Just curious--if you are NOT exclusive to anyone, do people here upload the same images to more than one site, say the same image of a dog and tree to istock, SS, AND adobe? Is there a reason NOT to do that?

Just curious--if you are NOT exclusive to anyone, do people here upload the same images to more than one site, say the same image of a dog and tree to istock, SS, AND adobe? Is there a reason NOT to do that?

Aside from personal choice, and positive or negative expectations with individual agencies, different images sell better or worse at different places. I sell more illustrations on AdobeStock, more Editorial on SS (only because they take them) and a different mix on iStock. An illustration with 50 DLs on FT has one on SS. A photo for Fall this year was rejected by FT, sold first day on SS. One shot with 232 DLs in six years on SS has no sales on FT in two years. Many best sellers are the same on all three, to different levels.

Since I only supply the top three, I'll add why. If I support the price cutters and sites that are a waste of my time, my opinion, then I'm competing for price, against myself. That doesn't make much sense to cut my own profits by selling on the cheap sites. If someone submits to 20 or more sites, that's not an issue any longer. Now you are working on exposure and volume, not value. My time is worth more to me than some cheap commission from some sketchy business of questionable standards.

I don't do much video, that's a whole different question. Select the best places that pay best and get downloads.

Everyone needs to decide on their own, how to work their business. I choose to not sell out or support the bottom feeders. I don't need their money that much. Others may have more desperate needs and will scuffle for nickles and dimes from places that are not easy to trust, with undisclosed partner sites. I want to know who's selling my work! (and that every sale is at a standard price and reported)

Something else to keep in mind is that all agencies go through cycles. For example, until recently SS used to be a stable and consistent performer for me but has been in serious decline as of late. However both FT (Adobe) and IS have more than taken up the slack - keeping my overall earnings stable and in some cases on the rise. There's a lot of volatility in the industry at the moment so putting all of your eggs in one basket seems riskier than ever. Having said that though I am testing some limited image exclusivity with FT and it seems to be working out. Too early to tell for sure.