Changed my mind on becoming IS exclusive...

cclapper

Premium Member

« Reply #25 on: August 31, 2010, 14:38 »

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Quote from: holgs on August 31, 2010, 13:29

Quote from: Kngkyle on August 30, 2010, 20:41

I just went exclusive the first week of this month. Here is a rough idea of what it has done for my earnings and downloads. This doesn't include Vetta downloads because so far I only have 1 Vetta file and bunch of pending nominations. So this is mostly just from the exclusive plus and higher prices for exclusive files. My portfolio has not grown much at all this year.

I am fairly happy with the results thus far. Although they do seem to be rejecting everything I throw at them, which is starting to be very frustrating. This will be my BME on IS but will still fall short of what I was making as an independent. Hopefully more Vetta files will help make up some of this loss.

My experience has been basically similar. I went exclusive last month, so this will be my first full month as an exclusive.

My total earnings are about 2.4x the same period last year (with about 10% more files) with slightly lower downloads. For those crunching the numbers, there doesn't appear to be a significant increase in DLs from exclusivity, and at gold canister levels $$ should be around 2.6 times pre-exclusive levels. Obviously individual results will differ.

As far as acceptance or rejections go, there doesn't appear to be any real change in acceptance rates either.

For me the big benefit will be increased upload quotas, which over the coming months should make up for any lost income on other sites.

Maybe they're nice to newbies. Like there is an introductory happy period. Then...bam!


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Orchidpoet

« Reply #26 on: August 31, 2010, 14:45 »

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I doubt it's a newbie thing. At Gold level, the money increase is definitely more attractive.

Quote from: cclapper on August 31, 2010, 14:38

Maybe they're nice to newbies. Like there is an introductory happy period. Then...bam!


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pet_chia

« Reply #27 on: August 31, 2010, 15:11 »

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Quote from: holgs on August 31, 2010, 13:29

Quote from: Kngkyle on August 30, 2010, 20:41

Thanks to both of you for sharing your experiences.


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SNP

« Reply #28 on: September 04, 2010, 17:47 »

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Quote from: lagereek on August 30, 2010, 16:52

Im sure it doesnt really matter, exclusive or independant, the whole industry is very unstable and without doubt has had its glory days.

I don't think an industry like this has ever had its glory days, since it has been ever-changing since day one. my sales are growing steadily and my microstock income is now my full-time income and has been for over a year, and I started on iStock well after the purported 'glory days'. I think the key is doing your homework, shooting and uploading good images, and being adaptable. I think being able to ride out sales slumps is also important, without becoming discouraged. but I would be happy to see new contributors think the glory days are gone, less competition.


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thesentinel

« Reply #29 on: September 06, 2010, 02:38 »

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Aye, the good old days ain't what they used to be Undecided


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« Reply #30 on: September 06, 2010, 11:24 »

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Quote from: thesentinel on September 06, 2010, 02:38

Aye, the good old days ain't what they used to be Undecided

My grandma and my grand-grandpa used to say that too. According to my grand-grandpa, things were much better during World War I, people had more fun. It all ended when Elvis Presley came on the radio all the time, instead of his dear Flemish peasant songs. The Beatles destroyed his ears. After that, civilization broke down. Grin


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Lagereek

« Reply #31 on: September 06, 2010, 11:53 »

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Quote from: FD-regular on September 06, 2010, 11:24

Quote from: thesentinel on September 06, 2010, 02:38

Aye, the good old days ain't what they used to be Undecided

Yeah, only they didnt live in the 2010 era, bit differant nowdays you know. Its the old adage about the third world, its a hell of a lot more difficult surviving in the big city then out in the jungle.
Know what I mean?


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« Reply #32 on: September 07, 2010, 13:27 »

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Quote from: lagereek on September 06, 2010, 11:53

Know what I mean?

The good old days are always 30 years ago. In 10 years from now, the wedding photographers will be whining about the overtrained, super-skilled mean and lean poor microstockers that invaded their business, offering subs wedding shoots 10-a-day for only 250$ per month. Wink


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LostOne

« Reply #33 on: September 07, 2010, 16:24 »

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I think this thread can now be closed


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dnavarrojr

« Reply #34 on: September 07, 2010, 17:25 »

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Quote from: LostOne on September 07, 2010, 16:24

I think this thread can now be closed

Yeah, I don' think anyone will ever be going exclusive with iStock again...


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macrosaur

« Reply #35 on: September 08, 2010, 04:21 »

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the new site design sucks big time... slow as a dog, confusing, bloated, full of shi, and the backend is even worse than before.

the home page takes forever to load as now they want to "impress" new visitors with full screen animation .. this looks sooooo '90s !

i'm not surprised of all the rejections ... they've millions of similar images, why should they add more and more ?

FT and SS look a lot better and faster and they've got ftp uploads.

as a buyer i would be frustrated using the new crappy design .. compare with the new Alamy instead .. very fast, solid, simple and barebone with lots of options in the sidebar, that's the way it shoudl be !


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robynmac

« Reply #36 on: September 08, 2010, 16:57 »

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Quote from: dnavarrojr on September 07, 2010, 17:25

Quote from: LostOne on September 07, 2010, 16:24

I think this thread can now be closed

Yeah, I don' think anyone will ever be going exclusive with iStock again...

I stressed for a year or two over whether or not to go exclusive with IS. Even stopped uploading to DT for a while. I work at microstock full-time, so it's a crucial decision. Now I don't have to worry any more! Grin

IStock has basically made the decision for me - I am absolutely confident that staying independent is the only way to go.


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lisafx

Premium Member

« Reply #37 on: September 09, 2010, 17:24 »

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Quote from: robynmac on September 08, 2010, 16:57

IStock has basically made the decision for me - I am absolutely confident that staying independent is the only way to go.

Exactly my situation too. I feel I dodged a bullet.


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abimages

« Reply #38 on: September 09, 2010, 17:31 »

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Quote from: lisafx on September 09, 2010, 17:24

Quote from: robynmac on September 08, 2010, 16:57

IStock has basically made the decision for me - I am absolutely confident that staying independent is the only way to go.

Exactly my situation too. I feel I dodged a bullet.

Sadly I didn't dodge the bullet Sad

Two days ago I was ok with that! But that was then.


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madelaide

Premium Member

« Reply #39 on: September 10, 2010, 10:15 »

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Wow, sumos, you outgrew yourself: two equal posts in the same thread, besides all the other threads!


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cthoman

« Reply #40 on: September 10, 2010, 10:41 »

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Quote from: madelaide on September 10, 2010, 10:15

Wow, sumos, you outgrew yourself: two equal posts in the same thread, besides all the other threads!

But I don't like Spam. Anyway...

I definitely feel I dodged that bullet too. It was a big bullet that hit a lot of people in January. I'm just happy my inertia was too strong to stay independent (not that that hasn't had its own royalty reductions). I guess going exclusive now would have the advantage that you only have to be pissed off at one agency and not several. Grin


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Allsa

« Reply #41 on: September 10, 2010, 11:05 »

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We owe Dreamstime a debt of gratitude - think - How many people were unable to apply for exclusivity with IS because they were locked into DT's six month commitment? I'll bet those folks are thanking DT now!

I considered exclusivity a year or so ago when I was having problems with FT. I was afraid of losing FT, and thought that the only way I would be able make up for the loss in earnings was exclusivity with IS. Fortunately my problems with FT were resolved, and I too dodged a bullet.


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