Hi guys,
I haven't really understood this so if anyone can give me an explanation, so here it is:

I want to reach 50 photos on DT and get exclusivity, so...do I need all of them to be exclusive to get it or they just want me to have 50 pics uploaded?

I supose the answer is very simple and even hilarious for you, but I need to know so, thank you for all answers

ok, I am confused now.  Do you want to be exclusive to DT? If so, please shift your eyes to the right part of your monitor and notice that DT is a Middle Tier company not a top Tier thus why would you want to be exclusive to them? Just upload 50 images to them but don't mark the box exclusive or agree to being exclusive if you don't want to be- still confused now?

Ok, now I'm really confused, because anybody who uses the chart on the right to base their business decisions is making their first huge mistake.
Going exclusive at DT is fine if that's what you choose to do.
I'm exclusive, I have a 90% + approval rating and I rank pretty high up on the pages� I don't have a huge portfolio but my 700 images make me about $700 a month�
I upload to one site, almost everything I send is approved and I'm treated like gold.

To answer the OP's question, they just want you to have 50 pics uploaded� once you request exclusivity they will convert all your images to exclusive content�

And, Spray and Pray, for the longest time I've left these sort of remarks alone, not ever bothered to comment on them, but your ignorance put me over the top.

Quote from: KingFoot on November 19, 2013, 18:12

Quote from: Spray and Pray on November 19, 2013, 17:21

ok, I am confused now.  Do you want to be exclusive to DT? If so, please shift your eyes to the right part of your monitor and notice that DT is a Middle Tier company not a top Tier thus why would you want to be exclusive to them? Just upload 50 images to them but don't mark the box exclusive or agree to being exclusive if you don't want to be- still confused now?

Ok, now I'm really confused, because anybody who uses the chart on the right to base their business decisions is making their first huge mistake.
Going exclusive at DT is fine if that's what you choose to do.
I'm exclusive, I have a 90% + approval rating and I rank pretty high up on the pages� I don't have a huge portfolio but my 700 images make me about $700 a month�
I upload to one site, almost everything I send is approved and I'm treated like gold.

To answer the OP's question, they just want you to have 50 pics uploaded� once you request exclusivity they will convert all your images to exclusive content�

And, Spray and Pray, for the longest time I've left these sort of remarks alone, not ever bothered to comment on them, but your ignorance put me over the top.

Fair enough, but you are an illustrator. The game is different for photographers, and I would agree that becoming exclusive at Dreamstime -- especially when you are so new to the game that you have no idea what you are doing -- is a bad idea.

Agree. I guess it depends on what the op's goals are. If it's to maximize income then bad move. I think the best way to learn about the business is to at least target the top tiers sites, learn as much as possible and grow.

It totally depends on what he wants...

You guys shouldn't make the assumption thought that illustrators are so different though... I mean, good is good and bad is bad right? When I wasn't exclusive, 350 images ago, I was spending a great deal of time uploading to SS, DT, FT, and DP (Wouldn't go near iStock)... so 350 images and my total sales in a month were (drum role please)... less than $150...
go figure...

Maybe then Dreamstime (who I really like, by the way) is doing something mind-bogglingly stupid: Artificially funneling so much business towards their exclusives (who are their most expensive contributors) that very little remains for the independents. As a result, judging by their meager independent earnings, said independents would never want to go exclusive.

Is that really what's happening? Because if it is, I am considering going Dreamstime exclusive, too! (Did I mention that I like them?) 

Well, these days I'd go exclusive with DT before FT and even IS.  That said, it is probably a bad idea for most people even if there are exceptions.  Exclusivity is fine when it is an informed decision and the only way that happens it to spread your wares around and see what works and then make the call.  Otherwise it's like marrying your first girlfriend, maybe the right decision but you'll actually never know.

It just seems to me that with the constant changes (evolution) in microstock (commission cuts, search changes, etc.) it's much harder to make any money as an exclusive by in large.  Yes, a hand full do very well as exclusives, but to me to do well as an exclusive you have to be more of a niche photographer or at least VERY VERY good at what you do.  Otherwise it just doesn't make sense to me to go exclusive anywhere, especially DT where they are about #3 or #4 on my income list. So I go exclusive on DT and go from $150 a month to $300? That's only 10X less than I make now.