MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: Overall sales down?  (Read 2897 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Snow

« on: September 22, 2014, 08:24 »
0
Are sales down everywhere? I mean not just DT but SS and FT too? or is it just me?
Sales do not seem to pick up anymore despite of continuous uploading and no matter what time of year it is.
Either there has been an invasion of new contributors taking away our sales or agencies found new ways to rip us off. After 4 years and with lots of continuous BME's my progress has come to a halt for the past few months and even going backwards, rapidly! New files rarely sell on most agencies. Oversupply seems to have a huge effect now, for everyone. There's not much future in this business it seems. 3 to 4 years seems to be the limit lately. At this rate I'll be out of the game in no time.

Anyone else?
« Last Edit: September 22, 2014, 08:53 by Snow »


dpimborough

« Reply #1 on: September 22, 2014, 08:57 »
+1
Are sales down everywhere? I mean not just DT but SS and FT too? or is it just me?
Sales do not seem to pick up anymore despite of continuous uploading and no matter what time of year it is.
Either there has been an invasion of new contributors taking away our sales or agencies found new ways to rip us off. After 4 years and with lots of continuous BME's my progress has come to a halt for the past few months and even going backwards, rapidly! New files rarely sell on most agencies. Oversupply seems to have a huge effect now, for everyone. There's not much future in this business it seems. 3 to 4 years seems to be the limit lately. At this rate I'll be out of the game in no time.

Anyone else?

You are quite right July was an excellent month then August was down 27% (revenue) and this month is even worse.

The volumes are still going up but the return per download has collapsed it's across the board.

 :(

« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2014, 09:07 »
+2
Buyers apparently are looking for a different experience than they've been having and are willing to back that up with cash.  Sales on Stocksy are about to pass my BME and there's still a week to go. 

SS will have a BME, but of course, that's because I'm still growing my port there with content SS buyers haven't seen yet.

« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2014, 09:13 »
+9
Yes, unless you are a newbie with no history for comparison, your microstock returns are probably flatlining or crashing.  The reasons:

1.  FORMER IS EXCLUSIVES BOLT AND SET UP AT SS AND ELSEWHERE.  Veterans point to March 2013 as the month when their SS earnings took a nosedive and never recovered.  SS has confirmed that this is when they saw a big increase of contributors who were once IS exclusives.  Overnight the total port sizes at SS and other agencies grew enormously, leaving a smaller piece of the pie for everyone else.

2. HUGE INCREASE IN OVERALL COMPETITION.  Beyond the flood of former IS exclusives suddenly making their work available everywhere, all the agencies grew their overall image offerings by HUGE amounts.  SS went from 25 million to 40 million images in one year.  Unless you also grew your own port size by roughly 60% in a year, you probably saw a decline in earnings.

3. RISE OF BARGAIN-BASEMENT SITES LIKE DPC and DP.  Customers who might normally pay more at sites like SS and DT are being drawn to agencies where every day is a fire sale.  Nightmare scenario is SS, DT and other big players slash their prices to squash these threats and we all see a further 50% drop in earnings overnight.

I was once a hopeful person and thought microstock would give me a sustainable income for many years to come, but those days are LONG GONE.

« Reply #4 on: September 22, 2014, 09:23 »
+1
Sales on Stocksy are about to pass my BME and there's still a week to go. 
Are you saying you are having a BME or just your best month at Stocksy?

« Reply #5 on: September 22, 2014, 09:41 »
+1
Sales on Stocksy are about to pass my BME and there's still a week to go. 
Are you saying you are having a BME or just your best month at Stocksy?

BME at Stocksy. 

Snow

« Reply #6 on: September 22, 2014, 09:50 »
+1
Thanks for your input guys. It does seem one cannot depend on micro anymore. No use in building a strong portfolio knowing you will get scrwd eventually. I am not giving up just yet but lost motivation and still looking to move my business elsewhere.
Sean you are a stock celeb! you would do well just about anywhere except IS ;)

Good luck all!

« Reply #7 on: September 22, 2014, 12:49 »
+3
Yes, unless you are a newbie with no history for comparison, your microstock returns are probably flatlining or crashing.  The reasons:

1.  FORMER IS EXCLUSIVES BOLT AND SET UP AT SS AND ELSEWHERE.  Veterans point to March 2013 as the month when their SS earnings took a nosedive and never recovered.  SS has confirmed that this is when they saw a big increase of contributors who were once IS exclusives.  Overnight the total port sizes at SS and other agencies grew enormously, leaving a smaller piece of the pie for everyone else.

2. HUGE INCREASE IN OVERALL COMPETITION.  Beyond the flood of former IS exclusives suddenly making their work available everywhere, all the agencies grew their overall image offerings by HUGE amounts.  SS went from 25 million to 40 million images in one year.  Unless you also grew your own port size by roughly 60% in a year, you probably saw a decline in earnings.

3. RISE OF BARGAIN-BASEMENT SITES LIKE DPC and DP.  Customers who might normally pay more at sites like SS and DT are being drawn to agencies where every day is a fire sale.  Nightmare scenario is SS, DT and other big players slash their prices to squash these threats and we all see a further 50% drop in earnings overnight.

I was once a hopeful person and thought microstock would give me a sustainable income for many years to come, but those days are LONG GONE.

Great post.  Totally agree all your points, and will add the cuts in % paid to artist and the switch from ppd to subs.

Valo

« Reply #8 on: September 24, 2014, 11:31 »
0
BME on Shutterstock an 123RF. Other sites no change or down. Overall, levelled earnings, but increased portfolio size. Bottom line, new images don't increase my sales, RPI down.

Ubermansch

  • Im designed to think
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2014, 12:09 »
-3
BEST..........MONTH........EVERRRR

lets see some invoices big talkers

pngs will do.

PZF

« Reply #10 on: September 25, 2014, 12:35 »
0
Unless a miracle happens, worst month this year on SS (and it's September!) despite lots of new images. Creative interpretation of Relevant and Popular probably not helping in addition to points mentioned above.
123 and IS looking slightly up on recent months, as one would normally expect at this time of year.
But overall :(((((((


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
1 Replies
7217 Views
Last post February 28, 2007, 16:06
by madelaide
1 Replies
6465 Views
Last post February 01, 2011, 06:50
by Duncan_CSP
1 Replies
5471 Views
Last post December 27, 2012, 15:44
by Microbius
11 Replies
13913 Views
Last post February 05, 2021, 14:43
by SpaceStockFootage
12 Replies
6814 Views
Last post May 26, 2014, 08:32
by stocked

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors