Author Topic: Shutterstock VS Istock (Read 42335 times)

leaf · « **on:** March 23, 2006, 05:40 »

I think shutterstock is going to overtake istock in total images very soon

It will be exciting to see how long it takes, or how much effort istock puts into being the king of the castle.

So anyhow ,I thought i would start this thread to keep track of the progess. As of today Istock is in the lead

Istock: 694,548
Shutterstock: 650,696
differance: 43,852

GeoPappas · « **Reply #1 on:** March 23, 2006, 06:34 »

A few weeks ago, I created a spreadsheet to compare some of the microstocks. At that time, the #s were as follows:

iStockphoto: 656,000
Shutterstock: 600,000
Difference: 56,000

Please note that I rounded the #s for simplicity, but it shows that Shutterstock is definitely adding more images. Could it be because iStock is more finicky now?

chellyar · « **Reply #2 on:** March 23, 2006, 06:37 »

Ya, Istock as over 27000 in the queue as well..

Any way we can tell the size of the queue at SS?

leaf · « **Reply #3 on:** March 23, 2006, 09:11 »

no you can't tell the size of the cue at shutterstock, but it is virtually nothing. If you submit pictures they are reviewed by the next day, if not sooner (like within the hour)

I think the reason is twofold
Shutterstock takes more images
Shutterstock is working harder at reviewing images .. oh and perhaps one more thing.. shutterstock doesn't have a max upload limit.

GeoPappas · « **Reply #4 on:** March 23, 2006, 09:55 »

They also accept editorial stock, which can help boost their #s.

Freezingpictures · « **Reply #5 on:** March 23, 2006, 15:29 »

My guess is, that Fotolia too will sooner or later have more images than Istockphoto. They really gained ground the last 3 months.

admart01 · « **Reply #6 on:** March 23, 2006, 16:04 »

Quote from: leaf on March 23, 2006, 09:11

no you can't tell the size of the cue at shutterstock, but it is virtually nothing. If you submit pictures they are reviewed by the next day, if not sooner (like within the hour)

I think the reason is twofold
Shutterstock takes more images
Shutterstock is working harder at reviewing images .. oh and perhaps one more thing.. shutterstock doesn't have a max upload limit.

Another options -- they're less picky

leaf · « **Reply #7 on:** March 23, 2006, 17:39 »

yeah that is what i meant by 'takes more images' ... at least we agree

admart01 · « **Reply #8 on:** March 23, 2006, 19:40 »

We do, sad to say. It's still at the top of my list so I'm not complaining.

leaf · « **Reply #9 on:** March 24, 2006, 02:06 »

sad to say? are you looking for a roudy discussion...i could try to be more dissagreable.

admart01 · « **Reply #10 on:** March 24, 2006, 08:32 »

Quote from: leaf on March 24, 2006, 02:06

sad to say? are you looking for a roudy discussion...i could try to be more dissagreable.

The "sad to say" is more about the "what" than the fact that we agree.

I have hear you can be quite disagreeable when you put your mind to it

fintastique · « **Reply #11 on:** March 25, 2006, 19:40 »

Well in the last few moments of British Summer Time 0.40 BST 26-03-06

Lets make it a three horse race

ISP 698,077 with 26,419 waiting
SS 653,025 with ?? waiting
F 486,637 with 11,468 waiting

So 45,000 between the first two. I seem to remember Fotolia broke the 400,000 mark at the beginning of the month (They had 100,000 in November) though their 20c bounty for photos has been revoked so I guess their growth will slow down a bit now.

leaf · « **Reply #12 on:** March 26, 2006, 03:35 »

wow, i didn't realize that fotolia was up so high.

yeah that .20c bounty sure made people upload i think. They also had a .40c bounty in january (for uploading over 400 images.. and other amounts for less than that)... that was a good deal.

leaf · « **Reply #13 on:** March 28, 2006, 15:32 »

allright new update

Shutterstock: 662,127
Istock: 705619

differance 43,492

not much change, but shutterstock has caught up by 400 images

Freezingpictures · « **Reply #14 on:** March 28, 2006, 16:13 »

And Fotolia 496000

leaf · « **Reply #15 on:** April 13, 2006, 13:17 »

Shutterstock - 694,660
Istock - 734,947

Differance 40,287

CJPhoto · « **Reply #16 on:** April 13, 2006, 15:51 »

And Fotilla 552,000
Bigstock 317,000
Canstock 182,000

Couldnt find Dreamtime

leaf · « **Reply #17 on:** April 13, 2006, 16:11 »

Dreamstime - 336,366

Freezingpictures · « **Reply #18 on:** April 13, 2006, 19:30 »

It seems as Fotolia is grwoing the fastest, On March 28th approximately 210 000 difference, on April 13th 182 000 difference. That means they come 28 000 Images closer in half a month, 56 000 in a month. That is about 1860 a day. That means in approximately 98 days they have about the same amount of Images.

Lets do the same calculation for SS vs IS. SS comes closer with approximately 210 images a day. That means SS needs about 192 days..

leaf · « **Reply #19 on:** April 25, 2006, 02:44 »

Another week, another tally.

Shutterstock: 715,940
Istock: 754,578

Differance: 38,638

will be interesting to see who breaks 1,000,000 first.

Are_62 · « **Reply #20 on:** April 25, 2006, 06:02 »

But what I'm more interested in is their sales

Does anyone know what the sales figures - or total amount of downloads are for the respective agencies?

::are

CJPhoto · « **Reply #21 on:** April 25, 2006, 06:09 »

I agree as a small site with a higher sales ratio would be a better bet to submit to. However, this is probably "commercially sensitive information" and very unlikely it will be published.

leaf · « **Reply #22 on:** April 25, 2006, 06:09 »

I don't think the sites themselves are going to give that out :S

however you can see sales percentages in this thread for individual users. There will probably be another thread like that at the end of this month.

http://microstockgroup.com/forum/index.php?topic=94.0

fintastique · « **Reply #23 on:** April 27, 2006, 07:51 »

Just collected these numbers for something else

Thursday 27th April

iStock 758,109
Shutterstock 720,384
Fotolia 603,231
Dreamtime 350,000+
Big Stock 332,000
Can Stock 191,512

leaf · « **Reply #24 on:** May 05, 2006, 07:04 »

I have been keywording images and need a break... so i thought i would update this again

Istock: 772,840
Shutterstock: 735,155

Differeance: 37, 685

leaf · « **Reply #25 on:** May 30, 2006, 03:11 »

Istock: 821,845
Shutterstock: 792,302

Differance: 29,543

Well they are deffinatly catching up. Fotolia is hot on both of their tails as well. I would have to admit however that istock must have a lot more contributors however, since they accept significantly less than shutterstock does.

fintastique · « **Reply #26 on:** May 30, 2006, 10:54 »

Ok my three month wait is over and I resubmitted and the man from Shutterstock said yes.

So I will do a bit to narrow the gap a bit further.

(10/10 though I should bloody hope so as they were my top ten sellers on iStock)

I have heard that Shutterstock aren't as fussy as Istock in terns acceptance rate but don't want to piss them off by FTPing lots of photos that consider not worthy. So if they were accepted by FT or DT they should be worth uploading??

CJPhoto · « **Reply #27 on:** May 30, 2006, 11:06 »

Quote from: fintastique on May 30, 2006, 10:54

I have heard that Shutterstock aren't as fussy as Istock in terns acceptance rate but don't want to piss them off by FTPing lots of photos that consider not worthy. So if they were accepted by FT or DT they should be worth uploading??

They wont necessarily be accepted but if they were at FT or DT, it is worthwhile trying as atleast they have passed one set of eyes. Sites like StockXpert and 123RF seem to accept most stuff for me which is no indication.

fintastique · « **Reply #28 on:** May 30, 2006, 12:12 »

I have been using Filezilla to FTP to DT,StockXpert,FT,BigStock but I can't seem to get it to work for Shutterstock just tried their active uploaded which crashed somewhere in the middle of a 67 meg upload - ****!.

so I type in

ftp.shutterstock.com

my user name or e-mail address it seems a bit vague

password

Or should I download coffee cup

Just saw a post on another forum that shutterstock was "down" anyone else having trouble?

leaf · « **Reply #29 on:** May 30, 2006, 14:55 »

well i don't know if shutterstock is down or not, but i do know that you can use filezilla to connect.

fintastique · « **Reply #30 on:** May 31, 2006, 11:33 »

Actually the comment regarding shutterstock being down was in terms of the person's sales.

I can't complain about by shutterstock sales with a portfolio of ten I had one download within 24 hours of being uploading compare that to SPM who now have 600 photos and have sold nothing in nearly three months. The next site to give up uploading to.

Actually found using activeX was OK to upload having two windows open one uploading and the other catagorizing, (filling in IPTC data that has not been read). The compulsary spell check is both infuriating and enlightening for Scottish place names, yankie spelling and my own inability to spell.

fintastique · « **Reply #31 on:** May 31, 2006, 17:33 »

Just updating a table on my site so the top 10 sites in terms of numbers of photos

1 istock 824,949
2 Shutterstock 797,195
3 Fotolia 747,000
4 Dreamstime 410,000+
5 Big Stock Photo 370,000+
6 123 rf 300,000+
7 Can Stock Photo 213,665

8 Stockphotomedia

9 Stockxpert

10 Gimmestock 42,650

So a three horse race still

if anyone finds numbers for SPM or StockXpert please let me know where you found them.

leaf · « **Reply #32 on:** June 01, 2006, 01:14 »

thanks for the numbers.. yes, it will be sure exciting to see who reaches the 1,000,000 mark first. I wonder if istock won't get a little eager at the end and put in a spurt for the finish line, which would secure them a win.

kcastagnola · « **Reply #33 on:** June 08, 2006, 10:32 »

I got at a very rough number for SPM's numbers (as of June 7) ... 59,000+. I just did a blank search on photos (it didn't require a word to be typed in) and it returned all the photos it had and a number of 59-some thousand came up. Does this method work for anyone else?

kcastagnola · « **Reply #34 on:** June 08, 2006, 10:34 »

I just checked SPM's site just now and it says they're up to 60048 images. All I had to do was click on "go" near the search box without having typed any criteria in.

CJPhoto · « **Reply #35 on:** June 08, 2006, 10:35 »

Quote from: leaf on June 01, 2006, 01:14

thanks for the numbers.. yes, it will be sure exciting to see who reaches the 1,000,000 mark first. I wonder if istock won't get a little eager at the end and put in a spurt for the finish line, which would secure them a win.

Well it looks like they are more concerned with quality as they are planning on doing a purge and not just of photos that havn't been downloaded. I imagine they will want to do it before they get to 1m as they wouldn't want to go under that again. Fotolia could catch up.

GeoPappas · « **Reply #36 on:** June 08, 2006, 11:08 »

Fotolia has been talking about a purge as well, but only for images that have legality issues.

fintastique · « **Reply #37 on:** June 08, 2006, 13:04 »

The top ten

1 istock 841,114
2 Shutterstock 814,122
3 Fotolia 779,565

4 Dreamstime 430,000+
5 Big Stock Photo 379,000+
6 123 rf 300,000+
7 Can Stock Photo 217,000

8 Stockphotomedia 60,449
9 Stockxpert ??
10 Gimmestock 43,098

Thanks to kcastagnola for letting me know how to find SPM numbers. The blank search didn't work for StockXpert, anyone any ideas.

My comment on the istock vs SS

I joined the former over 3 months ago and the later 9 days ago I have made more in 7 days at SS than at 3 months at iS even though SS accepted 360 photos cf to 198 on iS.

As newest photos appear first I think it is best to submit only one or two from each subject and to save the other photos when your photos have drifted from the first page.

IRCrockett · « **Reply #38 on:** June 13, 2006, 04:29 »

Quote from: fintastique on June 08, 2006, 13:04

My comment on the istock vs SS

I joined the former over 3 months ago and the later 9 days ago I have made more in 7 days at SS than at 3 months at iS even though SS accepted 360 photos cf to 198 on iS.

I'm having a similar experience. I signed up with IS and SS well over a year ago but made a decision not to upload. Can't remember why I decided not to but a month ago I changed my mind and finally uploaded photos. Results have been interesting to say the least.

After just one month and ten days I've made 25x more sales and 16x more earnings at SS than I have at IS. Approval rate is pretty close between the two, 88% for IS and 86% for SS but uploading is so much more convenient at SS and SS also approves them quite quickly. I've had images approved in as quickly as half an hour at SS with the average being closer to 24-30 hours. IS on the other hand drags its heals on approving taking on average 5 days. Whereas SS seems to do all my uploads at once IS does them one at a time and every so often just seems to skip a photo. I had one take almost two weeks to be approved even though others uploaded at approximately the same time only took three or four days to approve.

leaf · « **Reply #39 on:** June 13, 2006, 05:09 »

yes i agree shutterstock is quite good, however as per earnings per image, i think they are about the same (after the first month anyhow) Shutterstock had a default search showing newest images first, so after the new images are burried a few pages deep, they are not found as often and download tend to shrink to 2/3 of what they were at the peak.

IRCrockett · « **Reply #40 on:** June 13, 2006, 05:22 »

Yes, I don't expect SS photos to continue selling that way past their "fresh" stage but it will still take IS quite awhile (if ever) to go from 8 downloads I currently have to the 200 I already have at SS.

melking · « **Reply #41 on:** June 14, 2006, 08:25 »

wow Shutterstock is really growing fast!

leaf · « **Reply #42 on:** June 15, 2006, 03:15 »

Quote from: melking on June 14, 2006, 08:25

wow Shutterstock is really growing fast!

wow, long time since you were around melking. Nice to see you back

leaf · « **Reply #43 on:** June 15, 2006, 03:21 »

well since it has been another 2 weeks, it is time for another update.. for the 1,000,000 goal

Istock = 853,675
Shutterstock = 827,754
Fotolia = 808,560

that only makes 25,921 between the top two leaders, and even less than that between shutterstock and fotolia. It may well be fotolia who breaks the 1,000,000 prize. pretty impressive considering they are so new. If only they had the buyers. I think i would comment dreamstime quite a bit. They have an excellent image base (although it isn't the largest) and strong sales (and one of the best payouts around by far)

melking · « **Reply #44 on:** June 15, 2006, 06:35 »

hey, I was around but just not as much....been busy with new baby!

Striker77s · « **Reply #45 on:** June 15, 2006, 07:36 »

Congrats on the new baby. My wife is due in 3 weeks.

Mark

ichiro17 · « **Reply #46 on:** June 15, 2006, 08:49 »

Congrats on your babies...baby boom?

I just like to say I love SS...my uploads get accepted at a good pace (especially my recent ones) and I'm getting regular downloads which makes me quite happy. Its quickly becoming my best and I'm really happy.

Again, congrats on the birth of your children

leaf · « **Reply #47 on:** June 15, 2006, 13:04 »

Quote from: Striker77s on June 15, 2006, 07:36

Congrats on the new baby. My wife is due in 3 weeks.

Mark

yeah i second that. congrats on the baby

melking · « **Reply #48 on:** June 15, 2006, 18:38 »

My goodness thank you all! Very happy! Just not enough time in the day right now...hehe

madelaide · « **Reply #49 on:** June 15, 2006, 19:12 »

melking,

Congratulations to your and your wife and all the blessings to the baby.

You know, baby photos can be very sellable.

Regards,
Adelaide

leaf · « **Reply #50 on:** June 16, 2006, 02:33 »

Quote from: madelaide on June 15, 2006, 19:12

melking,

Congratulations to your and your wife and all the blessings to the baby.

You know, baby photos can be very sellable.

Regards,
Adelaide

eh hem .. i think melking was the one who did all the work

, that is to say, Melking IS the wife.

melking · « **Reply #51 on:** June 16, 2006, 06:21 »

hehe...haha I am the Wife is right....or last time I checked I get that all the time. Maybe it is time for a name change? My name is Melissa! Here is a bad photo of me...but I hate to have my photo taken anyways!

madelaide · « **Reply #52 on:** June 16, 2006, 16:06 »

Ooops - sorry! Yes, melqueen would make this more obvious.

Congratulations anyway!
Adelaide

leaf · « **Reply #53 on:** June 16, 2006, 16:22 »

oohhh that is where you get it from... melKING, i never really thought about it that way. Maybe i always knew she was a girl.

melking · « **Reply #54 on:** June 17, 2006, 07:45 »

Haha funny I never thought about that either....KING is my last name that why it is melking....mel is what people call me for short. Oh my!

fintastique · « **Reply #55 on:** June 22, 2006, 13:46 »

Its been 2 weeks since my last counting the pics exercise last times figures in brackets

1 istock 869,361 (841,114) increase 28,247
2 Shutterstock 844,093 (814,122) increase 29,971
3 Fotolia 839,339 (779,565) increase 59,774

4 Dreamstime 450,000+ (430,000+) increase 20,000+
5 Big Stock Photo 392,000 (379,000+) increase 13,000+
6 123 rf 300,000+ (300,000+)
7 Can Stock Photo 224,032 (217,000) increase 7,032

8 Stockphotomedia 62,485 (60,449) increase 2,036
9 Stockxpert ??

So if this trend continues, iS and SS increasing by 30,000 and FT by 60,000 in the same period 2 week period FT should break the million mark FIRST in 5-6 weeks, anyway we will have to wait and see.

Istock threw it away with their 30 photos a week limit for newbies obviously they want quality not quantity.

leaf · « **Reply #56 on:** June 22, 2006, 14:03 »

thanks for the update.

wow. fotolia continues to impress. I have been getting good downloads there recently as well. Income from fotolia will soon match dreamstime, istock and shutterstock.

fintastique · « **Reply #57 on:** June 22, 2006, 14:12 »

Judging by own uploads FT management have obviously decided to go for breaking the Million mark first as they are accepting more than they used to. Lets just hope they don't run out of server space like StockXpert.

Can't complain getting downloads every day now from FT and broke the 100 sales recently so I get 35% when is the next increase 500 sales?

Plus a couple of extended licences about bloody time.

I susopect next year there will be spring cleaning of stuff that got accepted in FT's Jan and Feb rewards program that is cluttering up their portfolio but they can't delete it.

madelaide · « **Reply #58 on:** June 23, 2006, 22:36 »

With two extended licenses this month, Fotolia is giving me about the same as IS, DT and BigStock combined, so I can't complain! I'm happy and willing to increase my portfolio in all of them. I need time!

Regards,
Adelaide

fintastique · « **Reply #59 on:** June 25, 2006, 12:44 »

FT is now #2 in terms of number of images

iStock 876,000
FT 850,165
Shutter 848,776

leaf · « **Reply #60 on:** June 25, 2006, 15:39 »

wow.. soon to take over the world

GeoPappas · « **Reply #61 on:** July 01, 2006, 14:55 »

According to the most recent Stockxpert newsletter, they have over 150,000 images.

fintastique · « **Reply #62 on:** July 03, 2006, 02:31 »

OK image numbers square brackets from 22nd of June 10 days ago and curved brackets 8th of June. Shutterstock is eating FT's dust and FT should catch up with istock in 2 weeks. I suppose this thread should be renamed as Shutterstock are out of the race

1 istock 892,000 [869,361] (841,114) increase 22,639
2 Fotolia 880,811 [839,339] (779,565) increase 41,472
2 Shutterstock 863,053 [844,093] (814,122) increase 18,960

4 Dreamstime 470,000 [450,000] (430,000) increase 20,000
5 Big Stock Photo 404,000 [392,000] (379,000) increase 9,000
6 123 rf 300,000+ (300,000+)
7 Can Stock Photo 228,551 [224,032] (217,000) increase 4,519

8 Stockxpert 150,000
9 Stockphotomedia 63,615 [62,485] (60,449) increase 1,130

CJPhoto · « **Reply #63 on:** July 03, 2006, 04:48 »

Sales wise though, Fotolia still has a long way to catch up.

GeoPappas · « **Reply #64 on:** July 03, 2006, 09:14 »

I went back to the previous Stockxpert newsletter and they stated that they had attained the 100,000 mark on 05/15/2006.

So, Stockxpert went from 100,000 photos to over 150,000 photos in just under 7 weeks (or about 7,200 images/week).

CJPhoto · « **Reply #65 on:** July 03, 2006, 11:13 »

Geopappas - Big growth would be expected though as in that time, Andrer, Forgiss, shatteredlens, Rinder and many others with 1000's of photos joined and uploaded all their photos.

Especially with how easy it is to upload, they could increase very quickly as the big players come on board and dump their portfolios in. Other sites which are more of a hassle wont increase as quickly.

melking · « **Reply #66 on:** July 05, 2006, 06:42 »

I think ShutterStock rocks...I just love there uploading system....it is so easy!
Melissa

GeoPappas · « **Reply #67 on:** July 06, 2006, 08:38 »

iStock is the first to cross the 900,000 mark, but Fotolia is close behind.

Who will win the race to 1 million?

Stay tuned...

fintastique · « **Reply #68 on:** July 07, 2006, 10:29 »

Yep iStock were the first to break 900,000 but Fotolia is breathing down their neck and should break 900k by the end of the day and overtake iStock in number of images in 1-2 weeks.

today <3rd July> [22th June] (8th June)

1 istock 904,000 <892,000> [869k] (841k) inc 12,000
2 Fotolia 899,492 <880,811> [839k] (779k) inc 18,681
2 Shutterstock 871,496 <863,053> [844k] (814k) incr 8,443

4 Dreamstime 480,000 <470,000> [450k] (430k) inc 10,000
5 Big Stock Photo 409,000 <404,000> [392k] (379k) incr 5,000
6 123 rf 300,000+
7 Can Stock Photo 231,235 <228,551> [224k] (217k) incr 2,684

8 Stockxpert 150,000?
9 Stockphotomedia 64,841 <63,615> [62k] (60k) incr 1,226

GeoPappas · « **Reply #69 on:** July 09, 2006, 14:24 »

It's official: Fotolia is now the #1 site!

Fotolia has surpassed iStockphoto with the total amount of photos!

Fotolia currently has 909,385
iStockphoto currently has 907,986

I checked this morning and Fotolia was still down by a thousand images, so it must have happened today sometime.

leaf · « **Reply #70 on:** July 09, 2006, 16:08 »

Wow that is pretty big news

They may be on their way to the top site.
I would have to say they still have a little ways to go in regards to sale, but very impressive consdiering how new they are, and especially in comparison to sites that have been around a while, like canstock, bigstock, and gimmestock.

I think they have someone on marketing that knows what they are doing.

Greg Boiarsky · « **Reply #71 on:** July 09, 2006, 17:19 »

Let's keep this in perspective, however. While they may have more images on file than other sites, I still find them way down on my list of sales. Granted, I only have 123 photos on their site; still, they are a distant third in sales for me, tied with StockXpert.

I have high hopes for the site, and I like many aspects of it--especially the fact that we know who the images are sold to. What I also find attractive are two things. One, they pay relatively well per download. Two, my sales have increased every month. I'll wait and see what happens in the next six months as they settle into their new position as the leader in images on file. Let's hope they succeed and become profitable for all of us.

Quote from: leaf on July 09, 2006, 16:08

Wow that is pretty big news

They may be on their way to the top site.
I would have to say they still have a little ways to go in regards to sale, but very impressive consdiering how new they are, and especially in comparison to sites that have been around a while, like canstock, bigstock, and gimmestock.

I think they have someone on marketing that knows what they are doing.

fintastique · « **Reply #72 on:** July 10, 2006, 02:39 »

Hey who stole my thunder that will teach me for spending my weekends away from my computer.

I suspect FT are going to have a big publicity spash when they reach 1,000,000 though Chad remarked he hoped that image was a good one. I suspect they may be some tweaking so their millionth image is an impressive one.

I would say it may be months before it reaches its full potential but at least it appears to be here to stay. A pity they don't streamline their category system.

It appears for referrals you earn 10% of the what the photographer got as I have payments of 6.7c and 13.4c from one affiliate which would tie in with 67c and $1.33 that they might have received.

jlye · « **Reply #73 on:** July 10, 2006, 09:07 »

Quote from: fintastique on July 10, 2006, 02:39

I suspect they may be some tweaking so their millionth image is an impressive one.

I will not be surprised at all .. from all the sites i seen .. those "milestone" photo are always of a high quality

leaf · « **Reply #74 on:** July 12, 2006, 04:01 »

Fotolia - 929,098

60,000 more images to go

fintastique · « **Reply #75 on:** July 17, 2006, 18:11 »

Well its no big mystery who will break the million mark but I wonder if SS will ever actually catch up with iStock

Today (7 July) <3rd July> [22th June] 8th June

1 Fotolia 944,904 (899) <880> [839k] 779k inc 45k
2 istock 926,538 (904) <892> [869k] 841k inc 22k
3 Shutterstock 891,452 (871) <863> [844k] 814k incr 20k

4 Dreamstime 490,000+ (480) <470> [450k] 430k inc 10k
5 Big Stock Photo 417,000 (409) <404> [392k] 379k incr 8k
6 123 rf 300,000+
7 Can Stock Photo 236,056 (231) <228> [224k] 217k incr 5k

8 Stockxpert 150,000?
9 Stockphotomedia 66,235 (64) <63> [62k] (60k) incr 1.5k

I think I really should draw a graph

leaf · « **Reply #76 on:** July 17, 2006, 18:24 »

boy thanks for the numbers.

yeah good question, they have been coasting along a similar speed for sometime now.

fintastique · « **Reply #77 on:** July 17, 2006, 18:29 »

I keep on reading posts about SS reviewers going a little crazy, high rejection rates. Well they will be the biggest subscription only site for a long time to come

When this default search option being "most popular" its going to be a kick in the teeth for the newbies but I will still contribute as they still have one of the easiest upload procedures and despite a slow start I should get enough for a payout this month.

Greg Boiarsky · « **Reply #78 on:** July 17, 2006, 18:32 »

I really wonder if photo base equates to sales. For example, I've had more sales on StockXpert in two months than in four months of Dreamstime. I like both sites, but StockXpert is a bit more active for me.

Given that photo base isn't necessarily a predictor of sales, I wonder what is. I don't think it's views, since views don't seem to correlate with sales. In fact, for selling images I tend to get about one download per 5 looks (for best sellers) to 20 looks (for slow movers). But, while non-sellers get fewer looks, it's not necessarily a huge difference--depending on the site.

Similarly, I don't think time in the market equates to sales, other than for SS and IS. For the others, I get relatively similar sales regardless of how old the site is.

So, any ideas of what might be a good predictor of sales? Any idea of what sells where better (such as, where would portraits sell, or landscapes)?

fintastique · « **Reply #79 on:** July 18, 2006, 05:45 »

I suppose it depends on how many buyer versus how much competition each of your photos has.

For instance if a buyer visited LO and wanted photos of London or Paris I would be very happy.

StockXpert don't have that many photos but they seem to get visitors who actually do buy.

At least number of views gives you an idea if people are at least interested in your photos.

I have quite a few images which have had 100 views but no sales

I quite like DT option to buy an image with Paypal for customers who don't want to buy credits which net us $3.

Anyway for those of you interested in DT growth over the last two years I have added a graph (a work in progress I seem to have screwed up the HTML)

http://www.fintastique.com/dreamstime.htm

You need to scroll down.
The source data taken from DT website is underneath.

GeoPappas · « **Reply #80 on:** July 18, 2006, 08:37 »

FYI: Dreamstime just broke the half million mark, so you migth want to update your graph.

GeoPappas · « **Reply #81 on:** July 18, 2006, 17:02 »

According to the latest Stockxpert newsletter, they now have more than 170,000 images.

fintastique · « **Reply #82 on:** July 19, 2006, 02:54 »

http://www.fintastique.com/fotolia.htm

scroll down

A graph to show the rise of Fotolia (SS and Istock seem to be running parallel)

Data from this morning added but Excel doesn't label the very last data point

Freezingpictures · « **Reply #83 on:** July 19, 2006, 05:03 »

Good Information fantastique, I like your site :-)

CJPhoto · « **Reply #84 on:** July 19, 2006, 06:37 »

It is a shame your spreadsheet doesn't go back further. it would be interesting to see the effect FT 20c payout had on increasing their numbers. The slope of the graph from then on compared to SS is probably just a more lenient policy. iS stricter policy is ofset by its exclusives.

fintastique · « **Reply #85 on:** July 19, 2006, 07:43 »

Yes its a pity DT post when they break the 500,000 mark etc

but for the other sites its a question of periodically noting down the number of images and I only started that in Mid March and I only started in Micro Stock in mid Feb.

I may ask around

From the slope of the graph ie if they continue to increase at a similar rate I estimate these sites will be breaking the one million mark

Fotolia 11 days so by the end of the July
iStock 35 Days - late August
Shutterstock 49 days - early September

Obviously there are SO many variables involved I will be surprised if they are correct or even close, I expect SS will be faster as Newbies only have to wait one month if their first ten get rejected before they can try again.

fintastique · « **Reply #86 on:** July 24, 2006, 02:35 »

Its Monday morning in Europe so its time to count the number of images at the microstock sites - I think it may be time to rename this thread as there isn't really any competition anymore, well apart from when StockXpert catches up with CanStockPhoto. The figures in brackets are from last Monday so my original predition still looks valid FT to break the one million mark on the 31st of July.

1 Fotolia 977,382 [944,904] increase 32,478
2 istock 940,763 [926,538] increase 14,225
3 Shutterstock 906,228 [891,452] increase 14,776

4 Dreamstime 510,000 [490,000+] increase 20k
5 Big Stock Photo 424,000 [417,000] increase 7k

6 123 rf 300,000+
7 Can Stock Photo 240,520 [236,056] increase 4464

8 Stockxpert 170,000?

9 Stockphotomedia 67,325 [66,235] incr 1090
10 Gimmestock 45,835
10 Featurepics 43,962

GeoPappas · « **Reply #87 on:** July 24, 2006, 06:01 »

You got up too early.

DT just broke 510,000...

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