Can iStock Turn Midstock Sales Around?

[Goofy]

"Professionals deal with professionals" - he made his bed. Now he gets to lie in it.

Let's hope his bed isn't a water bed with a large hole in it 

[ShadySue]

Yuri: "Give IS three months and see the changes for yourself."

Yikes, July, August, September ... we know what's often happened in previous Septembers. 
Note, he said, "changes", not 'improvements'.
No doubt he'll have leveraged some 'improvements' for himself, he's very good at that, but for οἱ πολλοί, ... 

[Mantis]

Yuri: "Give IS three months and see the changes for yourself."

Yikes, July, August, September ... we know what's often happened in previous Septembers.       

Hahaha so true.

[gostwyck]

Yuri: "Give IS three months and see the changes for yourself."

Yikes, July, August, September ... we know what's often happened in previous Septembers.       

Hahaha so true.

It's bizarre that Yuri thinks he can just breeze in there and turn around 5 years worth of mismanagement, falling sales and declining customers ... in just 3 months. It isn't going to happen. The business model and reputation (with customers and contributors alike) is probably wrecked beyond repair. Talk about re-arranging the deck chairs ...

[loop]

On October 12 I wrote:
Interesting factoid: "Yuri" is showing "greater than 25,000 sales" on 78,000 images since the new identity was created in April. I'm rather surprised to see that one of his top business images is selling in the 10cr-55cr price bracket.

Today that identity has "greater than 54,000 sales", which means that portfolio, which still has 78,000 images has achieved 19,000 sales in 37 weeks. Which is 513 sales per week = 26,704 sales per year, = approx. one sale for every three images over the course of a year.

So if you have 1,000 Yuri-quality images on iStock, you could expect to get about 350 sales a year, or a sale a day. Presumably a lot of them are priced at Vetta levels (I can't be bothered to try to estimate how many are and how many are not) but even so, the return on effort for a top exclusive doesn't look all that amazingly exciting to me.  Perhaps that is why they have to allow him to sell on loads of other agencies as well as being "exclusive" with them.

It suggests to me that all the exclusive's sales are struggling. It looks as if I will sell about one file in two from my non-exclusive portfolio on iStock this year - obviously at a much lower price point than Yuri's.

Sorry, but something is amiss in this calculation. Not being a great stock shooter, not working with great production expenses, best models etc, and so, not having "great quality images", I sell way more than 350 sales a year for every 1.000 photos. And when I say way more, I mean way more.

[loop]

Duplicated.

[EmberMike]

If iStock can make midstock work, I don't think it will have been because of Yuri. But he won't let anything stop him from taking credit if it does happen, though.

I think iStock has a viable midstock offering. As amazing as it sounds even as I type it, I have to admit I'm somewhat impressed with how things have been going for me at iStock recently. I have a file that was accepted in early May and priced at 22 credits ($42 USD). Which I would ordinarily think is an insane price point for most of the work I upload there. But it's actually selling. I got 3 sales on that image in May, $21.82 in royalties.

It amazes me that anyone would buy my stuff at that price, but apparently people are willing to spend the money. Maybe there really is something left in the tanks for iStock and they can still surge in this midstock market.

[luissantos84]

maybe you need to join Yuri's team loop

he had 4k sales a day from 60k files at SS which is much less than 350 a day from 1000 files

anyway Yuri continues to be a funny guy, after reading his forecast I decided to quit SS and join iStock!

[loop]

maybe you need to join Yuri's team loop

he had 4k sales a day from 60k files at SS which is much less than 350 a day from 1000 files

anyway Yuri continues to be a funny guy, after reading his forecast I decided to quit SS and join iStock!

Wnat you want, but I'm sure these IS figures are somewhat miscalculated and, so, are worthless.

[gostwyck]

maybe you need to join Yuri's team loop

he had 4k sales a day from 60k files at SS which is much less than 350 a day from 1000 files

anyway Yuri continues to be a funny guy, after reading his forecast I decided to quit SS and join iStock!

I think you'll find that BT's calculations for Yuri's port were based on 350/1000 sales per YEAR, not per day.

[ShadySue]

the two things GI has that nobody else has: 1. The best images in the world. 2. The best editors in the world.

Lol, ok.

Except that Pickerell was quoting Yuri saying that, which is odd, because Yuri's pictures are still in several places *, so he can't be including his images in 'the best images in the world'.

* Even the Dollar Photo Club:

[Shelma1]

If iStock can make midstock work, I don't think it will have been because of Yuri. But he won't let anything stop him from taking credit if it does happen, though.

I think iStock has a viable midstock offering. As amazing as it sounds even as I type it, I have to admit I'm somewhat impressed with how things have been going for me at iStock recently. I have a file that was accepted in early May and priced at 22 credits ($42 USD). Which I would ordinarily think is an insane price point for most of the work I upload there. But it's actually selling. I got 3 sales on that image in May, $21.82 in royalties.

It amazes me that anyone would buy my stuff at that price, but apparently people are willing to spend the money. Maybe there really is something left in the tanks for iStock and they can still surge in this midstock market.

Ad agencies (even small ones) are accustomed to paying thousands of dollars for an image, so $42 is a real bargain for them.

[Ron]

I wonder how many of the folks who constantly bag on Yuri are still using his model releases, etc?

He is more proactive than most of us and we still find reason to criticize. At least he is trying to bring about positive change, for himself if not the rest of us. The micros need competition,  monopolies have never proven to be positive for anyone.

Yuri is in this for Yuri. Not for us little people. Any changes to Istock will be for his own benefit because we know that the masses will never make more money there, whatever he does. Istock isn't going to take a 25 cent subscription and magically make it $25. Whatever they do, if anything will be fore the benefit of a small subset of people but you can be dang sure that Istock will keep 99% of their collection in the cheap seats or they will never compete with shutterstock.

If they are successful at making a cleaner, functional site, great, but that alone isn't going to bring back lost buyers. The ONLY way to create more mid stock pricing is to create mid stock collections, like vetta. That's been done already. So by focusing on mid stock, they leave out what shutterstock does so well.

For me my criticism of him is his manufactured statement to watch out shutterstock. That's what a press secretary says.

And the sites do this because we have allowed them to do so!

Yuri is one the few photographers here that has actually and consistently tried to talk to the sites regarding the challenges we face.  The rest of us just bend over and thank them for sticking it to us. We actually collectively praise sites who have not raised sub pricing in over 9 years!

What is stopping you to pack up your images from SS and broker the same Yuri deal with IS?

[gbalex]

istock has a subs program that is paying out less to even the exclusives than the indies make on SS. And they pay out a much lower rate to the indies than SS.

What makes you think Yuri wasn�t part of implementing that program as well? Or that he is driving for higher prices in any way?

I�d say it makes sense to assume that Yuri was involved or consulted when they created their subs program, because he has so much experience with sub sites.

I am all for having many agencies to choose from, but sadly for indies with 15% royalty and extremly low 28 cent subs (that don�t even count towards the credits) istock isn�t the first place to favor is it?

Yuri has been asking the sites to raise pricing and sub pricing for years.

I am no fan of IS or its antiquated site.  However I an under no illusion that shutterstock will do us any favors once it's qwest to become a monopoly is realized.  Yuri is one contributors who early on asked shutterstock to look at image quality. They ignored him and today we can see the result of shutterstocks mindset.  Today we can download images that should be midstock at a number of micro sites. They all should have promoted contributors from within, to brands like offset. Instead they devalued those images and anyone can pick them up for the price of a sub. Most recently they snubbed their best contributors over new contributors who produce images of similar quality and consequently offset has to compete with the best images on shutterstock.

Shutterstock has not raised sub prices in 9 years. Key execs at shutterstock are completely aware that Image quality has raised considerably in that time and yet they have made no adjustments because they are strictly going after market share to our detriment.

Yuri's  2005 response to the question - What's your favorite picture in your gallery?

http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=58793&highlight=#58793

Another example of image quality from one of microstocks most successful contributors at that time
http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=56402&highlight=#56402

Here are Yuris 2005 thoughts on SS's Royalties vs Image Quality

Snip

This sites image standards has to balance with payout prices for quality pictures.

As it is now, criteria for getting images approved have accelerated to a much stricter level but the payout is the same as before.

Development in picture quality standards should guide payouts pr picture!

http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=54821&highlight=#54821]http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=54821&highlight=#54821

Some of his thought on subs

http://tinyurl.com/kveyd9q

[cthoman]

Yuri has been asking the sites to raise pricing and sub pricing for years.

Me too, although I assume they aren't listening. I have no problem with him going off and getting a good deal for himself, but he might have gotten more of what he wanted if he invited the rest of us to help. He was never going to get it done by himself because no ONE contributor is very important.

[gostwyck]

Shutterstock has not raised sub prices in 9 years.

You keep saying that ... but it's simply not true is it?

Why don't you actually research your facts before writing your lengthy, inaccurate and therefore pointless tirades?

[donding]

Yuri's  2005 response to the question - What's your favorite picture in your gallery?

http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=58793&highlight=#58793

Another example of image quality from one of microstocks most successful contributors at that time
http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=56402&highlight=#56402

Am I missing something here? That picture doesn't belong to Yuri

[ShadySue]

Whose is it, then?

[donding]

Whose is it, then?

Somebody by the name of Logos? Is that Yuri?

[luissantos84]

maybe you need to join Yuri's team loop

he had 4k sales a day from 60k files at SS which is much less than 350 a day from 1000 files

anyway Yuri continues to be a funny guy, after reading his forecast I decided to quit SS and join iStock!

I think you'll find that BT's calculations for Yuri's port were based on 350/1000 sales per YEAR, not per day.

yeah I read that but I was talking about loop's numbers which he now have changed to year

[luissantos84]

Whose is it, then?

Somebody by the name of Logos? Is that Yuri?

haven't you seen the avatar? ok he was slimmer before

[ShadySue]

maybe you need to join Yuri's team loop

he had 4k sales a day from 60k files at SS which is much less than 350 a day from 1000 files

anyway Yuri continues to be a funny guy, after reading his forecast I decided to quit SS and join iStock!

I think you'll find that BT's calculations for Yuri's port were based on 350/1000 sales per YEAR, not per day.

yeah I read that but I was talking about loop's numbers which he now have changed to year

Oh, shame, loop was my new hero. 

[donding]

Whose is it, then?

Somebody by the name of Logos? Is that Yuri?

haven't you seen the avatar? ok he was slimmer before

I have never followed Yuri and that certainly didn't look anything like him.....lol
Thanks for pointing that out 

[Goofy]

just got my 41mp cell phone! I am ready for iStock now