microstock as an alternative investment?

[aeonf]

Point is, for the investor. After the the sixth year it is only surplus. That is a good investment.

*Sigh*

What if the income should drop by say 25% per year? That's roughly the rate at which the libraries are growing right now. How long will it take to produce your 'surplus' then?

Only a total fool of an 'investor' would pay 5x earnings for a microstock portfolio.

Exactly.
That is one of the main reasons I had a lot of trouble closing any deals (and I was close).

[microstockphoto.co.uk]

I wouldn't sell my port, I know nothing about finance, and as others said the perceived value of a port from the seller and buyer's point of view may differ. So I won't answer about that part.

But regarding your other questions...

Are you aware of any technical reasons the microstock agencies wouldn't allow the transfer of an image to another account.  I assume I would just resubmit it.

Just resubmitting to a new account is a bad idea and will probably result in both accounts being banned. You need to tell each agency about the copyright transaction.

Some agencies say you must be the author; they don't accept public domain pictures anymore for the same reason; may this be a problem, even after buying copyright? (I don't know, I'm just wondering)

Would moving an image from one account to another completely wipe out cash flow?
Anything else I may be missing?

Yes, it can disrupt the cash flow. Of course good pictures will always sell better than bad ones on average. But there are random elements which can determine the fate of an image. E.g., initial sales have a strong effect on positioning on some sites. And now it's more difficult than some years ago to get many sales in a short time because of increasing competition. So there's no guarantee that a good seller will continue to sell after reuploading.

[Morphart]

Hi.  I'm looking for an alternative investment and think microstock might be an option.  Specifically, I'm thinking about buying the copyrights to microstock that have existing cash flow.  Before I spend a great deal of time on this, I thought I might solicit some feedback. 

Assuming you would even sell your copyrights, how much would you sell them for?  1 year of existing cash flow, 5 years, 10 years?
Is anyone already doing this?  I did find a company paying $50 per image, but that is for images not already producing revenue.
Is it easy to verify how much an image is generating? 
Are you aware of any technical reasons the microstock agencies wouldn't allow the transfer of an image to another account.  I assume I would just resubmit it.  Note: I do not have an account with any stock agencies yet.
Would moving an image from one account to another completely wipe out cash flow?
Anything else I may be missing?

Thanks for your feedback, please keep the "I would never sell my copyright" comments off the thread, as I already know many would not sell their babies.

Thanks!

Hi!

I have been experimenting over a year on this by hiring Illustrators to create some work for me. Send me a PM and I'll send you my contact info. Basically it's not as good as I thought it would be, but if you look it as a long term investment, I think this is something that can pay off.

Normally we say that 1 image (I only do this with Illustration for now) usually generates 1$ per month. It's not always true, but for most Illustrations I pay for, I can manage to get back my initial investment in 6 month to 2 years. I am currently checking results for a large batch I have had produced in the last months. Can't say these are making awfully well, but revenue in microstock is not constant. You might make 100$ with a portfolio one month, and the next images can sell more and get you 300$, or the contrary.

Right now I have a lot of money invested and I had a constant increase over the year, but since last April revenue stopped increasing, even decreased a bit or stalled. I am curious to see with the Summer months gone if it will go better.

There is no assurance this can work, the worst you can get is that it takes 10 years to get your money back and start making money... In 10 years, you never know what will happen to the Microstock world too. All things to consider.

[JPSDK]

Point is, for the investor. After the the sixth year it is only surplus. That is a good investment.

*Sigh*

What if the income should drop by say 25% per year? That's roughly the rate at which the libraries are growing right now. How long will it take to produce your 'surplus' then?

Only a total fool of an 'investor' would pay 5x earnings for a microstock portfolio.

Yeah, and only a total fool of a copyright owner would sell it for less.
And as an investor, you can always invest in photographical equipment and produce your own money making portefolio.
You can also buy land, and put seeds in they ground. They multiply many times per year.

[qwerty]

If you get your investment back in 6 months to 2 years I would have thought that was pretty good.

[JPSDK]

That would be like finding a goldmine. Money is abundant these days, interests are low.

And with my initial offer, you are in the 10- 20% PA range, which is an unusual high return. And yes, there is a risk. As there always is. The whole business might go down the drain and be replaced with something else, or a new copyright law might occur.

Actually, I dont like it. The whole thought of investing in copyrights. You should produce values instead. Or at least invest in means of production or infra structure.

And having slept on it, I would strongly advise people to only sell their rights for a time limited period.

[Poncke]

The OP disappeared, must be a wum  He can have my port of 500 photos for 50$ each. Heck, he can pick his top 100 for 50$ each. I would get a 5DMKIII and a 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM and start over. 

[HerMajesty]

I was thinking about this subject lately and to be honest I, as the 'copyright producer', would actually be interested in selling rights for my video clips. It's still a hit and miss for me. Most footage I have uploaded doesn't sell at all, or gets 1 or 2 random downloads, so being payed upfront would make more sense. With pictures I think I'll take a chance and invest in my own work.