Author Topic: New DT 2012 Pricing Structure (Read 38350 times)

stockastic · « **Reply #100 on:** April 28, 2012, 12:44 »

"We are excited to announce that we are - in a very complicated, back-handed, highly obfuscated way - cutting your commissions once again, while raising prices to buyers. Because we can. We'd like to thank our contributors for continuing to give us even more photos, of even higher quality, in spite of everything."

Microstock Posts · « **Reply #101 on:** April 28, 2012, 12:59 »

Quote from: luissantos84 on April 28, 2012, 11:01

Quote from: jsnover on April 28, 2012, 10:29
I'm sorry, but anyone who is exclusive at DT just isn't interested in making money out of their stock portfolio

so true..

Agree too.

I hate dt's spin of how contributors will benefit from their moves. Each move gives a greater share to them. Remember how they explained about why contributors now pay towards referrals, something like it was always supposed to be like that, but we've just got around to implementing it. Give me a break! Yesterday, I took the dt ad. banner off my site after more than 3 years, time to stop supporting guys like these.

gbalex · « **Reply #102 on:** April 28, 2012, 15:21 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on April 28, 2012, 06:38

Quote from: stockmarketer on April 28, 2012, 05:32
Have you seen any sales reported since yesterday (Fri) afternoon?

No.

As for the general issue of sites lining their pockets, I'm afraid we are very much in the position of farmers supplying the huge supermarket chains: the producer no longer has any clout and the distributor takes advantage of that. It's capitalism.

Exactly why we are seeing more and more farmers markets, co ops and farmers selling product direct to the public from their own web sites.

Mantis · « **Reply #103 on:** April 28, 2012, 16:10 »

Quote from: luissantos84 on April 28, 2012, 11:01

Quote from: jsnover on April 28, 2012, 10:29
I'm sorry, but anyone who is exclusive at DT just isn't interested in making money out of their stock portfolio

so true..

+1. I have read those DT blog posts by DT exclusives about the joys of exclusivity. That's obviously cool with them and I don't mind them not coming to SS or the other micros either. There's enough stiff competition as it is.

Anita Potter · « **Reply #104 on:** April 28, 2012, 17:51 »

So are they only interested in keeping the exclusives happy and tossing the rest of us to the wolves or what?

Microstock Posts · « **Reply #105 on:** April 28, 2012, 18:12 »

Quote from: Anita Potter on April 28, 2012, 17:51

So are they only interested in keeping the exclusives happy and tossing the rest of us to the wolves or what?

That's the direction that istock took. There's just too many of us for them to care what we think, so long as they don't upset their exclusives, that's all that matters. I don't know how important it is for buyers to buy from sites with an exclusive collection. I mean what difference does it make, even exclusive images are bought multiple times and the images are no better or worse than non exclusive material.

lisafx · « **Reply #106 on:** April 28, 2012, 18:31 »

Quote from: Anita Potter on April 28, 2012, 17:51

So are they only interested in keeping the exclusives happy and tossing the rest of us to the wolves or what?

I don't think Dreamstime is tossing anyone to the wolves. I have never seen the type of favoritism toward exclusives and disregard for independents there that seems to be common now on Istock.

What is the percentage of exclusives on DT? I think only a tiny fraction. They rely on the rest of us for the vast majority of their library. Plus they allow exclusive images, so if you want to enjoy some of the benefits of exclusivity there, you can try adding a few.

It remains to be seen how we will all be affected incomewise by these changes. I don't think it's time to sound the alarm bells just yet.

Anita Potter · « **Reply #107 on:** April 28, 2012, 18:34 »

They probably don't care what the non-exclusives are saying about things because in the grand scheme we don't matter eventhough there are more of us non-exclusives than exclusives. And then they get offended with non ones are asking for a raise which I believe shouldn't have been sneered at or answered the way that it was. Snarky and uncalled for.

cthoman · « **Reply #108 on:** April 28, 2012, 18:56 »

Quote from: Anita Potter on April 28, 2012, 17:51

So are they only interested in keeping the exclusives happy and tossing the rest of us to the wolves or what?

I don't feel tossed to the wolves either. I actually think this change is an improvement. It's still down from getting the flat 50% we used to get, but it's better than the old level system.

Anita Potter · « **Reply #109 on:** April 28, 2012, 19:28 »

I think I'm just having a hard time understanding the level changes and pricing changes or whatever changes. You could throw all the charts at me you like but none of it makes sense.

stockastic · « **Reply #110 on:** April 28, 2012, 19:35 »

Quote from: Anita Potter on April 28, 2012, 19:28

I think I'm just having a hard time understanding the level changes and pricing changes or whatever changes. You could throw all the charts at me you like but none of it makes sense.

I have to believe that's in some sense deliberate. These guys are making their pricing and commission structures mind-bogglingly complicated, in part to break down the commission model itself, and destroy any sense we might have of what we're "entitled" to as payment.

I have to believe that some of IS's customers finally said - forget it, we don't have time to figure out this system, time to shop elsewhere for that reason alone. DT is not far behind. To be honest, I didn't even try to understand the OP or the new scheme. These days I just assume that the bottom line to any "exciting changes" is that payments to photographers go down.

grafix04 · « **Reply #111 on:** April 28, 2012, 19:39 »

As a non-exclusive, I don't feel like my throat's been cut from this move. Overall, the changes are pretty fair. For consistency, and to keep us happy, what I'd like to see is a new level 6 introduced, maybe on downloads greater than 100.

I'm sitting on the fence about this change, not so much because of the commission changes, but moreso because of the price rises. I'm concerned about the effect it will have on buyers. On the other hand, if buyers don't bolt to other sites, this could have a positive effect on the entire microstock industry if other agents take advantage of the move and raise their own prices. We need to raise prices to keep up with inflation.

I'm not sure how things will play out so I don't just yet know whether I should be congratulating DT on making such a strong bold move, or whether I should be worried about it. Only time will tell.

I also don't believe DT treats non-exclusives any worse than they do exclusives, however the exclusives in the forum sicken me. It's difficult to debate anything there because exclusives will pounce on any crappy issue and make it smell like roses. It's beyond frustrating.

pancaketom · « **Reply #112 on:** April 28, 2012, 20:56 »

This move certainly isn't as harmful to contributors as the first huge commission drop. In fact overall it might still be positive even if it is more positive for DT.

Or maybe it will push buyers to subs and to other sites. They shouldn't have dropped the level 5 commissions though, or they should have at least put in a level 5.5 where level 5 used to be with 50% commissions.

My sales at DT tend to be very bimodal with sales in the .35 and under level and sales in the 3$ and up level. Sure there are sales in between, but it seems most of them are either really low or fairly high. I expect this move to make things even more so.

I also agree that DT hasn't really stabbed independents in the eye like IS does, but they do appear to be slowly moving that direction. I also agree that some of the stuff in their forum is pretty nauseating.

If customers don't appear to be leaving then maybe it will be time for a round of price raises at all the sites - unfortunately probably coinciding with a round of commission drops, but I hope not.

rubyroo · « **Reply #113 on:** April 29, 2012, 04:15 »

I'm just going to do what I usually do and wait to see how things unfold over time. The initial test phase seems to have brought in some extra earnings, so I'm not unhappy about it at this stage.

jatrax · « **Reply #114 on:** April 29, 2012, 13:35 »

Don't know if it is just coincidence but yesterday I sold 8 images, 6 had never sold before and the other 2 had only sold once. Sort of felt like someone stirred the pot and my stuff floated up out of oblivion.

Mantis · « **Reply #115 on:** April 29, 2012, 17:28 »

Quote from: jatrax on April 29, 2012, 13:35

Don't know if it is just coincidence but yesterday I sold 8 images, 6 had never sold before and the other 2 had only sold once. Sort of felt like someone stirred the pot and my stuff floated up out of oblivion.

Same here. Old stuff selling. Got a $5.80 DL today on a shot that is 5 years old and didn't sell much.

stockmarketer · « **Reply #116 on:** April 30, 2012, 06:29 »

I think the theory that the change will hurt sellers with lots of level 5 images is holding true. It looks like the DT shift is proving to be a disaster for me. For the last few days, DT has been in the basement compared to other sites... I've been doing better at 123 and CanStockPhoto.

How have the DT big selling contributors been faring?

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #117 on:** April 30, 2012, 07:14 »

Quote from: stockmarketer on April 30, 2012, 06:29

I think the theory that the change will hurt sellers with lots of level 5 images is holding true. It looks like the DT shift is proving to be a disaster for me. For the last few days, DT has been in the basement compared to other sites... I've been doing better at 123 and CanStockPhoto.

How have the DT big selling contributors been faring?

It's been dreadful for me. No sales from Friday afternoon to Sunday morning and not much since. Still. it is the weekend and the May Day holiday so perhaps things will pick up over the next few days.

lisafx · « **Reply #118 on:** April 30, 2012, 07:40 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on April 30, 2012, 07:14

Still. it is the weekend and the May Day holiday so perhaps things will pick up over the next few days.

Agree ^^. This was only implemented on Friday afternoon of a European holiday weekend. Way too soon to draw any conclusions.

I had a slow to non-existent Friday afternoon, but weekend sales (such as they are) appeared normal.

By the end of this week we should have a much better picture of how sales and incomes are affected.

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #119 on:** April 30, 2012, 11:37 »

I don't think it is related to pricing changes BUT ::
I'm having a BMBF at DT.

Lisa is right -- too early to start evaluating.

OH-- BMBF = Best Month By Far.

stockmarketer · « **Reply #120 on:** April 30, 2012, 11:49 »

I'm hoping everyone's right -- that it's too early to start evaluating -- but it sure does seem that those with smaller ports and typically smaller sales (and fewer level 4 and 5 pics) are reporting that the past several days have been great... while those who normally have high sales (lots of level 4 and 5 pics) are saying it's a catastrophe.

Yes, we're in a holiday period for Europe, but that should be impacting everyone equally, and it doesn't appear to be.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #121 on:** April 30, 2012, 12:00 »

Quote from: stockmarketer on April 30, 2012, 11:49

Yes, we're in a holiday period for Europe, but that should be impacting everyone equally, and it doesn't appear to be.

what holiday?

gostwyck · « **Reply #122 on:** April 30, 2012, 12:06 »

Quote from: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 12:00

Quote from: stockmarketer on April 30, 2012, 11:49
Yes, we're in a holiday period for Europe, but that should be impacting everyone equally, and it doesn't appear to be.

what holiday?

I was thinking the same. In the UK the May holiday is next weekend.

luissantos84 · « **Reply #123 on:** April 30, 2012, 12:18 »

Quote from: gostwyck on April 30, 2012, 12:06

Quote from: luissantos84 on April 30, 2012, 12:00
Quote from: stockmarketer on April 30, 2012, 11:49
Yes, we're in a holiday period for Europe, but that should be impacting everyone equally, and it doesn't appear to be.

what holiday?

I was thinking the same. In the UK the May holiday is next weekend.

but the fact is that I am having a very crappy monday all around..

stockmarketer · « **Reply #124 on:** April 30, 2012, 12:30 »

I think it's been mentioned in multiple threads that the May Day holiday weekend was this past weekend... now we see that isn't the case... sorry to have been one of the ones perpetuating that myth.

Anyway, hearing that it wasn't a holiday weekend is very depressing. At least it could have explained some crappy days of sales, particularly with the DT change.

So next weekend will be even worse! Yay!

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Author Topic: New DT 2012 Pricing Structure (Read 38350 times)

stockastic

Microstock Posts

gbalex

Mantis

Anita Potter

Microstock Posts

lisafx

Anita Potter

cthoman

Anita Potter

stockastic

grafix04

pancaketom

rubyroo

jatrax

Mantis

stockmarketer

BaldricksTrousers

lisafx

WarrenPrice

stockmarketer

luissantos84

gostwyck

luissantos84

stockmarketer

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