MicrostockGroup

Agency Based Discussion => General - Top Sites => Topic started by: xerith on July 27, 2013, 04:44

Title: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: xerith on July 27, 2013, 04:44
Just curious.
Thanks.
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: Beppe Grillo on July 27, 2013, 05:04


I am one of these

Make a poll…
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: luissantos84 on July 27, 2013, 05:09
SS with over 35k (April 2013 - http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226078 (http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226078))
IS with over 78k (June 2012 - http://www.microstocktime.com/ (http://www.microstocktime.com/))
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: picture5469 on July 27, 2013, 05:22
IS may have more, but I bet the % of active contributors at SS is higher
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: shudderstok on July 27, 2013, 05:37
i would never contribute to SS. i value my work far too much to sell it for such a pittance.
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: luissantos84 on July 27, 2013, 05:41
i would never contribute to SS. i value my work far too much to sell it for such a pittance.

pittance in my dictionary is having 12.2$ at iStock this month (not even half day at SS)
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: loop on July 27, 2013, 05:44
So if you got about 30 a day at SS, depending on your portfolio size, can look as very low. Certainly, I got much more at Istock.
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: luissantos84 on July 27, 2013, 05:50
So if you got about 30 a day at SS, depending on your portfolio size, can look as very low. Certainly, I got much more at Istock.

we aren't comparing incomes here which is in fact impossible due to many variables, that is my case, you have other scenario and some perhaps a better deal like Yuri

forgot to say, congratulations to you ;D
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: loop on July 27, 2013, 05:53
No, I don't have a better deal. I wish I had it.
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: luissantos84 on July 27, 2013, 05:54
No, I don't have a better deal. I wish I had it.

guess you aren't as professional as Yuri ;)
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: Beppe Grillo on July 27, 2013, 06:02
^
^
^
I did not understood that the tittle of the thread was  "Mine is bigger than your"
 ;D
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: shudderstok on July 27, 2013, 06:23
i would never contribute to SS. i value my work far too much to sell it for such a pittance.

pittance in my dictionary is having 12.2$ at iStock this month (not even half day at SS)

i guess we have two different dictionaries, $12.20 is a couple of dollars more than my average royalty per download at IS by a few bucks ($3-$4). my last small S+ paid $11.00 so there is no way in hell i will sell that image 28 times at SS at XXXL size to make up the difference. even a small image on the main collection pays around $1.50, that would still mean i would have to sell it on SS 3-4 times. no thanks.
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: luissantos84 on July 27, 2013, 06:33
i would never contribute to SS. i value my work far too much to sell it for such a pittance.

pittance in my dictionary is having 12.2$ at iStock this month (not even half day at SS)

i guess we have two different dictionaries, $12.20 is a couple of dollars more than my average royalty per download at IS by a few bucks ($3-$4). my last small S+ paid $11.00 so there is no way in hell i will sell that image 28 times at SS at XXXL size to make up the difference. even a small image on the main collection pays around $1.50, that would still mean i would have to sell it on SS 3-4 times. no thanks.

no need to explain me, we are talking about iStock, I wouldn't expect less
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: fieldsphotos on July 27, 2013, 08:36
i would never contribute to SS. i value my work far too much to sell it for such a pittance.

pittance in my dictionary is having 12.2$ at iStock this month (not even half day at SS)

i guess we have two different dictionaries, $12.20 is a couple of dollars more than my average royalty per download at IS by a few bucks ($3-$4). my last small S+ paid $11.00 so there is no way in hell i will sell that image 28 times at SS at XXXL size to make up the difference. even a small image on the main collection pays around $1.50, that would still mean i would have to sell it on SS 3-4 times. no thanks.


Ah, this old argument again.   While it must be nice to have an established port at IS as an exclusive, that is no longer an option for most of us.   I do know that my new files had stopped selling at IS back before I pulled my port.   And as an indie I was selling at TS which is a worse rate than SS and I hadn't gotten an EL in years.      However, at SS with the same port, my new stuff sells, I get ELs and $2.84 sales regularly and I make 4X more money.

It is true you would probably have a hard time recreating that performance at SS.   But remember that for many of us without that established best match position at IS, IS is a very low performer.   If you are starting microstock today as a newbie, IS is painfully difficult to sell images at.   And with the deck stacked against new images to gain best match position since new files don't sell (except at TS), newbies will have a very hard time even making it to the "become an exclusive" bar let alone crawling up the RC ladder. 

So, it is pretty irrelevant what YOU make at IS, since I believe it is no longer possible for someone starting out to recreate that same success there.   Just consider yourself lucky.
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: topol on July 27, 2013, 08:44
i would never contribute to SS. i value my work far too much to sell it for such a pittance.

pittance in my dictionary is having 12.2$ at iStock this month (not even half day at SS)

i guess we have two different dictionaries, $12.20 is a couple of dollars more than my average royalty per download at IS by a few bucks ($3-$4). my last small S+ paid $11.00 so there is no way in hell i will sell that image 28 times at SS at XXXL size to make up the difference. even a small image on the main collection pays around $1.50, that would still mean i would have to sell it on SS 3-4 times. no thanks.

IStock pays the lowest of low comissions, 7-9 cents. Also he obviously meant having a fraction of his SS income on IS with same / similar port.
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: xerith on July 27, 2013, 13:26
SS with over 35k (April 2013 - [url]http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226078[/url] ([url]http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/226078[/url]))
IS with over 78k (June 2012 - [url]http://www.microstocktime.com/[/url] ([url]http://www.microstocktime.com/[/url]))


Thanks for the answer. :)
Title: Re: How many contributors are there at present in iStockphoto and Shutterstock?
Post by: shudderstok on July 27, 2013, 17:03
i would never contribute to SS. i value my work far too much to sell it for such a pittance.

pittance in my dictionary is having 12.2$ at iStock this month (not even half day at SS)

i guess we have two different dictionaries, $12.20 is a couple of dollars more than my average royalty per download at IS by a few bucks ($3-$4). my last small S+ paid $11.00 so there is no way in hell i will sell that image 28 times at SS at XXXL size to make up the difference. even a small image on the main collection pays around $1.50, that would still mean i would have to sell it on SS 3-4 times. no thanks.


Ah, this old argument again.   While it must be nice to have an established port at IS as an exclusive, that is no longer an option for most of us.   I do know that my new files had stopped selling at IS back before I pulled my port.   And as an indie I was selling at TS which is a worse rate than SS and I hadn't gotten an EL in years.      However, at SS with the same port, my new stuff sells, I get ELs and $2.84 sales regularly and I make 4X more money.

It is true you would probably have a hard time recreating that performance at SS.   But remember that for many of us without that established best match position at IS, IS is a very low performer.   If you are starting microstock today as a newbie, IS is painfully difficult to sell images at.   And with the deck stacked against new images to gain best match position since new files don't sell (except at TS), newbies will have a very hard time even making it to the "become an exclusive" bar let alone crawling up the RC ladder. 

So, it is pretty irrelevant what YOU make at IS, since I believe it is no longer possible for someone starting out to recreate that same success there.   Just consider yourself lucky.

sarah, here is a clue, you have only 4 shots on IS so you will never get established. also on DT and SS you have only 250 + or -, and have been active since 2007. if you want to make a living shooting stock, you have  work it a bit more than that.