pancakes

MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: Alamy sales  (Read 48418 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #50 on: March 05, 2014, 13:41 »
0
My sales used to be consistently at around $500 to $750 per month gross. Today it's roughly $240 gross. Last month I got lucky and made a little over $500 gross. Holistically, though, I think microstock is slowly killing them on pricing. Alamy has chopped our commissions several times and they have seemed to lower their pricing because I rarely see anything over $75 gross now. Bottom line is that much of their collection is RF, and that competes largely with microstock RF.  The sub model by in large is killing agencies like alamy.
My entire port there is RM, obviously, but prices are equally low [1] - lower, really, on average, as I'm in the UK newspaper scheme.
Still, I certainly agree that it's just about impossible now for sites like Alamy to hold out for decent prices in competition with sub micros, especially with SS and iS selling editorial files. OTOH, with the super low UK Newspaper scheme prices, it's hard to persuade people not to submit to the micros.
However, with iS introducing subs, even the UK Newspaper scheme (which we can opt out of) will be discernably better, whereas just now, newspaper prices on Alamy are 'similar' to Signature sales on iS.

[1] I see reports of considerably higher sales from time to time, but don't know whether they're RM or RF.


« Reply #51 on: March 05, 2014, 13:52 »
+7
For my 250 images, the interval between payouts has gone from months to years - assuming I ever get another sale...

250 files is NOTHING! It's good to test new ground, to make first steps, but not for serious work and sales :)

Maybe I'm wrong, but I can see that lately there is the "coming back" trend - fair pricing for RF. Look at new agencies like Stockbo, SS offset or Stocksy. I know it's not the best idea to compare them with Alamy... but we can see that not only microstock is going to exist. High pricing is managing pretty well... Alamy will survive :)
After 3 years with Al. I can clearly see that there is not big sense to upload specific work to microstock (they usually don't want accept my images, and if they accept it doesn't find right client target). If you take some special shots you can do pretty well with Al.

As I said before, I started getting regular, at least 1 sale/ month with only ~ 700 images.
First sales were with 200.
With 1500 there is every month sales...
For me it works. But I don't shoot standard microstock pics. I'm not good in micro. I prefer places like Alamy. And it's different market with different stuff (and different prices! :) ).

It's up to us, what we shoot, where sell it, for what prices...  ;)
« Last Edit: March 05, 2014, 14:02 by Ariene »

Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #52 on: May 29, 2014, 05:36 »
-2
Well 12 months with Alamy and 3 sales. That's appalling. Won't bother uploading more. waste of time with all the keywording etc.

« Reply #53 on: May 29, 2014, 06:02 »
0
I think that in general people need to be realistic with respect to looking at what they upload and thinking seriously about how likely it is to be used in a mostly editorial context. Are the pictures telling a story which anyone is likely to be focused on ? Random stuff, street furniture and the village fte is unlikely to sell much unless it is very special - and there are already bucket loads of it.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #54 on: May 29, 2014, 06:57 »
0
I wish I could see rhyme or reason to my Alamy sales. I can't think of any way of analysing what has sold in the past to work out what I should concentrate on. It seems to be just photos that someone wanted at the time.
No matter how unusual / hard to source the images might be, they can be subject to huge discounts, so hardly worth the effort of the upload system and researching properly, even if there were no other expenses.
Still, not as low as some Getty sales.  ::)

« Reply #55 on: May 29, 2014, 07:02 »
+2
With low sales volume you get far too much randomness to be able to work out patterns except in a very broad way (i.e. if you have a significant niche to yourself you may see that subject tends to outsell other material ... but that doesn't really tell you much).

« Reply #56 on: May 29, 2014, 07:12 »
+1
I haven't had a "novel use" download in months. Today I have a bunch, about 30. I wonder if they renewed a contract with someone.

« Reply #57 on: May 29, 2014, 07:17 »
0
I got one, too. More interestingly, I've got a spate of decent sales since they brought in the new console and I'm also able to see sales on the day in the sales tab, rather than waiting for the update the following morning.
- and 36 hours later the sales get cancelled ... seems to have been duplicate reporting.
« Last Edit: May 30, 2014, 01:17 by BaldricksTrousers »

« Reply #58 on: May 29, 2014, 07:21 »
0
More people had NU sales lately. All is on Alamy forum.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #59 on: May 29, 2014, 07:38 »
+1
I'm not in NU, since iS said exclusives couldn't be in it - but didn't Alamy say a while ago that they were stopping it?

« Reply #60 on: May 29, 2014, 07:40 »
0
I'm not in NU, since iS said exclusives couldn't be in it - but didn't Alamy say a while ago that they were stopping it?

Yes, a couple of years ago they said it would expire and not be renewed - but then they seemed to forget that.  The sales became more infrequent but didn't stop.

Ed

« Reply #61 on: May 29, 2014, 15:37 »
+3
With Alamy, as with most other RM agencies, you reap what you sow.  You aren't going to get many sales with a portfolio of about 300 images.

I was once with Alamy, then I left (I shut my business down in order to help my Mom financially).  I started up again in 2011 and I currently have a portfolio of about 4,000 images.

Here is my sales growth (based on gross sales)



Here is my sales volume



I am looking forward to continuing this trend.  In 2012 I had quite a few NU sales hence the volume spike but as you can see, gross sales continue to rise year over year and my 2014 figures so far are equal to all of 2012.

I also have to say that I am finding the prices much higher than what I'm seeing at other RM agencies which is a relief to me.

« Reply #62 on: May 29, 2014, 15:41 »
0
500 files
2 months
0 sales

« Reply #63 on: May 29, 2014, 18:27 »
+1
Less than 100 images
been there 4 months
first sale in the first 2 months
no sales the last 2 months
all RM

Just started and I have a small portfolio but I hope to be building up. Got a day job that gets in the way   :)
I do not plan to do RF at the micro's anymore.
Maybe some day if I have a large enough portfolio that can compete I might try Micro's again but with such a small portfolio the one sale at Alamy is more than I made at IS, DT, FT, CS, and 123rf all put together in a year and a half. Most downloads were well under a dollar.


« Reply #64 on: May 29, 2014, 18:34 »
+1
Alamy is dead, Dead, DEAD.  Hit a new low averaging 2.60 per sale.  Where are those multi-hundred $ sales I joined up for? 

« Reply #65 on: May 29, 2014, 21:31 »
+3
I have about 250 photos there.   In 2012 (on fewer photos) I had 15 sales.    In 2013, 13 sales.   So far this year, 1 sale.   If the second half of 2014 the same,  I guess I'll just close the account.

I have no real complaints about Alamy, but for me at least, it seems like the party is over.  There is certainly no reason to upload anything new.   


Ron

« Reply #66 on: May 30, 2014, 00:44 »
0
Everyone with a new account starts with a medium rank, and after the first reshuffle of the rank based on CTR, your images are pushed back or forward. I was doing okish in my first year but apparently a rerank pushed me back killing my sales, and I could recover from that. My work is mostly creative and not in high numbers. Which is why people work with several pseudonyms. they move sellers over to another pseudonym so that they keep a good CTR. People who are best at playing that system and throw everything against the wall to see what sticks, come out best. If you want to see an overabundance of similar images, go to Alamy. I have seen the sales threads, they are full of people with a dozen of sales per month out of tens of thousands of images. Alamy only sells 0.87% of their database annually. Shutterstock sells 300% just to give you an idea. Alamy reduced their royalties to fund their NY office and promised to increase sales with targeting US audience, but all that happened was a decline in sales. So people lost earnings on both fronts. For me Alamy is an ostridge with its head in the sand.

« Reply #67 on: May 30, 2014, 00:56 »
+2
I have 1000 images online (90% RF) and 2 sales/month this year (1/month in 2013) so i guess is growing up. I had sales from 15$/image up to 250$/image.

Phadrea

    This user is banned.
« Reply #68 on: June 16, 2014, 02:17 »
0
Still 3 sales in over a year. One sale only this year.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #69 on: June 16, 2014, 04:27 »
+1
Surprised and pleased: 4 (unrelated) sales in the past two weeks.  8)

« Reply #70 on: June 16, 2014, 04:33 »
0
Alamy used to get few but high rated sales for me over a year ago.  Then it dried up. Completely.  I have pretty much stopped uploading new content there. 

Apart from complexities of key wording by their system, there seem to be aspects of 'working their system' in play to be able to generate sales.  I don't have the time nor inclination for that!  I think its become a huge white elephant with too many images and too little overall return to an average contributor like me. 

Good luck to those who can still make successful sales at Alamy :)

« Reply #71 on: June 16, 2014, 05:57 »
0
Surprised and pleased: 4 (unrelated) sales in the past two weeks.  8)

Ha. Were they over $8?  ;)

Just kidding. Glad to see some movement on alamy.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #72 on: June 16, 2014, 06:16 »
0
^^ Not kidding, as many of my sales are from the UK newspaper scheme, so low value (though I've had some repeat sales through the scheme too, advantage of RM).
 These four weren't, though one was distributor.

« Reply #73 on: June 16, 2014, 10:44 »
0
I've had 8 sales in the first 6 months on a portfolio of about 500 images, but since the average download has been worth just under $50, it's become my #3 site fairly quickly (behind SS & iS, and ahead  DT, 123RF and Pond 5).  All of the images I have sold have been travel/landscapes.

« Reply #74 on: June 16, 2014, 11:52 »
0
Once a year download for $ 9-50 , specific but pleasant.


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
7 Replies
5245 Views
Last post July 28, 2006, 04:29
by fintastique
9 Replies
5717 Views
Last post April 22, 2013, 05:56
by ShadySue
14 Replies
6461 Views
Last post December 02, 2013, 19:52
by Mantis
24 Replies
8182 Views
Last post December 07, 2013, 18:40
by Ed
4 Replies
4125 Views
Last post June 03, 2014, 16:42
by ShadySue

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors