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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: tab62 on January 08, 2013, 10:54

Title: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: tab62 on January 08, 2013, 10:54
Probably just me but I am experiencing very low sales- only 3 sales so far and it's the 8th of the month already. Usually I average 40 to 50 sales a month and I upload (accepted images) 50 to 100 images a month.  I wonder since I am only a level 2 that they don't promote my pics compared to the level 4 or 5?  Any thoughts?

Thanks



Tom
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: Delve on January 08, 2013, 11:05
My sales so far are off by about 50% too. Level 2 contributor as well. Nothing to do but wait and see.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: pancaketom on January 08, 2013, 11:16
Actually it would be in their interest to promote level 1 and 2 images because they get a higher percent of each sale. Perhaps they are getting a bit of blowback from their greed - remember there is a connection between many microstock producers and buyers. Sales there were promising in the first half of 2012 but the second half of 2012 was pretty weak for me, so maybe that trend continues.

On most sites things haven't picked up after the holiday slump for me, so maybe they will pick up. Hopefully their buyers will go somewhere that I still get 50% of every sale though.

ETA - I have only 4 sales there so far with a whopping RPI of .304
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: Megastock on January 08, 2013, 11:48
I knew commissions on 123RF were dropping, but had no idea how much until this morning (scroll to the right):

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-4tzgi_v8A6Y/UOxM1Og454I/AAAAAAAAJgc/GDKLRdxzW7s/s1600/123rfnewlow.JPG)

!!!  According to my stats someone bought a sub, and returned a sub, but it totals to $0.00 in the downloads section - not $0.07 to the negative!  My guess is that the refund was for a sub purchased in Dec at the higher price...  Still - looks pretty funny :)

As for sales, I'm already at more than 50% compared to last January, and about 1/4 of December - so sales volume seems similar to me so far.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: heywoody on January 08, 2013, 12:02
DLs actually seem better than normal this month and ahead of everyone except SS - CANNOT say the same for income which is pathetic (level 1 and less than a year).  Definitely not uploading anything else and still not decided whether I pull what's already there.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: Poncke on January 08, 2013, 12:40
6 sales so far which is normal for me. I only have 25 sales a month on SS. And I cannot for the life of me figure out why this is. I grew my port there from 0 to 600 images, and I always had 20-25 sales a month. From the start. Whatever, dropping them after payout.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: sc on January 08, 2013, 15:42
DLs actually seem better than normal this month and ahead of everyone except SS - CANNOT say the same for income which is pathetic (level 1 and less than a year).  Definitely not uploading anything else and still not decided whether I pull what's already there.

I had two subs returned and two sales and have a -.07 balance for the day too.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: tab62 on January 08, 2013, 17:17
I guess I am doing well thus not feeling as bad with my 3 sales for $1.11 positive  :)


Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: alex123rf on January 09, 2013, 09:15
Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to clarify that we will not rig the search results in favor of 'earning more', the same metrics/algorithms will still be used, please use your fave list to the maximum to gain more exposure for your portfolio.

Thank you very much,

Alex.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: Monty-m-gue on January 09, 2013, 09:44
...but you'll "rig" the commissions to earn more...?
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: Microstock Posts on January 09, 2013, 10:24
...but you'll "rig" the commissions to earn more...?

that's hilarious. Can't stop laughing.  ;D
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: dirkr on January 09, 2013, 10:45
Hi Everyone,

Just wanted to clarify that we will not rig the search results in favor of 'earning more', the same metrics/algorithms will still be used, please use your fave list to the maximum to gain more exposure for your portfolio.

Thank you very much,

Alex.

For how long will that position stand?

From your first announcement of your new royalty structure in Dec 2011:

Quote
Change in Commission Structure for 123RF.com Contributors

We will be changing our Contributors’ commission structure effective January 1, 2012.

Here’s what you need to know:

    All existing contributors shall continue to enjoy the current 50% nett commission share ONLY IF they fulfill ALL of the following criteria.:
        Have registered with 123RF.com before January 1, 2012.
        Have at least 150 accepted images in their respective portfolios by January 1, 2012.
        Have had a minimum of 10 paid downloads by January 1, 2012.
    All new contributors who start submitting images to 123RF.com AFTER January 1, 2012 OR do not meet all the criteria above shall be enrolled under the new commission structure.

More details on the new commission structure shall be announced closer to the implementation date.


It took a few months until that was changed (guess what, not to the benefit of many contributors...).

So taking into account the reliability of your past statements, how reliable are your current ones?

Anyway, still not decided if I will delete my port after the next payout. Certainly I'm not going to upload anything new until you revise that royalty scheme.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: tab62 on January 09, 2013, 11:04
with my drop in sales I will be a level one soon thus feeling less impact on my $$ overall  :(


Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: Dan on January 09, 2013, 14:11
     With  a  very  small   port  I  got  my  first  sale  of  2013  at  123rf.  Yeah  a  small  pricr  of  .22.    But  i'm  hoping  that  2013  will  be  a  turning  point  for  me.
     I'm  striving  to  increase  the  no.  of  pics  i  hve  and  hoping  that  the  small  .22  will  be  the  start  of  better  things  to  come.
  Good  luck  to  all  in  2013.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: ksponsler on January 10, 2013, 21:21
Sales there are a little slower lately, but they seem to be a bit slower on all the sites, at least slower than they were in November and December. But they're already picking up a bit this week over last week. (Except BigStock; they've gone comatose. :P)
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: tab62 on January 10, 2013, 22:23
Yeah, I sold one pic for .25 cents on 123rf thus things are picking up fast at least for me...
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: MisterElements on January 10, 2013, 22:53
 For me 123rf has not had any slow down over the holidays. Solid sales in fact even getting close to top earner a couple days. I have been uploading double my normal amount so that may be offsetting my results. With fast review times and bumps I'm very happy with 123rf. My rate was cut very little so I did not feel the pain as much as some.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: luissantos84 on January 10, 2013, 22:59
123RF is having again a BUG in reporting the sales, my balance just dropped and there were no refunds, how can we trust an agency this way?
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: klsbear on January 11, 2013, 00:10
123RF is having again a BUG in reporting the sales, my balance just dropped and there were no refunds, how can we trust an agency this way?

Yesterday I had a refund and they had inconsistent totals on the monthly and daily pages and the downloads page.  The did correct it in less than 24 hours but now I see that my balance has dropped too.  In looking at the daily download page it seems that they have dropped me back to level one commissions when I should be at level two.

Following again in the IS tradition - institute the RC system, drop commissions, then post wrong commissions for sales repeatedly.  Not much incentive to upload right now.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: Delve on January 11, 2013, 00:46
@luissantos84  - I noticed the same thing too. I'm marked as a level 2 contributor but they changed all of commissions for January from level 2 to 1 so account balance just dropped a bunch. Always nice to kick us when we're down.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: sgoodwin4813 on January 11, 2013, 01:15
I just sent them a query about the same thing - very annoying.  Hopefully they will fix it soon.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: Anyka on January 11, 2013, 02:00
123RF is having again a BUG in reporting the sales, my balance just dropped and there were no refunds, how can we trust an agency this way?

I just had exactly the same experience.  My earnings balance dropped with about 30 dollars, and the refunds column says "zero".   No e-mail explaining this, just minus 30 without any explanation.
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: Anyka on January 11, 2013, 06:13
The mysteriously disappeared 30 dollars are back again now ...
Title: Re: 123RF- Low Sales
Post by: nicku on January 11, 2013, 08:04
...but you'll "rig" the commissions to earn more...?

+1   8)