Author Topic: Are the polls fixed? (Read 1870 times)

Microbius · « **on:** March 25, 2012, 04:59 »

A few people have said that they think Panthermedia are appearing way to high on the polls on MSG. Others have speculated that they are skewing the results with dummy surveys etc.
I would like a bit of anecdotal evidence on what people think, specifically does anyone here make more on PM than on Veer, GL, Crestock, or Yay as the polls would suggest?
I certainly don't, not even close.
If some of the other regulars here do it would be great to know, and if no-one does, well I guess it may not just be a crazy conspiracy theory after all.

leaf · « **Reply #1 on:** March 25, 2012, 05:12 »

Panther is not too far off of Yay or Crestock for me (sometimes more, sometimes less) but it is 1/10 of Veer or Photodune

Microbius · « **Reply #2 on:** March 25, 2012, 06:04 »

That's very interesting, they don't make anything like as much as Yay for me, but then again for me Veer and Yay make about the same amount! The way the earnings ratings work does PM at 7.4 mean that it should be making several multiples of Yay or Crestock at 1.5 and 1.6 on average? or is the calculation a lot more complex?

CD123 · « **Reply #3 on:** March 25, 2012, 07:40 »

No sales at Panther now for months. At one stage they said that one will start to see better sales when your port is about 750. I am over that for a few months now. No question about it, IMO they should join Zoonar and Crestock on the list (at highest).

dirkr · « **Reply #4 on:** March 25, 2012, 13:34 »

It may depend a lot on the type of portfolio. For my (non-stocky) port they are about the same as Yay, better than Veer. And way better than GL, who does not work for me at all.
They are even better than Bigstock.

Microbius · « **Reply #5 on:** March 26, 2012, 03:23 »

From the replies so far it looks to me like for those that sell well there sell about the same level or a little better than Veer, or Yay. It seems odd that they have a score 5X higher.
I am surprised that you are selling better there than at Bigstock, is that with a similar number of images on both sites?

dirkr · « **Reply #6 on:** March 26, 2012, 04:00 »

Quote from: Microbius on March 26, 2012, 03:23

From the replies so far it looks to me like for those that sell well there sell about the same level or a little better than Veer, or Yay. It seems odd that they have a score 5X higher.
I am surprised that you are selling better there than at Bigstock, is that with a similar number of images on both sites?

Yes, same number of images (around 900).

Microbius · « **Reply #7 on:** March 26, 2012, 04:07 »

Okay, sounds like there is a lot more potential there than I realized! Maybe there's nothing dodgy about the results after all. Anyone else?

CD123 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 26, 2012, 09:53 »

Quote from: Microbius on March 26, 2012, 04:07

Okay, sounds like there is a lot more potential there than I realized! Maybe there's nothing dodgy about the results after all. Anyone else?

Only if you believe that one drop of water = a shower....

holgs · « **Reply #9 on:** March 26, 2012, 10:28 »

Its a well known fact that the smaller agencies work out who's voting on MSG polls and make sure they get a few extra sales just to bump up the stats a little bit. Who hasn't voted yet??

CD123 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 26, 2012, 11:04 »

Quote from: holgs on March 26, 2012, 10:28

Its a well known fact that the smaller agencies work out who's voting on MSG polls and make sure they get a few extra sales just to bump up the stats a little bit. Who hasn't voted yet??

I haven't received my quota, that is why I am starting a smear campaign!

kingjon · « **Reply #11 on:** March 26, 2012, 11:27 »

It seems how well people do on different sites depends on the type of photos in their portfolio. Can't speak about PM as I don't have a port there but, for me, DT is way above FT with at least 4x the revenue each month. DT and FT used to be much closer - maybe something changed in the FT search engine sometime in the past year. Also, BigStock is well above CanStockPhoto and 123 for me. The ranking in the poll rarely matches my own experience, except for the top 2 sites.

MarcvsTvllivs · « **Reply #12 on:** March 26, 2012, 15:19 »

For me and my (non-stocky) port they are far better than Veer, far better than Yay. Still a low earner though.

I am German (as is Panther Media) but that shouldn't have anything to do with it, as I keyword in English and my port isn't particularly German.

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #13 on:** March 26, 2012, 15:29 »

Quote from: holgs on March 26, 2012, 10:28

Its a well known fact that the smaller agencies work out who's voting on MSG polls and make sure they get a few extra sales just to bump up the stats a little bit. Who hasn't voted yet??

Aha. That solves a mystery. I just got a payout on BigStock -- payola?

leaf · « **Reply #14 on:** March 27, 2012, 15:19 »

Quote from: Microbius on March 25, 2012, 06:04

That's very interesting, they don't make anything like as much as Yay for me, but then again for me Veer and Yay make about the same amount! The way the earnings ratings work does PM at 7.4 mean that it should be making several multiples of Yay or Crestock at 1.5 and 1.6 on average? or is the calculation a lot more complex?

The calculation is very simple.

If SS has the highest vote average at say $1000, then Shutterstock's rating is 100. If iStock's average is $795 then the iStock rank is 79.5 and so on.. down to a low site with an average of $79 and a rating of 7.9. So yes, in a perfect world where all photographers earn an equal amount of downloads/site relatively speaking if site A is 10x more than site B in the poll then you should be making 10x more on one site than the other.

leaf · « **Reply #15 on:** March 27, 2012, 15:21 »

Quote from: kingjon on March 26, 2012, 11:27

It seems how well people do on different sites depends on the type of photos in their portfolio. Can't speak about PM as I don't have a port there but, for me, DT is way above FT with at least 4x the revenue each month. DT and FT used to be much closer - maybe something changed in the FT search engine sometime in the past year. Also, BigStock is well above CanStockPhoto and 123 for me. The ranking in the poll rarely matches my own experience, except for the top 2 sites.

I think it's things like this (what I bolded) that proves the differences people see in performance between the sites. My Fotolia earnings are 2-4x what I earn on Dreamstime. the opposite of what kingjon is seeing.

Team PantherMedia · « **Reply #16 on:** April 18, 2012, 03:10 »

Hi everybody,

we are not influencing the polls in any way. Why should we? Based on the info I have what other agencies are earning, PM should be higher up the tiers. Actually, it really depends how many images you have on PantherMedia, what kind of content it is, what rights you release (our optional subscription and otional RM really does sell well on PM, so you should take part) and how frequently you upload. Talking to the top earning stock photographers, we usually rank between 5 and 7. Of course, companies with a smaller portfolio may earn more per photographer, but it is also about growth.

In fact, we are now expaning quite quickly into new territories. If you want, give us a try and upload your images. Please contact me if you want us to support you in uploading your initial portfolio. No work for you, but everything to gain!

I am happy to answer all questions.

Best regards,

Robert

cascoly · « **Reply #17 on:** April 18, 2012, 18:37 »

Quote from: Team PantherMedia on April 18, 2012, 03:10

If you want, give us a try and upload your images. Please contact me if you want us to support you in uploading your initial portfolio. No work for you, but everything to gain!

actually it's a lot of work -- you read the iptc but we still have to edit each image, main keywords arent filled in automatically, etc

luissantos84 · « **Reply #18 on:** April 18, 2012, 18:39 »

Quote from: cascoly on April 18, 2012, 18:37

Quote from: Team PantherMedia on April 18, 2012, 03:10

If you want, give us a try and upload your images. Please contact me if you want us to support you in uploading your initial portfolio. No work for you, but everything to gain!

actually it's a lot of work -- you read the iptc but we still have to edit each image, main keywords arent filled in automatically, etc

actually thats nothing maybe you arent doing the right stuff.. you can pick the all 30 files at once and copy main keywords with a single click.. then two more clicks to rights and 30% at the end...

p.s: ton faster than DT, FT, SS, IS etc...

cidepix · « **Reply #19 on:** April 19, 2012, 11:12 »

I contribute to 19 agencies and PM is the worst one..

I have nearly %100 acceptance ratio at PM..

If PM continues to be as poor as it is, I am definitely out soon.. I don't believe in wasting my time for tiny possibilities that it may succeed. I was mislead by the FALSE ranking on this page.. I usually don't fall for it before I do my homework and research about any site.. I made the mistake to jump on the bandwagon due to unbelievable hype at the time.. I started to think some people were here to promote PM and they did well apparently

luissantos84 · « **Reply #20 on:** April 19, 2012, 11:35 »

Quote from: cidepix on April 19, 2012, 11:12

I started to think some people were here to promote PM and they did well apparently

I am sure you aren´t talking about me but I can tell you they were my 10th best agency in 2011 and I believe I will continue..

CD123 · « **Reply #21 on:** April 19, 2012, 14:55 »

Quote from: cidepix on April 19, 2012, 11:12

I contribute to 19 agencies and PM is the worst one..

I have nearly %100 acceptance ratio at PM..

If PM continues to be as poor as it is, I am definitely out soon.. I don't believe in wasting my time for tiny possibilities that it may succeed. I was mislead by the FALSE ranking on this page.. I usually don't fall for it before I do my homework and research about any site.. I made the mistake to jump on the bandwagon due to unbelievable hype at the time.. I started to think some people were here to promote PM and they did well apparently

I do believe you will always find someone who makes some money on any of the top 20 sites listed. If it is not applicable to most contributors, it may be luck, type of image fitting the site's niche well, glitch in the system advantaging their images, knowing the owner, or whatever.

What do concern me is if a site reach mid tier and one continuously find members here suspecting a rigged poll. Where there is smoke..... I have been told that if I had 750 or more images, my sales will automatically become more (ye sure). I am beyond that point and sales are even worst than ever (1 this year).

I suggest we test this with a simple poll I will add to a new post to give us some indication of our member's experience. This should at least give a rough, but fair indication where we stand with PM.

Here is a link to the poll post:
http://www.microstockgroup.com/panthermedia-net/re-are-the-polls-fixed-%28poll%29/msg251324/#msg251324