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Author Topic: Shutterstock - Where are we going?  (Read 35982 times)

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jonbull

    This user is banned.
« Reply #50 on: March 16, 2018, 10:59 »
0
i agree ...i am uploading a enough that's why probably i'm still in line and growth a bit...but there are in ukraine and russia house of production who can flood the market with 10000 file month if not more.
they are from city where cost of life compared to europe is ridiculous cheap and salary are 5 6 times less than europe.
in kiev and secondary city in russia salary in office i ridiculous cheap, most people wearing 300 400 dollar month with micro could earn more than friend working in shops or office.
this is the competition we face. they buy 2 flash from china, one dslr and everyday upload thousand still life copying each other. same theme repeated zillions of time.

Thats it flood the market thats what they care about. For everyone of us quitting or stop uploading there are ten newbies uploading! its purely a quantity factor nowadays.
Quantity and screw the quality until the day comes when all there is left is gazillions of just fill-out quantity. However that will take about 5-10 years more and by then I recon most of us have left!

i'm more optimistic. there will be a point where agency will understand this, most amateur won't earn not even a 36 cent a mont and will stop upload , and micro will be back to a more reasonable path.
right now there are free website with a level of iq so much better than ss. so for customer soon will be no fuss to search a good photos and free. the world of photo is going to a more oriented instagram real kind of photos, this style is lacking a lot in micro. in my opinino we are in the middle of nowhere. but even ss soon should face this problem.
i'm sure they do this to show a record for stock analyst, but it's clear this is not going anywhere.


« Reply #51 on: March 16, 2018, 13:54 »
+3
You have no idea what you are talking about ...
The eternal fear speaks form you, and the eternal fictitious threat, which is a product from various administrations, that live on your account.
You do not see potential, only threat.
You all want a technological constraint to make it easier for you ...
What is happening is that only the best products will be sold in terms of creativity, not because equipment or any other techs.

dpimborough

« Reply #52 on: March 16, 2018, 15:20 »
+9
You have no idea what you are talking about ...
The eternal fear speaks form you, and the eternal fictitious threat, which is a product from various administrations, that live on your account.
You do not see potential, only threat.
You all want a technological constraint to make it easier for you ...
What is happening is that only the best products will be sold in terms of creativity, not because equipment or any other techs.

seriously I have no idea what you are on about
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 03:58 by Sammy the Cat »

rinderart

« Reply #53 on: March 17, 2018, 00:00 »
+1
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

derek

    This user is banned.
« Reply #54 on: March 17, 2018, 01:31 »
+3
You have no idea what you are talking about ...
The eternal fear speaks form you, and the eternal fictitious threat, which is a product from various administrations, that live on your account.
You do not see potential, only threat.
You all want a technological constraint to make it easier for you ...
What is happening is that only the best products will be sold in terms of creativity, not because equipment or any other techs.

What are you waffling about????  hehe! all in good fun but whatever youre smoking give me some will ya!!..  the whole thing in general is that creativity and quality have overall dropped by a few lightyears and left are the quantity merchants.....I mean we cant all be wrong!.....you want to visit some of the slightly smaller specialized/boutique agencies and see the vast difference!

dpimborough

« Reply #55 on: March 17, 2018, 03:58 »
+3
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(

« Reply #56 on: March 17, 2018, 05:06 »
0
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(
Agree SS has no serious competition in the MS market....well maybe adobe to some extent

dpimborough

« Reply #57 on: March 17, 2018, 05:21 »
+1
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(
Agree SS has no serious competition in the MS market....well maybe adobe to some extent

Sadly when Adobe first took on Fotolia I had high hopes as the sales values were reasonably high but now they are just selling for penny amounts like the rest and the sales quanitities have never really taken off.

« Reply #58 on: March 17, 2018, 05:28 »
0
AS for me has been pretty good since takeover, better than FT (2 x SS so far this month and BME). Been on both for 8 years +

Chichikov

« Reply #59 on: March 17, 2018, 06:37 »
0
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(
Agree SS has no serious competition in the MS market....well maybe adobe to some extent

Sadly when Adobe first took on Fotolia I had high hopes as the sales values were reasonably high but now they are just selling for penny amounts like the rest and the sales quanitities have never really taken off.

I must say that I was selling more (a lot) when Fotolia was only Fotolia.
But maybe this has nothing to do with the Fotolia acquisition by Adobe but with the trend of the market.

« Reply #60 on: March 17, 2018, 08:55 »
0
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(
Agree SS has no serious competition in the MS market....well maybe adobe to some extent

Sadly when Adobe first took on Fotolia I had high hopes as the sales values were reasonably high but now they are just selling for penny amounts like the rest and the sales quanitities have never really taken off.

I must say that I was selling more (a lot) when Fotolia was only Fotolia.
But maybe this has nothing to do with the Fotolia acquisition by Adobe but with the trend of the market.

Maybe because you were taking advantage of the strong euro, a large majority of FT sales coming from Europe and the currency manipulation scam through their credit system.

From the other side of the pond, I can see a significant improvement, since the AS takeover and the expansion on the American market.
AS is now a clear number 2 for me, overtaking IS.

AS has not only gained market share on US soil, but also canibalized your Europeean FT  sales.
Possibly, your content is more Europeean centric, so you couldn't benefit from the US expansion. Now you only see the effect of the FT canibalization and you lost the benefits of that shameful currency manipulation.
Hence the drop in your revenue.

Of course, this is only a plausible theory.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 09:03 by Zero Talent »

derek

    This user is banned.
« Reply #61 on: March 17, 2018, 09:06 »
+1
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(
Agree SS has no serious competition in the MS market....well maybe adobe to some extent

Sadly when Adobe first took on Fotolia I had high hopes as the sales values were reasonably high but now they are just selling for penny amounts like the rest and the sales quanitities have never really taken off.

Exactly same here I thought if there was one company that could with all their expertise sell pictures it was Adobe. First two weeks after the merger was brilliant and then it just completely nosedived.
Then it dawned, of course Adobe is the worlds most premiere program, software maker in the creative world, film industry the lot, Selling stock might just be some sort of a side-kick.
I'm doing Ok with Adobe but it was far, far better with FT only!

Chichikov

« Reply #62 on: March 17, 2018, 11:25 »
+2
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(
Agree SS has no serious competition in the MS market....well maybe adobe to some extent

Sadly when Adobe first took on Fotolia I had high hopes as the sales values were reasonably high but now they are just selling for penny amounts like the rest and the sales quanitities have never really taken off.

I must say that I was selling more (a lot) when Fotolia was only Fotolia.
But maybe this has nothing to do with the Fotolia acquisition by Adobe but with the trend of the market.

Maybe because you were taking advantage of the strong euro, a large majority of FT sales coming from Europe and the currency manipulation scam through their credit system.

From the other side of the pond, I can see a significant improvement, since the AS takeover and the expansion on the American market.
AS is now a clear number 2 for me, overtaking IS.

AS has not only gained market share on US soil, but also canibalized your Europeean FT  sales.
Possibly, your content is more Europeean centric, so you couldn't benefit from the US expansion. Now you only see the effect of the FT canibalization and you lost the benefits of that shameful currency manipulation.
Hence the drop in your revenue.

Of course, this is only a plausible theory.

I was/am paid in $
I registered to Fotolia one month after I left Europe

« Reply #63 on: March 17, 2018, 11:33 »
0
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(
Agree SS has no serious competition in the MS market....well maybe adobe to some extent

Sadly when Adobe first took on Fotolia I had high hopes as the sales values were reasonably high but now they are just selling for penny amounts like the rest and the sales quanitities have never really taken off.

I must say that I was selling more (a lot) when Fotolia was only Fotolia.
But maybe this has nothing to do with the Fotolia acquisition by Adobe but with the trend of the market.

Maybe because you were taking advantage of th,e strong euro a large majority of FT sales coming from Europe and the currency manipulation scam through their credit system.

From the other side of the pond, I can see a significant improvement, since the AS takeover and the expansion on the American market.
AS is now a clear number 2 for me, overtaking IS.

AS has not only gained market share on US soil, but also canibalized your Europeean FT  sales.
Possibly, your content is more Europeean centric, so you couldn't benefit from the US expansion. Now you only see the effect of the FT canibalization and you lost the benefits of that shameful currency manipulation.
Hence the drop in your revenue.

Of course, this is only a plausible theory.

So, what exactly does number of sales had to do with currency, you're paid in?

« Reply #64 on: March 17, 2018, 12:52 »
0
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(
Agree SS has no serious competition in the MS market....well maybe adobe to some extent

Sadly when Adobe first took on Fotolia I had high hopes as the sales values were reasonably high but now they are just selling for penny amounts like the rest and the sales quanitities have never really taken off.

I must say that I was selling more (a lot) when Fotolia was only Fotolia.
But maybe this has nothing to do with the Fotolia acquisition by Adobe but with the trend of the market.

Maybe because you were taking advantage of th,e strong euro a large majority of FT sales coming from Europe and the currency manipulation scam through their credit system.

From the other side of the pond, I can see a significant improvement, since the AS takeover and the expansion on the American market.
AS is now a clear number 2 for me, overtaking IS.

AS has not only gained market share on US soil, but also canibalized your Europeean FT  sales.
Possibly, your content is more Europeean centric, so you couldn't benefit from the US expansion. Now you only see the effect of the FT canibalization and you lost the benefits of that shameful currency manipulation.
Hence the drop in your revenue.

Of course, this is only a plausible theory.

So, what exactly does number of sales had to do with currency, you're paid in?

Not much.
But "selling more" could also mean "selling more" in Euros, not only "selling more" as number of sales.
I think that it is fair to assume that when someone talks here about "selling more", it is about money, rather than numbers.

Obviously, the theory is not applicable to Chichikov since, for him, "selling more" meant "selling more" in dollars, as he clarified above.

But it can be applicable to other contributors paid in euros.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 12:57 by Zero Talent »

« Reply #65 on: March 17, 2018, 13:07 »
0
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(
Agree SS has no serious competition in the MS market....well maybe adobe to some extent

Sadly when Adobe first took on Fotolia I had high hopes as the sales values were reasonably high but now they are just selling for penny amounts like the rest and the sales quanitities have never really taken off.

I must say that I was selling more (a lot) when Fotolia was only Fotolia.
But maybe this has nothing to do with the Fotolia acquisition by Adobe but with the trend of the market.

Maybe because you were taking advantage of the strong euro, a large majority of FT sales coming from Europe and the currency manipulation scam through their credit system.

From the other side of the pond, I can see a significant improvement, since the AS takeover and the expansion on the American market.
AS is now a clear number 2 for me, overtaking IS.

AS has not only gained market share on US soil, but also canibalized your Europeean FT  sales.
Possibly, your content is more Europeean centric, so you couldn't benefit from the US expansion. Now you only see the effect of the FT canibalization and you lost the benefits of that shameful currency manipulation.
Hence the drop in your revenue.

Of course, this is only a plausible theory.

I was/am paid in $
I registered to Fotolia one month after I left Europe

Ok, the theory is not applicable to you.
But I am confused, since less than a year ago, I had a similar debate with "another Chichikov".   :o
See the old quote, below:

Even if this is old news, the fact is that Fotolia's business model relies a lot on a stronger euro.
While the majority of FT portal sales are made in euro, they underpay the majority of their contributors, by artificially declaring 1US$ = 1 Euro.

Fotolia is a currency manipulator.

In order to grow their microstock business, Adobe has the ambition to expand aggressively on the US market. This is why the FT credit based business is not suiting them anymore. If the majority of Adobe sales are coming from US, it doesn't make sense to overpay, in euros, European contributors.

Something had to be done!

And this is why they decided to create the new Adobe portal. This is why the new portal is not using the credit system anymore.

Think about it: why re-inventing the wheel and spending money, time and efforts on a new portal, when they have a nicely working system, which, probably, could have been easily be re-branded and enhanced with few additional Adobe portal features (e.g. editing keywords after acceptance)

Anyway, for the reasons mentioned above, I will be very happy to see a complete migration of all FT customers to the new Adobe portal, followed by shutting down the FT portal, as soon as possible.

Most of my sales come from Asia and Europe.
And from my point of view it doesn't make sense to underpay, in dollars, European contributors
:D

Exactly! You are confirming my statements. You are one of those enjoying being paid hundreds of dollars more, annually, than an equivalent dollar based contributor.

Why would you want what is fair, when you are part of the privileged few? :o


Because not being an hypocrite I am very happy that I can get more :D

But from another side the same computer costing $1000 in the USA costs 1000 in Europe
What is fair is relative. What is fair for you is not fair for me and vice versa.
You can't always have your cake and eat it too.

So which Chichikov are you?  ;)
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 13:31 by Zero Talent »

« Reply #66 on: March 17, 2018, 13:13 »
+1
But from another side the same computer costing $1000 in the USA costs 1000 in Europe

That is just not true at all.  :o
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 13:35 by increasingdifficulty »


« Reply #67 on: March 17, 2018, 13:27 »
0
But from another side the same computer costing $1000 in the USA costs 1000 in Europe

That is just not true at all.  :o
Maybe it is, maybe it is not.
Anyway, it's a statement made by "old Chichikov", not by me.  ;)
And I would rather agree with you  ;)

« Reply #68 on: March 17, 2018, 13:35 »
+1
But from another side the same computer costing $1000 in the USA costs 1000 in Europe

That is just not true at all.  :o
Maybe it is, maybe it is not.
Anyway, it's a statement made by "old Chichikov", not by me.  ;)
And I would rather agree with you  ;)

Sorry, changed the author of the quote. It was a big one.  :D

Chichikov

« Reply #69 on: March 17, 2018, 16:18 »
+2

So which Chichikov are you?  ;)

Apparently you did not understood what I wrote, or you understood it as YOU wanted to understand it. In fact you just manipulate what other people say to bring arguments in your favor You should be a lawyer or a politician  ;D

I have never said that I was in Europe (Europe Union), but that most of my sales comes from Europe and Asia. Then I have said that from my point of view it doesn't make sense to underpay, in dollars, European contributors. I never said that I was part of these European contributors  ::)
You supposed it, but you were wrong.
When I said that "Because not being an hypocrite I am very happy that I can get more", it was just a way to tell. I confess that reading this today it can bring some confusion
If for you it is was not normal that European get paid in Euros by Fotolia, well it is your opinion, (btw remember that at the origin it was a French company), from my point of view it is not normal that Europeans pay more the same product than US Americans (go to see the price of the same Mac on the US Apple site and on the French or Italian sites:
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro
MacBook Pro in USA $1,299
https://www.apple.com/it/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro
MacBook Pro in France 1,264 = $1495
(all prices without taxes)

In fact here we have 1 = 1$ But I am sure that this does not disturb you
Like always with US Americans, 2 weights and 2 measures Do as I say and not as I do etc.

But Excuse me, here we are completely off topic, so closed the discussion for me.
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 16:28 by Chichikov »

Chichikov

« Reply #70 on: March 17, 2018, 16:29 »
+2
But from another side the same computer costing $1000 in the USA costs 1000 in Europe

That is just not true at all.  :o

Take a look to the US Apple site and French sites:
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro
MacBook Pro in USA $1,299
https://www.apple.com/it/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro
MacBook Pro in France 1,264 = $1495
(all prices without taxes)

« Reply #71 on: March 17, 2018, 16:47 »
0
Why Is SS #1?? I don't get it. wow have our goals dropped.!!!!!!!!!

They are only #1 Laurin because all the other outfits are even worse :(
Agree SS has no serious competition in the MS market....well maybe adobe to some extent

Sadly when Adobe first took on Fotolia I had high hopes as the sales values were reasonably high but now they are just selling for penny amounts like the rest and the sales quanitities have never really taken off.

I must say that I was selling more (a lot) when Fotolia was only Fotolia.
But maybe this has nothing to do with the Fotolia acquisition by Adobe but with the trend of the market.

Maybe because you were taking advantage of th,e strong euro a large majority of FT sales coming from Europe and the currency manipulation scam through their credit system.

From the other side of the pond, I can see a significant improvement, since the AS takeover and the expansion on the American market.
AS is now a clear number 2 for me, overtaking IS.

AS has not only gained market share on US soil, but also canibalized your Europeean FT  sales.
Possibly, your content is more Europeean centric, so you couldn't benefit from the US expansion. Now you only see the effect of the FT canibalization and you lost the benefits of that shameful currency manipulation.
Hence the drop in your revenue.

Of course, this is only a plausible theory.

So, what exactly does number of sales had to do with currency, you're paid in?

Not much.
But "selling more" could also mean "selling more" in Euros, not only "selling more" as number of sales.
I think that it is fair to assume that when someone talks here about "selling more", it is about money, rather than numbers.

Obviously, the theory is not applicable to Chichikov since, for him, "selling more" meant "selling more" in dollars, as he clarified above.

But it can be applicable to other contributors paid in euros.

I think you confused selling more with earning more.

« Reply #72 on: March 17, 2018, 17:15 »
+1
But from another side the same computer costing $1000 in the USA costs 1000 in Europe

That is just not true at all.  :o

Take a look to the US Apple site and French sites:
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro
MacBook Pro in USA $1,299
https://www.apple.com/it/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro
MacBook Pro in France 1,264 = $1495
(all prices without taxes)

It's still not true.

« Reply #73 on: March 17, 2018, 17:51 »
0

So which Chichikov are you?  ;)

Apparently you did not understood what I wrote, or you understood it as YOU wanted to understand it. In fact you just manipulate what other people say to bring arguments in your favor You should be a lawyer or a politician  ;D

I have never said that I was in Europe (Europe Union), but that most of my sales comes from Europe and Asia. Then I have said that from my point of view it doesn't make sense to underpay, in dollars, European contributors. I never said that I was part of these European contributors  ::)
You supposed it, but you were wrong.
When I said that "Because not being an hypocrite I am very happy that I can get more", it was just a way to tell. I confess that reading this today it can bring some confusion
If for you it is was not normal that European get paid in Euros by Fotolia, well it is your opinion, (btw remember that at the origin it was a French company), from my point of view it is not normal that Europeans pay more the same product than US Americans (go to see the price of the same Mac on the US Apple site and on the French or Italian sites:
https://www.apple.com/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro
MacBook Pro in USA $1,299
https://www.apple.com/it/shop/buy-mac/macbook-pro
MacBook Pro in France 1,264 = $1495
(all prices without taxes)

In fact here we have 1 = 1$ But I am sure that this does not disturb you
Like always with US Americans, 2 weights and 2 measures Do as I say and not as I do etc.

But Excuse me, here we are completely off topic, so closed the discussion for me.

Thank you for admitting that your statement was confusing! I would rather call it a sharp U-Turn!  :P

Question: Why would you want what is fair, when you are part of the privileged few?  :o
Answer: Because not being an hypocrite I am very happy that I can get more

But that's OK! Let's say that you were, in an altruistic way, defending the advantages of some people you had no connection with ;) and "I" didn't mean "I, Chichikov" (as most people will read it), but a generic "I".

Having said that, it is not fair to say, now, that I (Zero Talent) understood what I wanted. Your statement was the one "confusing", not my understanding.
I am fairly certain that whoever reads the above quote will draw the same conclusion: that you enjoyed being paid in euros and you were not a hypocrite for admitting it.

On the other hand, when it comes to your Macbook example, your should take your frustration to the import taxes imposed by italian/french governments and maybe other taxes Apple has to pay for doing business in these countries.
Do your math properly and you'll realise that Apple is not really the one charging you more, but your own government (not counting VAT, which is much higher than the US sale tax).

And most likely you enjoy the benefits of these taxes in different ways, ways not available to ordinary Americans (who must pay for services you take for granted in Italy/France)

Apple and Oranges, really!
 
« Last Edit: March 17, 2018, 20:30 by Zero Talent »

« Reply #74 on: March 17, 2018, 20:39 »
+3
AS for me has been pretty good since takeover, better than FT (2 x SS so far this month and BME). Been on both for 8 years +

And at the same time Adobe passed iStock on the poll. My sales are growing on FT and dropping on IS.


 

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