker2011 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 14, 2011, 16:23 »

If i personally were to start one off i would go the route of istock and make it very community and contributor focused with a good forum and continual feedback from the site's management. I always think those istockalypses are a good idea and also a good way to advertise the site.

Off the top of my head:

I would offer images, video, vector right off the bat, and initially i wouldnt offer exclusivity but not rule it out.

I would also go straight to international markets and actively encourage it because i think this still is an uncracked nut.

Photo previews with ability to zoom in 100%
High quality video previews.
Transparent credit versus dollar like Helix suggested.
Tiff or PNG upload in adition to JPEG.
Utility for corporates to upload images direct to PowerPoint.

I could go on.....

velossaraptor · « **Reply #6 on:** July 14, 2011, 16:29 »

I'm just learning but i think there's always room for competition... in the end there's always coke v pepsi

luissantos84 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 14, 2011, 16:31 »

Quote from: velossaraptor on July 14, 2011, 16:29

I'm just learning but i think there's always room for competition... in the end there's always coke v pepsi

yep like SS and IS.. not all the other

honestly I am open to new agencies, I don´t mind about uploading and such, there is one agency I am in for a month or so and curious not a topic about it here.. irockstock!