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Cthoman ...your illustrations are really great!
For the past few months, CanStockPhoto has been steadily performing better than BigStock. Now CanStockPhoto is easily my #5 site. My $19.80 downloads seemed to have stopped a few months back, but I get a steady stream of $.50 to $2.00 downloads to keep them in double digits almost every weekday.
Thanks for reminding me they existed! I just went to check, and had a pretty good amount ready to cash out. I would say they are in the Bigstock and 123rf category. Slow sales, but give it some time and it adds up...
Must say, I really dont get it? why?, how? can you supply, upload, etc, month after month after month, spend all this time that could easily be time generating much more with the big ones and the end result is: 3 sales per month I know everyone here hungers for money but this is ridiculous, its like being greedy for pennies, Scrooge business.I mean its quite obvious the middle-tier aint ever, never gonna see themselves in the top-tier, its wishful thinking. The only one that can somehow come close is Bigstock, if they play their cards right, they have a much more professional approach and now with the partnership SS, they have a good chance.Im sorry guys we are already shoting for peanuts but I mean theres got to be a limit, surely?
Quote from: lagereek on February 11, 2011, 10:17Must say, I really dont get it? why?, how? can you supply, upload, etc, month after month after month, spend all this time that could easily be time generating much more with the big ones and the end result is: 3 sales per month I know everyone here hungers for money but this is ridiculous, its like being greedy for pennies, Scrooge business.I mean its quite obvious the middle-tier aint ever, never gonna see themselves in the top-tier, its wishful thinking. The only one that can somehow come close is Bigstock, if they play their cards right, they have a much more professional approach and now with the partnership SS, they have a good chance.Im sorry guys we are already shoting for peanuts but I mean theres got to be a limit, surely?Those may be your numbers, but other people's numbers are much different. I officially disbanded the big 4 of DT, FT, SS & IS. It is no more. My numbers are a free for all. So, submitting to new agencies isn't a waste of time for everyone. In fact, I find submitting new content to agencies that are fat and bloated is the bigger waste of time. I submitted around 1000 files to SS last year, and didn't see any growth. There's no firm rule for everyone on what is going to work best, so experimenting is usually a good idea.
You have to understand that Im looking at it strictly from a business point of view and without any preferances but like the post further up, he says he gets 3 sales/month and bloody hard work, well? then you really have to start asking yourself if youre flogging a dead horse, dont you?
If you're doing this as a business, you should be exploiting every revenue opportunity, as long as the outlay of resources ends up being justified -- either by current profits or the reasonable expectation of future profits. I think it makes sense to upload to just about every agency (aside from the ones you have significant issues with, such as the recent iStock fiasco), except for those who are so new that they have zero track record.If you're creating images that people actually want, and you're getting good sales at the biggest sites (SS, FT, DT and IS if you're still there), then you should absolutely be uploading to CanStockPhoto. They have a very easy uploading process and their sales are definitely growing. If you have a decent sized port there and you're seeing zero sales, my guess is that you're seeing very little sales at the big sites as well and you're probably not generating enough income to justify doing microstock period. Again, that's from a business perspective. If you're simply doing this for enjoyment, do whatever floats your boat.
You mean flooding the market, right, so if you upload to every single one of them, every little bit, exploring every avenue? when do you work? I mean surely you have to eat same as everybody else here or do you live in a country where you can survive on 3 sales/month, come on do me a favour, will ya?
Its exactly this attitude which have rendered agencies into having 10 million shots, totally clogged up wit say 80% of totally mediocre material, leaving a measly 20% worthwhile, its this attitude which makes us even read and write threads like this. To flood a market is the quickest way to destruction, didnt you know?
Still, read my above post, from a business perspective, for people who are trying to turn this into some sort of a living ( me? Im a fulltime freelance anyway), TIME, is money, big money and every business law in the world will tell you this and time well spent, is even better.
Quote from: lagereek on February 11, 2011, 11:52You mean flooding the market, right, so if you upload to every single one of them, every little bit, exploring every avenue? when do you work? I mean surely you have to eat same as everybody else here or do you live in a country where you can survive on 3 sales/month, come on do me a favour, will ya?I work a full time job and then spend about 2 hours on microstock a night. Uploading to CanStock takes about 30 seconds of those two hours. So far in the first 10 days of Feb, they earned me $143, or about 6.5% of my total microstock revenue for the past ten days. Yes, it's a small percent, but it's not chump change for spending an extra 30 seconds uploading each night. Oh, and now we're talking about flooding the market? Then we should all give up microstock completely if that's the overriding concern.Quote from: lagereek on February 11, 2011, 11:52Its exactly this attitude which have rendered agencies into having 10 million shots, totally clogged up wit say 80% of totally mediocre material, leaving a measly 20% worthwhile, its this attitude which makes us even read and write threads like this. To flood a market is the quickest way to destruction, didnt you know? I've countered with this argument before... do you buy anything from Amazon? Why would you? They have too much stuff! 99% of it is crap you don't want. Dumb argument, right? The fact is that Amazon is so successful BECAUSE they have SO MUCH STUFF. It helps that their prices are right and their search engine works well. Likewise, the ms agencies that are priced right and have good search engines will continue to do well no matter how much stuff they have to sell.Quote from: lagereek on February 11, 2011, 11:52Still, read my above post, from a business perspective, for people who are trying to turn this into some sort of a living ( me? Im a fulltime freelance anyway), TIME, is money, big money and every business law in the world will tell you this and time well spent, is even better.Again, see above... 30 seconds of extra uploading each night, which for me is feeding a daily sales rate of about $14 per day from CanStockPhoto. From a business perspective, would you say that is time well spent? Of course, many contributors don't see results like this... everyone's mileage will vary. But I'll go back to my argument from the other post... if you're seeing NO sales from CanStockPhoto, you're probably seeing LITTLE sales from the biggest agencies, and you should be questioning whether you should be doing microstock at all... again, from a business perspective.
I think you have a valid point here,were only hurting ourselves. I've slowed down uploading,and have stopped on some totally. My revenue is not where I was hoping .I've been with it for around five years with photos and graphics and it's evident my style of images are not popular. By flooding the sites with average images doesn't help our cause.
Hey! I like it! youre having jokes, arent you? well for starters I been with Getty-RM, since 93. Im an Istock-Diamond with 40000 sales and just as many at SS and close even with FT. My DAILY quota of sales is somewhere around 250-300/ per DAY, that is.Yep! I think I know the Micro, RM and RF.Im not telling you this out of boast or anything but perhaps now you understand why Im questioning the formula of uploading to every tom,dick,harry available?best. Christian
Quote from: lagereek on February 11, 2011, 12:37Hey! I like it! youre having jokes, arent you? well for starters I been with Getty-RM, since 93. Im an Istock-Diamond with 40000 sales and just as many at SS and close even with FT. My DAILY quota of sales is somewhere around 250-300/ per DAY, that is.Yep! I think I know the Micro, RM and RF.Im not telling you this out of boast or anything but perhaps now you understand why Im questioning the formula of uploading to every tom,dick,harry available?best. ChristianYour post still doesn't make much sense to me. If you do well at all those, then you will probably do well at CanStockPhoto. And CanStockPhoto probably pays better than those three agencies.
Ultimately I agree that it makes sense not to upload to every Tom, Dick and Harry. For instance, I no longer send to Crestock and Veer, because for me the sales are too small and sporadic to justify. But I'm always quick to defend CanStock because I see them as on the same level as BigStock and 123. Not huge sales but quick and easy uploads with moderate payoffs... more than enough sales to justify a few extra minutes of uploading each night.
Quote from: stockmarketer on February 11, 2011, 12:53Ultimately I agree that it makes sense not to upload to every Tom, Dick and Harry. For instance, I no longer send to Crestock and Veer, because for me the sales are too small and sporadic to justify. But I'm always quick to defend CanStock because I see them as on the same level as BigStock and 123. Not huge sales but quick and easy uploads with moderate payoffs... more than enough sales to justify a few extra minutes of uploading each night.Completely agree. Canstock is not "every Tom, Dick, and Harry". They have been in the microstock business since, I believe, 2004. One of the first sites. Sales there had stagnated a couple of years ago, and I almost dropped them, but stuck around because of the easy upload and great customer service. Now I am extremely glad I did. Sales have increased a lot since bought by Fotosearch, and many of those sales are in the $20 range. I make as much there as 123RF and Alamy, and close to what I make at Bigstock.
Well good then we agree on a few points, Im signed up with CS myself and I will plod on there ofcourse but you know, when Ive reached lets say around 300 uploads and I know that the images in question are bona-fide good sellers, well? then I also want to see a return accordingly.
Quote from: lagereek on February 11, 2011, 13:01Well good then we agree on a few points, Im signed up with CS myself and I will plod on there ofcourse but you know, when Ive reached lets say around 300 uploads and I know that the images in question are bona-fide good sellers, well? then I also want to see a return accordingly. Glad to hear you are going to hang in there. I know the type of images you do, and you have some of the best, and often only, images of the type of industrial niches that you cover. What may be happening is that, since Canstock didn't HAVE that type of subject matter before, buyers weren't conditioned to shop for it there. Now that your images are available there, I think you will see the market for your niches grow on Canstock. It may just take awhile for buyers to realize they are there.
Christian (lagereek),While I am sorry to hear you have not been seeking the ROI that youre expecting, it is important to keep in mind that you only have 180 images on our site, which have only been uploaded over the last few months. This of course is a relatively small and young portfolio, which traditionally makes the prospect of instant and high returns unlikely. The most successful users are ones who are continually adding fresh images to their portfolios which is true for all agencies.As others have attested in this thread, we have an extremely fast submission and approval system, to make uploading as painless and efficient as possible. While you are unlikely to make the same returns with us as with some in the Top 4, you will also spend much less time submitting to us than with others. We recently had an ex-iStock exclusive who uploaded and submitted her entire portfolio to us of 3,500 images and had everything submitted AND approved within an afternoon. Ultimately of course you have to make your own decisions. Submitting with us is fast and efficient, with our sales growing very strongly (as many have noted). But ultimately if you require immediate Top 4 returns, then you should stick to them. Others have determined it makes easy business sense for them to submit with us, but you have to make your own decisions for whats right for you.Regards,Duncan
I work a full time job and then spend about 2 hours on microstock a night. Uploading to CanStock takes about 30 seconds of those two hours. So far in the first 10 days of Feb, they earned me $143, or about 6.5% of my total microstock revenue for the past ten days. Yes, it's a small percent, but it's not chump change for spending an extra 30 seconds uploading each night. Oh, and now we're talking about flooding the market? Then we should all give up microstock completely if that's the overriding concern.
The only issue I have is that the last batch of video clips I submitted simply disappeared. They're not in the pending que, nor do they show up as rejected.
You mean flooding the market, right, so if you upload to every single one of them, every little bit, exploring every avenue? when do you work? I mean surely you have to eat same as everybody else here or do you live in a country where you can survive on 3 sales/month, come on do me a favour, will ya?Its exactly this attitude which have rendered agencies into having 10 million shots, totally clogged up wit say 80% of totally mediocre material, leaving a measly 20% worthwhile, its this attitude which makes us even read and write threads like this. To flood a market is the quickest way to destruction, didnt you know? Still, read my above post, from a business perspective, for people who are trying to turn this into some sort of a living ( me? Im a fulltime freelance anyway), TIME, is money, big money and every business law in the world will tell you this and time well spent, is even better.Hell, I dont care who submits to who, none of my business, just giving an opinion here and yes! CanStock, seam to be a very nice and userfriendly site but if I were to plonk down say only 300 of my best sellers, yes I would like to see quite a bit more in return for my time but, hey, thats me.
To prove my point above, I just got an $8.00 sale for a small image on Canstock, because of their relationship with Fotosearch, and I didn't have to lift a finger, other than the 10 seconds it took me to process the image that sold. That's not to suggest its all roses at Canstock, but its clear I will more than make back my effort in uploading there.
Must say, I really dont get it? why?, how? can you supply, upload, etc, month after month after month, spend all this time that could easily be time generating much more with the big ones and the end result is: 3 sales per month I know everyone here hungers for money but this is ridiculous, its like being greedy for pennies, Scrooge business.I mean its quite obvious the middle-tier aint ever, never gonna see themselves in the top-tier, its wishful thinking. The only one that can somehow come close is Bigstock, if they play their cards right, they have a much more professional approach and now with the partnership Shutterstock, they have a good chance.Im sorry guys we are already shoting for peanuts but I mean theres got to be a limit, surely?
Quote from: lagereek on February 11, 2011, 10:17Must say, I really dont get it? why?, how? can you supply, upload, etc, month after month after month, spend all this time that could easily be time generating much more with the big ones and the end result is: 3 sales per month I know everyone here hungers for money but this is ridiculous, its like being greedy for pennies, Scrooge business.I mean its quite obvious the middle-tier aint ever, never gonna see themselves in the top-tier, its wishful thinking. The only one that can somehow come close is Bigstock, if they play their cards right, they have a much more professional approach and now with the partnership Shutterstock, they have a good chance.Im sorry guys we are already shoting for peanuts but I mean theres got to be a limit, surely?Canstock surpassed Dreamstime for me last month with just regular sales, and it had been slowly building up to that point before that. So it was my fourth best earner for February, would you call that a waste of time ?Bigstock is much worse for me. Different agencies work better for different people.
I like the occasional decent sale they get from fotosearch but the sub prices are still one of the lowest at 25 cents....that has really got to go up to a minimum of 33 cents to be more in tune with other sites like shutterstock. Really an easy site to upload to and fast review times. My only complaint is extremely low sub commissions, I just can't bring myself to be okay with getting 25 cents in return for allowing someone to use my image royalty-free, if that went up I would recommend them as my number one favorite site.
Canstock definitely sold itself today as a place I will be uploading more to in the future. Just got one of those 19.80 (medium size) sales from Fotosearch. If this keeps up it will knock Dreamstime down to #5 on my list.
Quote from: gwhitton on March 09, 2011, 15:38Canstock definitely sold itself today as a place I will be uploading more to in the future. Just got one of those 19.80 (medium size) sales from Fotosearch. If this keeps up it will knock Dreamstime down to #5 on my list.Yes a 19.80$ sale commission definetly put a smile on our faces
I didn't realize they were EL sales. So that is actually a really low price compared to other sites.