MicrostockGroup

Agency Based Discussion => Dreamstime.com => Topic started by: phildaint on October 18, 2012, 07:00

Title: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: phildaint on October 18, 2012, 07:00
Only 4 sales so far this month compared to last months 34 and the previous month 32...

I have not uploaded anything in 2 months as i have been putting all my time into other stock sites,

do you think the lack of sales is anything to do with me not uploading?
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: gostwyck on October 18, 2012, 07:17
Sales at DT are fairly average at DT for me and I haven't uploaded to them for well over a year.

You used to be exclusive at DT ( until about a month ago?) so obviously enjoyed higher sort-order placement whilst you were. Sales are bound to reduce without that boost.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: borg on October 18, 2012, 07:41
My sales on DT are catastrophic... :-[
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: fotografer on October 18, 2012, 08:11
Sales haven't been great generally but this week has been amazing.  Hope it isn't just fluke and that some change has been made.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: rubyroo on October 18, 2012, 08:24
Pretty stable for me.  Unremarkable, but stable.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: sgoodwin4813 on October 18, 2012, 08:39
Sales there were great for me during May, June and July but then fell off a cliff.  They used to be my #3 agency, but for the past 3 months have been #6 or 7.  So far this month they are #6, and for the past three months have been earning 25-50% of what I used to earn there.  Small portfolio but steady uploads.  Not sure of the problem but I hope they come back.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: Dan on October 18, 2012, 08:43
  As  i  only  have  7  files  my  data  is   skimmpy.  But  of  those  7  only  1  has  sold  (7  times).  Hopefully  i  can  upload  more.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: Canonbabe on October 18, 2012, 12:07
Not here: Oktober so far is 300% of september sales :)
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: tab62 on October 18, 2012, 13:35
7 sales on one pic! Sweet! Now just upload a few hundred similar to that one and your on easy street  :D


Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: ClaridgeJ on October 18, 2012, 13:46
Great sales! about 20 per day and at good prices. :D
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: roboz on October 18, 2012, 22:27
Sales normal, but still not great. RPD worst since I started two years ago.

What was it you said, Serban??? Yeah, sure....
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: emblem on October 18, 2012, 23:36
DT has been steady for me for most of this year....so no complaints.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: ClaridgeJ on October 19, 2012, 00:49
Not here. Good sales and prices as usual.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: Metsafile on October 19, 2012, 00:50
This is my BME on DT but I have the feeling it won't last.
Please prove me wrong.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: jm on October 19, 2012, 03:48
It's up and down for me. it's Oct 19th - and I'm already on 150% of my September's earnings.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: fotografer on October 19, 2012, 07:49
Something definitely seems to have changed there.  I am having the best month for ages. Starting to feel positive about them again.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: Mantis on October 19, 2012, 09:17
Something definitely seems to have changed there.  I am having the best month for ages. Starting to feel positive about them again.

Same here.  I am having a pretty good month but they are fairly cyclic for me, and next month I may be touting the opposite.  They are unpredictable but this month I lime em. :P
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: lisafx on October 19, 2012, 10:30
Of the top 4 sites, DT and SS have held up most consistently for me.  DT maintained sales decently through the summer, and now is picking up nicely for Autumn, as expected.   
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: mtilghma on October 19, 2012, 11:07
DT for me has stopped to a standstill.  It is being outperformed by every site I submit to except depositphotos
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: fotografer on November 02, 2012, 03:57
Dt seems to have the most inconsistent daily sales than any of the other sites.  Last month it looked like being an amazing month by the middle part of the month but ended up just above average for the year.  I get week days where I make 4 times more than other week days.  Yesterday was a great start to the month and I think was probably on of my best days ever for earnings but I'm just waiting now for the spate of low sale days to ruin it.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: ClaridgeJ on November 02, 2012, 05:19
No. DT and SS, are the two most steady ones for me.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: fotografer on November 02, 2012, 05:26
Strange, I wonder why it is so inconsistent for me.  It is often my best earner above SS even and I always have excellent placement in the searches but it seems to go in waves for me.  Much more than usual ebb and flow on all the other sites.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: takestock on November 02, 2012, 05:37
I find my sales at DT tend to come in bursts.
Can be quiet for quite a time and then might get a number of downloads in a short space of time.
Overall, in genera -l sales haven't be all that great.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: gostwyck on November 02, 2012, 06:14
Strange, I wonder why it is so inconsistent for me.  It is often my best earner above SS even and I always have excellent placement in the searches but it seems to go in waves for me.  Much more than usual ebb and flow on all the other sites.

I thought it was common knowledge that DT's default sort-order promotes/demotes individual contributors at regular intervals. I think it is roughly in 7-10 day cycles, so therefore you experience one week of 'feast' followed by one week of 'famine'. Stupid system IMHO. The sort-order should be determined by the images themselves, not by the contributor.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: ClaridgeJ on November 02, 2012, 07:06
 Regarding all micros, an image should earn its search place by merit, i.e. by selling power and commercial value and not by anything else, ofcourse mixed with a few new images, etc.
This was the standard rule of every single trad-agency and still the rule in the entire house-collection and there are never any problems.

Ofcourse, this method creates fierce competition of the slots and photographers bent their backs in trying to produce better and better pictures.

DT, is in fact one of the better search engines showing relevant material but just look at some of the others, well, its like a buyers nightmare trying to find anything and in the end they are left with a constant messing and tweaking of search problems that they themselves once started.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: rubyroo on November 02, 2012, 07:12
Agreeing that images should earn their place merit alone.

Also on this:

Ofcourse, this method creates fierce competition of the slots and photographers bent their backs in trying to produce better and better pictures.

That's exactly what I do (within my own abilities) and I have the bad back to prove it!  :D

Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: lisafx on November 02, 2012, 09:19
DT and SS, are the two most steady ones for me.

Yes, me too.  They have been the most consistent and reliable (high) earners over time. 
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: WarrenPrice on November 02, 2012, 09:30
Sales are atrocious for me.  BS was better than DT this past month.
I was going along quite well (satisfactorily) until July.  I disabled just over 300 files at about that time.  The drop seemed to coincide.  I wonder?

Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: Jo Ann Snover on November 02, 2012, 11:02
DT is too "clever" for its own - and our - good. Sales have been pretty decent for me lately - October was up  46% over September. I have seen the odd cycles of subs vs. credit, quiet vs. busy that I don't see at any other site, but the bottom line is that

- DT is selling less than the IS partner program (in September, PP was 48% higher than DT). I have fewer images on DT, but that's largely because of their similars policies

- In October 2011, DT was 14.2% of my monthly total and this October it was 9.4%. That's a bit up from the drop to 7% earlier this year when they played silly-buggers with the pricing but increasing RPD doesn't really matter much if it doesn't boost the monthly income.

Every time they tinker, things get a bit more complicated and there they still are at the bottom of the top tier - although the IS partner program would best them if it were broken out. Heck, my SS OD downloads (not including ELs or singles/other) beat DT for October.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: JPSDK on November 02, 2012, 11:47
My lifetime DT earnings are 1/12 of those of SS.
Same with this month, just worse.
Its like their recycling takes 3 weeks instead of one.
I have had 2 weeks without a sale on DT, and when that happens the "annoy factor" grows high, and Im tempted...
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: lisafx on November 02, 2012, 13:48

- In October 2011, DT was 14.2% of my monthly total and this October it was 9.4%.

This is definitely a case of YMMV.  I just checked after reading your post, and in Oct. 2011 DT was 11% of my total and this October they were at 13%. 
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: WarrenPrice on November 02, 2012, 14:07

- In October 2011, DT was 14.2% of my monthly total and this October it was 9.4%.

This is definitely a case of YMMV.  I just checked after reading your post, and in Oct. 2011 DT was 11% of my total and this October they were at 13%.

I can't figure out YMMV?
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: gostwyck on November 02, 2012, 14:17
I can't figure out YMMV?

So Google it.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: WarrenPrice on November 02, 2012, 14:22
thanks
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: Poncke on November 02, 2012, 14:33
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ymmv (http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ymmv)
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: fotografer on November 02, 2012, 15:14
[url]http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ymmv[/url] ([url]http://lmgtfy.com/?q=ymmv[/url])

Haha, I've never seen that before :D
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: tomasfoto on November 02, 2012, 15:57
I thought something was broken.  October was looking really good until 10/25.  Then nothing the rest of the month.  Today a tiny sale, so I guess they're not broken, but it does seem odd.  I like when they have bursts of sales, but despite my continuously uploading I do not see anything I would call growth.  Quien sabe?
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: Mantis on November 04, 2012, 10:43
DT is pretty cyclic for me at 2500 images.  Sept was around $220, not a BME but better than average.  However it is not unusual for me to do a $130 month the next month.  Very big swings indeed.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: velocicarpo on November 12, 2012, 13:11
DT is a low earner for me (under 10% of total) but steady. No big jumps up nor down lately. SS is doing pretty well and stable.
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: Dan on November 23, 2012, 14:46
     Uploaded  10  as  editoria  (accepted  at  other  sites  as  editorial.  Was  told  to  uplad  as  regular  stock  a
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: Minerva Studio on December 04, 2012, 06:55
Poor sales on DT?
I'll write here a coulpe of stats.
Minerva Studio, my account, did 13185 total sales in Novembre.
DT, of these 13185, only did 186.

I think that's enough. DT is a crappy agency, almost as bad as IS ,where anyway everbody know that is you are not exclusive you virtually CAN'T even sell, but at least they let you know that (low upload limit, images that appear on the 145th page and so on).
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: modviz on December 04, 2012, 07:45
...everbody know that if you are not exclusive you virtually CAN'T even sell, but at least they let you know that (low upload limit, images that appear on the 145th page and so on).

Thanks Minerva. I have to admit your statement provides clarity to my experiences with DT. After dropping exclusivety with DT my images dropped out of sight. You'll find them but only with a pick, shovel, flashlight with long lasting batteries and oh...don't forget a canary in a cage! ;D
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: stockastic on December 04, 2012, 11:11
I can't figure out YMMV?

Your Mileage May Vary
Title: Re: anybody else having poor sales
Post by: JPSDK on December 04, 2012, 11:42
It is a good thing.
What happens if you have two environments, an exclusive one, and a non exclusive one.
Dodos against hawks.
The independants are forced to compete with eachother and everything.
And when they try to compete with the exclusives in a certain agency. They fail most of the time.
Because the environment is hostile and protective for the exclusives.

BUT when they manage to compete, they far surpass the exclusives.
Now add this up, and do it again and you have  a selection mechanism.
It is strange how microstock compares to the evolution of species. Litterally.
Mutation, selection and isolation.
The mechanism you have, will not only kill contributors but whole agencies.

Like whole ecosystems on distant islands have suddently succumbed to goats or rats.