pancakes

MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: Same images on many Stockphoto sites  (Read 4826 times)

0 Members and 2 Guests are viewing this topic.

« on: August 18, 2018, 07:20 »
0
Hey everyone!

Since the agencys pay and charges very different, I wonder if it is a bad thing to have the same image on many different sites? As a customer it would be possible to get the image you want cheaper if you go to right site.

I have started to upload once again to Shutterstock and Dreamstime, mainly because I do photographs and illustrations and if it only sits on my hard disc it makes nothing good more than I feel good when making it.

So my choice now is - 1 stay with Shutterstock and Dreamstime or - 2 find one or two sites more and upload my small portfolio and see if it could bring me some pocketmoney.


SpaceStockFootage

  • Space, Sci-Fi and Astronomy Related Stock Footage

« Reply #1 on: August 18, 2018, 07:32 »
+2
Find several sites more! People use one or more sites for a variety of reasons, some who buy from one site may have never heard of some other site... so as long as you're happy with the price, the royalty cut and the number of sales (and some other considerations which might crop up form time to time) you get at site X, Y or Z; then there's no reason why you shouldn't upload there.

« Reply #2 on: August 18, 2018, 07:57 »
0
Alright! Then Depositphotos come to my mind. But there are warnings in this group about them. I will check. Thanks for your answer. :)

Brasilnut

  • Author Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock & Blog

« Reply #3 on: August 18, 2018, 08:02 »
+1
Quote
Since the agencys pay and charges very different, I wonder if it is a bad thing to have the same image on many different sites? As a customer it would be possible to get the image you want cheaper if you go to right site.

Yes, it can be a bad thing depending on the image. Perhaps something rare/unique or possibly borderline illegal (such as shooting where commercial photography is prohibited), it's better to limit where you want to license such images. Ideally keep them on Alamy as RM, for example.

Otherwise, for the vast majority of images, customers don't seem to search around that much. Difficult to have concrete evidence but I just had a commercial sale on Alamy yesterday for $110 gross and that same file is available for subs on micros, go figure.

Master Steve and I have written about this phenomenon of whether customers shop around quite a few times on our respective blogs.

« Reply #4 on: August 18, 2018, 09:49 »
+1
Thank you Brasilnut I will read those blogs.

« Reply #5 on: August 20, 2018, 12:36 »
+4
I believe people use the stock site they prefer (and know) and very very rarely would anyone try to find the same image on a cheaper site. If they were worried about cost, they would start out on a stock site that has lower prices and stay on that site.

« Reply #6 on: August 26, 2018, 07:09 »
+1
I have looked through my microstock sites and found that those who sell for me are;

Dreamstime not often but at a good price,
Shutterstock the best site for me (I will avoid BigStock because they belong to Shutterstock so I think I will compete with myself and sell at a lower price on BigStock)

I listened to you and started to uploaded to some more sites and chosed..
Depositphoto and 123RF lets see what happens. Hope they are good choices.

I would love to have something on Alamy but I worry about my ability to upload regularly. How often did you submit anything to them?
I would not think about upload anything that I have on a microstock site. It has to bee unique and making quality takes time. Probably more time then I have. Preferabel for me would be illustrations. Any suggestions?



« Reply #7 on: August 26, 2018, 14:11 »
0
I have looked through my microstock sites and found that those who sell for me are;

Dreamstime not often but at a good price,
Shutterstock the best site for me (I will avoid BigStock because they belong to Shutterstock so I think I will compete with myself and sell at a lower price on BigStock)

I listened to you and started to uploaded to some more sites and chosed..
Depositphoto and 123RF lets see what happens. Hope they are good choices.

I would love to have something on Alamy but I worry about my ability to upload regularly. How often did you submit anything to them?
I would not think about upload anything that I have on a microstock site. It has to bee unique and making quality takes time. Probably more time then I have. Preferabel for me would be illustrations. Any suggestions?

Adobe Stock for sure. They're climbing month by month, I'd love to see them be top this time next year.

« Reply #8 on: August 26, 2018, 14:54 »
+1
Adobe stock is the same as Fotolia I think???

Brasilnut

  • Author Brutally Honest Guide to Microstock & Blog

« Reply #9 on: August 26, 2018, 16:17 »
+1
Quote
I would not think about upload anything that I have on a microstock site. It has to bee unique and making quality takes time.

I would suggest to upload all your editorials on Alamy.

« Reply #10 on: August 26, 2018, 19:14 »
+1
Adobe stock is the same as Fotolia I think???

Adobe owns Fotolia, but there are two sites. If you are already a Fotolia contributor, then there's no need to upload to Adobe Stock directly - everything is already there, assuming you've linked your accounts.

If you aren't submitting to Adobe Stock/Fotolia you should - it's doing much better than anywhere other than Shutterstock. I'd leave Dreamstime alone, only because sales there are dismal these days. Likewise, I'd give 123rf a miss because their sales have fallen off badly.

Alamy is not consistent (at least not for me) but when sales happen, they can be for very decent royalties. I'd definitely consider adding them to your roster (uploading is a bigger pain than many agencies though, even with their new system)

Uncle Pete

  • Great Place by a Great Lake - My Home Port
« Reply #11 on: August 27, 2018, 10:51 »
0
I would suggest to upload all your editorials on Alamy.

Good advice


Adobe owns Fotolia, but there are two sites. If you are already a Fotolia contributor, then there's no need to upload to Adobe Stock directly - everything is already there, assuming you've linked your accounts.

If you aren't submitting to Adobe Stock/Fotolia you should - it's doing much better than anywhere other than Shutterstock.

Alamy is not consistent (at least not for me) but when sales happen, they can be for very decent royalties. I'd definitely consider adding them to your roster (uploading is a bigger pain than many agencies though, even with their new system)

I'll add that while I'm not a big fan of Getty/iStock they are holding up and doing business. They have eliminated some of the cheap subs like Thinkstock. They have a major connection and name in the market.

As far as the OPs question, everyone must answer for their own work, how much they put into images, what are they and personal view of where they want to be in Microstock. If someone wants to feed the parasite agencies and take scraps from the bottom feeding low paying sales, fine. I don't and I won't.

As things are now, I don't see a future is doing all kinds of extra work, uploading to low paying sites, and I don't see a return for scuffling for scraps and a pittance, on the little sites. If $35 a year makes your life, much better and improved, then do that everything everywhere plan. Make that about 50 sites!

My personal answer is the top three and Alamy. Exceptions of course are for video where there are some sites like Pond5 and videoblocks. Maybe others. I really don't do video, but I make plenty of Editorial uploads. Adobe takes files that SS doesn't. I can spread what I do around, some multiple places, some only on one or two.

"I'd rather sit for nothing, than work for nothing." Uncle Ed Klinger   8)

« Reply #12 on: August 27, 2018, 11:45 »
0
Thank you for all your answer. Greatly appreciated.

« Reply #13 on: August 27, 2018, 16:47 »
0
Adobe stock is the same as Fotolia I think???

Adobe owns Fotolia, but there are two sites. If you are already a Fotolia contributor, then there's no need to upload to Adobe Stock directly - everything is already there, assuming you've linked your accounts.

If you aren't submitting to Adobe Stock/Fotolia you should - it's doing much better than anywhere other than Shutterstock. I'd leave Dreamstime alone, only because sales there are dismal these days. Likewise, I'd give 123rf a miss because their sales have fallen off badly.

Alamy is not consistent (at least not for me) but when sales happen, they can be for very decent royalties. I'd definitely consider adding them to your roster (uploading is a bigger pain than many agencies though, even with their new system)

DT died, the only reason to even bring up their name is that I'm still stuck halfway between payouts. lol. I don't think I've sold anything there all year.

« Reply #14 on: August 29, 2018, 04:52 »
+1
I have linked my site on Fotolia now to Adobe. And I am impressed whit the ease and the very nice page to look at. Thank you for that advice. :)


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
2 Replies
5173 Views
Last post February 22, 2007, 07:06
by epixx
1 Replies
4646 Views
Last post December 10, 2007, 14:07
by hospitalera
21 Replies
6655 Views
Last post October 26, 2011, 22:43
by madelaide
4 Replies
3933 Views
Last post August 26, 2016, 00:20
by pixel8
Who are www.stockphoto.com?

Started by Justanotherphotographer General Stock Discussion

7 Replies
3456 Views
Last post October 26, 2016, 13:18
by THP Creative

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors