MicrostockGroup

Well it is late June and school is out here in the US.
My sales have become slow and the downloads that I do get are in the smaller/cheaper sizes as of late.

I know that I am not alone, and others are seeing a similar sales slump.

So the question is; when do we start to pick up again?
Is it as I suspect that around late August/early September when school starts back up and people return from vacation?
Or is there some other dynamic that I am unaware of (besides the present stinking world economy) that affects the yearly cycle?

Also wondering if I should hold off from uploading finished edits at this time and wait until near the end of summer to keep them 'fresh'.

Regards,
Joseph

Generally sales pick up in early September.  I would not hold off uploading.  In fact, because I have extra time in summer I usually try and upload more so I have a large inventory when the sales pick up.

I would hold off on uploading Christmas/New Year stuff until Sept. though.  

JMHO.  Everyone has their own methods...

FWIW, the publishing schedule I am on for one of my clients has me working on January layouts in September.

Also, I've already been selling Christmas images once or twice a week for the last month.

I didn't use to feel this summer slowndown much in June, but this year June is a total failure in most sites, although IS and DT are about my recent average.

If you ask me, summer slowdown is a myth. Business doesn't stop in the summer just because the kids are out of school. And this year, it's even less likely that any sort of vacation slump would happen with less people taking vacations.

I think summer slowdown is just one of many many dozens of ways that people explain any change in sales volume in their own portfolio. Some people (myself included) have never seen a dip in sales during July and August.

I just went back and took a hard look at my stats on IS over the last 3 1/2 years.
There is most definitely a slump (for me) in the summer months with August seeming to take the biggest hit.

Granted I do have a small portfolio and I grow it rather organically.

@SC, you asked why as a business, would I hold off?
There is precedent for this in many business operations.
Banks are holding off on making loans. The diamond cutters in India closed shop last December due to too much inventory and lack of sales.

It makes little sense to me to put up fresh work if there are few eyes to look at the files.
I will keep uploading during the summer to test the water, but I will kept the bulk of new material in stasis until I see some signs of life.

june last year was one of my best months ever, this one is the worst in about 18months

@Gaja, I assume that you are in Europe.

Americans are workaholics.
Many companies frown on people taking time off, even though vacation time is part of the employment package.

And in a faltering economy, there are plenty of people ready and willing to step in and take your job if you seem to be something other than a 'team' player.

These are the harsh realities of the times, here in the good ol' US of A.

I have had a pretty good month all round in June.
If July is as good, I will be more than happy!

First of July was excellent, but last two days were disaster...

Your experience?

Slow? Not here! 

Sales are down 4 folds, except for Fotolia.
Guinness intake is up 4 folds... no exceptions.
Stock Images production is out of the question for now , except for Fotolia and maybe Veer Marketplace.
Summer's here in Halifax, and I don' t intend to do anything but get out and enjoy the heat and good looking girls in shorts, ha!ha!...

June was very good for me, BME on 4 sites. I do see a slowdown for the beginning of July but that's understandable due to 4th of July in the US.