MicrostockGroup

Agency Based Discussion => Dreamstime.com => Topic started by: HughStoneIan on February 18, 2008, 13:13

Title: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: HughStoneIan on February 18, 2008, 13:13
Has anyone heard if DT is definitely going to implement a 12-month minimum commitment for uploaded images?  I read rumours about it a while ago but haven't heard anything since.  I don't spend much time on DT's site (and don't plan to) so don't know if they've mentioned it there.  One thing you can count on is that DT will not make it widely known if they do choose the 12-month minimum.  I'm sure that subscription sales have nothing to do with this possible decision......right?
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: mwp1969 on February 18, 2008, 13:38
I have heard nothing ...

Mark
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: stokfoto on February 18, 2008, 13:39

I haven't heard of such a thing but I'd definitely quit uploading there if they did that even tough they are stable earner for me.instead they should choose 'exclusives only ' which would make a lot more sense.

oh well  for the time being it is just a rumor lets wait and see
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: fotografer on February 18, 2008, 15:30
They originally wanted a 12 month lock in but because a lot of the contributors complained they put it at 6 months.  I've not heard any thing about extending it since then.
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: HughStoneIan on February 18, 2008, 21:00
OK, that must have been it.  Never mind!  It's just that lately I've been on the fence trying to decide whether to stay with DT because of increasing sub sales.
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: Pixart on February 18, 2008, 22:01
Last month 1/4 of my DT sales were subs which was quite discouraging, but this month just 1/10th (so far).  I'll try to remember to do a poll about subs at the end of the month.  It would be nice to see everyone's trends to see if I overreact about subs.
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: vphoto on February 18, 2008, 22:37
I the last 2 weeks I have had very many subs. 3 subs for 1 real sale. Before the count was the
reverse.

Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: helix7 on February 19, 2008, 11:31

Just imagine they did go 12 months, though. What would we do? Few people around here are lining up for istock exclusivity, so what choice would we have other than to go along with it?

That, to me is the scariest thing about microstock. At any time, any company can really do pretty much anything they want, and there is not a whole hell of a lot that we can do about it.

Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: RT on February 19, 2008, 12:38
If they did go to a 12 month commitment I would leave, I'm considering it anyway as they just don't have the sales there for me, plus the inconsistent reviewing and the 'make it up as you go along' copyright laws that they have.
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: jsnover on February 19, 2008, 15:31

...so what choice would we have other than to go along with it?

We do have choices - we may not like any of them, but we do have them :)

When DT proposed the 12 month lock a number of us complained - some of us stopped uploading temporarily. We didn't get what we wanted - no time restrictions - but we did get a compromise.

Obviously you can pull your portfolio, but I'm not sure why you'd do that over a time commitment. The stuff already up there has started aging (under the old 6 month rule), and you could halt new uploads while you decide.

My portfolio at DT has now "fully aged" - I still haven't decided what to do about the site  (which has declined for me, and did so even before I stopped uploading) - so I can walk whenever I want. However even as a tier 2 earner it's still earning so I'm still there.

The other day I got a big batch (7 or 8) subscription sales all together - I have to assume the same person. Even though they were 30 cents, versus the 21 cents from the partner sales, it was still pretty depressing to see.
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: madelaide on February 19, 2008, 19:19
If they did go to a 12 month commitment I would leave, I'm considering it anyway as they just don't have the sales there for me,

Only if you don't get sales I understand this decision.  In case they changed the minimum time and you don't agree with it, all you should do is to stop uploading. All you already had there would de tied to the old rules and you would still make money there.

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: RT on February 19, 2008, 19:24
However even as a tier 2 earner it's still earning so I'm still there.


I wasn't aware that DT had a tier structure, according to the T&C's everybody gets 50%.
Have I missed something somewhere, or are you referring to individual images that cost more once they pass a certain number of downloads.
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: CofkoCof on February 19, 2008, 19:30
0-9 dl makes image Level 1 (highest res costs 4 credits)
10-24 makes image Level 2 (highest res costs 5 credits)

It goes up to level 5 and cost of 8 credits.

Didn't find anything about tier structure.
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: mwp1969 on February 20, 2008, 16:03
If I understand it correctly commissions at DT are tied to the level of the images. The higher the level the higher the cost (for the buyer) and the higher the commission for the contributor ...

Mark
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: jsnover on February 20, 2008, 18:16
However even as a tier 2 earner it's still earning so I'm still there.


I wasn't aware that DT had a tier structure,

Sorry about the confusion. I didn't mean to imply that there were multiple commission structures.

I was referring to the rough groupings of sites by total monthly earnings (for me). Dreamstime used to be in the top tier - always number 3 each month - and last year started dropping like a rock relative to other sites (again for me; I know other's experiences haven't mirrored this).

I think of sites in 3 tiers - the ones who make the bulk of the money at the top, the middle tier who consistently do OK but make much less money each, and the bottom dwellers who just don't sell much (like Canstock, which I recently dropped and Albumo, which hasn't lived up to its initial promise)
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: travelstock on February 21, 2008, 14:11
Yeah well I've put uploads on hold due to the 6mth restriction - I want the option of going exclusive in 6mths. If I decide at that time not to go, I can always upload some big batches later on.
Title: Re: DT going to 12-month minimum commitment??
Post by: sharply_done on February 21, 2008, 14:33
...
I think of sites in 3 tiers - the ones who make the bulk of the money at the top, the middle tier who consistently do OK but make much less money each, and the bottom dwellers who just don't sell much ...
I think of my sites in this way, too: top tier sites earn 20%+ of my total income, middle tier 5-20%, and bottom tier under 5%. Managing my top and middle tier portfolios is always my top priority.