I haven't uploaded in months.  Now I only go there to withdraw money or delete images.  Deleting with the Greasemonkey script is fast and easy.  Much more fun than uploading and probably makes me about the same money

I finally figured out that as a non-exclusive I'm not wanted at IS. The recent pay-cuts and binning of all my images into the main collection were the final straw. Most sales there earned less than SS subs.

So, I've only gone back to remove my best sellers. No significant loss of income as I've had a great past few months at Shutterstock.

They would have to pull out some major changes (like image exclusivity or something) to make me even consider coming back.

Not that I'll be missed.

I have been faithfully exclusive since 2007 for video and I was set to drop an RC level this year because of such low video sales.

Wow, you dropped your crown?  (Must have been very recently as the crown icon is still by your name.)  Good for you.  You'll sleep alot better at night.

Wake up iStock, you continue to lose more of your loyal exclusive base.

Why does IS still list "trending" images by highest rating when no one but inspectors can rate anymore?

http://www.istockphoto.com/participate/contributor-lounge/trends

Why does IS still list "trending" images by highest rating when no one but inspectors can rate anymore?

http://www.istockphoto.com/participate/contributor-lounge/trends

they should remove the ranking, the forum, the profiles, everything, it doesnt make sense now to be half-agency and half social network.

i would not recommend anybody to enter stock now.

I agree, please guys remove portfolios ASAP

In Germany the communists are demanding a minimum wage of 10 euros an hour...

It is your decision to sell files for 15 cents. Don't offer them for that price if you don't want to.

But many artists specialize in creating content for high volume sites and do very well with it.

The beauty of he internet is that you can sell wherever and however you want. Noone standing in the way of your success.

There are many more artists selling stock today then ever before and especially for people living in second/third world countries it is an amazing way to make money and be indepdent from their local job market.

jjneff

Welcome in the world of indies!

Especially with video, I think you will soon recover lost income and it just feels great to see an increase in sales again in proportion to the work you put in.

It wasn't your fault that your income dropped on istock. And considering that video is a new and growing market it is incredible how they weren't able to grow their market share and kept fallin back.

In Germany the communists are demanding a minimum wage of 10 euros an hour...

And rightly so, take a look at the cost of living in germany.

It varies greatly from region to region. Im some areas 700 euros net a month can be enough, because rent in some part of Germany is incredibly low and you receive around 184-214 euros government bonus per child irrespective of your personal income until the child is 18 (sometimes until 25). So assume two parents two children, one parent working part time (maybe in a 300 euro job) the family income with child allowance would still be 700+300+184+184 = 1368 euros. And this income includes 6 weeks of paid holidays a year (minimum is 25 work days, add a few public holidays - 6 weeks). Medical insurance is covered by the employer and will usually include the family.

In a place like Munich it would probably be difficult to survive on less than 1200 net a month. But in Munich you will also get much higher salaries. So in some parts of Germany even 5-7 euros an hour an hour can feed you, in some parts you will need more than 10 euros.

And obviously you can qualify yourself and move up to a different position where you will earn more. the educational infrastructure is superb and there is lots of government sponsored programs to qualify yourself. Education is usually free anyway, you just need to buy books etc...and if you are really poor and on government welfare they will even cover that.

If you have family and friends in parts of the world that are not as rich as Germany you can never understand how people who live her can complain anyway. School is free, University is nearly free or costs maybe 1200 euros a year. Loads of opportunities to get trained and educated and young people can always find a job.

There are some poorer regions where life is a little harder, but...you can move...which is what obviously many people do. In south Germany the cities are helping companies organize job events in Spain or eastern Europe to attract more workers, because they can�t find them anymore.

Obviously there will always be people who have difficult times. But I would rather fall on hard times in Germany and deal with governement bureaucracy than anywhere else, except maybe for Sweden or Norway or Holland.

So to "demand" a minimum of 10 euros a month for any job, anywhere in the country, if you consider everything the German governemnt offers for free and that other people living in other places have to toil and save for, especially the costs of educating their children, I think it is quite an arrogant thing to do.

I am not against setting minimum wages by the way. But I believe it should be done locally and be specific to a certain trade. And in some areas and for some jobs, the minimum wage can probably be higher than 10 euros.

But of course, anyone can keep asking for more and I am sure if we had a minimum wage of 10 euros, they would then demand 20...