MicrostockGroup

iStock is down, but so are all the others. June & July are commonly reported as bad months. They were for me last year and this year is not looking any different.

However, your percentage drop at istock seems drastic. My istock results have been in a slide the last three months (including this one) but I'm still only marginally down on last month - around 20% down.

at whose expense?

My iStock sales are down about 15% this month compared to May.  It's not the summer slowdown (too early yet) so it must be all the search changes, best match changes and God knows what....

At the same time I've noticed a big increase in volatility of sales: my sales used to be pretty steady every day; now they are up and down like a yo-yo with near record sales one day followed by a slump the next.

Edit:  I meant to add that at the same time my sales at DT are heading very nicely north and this will easily be my BME there, so at least that compensates for the volatility at IS.

Not to sure about that ( loosing sales ) would be interesting if IS published their monthly figures   a Neighbors Company is one Customer lost due to the misunderstanding of a pricing increase with the latest best match change, just one who has voted with their feet however if my July stats are anything to go by with IS where I have my main Portfolio being -35% with  significant gains at my other Agencies He is not alone.

Thanks for a message
I was going to reply to this thread - did not notice dates

Thanks for pointing that out.  I was almost drawn in too.

I would appreciate here concrete information.
how many photos have you online. How much money do you have invested, from equipment to battery charging, models, fuel, editing, uploading , compter and overall shooting time.
Add the imaginable value of yur creativity.
How much is your return in Number to this investment.

as more people will post this, as better is our picture at the end aboout what we are doing in microstock, and if we maybe all should reconsidder.

Hi,

Great input, jonathan..

I've produced 2500 at anywhere between $4 (shot in studio one model) to $40 (shot on location with 5 models on a not so great day) per shot. In just under 4 months, my first shoot paid for itself on an istock exclusive account.. I was only able to go exclusive first in march 09, so the going was slow to start off with. Like Mr. Ross, i do pay for keywording, uploading & post production.

On average, (based on research as i've only been active 7-8 months now) images have a shelf-life of 18 months before they start to slow down with earnings.. however, I believe some images can sell for years without slowing down.

Would love to see some images Lisas4, maybe PM a link sometime.

All the best,
Josh

Thanks Jonathan, great insight! Can't agree more.

I would possibly point to the need for everybody to keep expanding and keep pushing themselves with what they produce. For some macro pros, micro may seem like a step back (especially in budget). However, i think for the thousands of amateurs (myself included) its really important that we continue to expand our styles and methods at every possible opportunity. Its most likely cliché-ish but you really need to carve out a name for yourself and really need to stand apart.. I believe there is untapped potential for this in microstock, however discouraging it may be to see 1000s of images added to each agency every day.

All the best,

Josh