Author Topic: People leaving? (Read 18498 times)

madelaide · « **on:** March 15, 2009, 14:50 »

In a private discussion about BigStock's quality rating (original thread here), I redid the searches I comment in there thread (post #27).

I was surprised to see that the first search, "heart illustration", now returns only 11,133 images vs 14,163 found 2 months ago. Also in the search for "cork board", there are only 817 results when they were 1,043.

Are people leaving BigStock or was this some correction in the search engihe?

Regards,
Adelaide

vonkara · « **Reply #1 on:** March 15, 2009, 15:12 »

I left almost 6 months ago. No heart pics but a couple of cork board

sharpshot · « **Reply #2 on:** March 15, 2009, 15:17 »

I am staying with my cork and heart pics

They are still one of the top sites with an easy upload and low payout level. Perhaps they have changed the search or deleted duplicates?

MikLav · « **Reply #3 on:** March 15, 2009, 17:00 »

I don't have neither heart nor cork pics, but I don't really see a reason to leave...

Tim Markley · « **Reply #4 on:** March 15, 2009, 17:11 »

This is a steady site for me, the low $30 payout is great.

NYTumbleweeds · « **Reply #5 on:** March 15, 2009, 18:06 »

That's odd... wonder what the change is?

Microstock Posts · « **Reply #6 on:** March 15, 2009, 21:16 »

I tried to take my pics off, maybe a month or 2 after putting them on. I think I got a mail from them saying that the photos must be kept on for 90 days before a request can be made. Whilst I waited for the 90 days to expire, the pics started selling and they have had fairly consistent sales ever since. I like Bigstockphoto. In my books, they're one of the nice guys out there.

gbcimages · « **Reply #7 on:** March 16, 2009, 08:05 »

I'll stay with them

tan510jomast · « **Reply #8 on:** March 16, 2009, 10:17 »

BigStock has my vote for one of my chosen 4 sites to be actively contributing in 2009,
dropping many that are still born.

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #9 on:** March 16, 2009, 10:26 »

Quote from: Komar on March 15, 2009, 21:16

I tried to take my pics off, maybe a month or 2 after putting them on. I think I got a mail from them saying that the photos must be kept on for 90 days before a request can be made. Whilst I waited for the 90 days to expire, the pics started selling and they have had fairly consistent sales ever since. I like Bigstockphoto. In my books, they're one of the nice guys out there.

I went that route. I was thinking about going exclusive at DT and went nearly 90 days without uploading to BS before changing my mind. Maybe the lapse in uploading is the reason for my BS lack of activity?

null · « **Reply #10 on:** March 16, 2009, 10:31 »

Quote from: WarrenPrice on March 16, 2009, 10:26

Maybe the lapse in uploading is the reason for my BS lack of activity?

The search engine of BigStock isn't the best around, or they over-emphasize view count. The result is that in general images start really selling after 6 months or so. It's a quiet and friendly site that you just have to upload to and forget.

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #11 on:** March 16, 2009, 10:42 »

Quote from: FlemishDreams on March 16, 2009, 10:31

Quote from: WarrenPrice on March 16, 2009, 10:26
Maybe the lapse in uploading is the reason for my BS lack of activity?

The search engine of BigStock isn't the best around, or they over-emphasize view count. The result is that in general images start really selling after 6 months or so. It's a quiet and friendly site that you just have to upload to and forget.

Thanks. Patience is not a virtue at my age.

I see you are on at 123RF. I've been reading about SS and IS but want to build the portfolio and work my way up to that level. Is 123 a good stepping stone?

null · « **Reply #12 on:** March 16, 2009, 10:56 »

Quote from: WarrenPrice on March 16, 2009, 10:42

I've been reading about SS and IS but want to build the portfolio and work my way up to that level. Is 123 a good stepping stone?

123RF is one of those nice quiet low-maintenance sites with no catgeories, easy upload, no drama, and the fastest and best MRF attach module around. Some months they are almost the same as DT, some months just 1/5th of DT. Their FTP upload is flawless, the import fast. They automatically pay out by PayPal whenever you reach 50$. You can give a fraction of your port a boost in the search engine by adding them to your favorites. 123RF is a go by all means, since upload virtually doesn't take time, and it's just an extra tab in the Filezilla site manager.

PenelopeB · « **Reply #13 on:** March 16, 2009, 11:11 »

I stopped uploading just in case I end up going exclusive with iStock. I "really" don't like having my photos held hostage for 90 days. I stopped uploading to Dreamstime for the same reason. This is very disappointing as I think highly of both sites. I think both are fabulous and I do understand why they do it, but this is just my little idiosyncrasy. (some people won't upload to sites that do subscription)

lisafx · « **Reply #14 on:** March 16, 2009, 12:07 »

I wouldn't think many people are leaving BigStock. At least not people who are active, for all the reasons listed above. They are a friendly site, easy upload, no trouble/drama, and low payout threshold.

I think the change in search results is more likely to be housecleaning by BigStock - cleaning up spam in the searches, deleting old stagnant accounts, etc.

Just my theory.

vonkara · « **Reply #15 on:** March 16, 2009, 12:49 »

I left BigStock because I wasn't satisfied of how my portfolio relevence was showing. I had old files showing first in my port sorted by popularity that I would not wanted to see there. Guest what, those was selling, nothing crazy though.

Some of my most recent ones was also having good position in the search... 1st 2nd pages. They had less views than the old xxxx had downloads LOL.

Warning I don't remember all the rules at BigStock, but I think I wasn't able to delete some files manually and also edit the files keywords. Then I didn't took BigStock enough seriously to continue there.

null · « **Reply #16 on:** March 16, 2009, 12:52 »

Quote from: Vonkara on March 16, 2009, 12:49

I left BigStock because I wasn't satisfied of how my portfolio relevence was showing.

Do you kill your dog when it has lice?

vonkara · « **Reply #17 on:** March 16, 2009, 13:06 »

Quote from: FlemishDreams on March 16, 2009, 12:52

Quote from: Vonkara on March 16, 2009, 12:49
I left BigStock because I wasn't satisfied of how my portfolio relevence was showing.

Do you kill your dog when it has lice?

That's why I don't want a dog. But the day that dogs comes with anti-lice fur, maybe I'll take one. More seriously, when they had fixed the search by files performance, not only views and add at least keywords edit, I'll be back

Roadrunner · « **Reply #18 on:** March 16, 2009, 14:48 »

I now only feed three sites; BigStock is one of them. they were my first and have been fairly steady. I still haven't reached 500 images on any site, and I might make it to 500 on BigStock within the next two or three years. there are times when BigStock seems to stand still, but then something gets things jumping. I get at least two pay outs a year. Considering I have a very small inventory I'm happy. I have about 270 images with BigStock; so I hope to get it up to 500 by the year 2011.

My problem is I have to work hard to get 20 images to submit, and my acceptance level is less than 100%.

I recommend staying with BigStock; they are a steady outfit. Even when I can't find 20 images for about 5 months, I still get sales. On SS, my sales dive util I can upload more. I still like SS though.

Microstock Posts · « **Reply #19 on:** March 16, 2009, 15:29 »

Quote from: Vonkara on March 16, 2009, 12:49

Warning I don't remember all the rules at BigStock, but I think I wasn't able to delete some files manually and also edit the files keywords. Then I didn't took BigStock enough seriously to continue there.

Yeah u can't delete manually, but can make a request for deletion of images after they've been on 90 days, they've always obliged when i've requested. You can edit keywords though.

Warren 123rf is definitely a go, sales could be better, but I still get enough for the size of my portfolio. Uploading is by far the easiest. No categories is great. Be careful with keywords though as u can't manually change them.

travismanley · « **Reply #20 on:** March 16, 2009, 16:08 »

I like BigStock, sales have always been steady and are getting better.

I have noticed something a little strange, most of my sales seem to be on really old stuff? I rarely notice sales on newer images ( I do occasionally). I wonder why that is.

madelaide · « **Reply #21 on:** March 16, 2009, 18:24 »

I do think these numbers are very big, so I tend to believe there was some adjustment in the search engine. I never checked the last results to see how irrelevant they were.

RaFaLe · « **Reply #22 on:** March 18, 2009, 07:54 »

No no - if anyone wants to leave, please do so.
That gives the rest of us a better chance to sell our photos

Seriously, though - I'm new, and my portfolio is small enough to be called a Nano-Portfolio.
I haven't made a sale yet from BigStock, and the review times are the worst of the 10 odd sites I subscribe to.
Next is DT and then FT. The rest are usually pretty quick to review.
I have had images waiting for review for 10 days at BigStock now.
I don't really know if that's bad or good, but it's the worst of the 10.

That aside, it's not enough to make me wanna leave (esp not after 3 weeks and a tiny port).
I'm certainly staying and giving a fair chance to make my decisions on who goes and who stays.

Just my 2 cents worth

Microstock Posts · « **Reply #23 on:** March 18, 2009, 10:49 »

Quote from: Chris.Alleaume on March 18, 2009, 07:54

review times are the worst of the 10 odd sites I subscribe to.

Yeah review times seem to be getting slower and slower with BigStock. This could be that they are getting more submissions, which is a good thing as buyers like sites with a lot of choice and I really want BigStock to become Bigger than it is. However, it could be because they have lost reviewers, anyway who knows.

null · « **Reply #24 on:** March 18, 2009, 20:44 »

Quote from: Komar on March 18, 2009, 10:49

However, it could be because they have lost reviewers, anyway who knows.

"Those who know don't tell and those who tell don't know." (Zen)

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Author Topic: People leaving? (Read 18498 times)

madelaide

vonkara

sharpshot

MikLav

Tim Markley

NYTumbleweeds

Microstock Posts

gbcimages

tan510jomast

WarrenPrice

null

WarrenPrice

null

PenelopeB

lisafx

vonkara

null

vonkara

Roadrunner

Microstock Posts

travismanley

madelaide

RaFaLe

Microstock Posts

null

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