Author Topic: Have sales plummeted for all or just me? (Read 4759 times)

Sammy the Cat · « **Reply #25 on:** May 15, 2019, 01:09 »

Quote from: stockastic on May 14, 2019, 17:51

No sales this year, and I'd like to close the account. Cleared balance is $48 and I'll be dead before it reaches $50. If I close, will they pay me that balance?

Why not ask them? They normally reply within a few hours

rene · « **Reply #26 on:** May 15, 2019, 04:09 »

Quote from: stockastic on May 14, 2019, 17:51

No sales this year, and I'd like to close the account. Cleared balance is $48 and I'll be dead before it reaches $50. If I close, will they pay me that balance?

I am in similar situation. My "cleared balance" slighty below $50 and doesn't move from weeks despite of sales! The "forwarded brought balance" is over 50 but the payment is "not due" .
I asked to close my account which they promised to close in 45 days. I will update here if or not they pay me, but I would not be surprised if they keep the money. All these sale which are not recorded directly and opaque "cleared" system doesn't inspire any confidence.

ravens · « **Reply #27 on:** May 23, 2019, 04:34 »

April and May have been very frustrating. Any improvements, anybody? What do you think is going on with Alamy?

ShadySue · « **Reply #28 on:** May 23, 2019, 05:03 »

I'm having my best month for a long time. No b-i-i-i-g value sales, but more than usual sales, at 'reasonable' prices, though of course UKNS have still to report. March was my worst there in years, April had had good sales figures but very low rpd. A friend had her best month ever in April and only a couple of tiddlers so far this month.

pkphotos · « **Reply #29 on:** May 23, 2019, 05:54 »

If everyone with really bad results at Alamy deletes their files then perhaps the rest of us will see some improvement. Let's face it, Alamy is a very poor performer and bottom dweller, but in the RM game it's right near the top. That's how it is in stock photos 2019

ShadySue · « **Reply #30 on:** May 23, 2019, 06:41 »

Sales on Alamy for me are totally random - I can't use my sales to predict what might be wanted in future. It literally seems to be just what a buyer needs at the time, and old, unloved pics from ten years ago can suddenly sell.

Fairplay · « **Reply #31 on:** May 23, 2019, 07:41 »

My Alamy sales almost disappeared and I decided to make a search for my images.
I found my whole older portfolio duplicated from Panthermedia.
Why they even accept duplicates when they are already online uploaded by the original contributor.
I don't upload to Panthermedia for last few years, but now I will close my account.

wordplanet · « **Reply #32 on:** May 24, 2019, 01:51 »

Alamy's always been feast or famine and the first few months never seem to be my best. My portfolio is largely travel, and a lot of coastal stuff, so that's summer and autumn vacation stories, calendars and textbooks that usually are published late summer, so even if they were zoomed and hopefully downloaded, until stories start going to press, they won't even show up as invoiced, let alone cleared.

I do feel like in some ways I wasted a lot of time with Alamy - not by uploading there, but by keeping most of those files off the micros, being convinced that duplicating my portfolio across both the micros and Alamy would hurt larger sales, but my strongest sellers on Alamy over the past 6 months included a handful of images that are available on the micros. Just as bulk discounts didn't stop me from getting high end sales, (e.g. Alamy would license the same image for $10 one month, $250 the next, and $10 the next), the fact that those files were on the micros didn't stop those high end sales either. I'm now convinced that I'd have earned so much more if they'd all been on the micros to start with, since it would have given me a much stronger portfolio. And I have more travel images on the micros that have earned me in the low four-figures on their own than I do on Alamy, even if it took many more sales to get there. So I'm expanding my micro portfolio, hoping I have more winners as I do so.

I think Alamy is still worth uploading to, as most months I'll usually see at least one sale in the $75-150+ range, and I know many there who still get the occasional $1,000+ sale of a travel pic. I've never topped $450 for one sale myself, but I can dream

(In terms of payout, I feel your pain. I was once less than 5 cents away from making payout for several months, and that was when payout was $250, so I was beyond frustrated that a few cents were holding things up. Now it's sort of the opposite. I'll get a $60 payout and still have $$$ uncleared. Most do clear eventually.)

trek · « **Reply #33 on:** May 24, 2019, 07:04 »

Quote from: Fairplay on May 23, 2019, 07:41

My Alamy sales almost disappeared and I decided to make a search for my images.
I found my whole older portfolio duplicated from Panthermedia.
Why they even accept duplicates when they are already online uploaded by the original contributor.
I don't upload to Panthermedia for last few years, but now I will close my account.

I removed my material from Panthermedia (three years ago) to escape their partner program. They do not offer an opt out. I expect better from Alamy though... Makes me wonder where else they are sourcing material.

wordplanet · « **Reply #34 on:** May 24, 2019, 14:52 »

Quote from: trek on May 24, 2019, 07:04

Quote from: Fairplay on May 23, 2019, 07:41
My Alamy sales almost disappeared and I decided to make a search for my images.
I found my whole older portfolio duplicated from Panthermedia.
Why they even accept duplicates when they are already online uploaded by the original contributor.
I don't upload to Panthermedia for last few years, but now I will close my account.

I removed my material from Panthermedia (three years ago) to escape their partner program. They do not offer an opt out. I expect better from Alamy though... Makes me wonder where else they are sourcing material.

I'm with a small boutique RM/RF non-exclusive agency in Germany that asks you specifically to be sure you opt out individually from their partners, so you don't cannibalize your own sales, and you can do it at any time, not just once a year.

Meanwhile, Alamy's strategy over the past few years, IMHO, has hurt everyone's bottom line. When the lowest advertised price on Alamy was web use for $50, that was often my lowest price sale, when they introduced the $20 "presentation or personal use" as the lowest, that was usually my lowest, and now that it's down to $10, that's usually what I see. Recently I've had one clearly news image licensed twice for $10 and once for $250, so there are buyers that will pay real prices. Meanwhile it's up to me to track down the cheats.

The agencies set the prices and if they have images that customers want, especially if they are unique, or they just need something fast, then most customers will pay reasonable prices for them (other than the cheapo presentation cheaters). They don't have to give away the store. I see articles where one of my images was licensed for anywhere from $50-200 published alongside shutterstock, Getty, Alamy, and assignment photos throughout the magazine, so the prices paid clearly vary widely for the same use. Legitimate buyers want an image fast, and most are spending corporate or client money...these are the buyers Alamy should be going after.

There's a magazine that has licensed images directly from my site for $200 a few times now (just via a web search, not a client situation), starting back in 2011. About a year later, they licensed one from Alamy for $160, then recently from Alamy for $50, and then a month later from my site for $200. They click and pay the advertised price.

Pushing the $10 presentation license by advertising it up front and center is just an invitation to cheats or buyers too busy to even bother looking at the license, just clicking on the cheapest because that's what they see first. And they don't have the volume buyers to help those small sales add up.

Honestly their efforts to get people to move all their microstock images over (rather than to send them new and different work) made no sense to me, as their unique selling proposition was that they were the go-to place for hard-to-find and unique un-stocky images, and with the drastic price cuts that followed and now the commission cut, clearly adding millions of microstock images to their collection has not helped their bottom line, because that's not what their buyers are looking for. And more and more "I'll never sell on microstock" holdouts are now moving their Alamy ports to the micros, so we all lose.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #35 on:** May 28, 2019, 22:43 »

Quote from: ShadySue on May 23, 2019, 06:41

Sales on Alamy for me are totally random - I can't use my sales to predict what might be wanted in future. It literally seems to be just what a buyer needs at the time, and old, unloved pics from ten years ago can suddenly sell.

I don't know why people expect Alamy to be like the other sites, they aren't. What makes Alamy good is what causes concern for others. Once someone reaches the $50 (which used to be what? $200?) They pay. This isn't a short term or constant situation. They aren't microstock.

I agree with you, random, unpredictable, but the agency is very up front about how they operate. I think artists have other expectations and imagine someplace that Alamy is not, because Alamy is nothing like any other. That's not good or bad, just different.

Quote from: rene on May 15, 2019, 04:09

I am in similar situation. My "cleared balance" slighty below $50 and doesn't move from weeks despite of sales! The "forwarded brought balance" is over 50 but the payment is "not due" .
I asked to close my account which they promised to close in 45 days. I will update here if or not they pay me, but I would not be surprised if they keep the money. All these sale which are not recorded directly and opaque "cleared" system doesn't inspire any confidence.

Patience? "doesn't move from weeks despite of sales" really, and you are standing at $48? Despite sales.

Not due means not $50. If you actually have sales, you will have payment due in a short time.

Quote from: stockastic on May 14, 2019, 17:51

No sales this year, and I'd like to close the account. Cleared balance is $48 and I'll be dead before it reaches $50. If I close, will they pay me that balance?

Don't know, but if you wait for any sale and payment, they will?

Common folks. Is everyone that desperate and needy that they sell images for 35¢ or less, while an agency that pays more, but sells on a sporadic basis, gets knocked for requiring $50 in sales total, before they pay out. Some people will wait months to collect from Canstock, paying small change, but when Alamy makes you wait for better sales, this becomes a time issue? Think about that. Think long term, which one pays more a year?

I don't like the paid and unpaid balance thing they have going, but when the payments clear I like Alamy just fine.

Three sales this year, commissions: $15, $4 and $120 someone who's hanging on IS, BS, CS, DT, 123 or DP tell me, how do their 2019 numbers per image sale compare? RPD, and how many sales, how long do those places take to make payout?

whosvegas · « **Reply #36 on:** May 29, 2019, 00:16 »

I like Alamy!
Until now I had only two sales, but they were far bigger then other sites
I hope for some more.

HalfFull · « **Reply #37 on:** May 29, 2019, 01:39 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on May 28, 2019, 22:43

Quote from: ShadySue on May 23, 2019, 06:41
Sales on Alamy for me are totally random - I can't use my sales to predict what might be wanted in future. It literally seems to be just what a buyer needs at the time, and old, unloved pics from ten years ago can suddenly sell.

I don't know why people expect Alamy to be like the other sites, they aren't. What makes Alamy good is what causes concern for others. Once someone reaches the $50 (which used to be what? $200?) They pay. This isn't a short term or constant situation. They aren't microstock.

I agree with you, random, unpredictable, but the agency is very up front about how they operate. I think artists have other expectations and imagine someplace that Alamy is not, because Alamy is nothing like any other. That's not good or bad, just different.

Quote from: rene on May 15, 2019, 04:09

I am in similar situation. My "cleared balance" slighty below $50 and doesn't move from weeks despite of sales! The "forwarded brought balance" is over 50 but the payment is "not due" .
I asked to close my account which they promised to close in 45 days. I will update here if or not they pay me, but I would not be surprised if they keep the money. All these sale which are not recorded directly and opaque "cleared" system doesn't inspire any confidence.

Patience? "doesn't move from weeks despite of sales" really, and you are standing at $48? Despite sales. Not due means not $50. If you actually have sales, you will have payment due in a short time.

Quote from: stockastic on May 14, 2019, 17:51
No sales this year, and I'd like to close the account. Cleared balance is $48 and I'll be dead before it reaches $50. If I close, will they pay me that balance?

Don't know, but if you wait for any sale and payment, they will?

Common folks. Is everyone that desperate and needy that they sell images for 35¢ or less, while an agency that pays more, but sells on a sporadic basis, gets knocked for requiring $50 in sales total, before they pay out. Some people will wait months to collect from Canstock, paying small change, but when Alamy makes you wait for better sales, this becomes a time issue? Think about that. Think long term, which one pays more a year?

I don't like the paid and unpaid balance thing they have going, but when the payments clear I like Alamy just fine.

Three sales this year, commissions: $15, $4 and $120 someone who's hanging on IS, BS, CS, DT, 123 or DP tell me, how do their 2019 numbers per image sale compare? RPD, and how many sales, how long do those places take to make payout?

Just a quick point on the, "If you actually have sales, you will have payment due in a short time.".

This is not necessarily the case. When a sale is reported, it's the time they notify Alamy of the use, Invoice Date. The actual cleared funds can take between 3-6 months after that point to show up. Some clients are quick and pay their bills within 30-60 days but others... well, I've had some that have taken best part of a year to come through. Again, not really a problem, just the way they work but people should be aware so they are not let down by their own expectations of how Alamy works.

For example, on the 5th of May I received cleared funds for sales that showed up in October 2018 and, I have quite a few sales that haven't cleared from January this year. Nothing from the end of march till today has cleared (34 sales). Everything happens very slowly at Alamy.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #38 on:** May 29, 2019, 09:52 »

Quote from: HalfFull on May 29, 2019, 01:39

Just a quick point on the, "If you actually have sales, you will have payment due in a short time.".

This is not necessarily the case. When a sale is reported, it's the time they notify Alamy of the use, Invoice Date. The actual cleared funds can take between 3-6 months after that point to show up. Some clients are quick and pay their bills within 30-60 days but others... well, I've had some that have taken best part of a year to come through. Again, not really a problem, just the way they work but people should be aware so they are not let down by their own expectations of how Alamy works.

For example, on the 5th of May I received cleared funds for sales that showed up in October 2018 and, I have quite a few sales that haven't cleared from January this year. Nothing from the end of march till today has cleared (34 sales). Everything happens very slowly at Alamy.

Yeah, you are right, sometimes it seems an eternity for some of their clients to pay. I think some are on a 90 day plan and some might be longer. I agree, it is a sticking point. When we make a sale, we expect to be paid, yet Alamy says, "well you need to wait for the client to pay". Which basically sucks. I wish they would demand payment when downloaded like Microstock.

Alamy is not microstock.

I've only had returns that were later, meaning same or next day, purchased at a different rate or license. I know others have had returns or cancellations and received nothing. I don't know how long those take. I mean if it's a couple days later, fine, someone changed their mind, if it's two months later, I'd be upset!

I shouldn't have said in a short time, because that's relative. Three months waiting for $100 to get paid, isn't terrible to me, because I get the money. Three months waiting for $2 makes us wonder, who bought that and why are they taking so long? Especially if that's all we need to make it to payout.

Personally, anything I make on stock is discretionary income. I don't depend on the sales and commissions, so I'm not as uptight about, pay me now and when will the commissions be coming. I understand where some people depend on this and it can cause stress. I'll add that Microstock or stock is so unpredictable and unreliable, I'd never count on anything happening the same in the future as it has in the past.

By the way, the original question was "Have sales plummeted?" and my answer is, yes. Now that the years have grown and I can see longer times, the sales (for me) are lower and therefore make me less, plus there are less sales. I don't know plummeted, but I'd say personally 25% of what they used to be, annually.

I still see that if I am patient, reported sales become paid sales and a payment will appear in my Paypal account.

ShadySue · « **Reply #39 on:** June 01, 2019, 05:09 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on May 29, 2019, 09:52

Yeah, you are right, sometimes it seems an eternity for some of their clients to pay. I think some are on a 90 day plan and some might be longer. I agree, it is a sticking point. When we make a sale, we expect to be paid, yet Alamy says, "well you need to wait for the client to pay". Which basically sucks. I wish they would demand payment when downloaded like Microstock.

Respecfully disagree; it's a USP they have compared to the micros.
I wish they'd be totally proactive in chasing up payments, though, and not leave it up to us in some cases.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #40 on:** June 03, 2019, 11:00 »

Quote from: ShadySue on June 01, 2019, 05:09

Quote from: Uncle Pete on May 29, 2019, 09:52
Yeah, you are right, sometimes it seems an eternity for some of their clients to pay. I think some are on a 90 day plan and some might be longer. I agree, it is a sticking point. When we make a sale, we expect to be paid, yet Alamy says, "well you need to wait for the client to pay". Which basically sucks. I wish they would demand payment when downloaded like Microstock.
Respecfully disagree; it's a USP they have compared to the micros.
I wish they'd be totally proactive in chasing up payments, though, and not leave it up to us in some cases.

Not sure what you wrote? USP?

But the main point is, they are slow. Whether by design or agreements or not chasing slow paying accounts, they are slow...

I'm a patient person, I don't care much when they send me the next $100, so if it's six months, I'll spend it just the same. Eyeing up a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail lately for my collection.

ShadySue · « **Reply #41 on:** June 03, 2019, 12:22 »

USP: Something of benefit to the customers compared to the micros. As well as more customer service.

Asthebelltolls · « **Reply #42 on:** June 03, 2019, 14:14 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on June 03, 2019, 11:00

Eyeing up a bottle of Ardbeg Uigeadail lately for my collection.

Checked out and excellent tip! Five stars out of five! Although, I must say, my tastes are far simpler and less expensive. After all, expectations are always a little lower when you work with stock photography...

How about "Bowen Island Coastline" Pale Ale? Next rounds on me!

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #43 on:** June 03, 2019, 14:32 »

Whenever I think I'm going to give up on Alamy, a large sale appears and I decide to let them ride a while longer

It happened over the weekend - May had been terrible, but when I checked, there was a sale on the 30th for $250 (gross). More sales are for amounts less than $10, and those aren't as exciting.

I understand the longer payment times - that's part of why I justify the price differential with Microstock sites. Different terms, different prices.

I am less happy with the extraordinarily wide variation in payment times, Alamy refusing to pay contributors if only a partial payment has been made on an invoice, and their seemingly soft and cuddly approach to debt collection. I think they could do things like refuse to supply more images when a customer gets behind more than a certain amount - butthose customers seem to be the ones Alamy bends over backwards to cater to.

wordplanet · « **Reply #44 on:** June 04, 2019, 00:30 »

Quote from: Jo Ann Snover on June 03, 2019, 14:32

Whenever I think I'm going to give up on Alamy, a large sale appears and I decide to let them ride a while longer

It happened over the weekend - May had been terrible, but when I checked, there was a sale on the 30th for $250 (gross). More sales are for amounts less than $10, and those aren't as exciting.

I understand the longer payment times - that's part of why I justify the price differential with Microstock sites. Different terms, different prices.

I am less happy with the extraordinarily wide variation in payment times, Alamy refusing to pay contributors if only a partial payment has been made on an invoice, and their seemingly soft and cuddly approach to debt collection. I think they could do things like refuse to supply more images when a customer gets behind more than a certain amount - butthose customers seem to be the ones Alamy bends over backwards to cater to.

I haven't felt like giving up on them, but I was becoming more disillusioned. Then I got a $245 (gross) sale on May 31, and a $25 (net) payment from Stockimo today (still waiting for another sale I found three months ago to show up on there) and am feeling better about them again. Human nature I guess. Lots of zooms on travel pix, so hoping the summer will be good.

Not Today · « **Reply #45 on:** June 04, 2019, 00:56 »

Had the same type of sale last month when I was about to give up on them... then i got a full refund this month...

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Author Topic: Have sales plummeted for all or just me? (Read 4759 times)

Sammy the Cat

rene

ravens

ShadySue

pkphotos

ShadySue

Fairplay

wordplanet

trek

wordplanet

Uncle Pete

whosvegas

HalfFull

Uncle Pete

ShadySue

Uncle Pete

ShadySue

Asthebelltolls

Jo Ann Snover

wordplanet

Not Today

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