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Author Topic: Shutterstock no good performing this month  (Read 28383 times)

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« Reply #25 on: July 24, 2014, 18:25 »
0
SS just fell off a cliff for me the last three months.  May, June and now July are all down 50% or more from last year.  My earnings in all three months are lower than for the same months in any year since 2007.  It's mostly the lack of ODs and high-value SODs that are making the difference.  Those sales have dropped dramatically during those three months.  Makes me wonder what's going on...

you have one ore more specific competitors.


« Reply #26 on: July 24, 2014, 18:28 »
0
for me July is about 70% of May and June.

Mark Windom Photography

« Reply #27 on: July 24, 2014, 19:48 »
+3
It seems, that people NOT uploading to zillion agencies are reporting consistent or growing sales on SS.
Good observation, Les. I have a feeling you're right.

I've pulled back and now only upload new stuff to the two most-productive agencies for me (SS and DT), plus my own Symbiostock site.

Still have older images left on a few others, but I'm completely out of IS, FT, and Veer. That feels good, to be honest.

This is the case for me, also.  Although I don't know why there would be a connection between consistency on SS and uploading to only a few places.  Coincidence most likely.
I upload to SS and Macrografiks, that's it for RF.  Tried Getty, iStock and DT but they weren't good fits for me.  Now directing my efforts to my own RM site (via Photoshelter) and hope to leave micro behind for good in the next year or so.

There is some logic to it.
If you have the same image on SS and also on many rock-bottom price sites, many buyers will buy it from the cheapest site, thus reducing your SS income. Not only you are hurting your combined revenue, but you are also encouraging the cheap sites to continue the downward price spiral.

Isn't SS one of the cheapest sites?  I wonder how many buyers spend the time (time is money) to try and find the same image on several different agencies for price comparison purposes just to save a few bucks (or less).

« Reply #28 on: July 25, 2014, 09:10 »
+2
I wouldn't say that SS is one of the cheapest sites. Here is a look from the buyer side:
A few months ago, I needed some images, and was contemplating purchasing a one-month subscription at SS. Coincidentally, DT ran a promotion with a 30% discount for their subscription, so I bought their one-month subscription and got all my images from them. The discount amounted to $75, so it was not just a few bucks.

I didn't need to spend time to try and find the same images on several agencies. As it happened, many of the images I previously put into my SS lightbox were available also on DT, and I was quite satisfied with what they had to offer. However, I took time to look for images from fellow Symbiostockers, and bought quite a few images from them. I got my discount and they still received their regular royalties. Thank you all!
« Last Edit: July 25, 2014, 18:27 by LesPalenik »

« Reply #29 on: July 25, 2014, 10:50 »
+2
SS just fell off a cliff for me the last three months.  May, June and now July are all down 50% or more from last year.  My earnings in all three months are lower than for the same months in any year since 2007.  It's mostly the lack of ODs and high-value SODs that are making the difference.  Those sales have dropped dramatically during those three months.  Makes me wonder what's going on...

That's identical to what I'm seeing.  The drop of for me was the night of May 17th (yes it was that sudden and obvious).  Since then my total numbers are down a bit but it's the near complete lack of ELand high value SODs hugely reducing the income.  Even ods are lower.  Nearly all my sales from the last 2.5 months are subscription.
I went from two record months in a row to two of the worst in years literally overnight.

Other sites are fairly stable and unchanged from average.  123 and IS slightly up.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

« Reply #30 on: July 25, 2014, 17:07 »
0
it looks like volume will be 7-8% lower than june, still better than may, OD  will probably be higher ( suprises when i compare now), el is much better then june, sod is much lower.

« Reply #31 on: July 25, 2014, 23:16 »
0
well, i never expected much for summer months, assuming most everyone's on vacation ( EU, USA, Canada)... but Australia, Japan, if i am not mistaken is having a different season.
as a result, at month's end, last week of May, June, i got a big surprise and a single big payoff
transformed a slow month into a very impressive payout .

so, we still have 4 days left next week. anything could happen and miracles do come in threes, right???

Rinderart

« Reply #32 on: July 26, 2014, 15:23 »
0
It seems, that people NOT uploading to zillion agencies are reporting consistent or growing sales on SS.

Im hearing the same Les.

« Reply #33 on: July 26, 2014, 15:34 »
0
In $$$
-30% from May and June
-20% from last July

was surprised as SS had been growing for me in '14 until this month.

« Reply #34 on: July 26, 2014, 16:14 »
0
It seems, that people NOT uploading to zillion agencies are reporting consistent or growing sales on SS.

Im hearing the same Les.

But are the increases enough to make up for not uploading to, say, 7-10 other sites?

« Reply #35 on: July 26, 2014, 20:37 »
0
Severe website problems yet again currently.  For most peoples ports anything except popular produces a database error.

Mark Windom Photography

« Reply #36 on: July 26, 2014, 21:17 »
0
Severe website problems yet again currently.  For most peoples ports anything except popular produces a database error.

I'm seeing that, too.  At least it's the weekend although occasionally weekends turn out to be pretty good.....

« Reply #37 on: July 26, 2014, 21:41 »
+1
It seems, that people NOT uploading to zillion agencies are reporting consistent or growing sales on SS.

Im hearing the same Les.

But are the increases enough to make up for not uploading to, say, 7-10 other sites?

There are no guarantees, and of course, it depends on each portfolio and the individual agencies, but I believe that not only there will be increases (or more realistically, a reduction in decreases), but personally, it saves me uploading efforts to the marginal sites, and also it makes me will feel much better that those images were denied to the most exploitative agencies whose only distinguishing features are the rock-bottom prices.
« Last Edit: July 26, 2014, 21:44 by LesPalenik »

« Reply #38 on: July 26, 2014, 22:52 »
0
It seems, that people NOT uploading to zillion agencies are reporting consistent or growing sales on SS.

Im hearing the same Les.

But are the increases enough to make up for not uploading to, say, 7-10 other sites?

There are no guarantees, and of course, it depends on each portfolio and the individual agencies, but I believe that not only there will be increases (or more realistically, a reduction in decreases), but personally, it saves me uploading efforts to the marginal sites, and also it makes me will feel much better that those images were denied to the most exploitative agencies whose only distinguishing features are the rock-bottom prices.

again, good read.
in response i can only speak from my own side. as LesPalenik said "makes me feel much better..iamges denied to agencies rock bottom prices". it was exactly this denial which made me look into other possibility 2 months ago. as i said in the other thread by paulie (profitable), looking much closer to home which i have long neglected.
upon denial, i said, Ok FINE, YOU MAY NOT WANT THEM, BUT SOMEONE AT HOME MIGHT.

and after 2 months of hard work of pushing my wares here, i am finally finding results
.  does it mean i have to get dressed again and commute, etc... since i work in my pjs as a stock photographer for years, never needing to leave home, and just working where there is an internet cafe abroad,etc..

i guess we get pushed out, and perharps the best thing that has happened to some of us...
only thing is we have to wake up and get dressed all over again, instead of working whenever we feel like it , in my case midnight till sunrise,lol.
but it could be a good change of work method to go back to the "old ways" with new people...
3 generation new.
« Last Edit: July 26, 2014, 22:55 by etudiante_rapide »

« Reply #39 on: July 27, 2014, 11:20 »
+4
I don't see how there could be a link between limiting the number of sites and the return on SS unless the site is deliberately promoting images with limited exposure. I suppose it's possible but I think it is more likely that these anecdotes (seems mostly to be "I'm hearing from other people" rather than "I;m seeing in my results") are unreliable. Maybe people wanting to limit competition or to justify their own decisions.

« Reply #40 on: July 27, 2014, 14:51 »
+1
If such observations are unreliable, is the denial of them more reliable?

« Reply #41 on: July 27, 2014, 16:01 »
+1
If such observations are unreliable, is the denial of them more reliable?

like all polls and reports,etc.. one would take it with a grain of salt as look at who is the "advertiser".
u r right in looking at it laterally, that perharps there is a self-interest in telling newbies u r not doing well, or getting a lot of aggression and volatility with your bottom line suffering shortfalls,etc..

as goofy pointed out in the other thread, how Yuri had everyone's cousin producing clones of his work.
who wants to come in here and go woo yea i am doing really really well.
and conversely, like u say , i am really doing shittily, so quite honestly, u r better off tossing burgers.

i would say, it would be 50 50 mix of denials and observations. the super sellers will wish you think she he is not doing well as they are, so you stop looking at their work and flooding it with even more clones, which your cousins have already saturated.

good point !


Carl

  • Carl Stewart, CS Productions
« Reply #42 on: July 28, 2014, 06:00 »
+3
It's looking like WME for me on SS.

« Reply #43 on: July 28, 2014, 10:48 »
+2
If such observations are unreliable, is the denial of them more reliable?

For the observations to be meaningful (whether reliable or not) it would require people who find an image on SS to go searching other places where they can get it cheaper. That is pretty much impossible for anyone with an active subscription, so the extra sales would all have to come in the form of SODs - but if these are image buyers with accounts elsewhere, then they will, presumably, have checked the place where their accounts are and found that they can't get an image for their needs there, so they will then have started looking at the other agencies.I suppose that may happen once in a while, but it doesn't seem credible to me that it happens often enough to make any detectable difference to the monthly income.

So, to answer your question, I would say that the denial of an implausible claim probably is more reliable than the unsupported claim itself.  Even if the claim happen to be true, it is extremely unlikely that the link being made between not uploading elsewhere and doing better than average at SS is valid. It's more likely that there is some other factor at play (type of subject, quality etc)

dpimborough

« Reply #44 on: July 28, 2014, 14:46 »
+1
Sorry folks but Shutterstock just exceeded expectations this month again!

They accounted for 80.2%of the sales value  ;D

Sadly the other sites are just appallingly bad at selling the same files. :-[

So for this month it was SS all the way followed oddly by Bigstock at 5.1% and the rest are nowhere to be seen (i.e. less than 15% of overall July sales combined.). >:(

« Last Edit: July 28, 2014, 14:49 by Teddy the Cat »

« Reply #45 on: July 28, 2014, 15:00 »
+1
Sorry folks but Shutterstock just exceeded expectations this month again!


considering , SS still produces enough sales for a low month... ie better than 2013, and 2013 better than 2012,etc.. for July.
so like Teddy, it still flies, although i would have loved an 80 dollars surprise on the last day of the month. well, there's still three more days to that.

dpimborough

« Reply #46 on: July 28, 2014, 15:07 »
+1
Sorry folks but Shutterstock just exceeded expectations this month again!


considering , SS still produces enough sales for a low month... ie better than 2013, and 2013 better than 2012,etc.. for July.
so like Teddy, it still flies, although i would have loved an 80 dollars surprise on the last day of the month. well, there's still three more days to that.

It ain't over until the fat lady sings  ;D

I picked up a nice $17.50 SOD today.


« Reply #47 on: July 28, 2014, 18:08 »
+1
It ain't over until the fat lady sings  ;D
I picked up a nice $17.50 SOD today.

nice one. 3 days left, and i see a big fat shadow coming on stage... ;D

ngaga35

« Reply #48 on: July 28, 2014, 18:13 »
0
Hello everyone,
I'm new here. But I'm not new in shutterstock.
You can see my portfolio: newbielink:http://www.shutterstock.com/g/ngaga35?rid=474871 [nonactive]

I have more then 10 000 vectors, illustrations and photos, and small amount of videos. Well my sells going down for couple of mouth. Now is almost half then last year in July. A don't now what is going on but I'm very concern.
What do you think about that?

dbvirago

« Reply #49 on: July 28, 2014, 19:48 »
+3
Reached BME at SS yesterday. All other sites flat.


 

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