MicrostockGroup

Agency Based Discussion => Bigstock.com => Topic started by: beisea on November 17, 2006, 13:00

Title: BigStock Sales
Post by: beisea on November 17, 2006, 13:00
Ever since they changed the commission rate, I got a couple of $1 sales, but then it all stopped, I havn't had a single sale for 10 days with 250 pictures online, last month I  had 27 sales, almost 1/day.

So I am sitting at $29, waiting for my first ever payout with them, but no actions, this is the worst site I submitted to, I am not going to waste my time with them any more.

Anybody had a similar experience, or just me?
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: maco0708 on November 17, 2006, 13:13
I started submitting right after the increase in commission and I had two sales in first few days with 12 pictures. Since then I added bunch of pictures (I think I have about 80 now) and I haven't had a sale in about 7 days. I will keep submitting since it is very little extra work since I submit to many sites and I have all the keywords embedded in the files.

I am hoping to make about $100 in a year from BigStock ;D
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: leaf on November 17, 2006, 13:59
well I thought about starting a thread about the exact opposite.

bigstock has been doing really well for me the past two weeks.

I have a 14 day average in my graphs and bigstock has been very stable at $2.50/day for the last 5 months.  Now all of suddent it has risen to $5.00/day and has been stable at that for the last two weeks... so i think things are going to get better there.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: pelmof on November 17, 2006, 15:30
I find BigStock a real puzzle. The only things that have sold there for me are the ones I submitted early on and put into a gallery. I've been thinking that creating galleries is the way to get sales? Is this the way to get interest in your images? Do buyers really only view galleries on BigStock? How odd. No keyword searching?  ??? So confused by this site.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Lizard on November 17, 2006, 15:51
well I thought about starting a thread about the exact opposite.

bigstock has been doing really well for me the past two weeks.

I have a 14 day average in my graphs and bigstock has been very stable at $2.50/day for the last 5 months.  Now all of suddent it has risen to $5.00/day and has been stable at that for the last two weeks... so i think things are going to get better there.


Exactly what I'm experiencing at this period
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: dbvirago on November 17, 2006, 16:04
My gross has increases slightly since the increase, but number of sales has not.Over all a poor/avg performer. Either at the very bottom of my 2nd tier or the top of the 3rd tier. The $50 payout will keep me there - if it was $100, they would be inline with canstock and others
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Inger Anne Hulbækdal on November 17, 2006, 16:29
I've been with BigStock a year now and have a portfolio of 450 images. I would say it's slow, but steady with 4 payouts a $30. Last week I had an extended lisence sale of $15.

Inger
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: madelaide on November 17, 2006, 18:51
BigStock's $1 sales were a great improvement to my earnings.  I don't mind low sales as long as commissions are good.  For me, it's tied with DT this month as 2nd best earnings. 

My sold images vary, they are not necessarily the ones in galleries (but I have been creating some new galleries lately, as it seems images are grouped together in the search results).

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: beisea on November 17, 2006, 19:15
So maybe you need to creat lots of galleries in order to have some sales, is that the case?
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: dbvirago on November 17, 2006, 19:35
Just took a look at the gallery thing. Is it as tedious as it appears?

Show all approved photos, Find a relevent shot, Open it, Click on gallery, then add it, Click Back, Rinse and repeat

I have 632 shots there - this could take a while. Do you think it helps?
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Egypix on November 18, 2006, 02:03
I think this month it's ok for me cos  i am giving more time now for BigStock...
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: a.k.a.-tom on November 18, 2006, 11:34
I can't complain about BigStock at all. My sales are up in November..so far.  I'm happy with my 99.3% approval, out of the 117 submitted pix, only 2 rejections and 1 currently waiting a model release. I can't complain about them at all. I will continue to upload with BigStock.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: madelaide on November 18, 2006, 20:04
dbvirago,

I usually pick images after I haver them approved (I open each one in a diff tab in my browser, leaving the list in the first tab) and then send them to a gallery.  If you haven't any gallery yet, yes, I guess you will have to go through the whole list and click on each image you want to send to a gallery.

beisea,

I don't know if galleries help sales at all.  I believe however it can help us promote the images and I think (not sure) it helps similar images appear together in a search.

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Peiling on November 19, 2006, 05:07
i joined in June 06 in Bigstock and i now i have about 300 photos online there but my sales are not so good, i hope it picks up. i am still waiting for my first payout sigh.....5 months and not $30 yet? i was hoping to be able to get a payout every month by Nov this month. Not too sure what is happening??? Am i the only one? All the things i sell there have been random but i have happy to have $1 sale as long as the commision is good i am not too concern about slow sales. Big Stock is known in the industry as slow and steady.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: snem on November 20, 2006, 04:08
well... with same number of online photos and with the same start DAY, BigStock is beating Fotolia in $ earned but not in sales. I think this is significative.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: mrslevite on November 20, 2006, 11:42
BigStock runs hot and cold for me - more cold than hot!  But I do have a $15 enhanced license that I'm happy with.  And dl's are better there than at DT or Fotolia.  I'm not going to complain too much. :)
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: beisea on November 20, 2006, 18:36
Sounds like a mixed bag, are the people who have decent result all have created galleries?

my last sale was Nov. 9th for 269 pictures on line, which never happened before, even when I initial joined, I have more sales than the last 2 weeks, my same batch of pictures sold over $350 on DT, and $130 on FT, but only $29 on BigStock, that's really odd.

Anyway I will stop uploading there until I see some changes. One thing which has deluted the portfolio is that they are now accepting 100% for the last two months, which is quite different than the initial standard.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: leaf on November 21, 2006, 01:49
i don't have galleries created, and feel i have decent results on bigstock compared to the other sites
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: beisea on November 21, 2006, 02:19
Finally I got my first payout after 3 month at BigStock, maybe this complain will work ;D
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: pixelbrat on November 22, 2006, 08:49
I stopped uploading to BigStock several months ago for various reasons so my portfolio is only 23 images compared to 200-300 elsewhere.  When DT came out with the "sell the rights" option I didn't like that BigStock can keep my images held hostage for 90 days after I upload them.  After 8 months I've just now reached a $33 payout.  Once I cash out I'm pulling my images and closing my account there.  Glad to hear others are doing well there.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: CJPhoto on November 22, 2006, 08:58
I have hit my monthly average already but not my best ever month.  The amounts are small though so a few sales either way can effect this.  Most sales are now for $1 which is good (and interesting).

Pixelbrat - I thing it is fair that they have your image hostage for 90 days.  You have used their bandwidth to upload, had the image reviewed and put it on their server.  This all costs them money. They dont charge you for this (not that anyone would pay) but in return, ask for the commision for a minimum of 90 days.  I dont "sell the rights" at DT but if I did, I would probably have to make the same move you are making.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: madelaide on November 24, 2006, 18:00
I made this month at BigStock the same I made at IS.  I'm talking about modest numbers here, but I'm quite happy with the results (and the low minimum pay-outs).

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: leaf on November 24, 2006, 19:06
i actually sold quite a bit more on bigstock this month that i did on istock.

partly due to way more images on bigstock, however this counts as well cause if i can't get the images on istock, then they aren't earning me $$.
and partly due to poor sales the last few weeks at istock (half of what i am usually making)
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: madelaide on December 18, 2006, 19:25
November was a great month for me at BigStock... Earnings were twice the best month I had before. But then came December... so far worse than my first months there! Is it the same with you guys? I expected things to slow down in the second half of the month, but this came too early.

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: t_rust on December 18, 2006, 20:27
BigStock is consistently the lowest $ earner for me. But the upload process is very easy, so it is worth continuing. It varies between 10 and 15 % of my income. I have no galleries …

Regards,
T
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: phildate on December 19, 2006, 21:54
The change in pricing at BigStock did not have the dramatic effect on my earnings as previously imagined. December is looking a slow month there but guess just have to enjoy Christmas and not worry about earnings too much!
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: a.k.a.-tom on December 23, 2006, 09:42
My sales in November and December in BigStock have been the usual pace. Slow but steady.  Not my highest seller at all   (SS highest quantity though not highest $). I like BigStock, easy site to work on, easy upload and I like my 98+% approval rating there.  BigStock is accepts more of my work than any of the others.  I don't know if that's good or bad...   LOL
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Egypix on December 24, 2006, 03:42
In December for me it is very very slow or freezed..!

http://www.bigstockphoto.com/search.php?photo_by=GFghWs7hrB&mode=2
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: bbettina on February 28, 2007, 00:27
for me BigStock sucks.  I have 75 pics or so uploaded and I see the occassional sale.  I am at a whooping $21.50 ever since I started back in July or so.  Haven't uploaded anyhting in a while.  If it picks up I might upload some more stuff but right now my time is better spend on other sites.

Tina

Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: epixx on February 28, 2007, 00:35
It's number six so far this year for me, which I consider rather bad. What is positive though, is that during the two first months this year, I've sold more there than the last six months last year.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: madelaide on February 28, 2007, 16:15
BigStock is also about the 6th for me in general.  It was ok last month, bad this month.  A good thing however is the low minimum payout - just US$30.

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: epixx on February 28, 2007, 16:19
BigStock is also about the 6th for me in general.  It was ok last month, bad this month.  A good thing however is the low minimum payout - just US$30.

Regards,
Adelaide

I didn't know it was that low. I just passed that today, so that means I have money for rice again   :D
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: a.k.a.-tom on February 28, 2007, 19:42
Not in my top 5 for sales...   However, February will turn out to be my best month at BigStock.  I've been on since last June.  My 'folio there is a little over 200.   Yeah, my sales are nothing like SS or StockXpert, but I like BigStock, nice little site and nice people. I continue to upload there.  8)  -tom
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: stokfoto on February 28, 2007, 20:50
I have a fairly small galley on BigStock (with just about 150photos)it took me several months to   reach my first payout(30quid).after slow sales I stopped uploading I am not sure if I should keep uploading and see what happens with a larger gallery.what puts me of is that you are not allowed to remove your photos for three month.what if you sell an image with exclusive licence on another site ?(altough chances are very slim)you'd have to  go through a complex processto remove it from BigStock.
I understand their policy on image removal but I think this is still discouraging,at least for me .
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: madelaide on February 28, 2007, 21:00
Different people, different experiences.  I have about 200 images there after nearly one year slowly building my portfolio and I am next to the second pay-out.  I am at CanStockPhoto for the same time and have just reached US$32 - about half of what I made in BigStock - but given their US$100 minimum pay-out it will take much longer to see the color of the money...

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Peiling on February 28, 2007, 21:26
i joined sometime in june 2006, last year and i will receive my 2nd payout of $30 this month. I like the low payout of $30 but with 500 photos (my largest portfolio) online in Big Stock I was hoping for monthly payout. Hopefully it happens soon like from Mar 2006 hahaha. I like the "no fuss" in Big Stock. Well like many say, it is a slow and steady site. Compare to some other sites, it is doing ok. My best sites are istock and shutterstock, the rest of the sites are hmmm.,....i wish they are better....
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: sharpshot on March 01, 2007, 02:52
When I first started uploading 7 months ago, I just uploaded about 20 photos to BigStock and left them.  They sold more of those than other sites I had tried, so I am now uploading the rest of my portfolio.  Hope to get a few payouts a month soon.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: a.k.a.-tom on March 01, 2007, 22:34
Wow!! Yesterday I had said that BigStock wasn't in my top 5 for sales... today when I went back and tallied everything, I realized BigStock was my second in sales for February  (SS top dog).  I REALLY DO like BigStock!  8) -tom
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: litifeta on March 03, 2007, 19:37
BigStock is very dissapointing for me. About 100 images and only $14. I can't justify the time and effort to load unless I see some $ improvement.

SS is #1, DT #2, Fotolia #3, 123rf #4, ISP #5, BigStock #6, CanStockPhoto #7

StockXpert reject my applications, Gimme is dead, Crestock a waste of time. Can't be bothered with LO, FP, IV, or SSP.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: roman on April 03, 2007, 18:42
I don't submit to Bigstock anymore.  In the beginning, they had a trouble with their ftp server, so suddenly I had about 50 double uploads waiting in the que.  I erased them prior to inspection, but bigstock counted these as rejections, lowering my upload limit and acceptance rate.  When I contacted them about the problem, I have received no reply.  So, it's not worth the hassle for me.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Inger Anne Hulbækdal on April 03, 2007, 19:35
I like BigStock. I have a couple of downloads every day, and about half of them give me $1.

Inger
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: lathspell on April 03, 2007, 20:41
IMO BigStock isn't really worth the effort ... In the beginning I was quite optimistic, but finally I made there as much in a month as I earned within a day or two on other sites. So I keep the portfolio there as it is, requesting a $30 payout every 3 months or so.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: sharpshot on April 04, 2007, 02:11
The sales are there.  I average more than two $30 payouts a month.  Not great but it all adds up in the long term.  I now have a large portfolio with them but they sold more when they had 40 of my photos than 123rf and FP.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: sharply_done on April 04, 2007, 13:24
I was considering adding BigStock as a possible revenue source, but after reading that sharpshot gets $60+/month with 1800+ images I'm having second thoughts. This doesn't look like a very profitable place ...
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: sharpshot on April 04, 2007, 14:39
I am sure others can do better than me :)  I don't have any recognizable people photos.  They seem to sell more than my photos.  $60+ a month doesn't seem like a lot but it is over $700 a year for the same photos that sell on other sites.  I hope that is a conservative estimate.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Pixart on April 04, 2007, 15:07
Well, I have about 90 images sitting there to be finished and no iptc data arrived with them.   I'm having a nightmare uploading model releases.  Don't they have a library or am I missing something?  It seems to work when I have just one, but when I need a few releases it dosn't want for work. 

Darn, I've made $1 so I'll have to stay for at least $29 more. 
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: kosmikkreeper on April 04, 2007, 17:44
They just added a library! Woohoo!

I think it's worth uploading to. I make roughly $130/month. It ranks 6th for me.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Keefo on April 04, 2007, 18:20
They just added a library! Woohoo!

I think it's worth uploading to. I make roughly $130/month. It ranks 6th for me.

Wow, how many photos do you have there?
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: hatman12 on April 04, 2007, 23:11
kosmikkreeper, you don't appear to have a portfolio at BigStock; your portfolio links all link to error pages "no such user etc....".
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: leaf on April 05, 2007, 02:27
kosmikkreeper, you don't appear to have a portfolio at BigStock; your portfolio links all link to error pages "no such user etc....".

it looks like he has added the full web address to his portfolios.. and not just his username or user number.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: sharply_done on April 05, 2007, 04:32
He has 1387 images on BigStock.
Go here (http://www.bigstockphoto.com/search.php?photo_profile=yanc) to see 'em.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: cornishman on April 05, 2007, 04:39
No sales this month so far...

Very disappointing. What happened?
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: kosmikkreeper on April 05, 2007, 07:10
woops! I think I fixed my links. I didn't know we only had to put our user IDs.  8)
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: leaf on April 05, 2007, 08:00
they seem to be fixed now!
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Pixart on April 07, 2007, 22:22
They just added a library! Woohoo!

I think it's worth uploading to. I make roughly $130/month. It ranks 6th for me.

Thanks for this info.  I finally went back, placed releases in the library and started to push a few through again.   Nice to see my 10 limit has been removed too.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Kngkyle on April 07, 2007, 23:06
No sales this month, been absolutely dead.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Tim Markley on April 08, 2007, 07:58
BigStock has been picking up for me lately.
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: madelaide on April 09, 2007, 16:09
Also for me, nothing this month, what is quite unusual. 

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: bbettina on April 09, 2007, 16:52
Just had a $ 0.50 download - the first revenue there in days, make that weeks. :'(

I am so not going to bother anymore.

Title: Re: BigStock Sales
Post by: Fortunefame on April 10, 2007, 02:51
it's so weird that it can change from person to person. I have monthly payouts on BigStock whereas on DT it takes me forever.

Cheers