MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: stockmarketer on August 04, 2012, 17:07
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And I thought July was bad.
August 1 thru 4 have been TERRIBLE.
Today, Saturday the 4th, may end up being the worst day of the year.
Looking back at my data, it does appear that the first half of August is typically pretty low, and things start picking up in the second half.
But for the first time ever, I'm tracking behind year-ago levels. My July numbers ended up about 40% better than year-ago. But for the first four days of August, I'm trailing year-ago.
Is your August terrible, too? I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who had good sales in July (compared to 2011).
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Way too early for me, but it seems fairly normal so far.
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A bit early, don't you think ?
Patience and optimism are good qualities :)
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A bit early, don't you think ?
Patience and optimism are good qualities :)
I hope you're right, that I'm too quickly concluding that the sky is falling. But I've seen chunks of sky falling on my lawn for four days straight. At what number of days is it "real"?
One day of curious data can be an anomaly.
Then one or two more days of similar data can be a coincidence.
But a fourth day of similar data suggests there is an actual trend under way.
I'm seeing a definite trend, particularly when this period is compared to the same period a year ago (first Wed, Thur, Fri and Sat of Aug.)
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July was BME for me, but August has started very slowly. Of course it's a bit early to tell, but I sure hope things will pick up soon...
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Dude chill -- it has only been four days and one was a weekend. ::)
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August 1 thru 4? I think time periods of a few days are meaningless. I only check my total earnings at the end of each month now. Worrying about every few isn't worth it. There's so many external factors that could affect sales. I don't think many people in the UK are doing much work now, far too busy watching the Olympics. The last few weeks of August will probably make up for it.
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A few days means nothing. A few months? Now that's a trend worth noting! "The sky is falling" is what's happening to me at Fotolia, where my income has dropped an unprecedented 78% since the first of the year. :o For almost 7 straight years, I'd been earning multiple payouts per month. The last two months, I've made one. When stuff like that starts happening, that's when you start worrying about negative trends.
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August 1 thru 4? I think time periods of a few days are meaningless. I only check my total earnings at the end of each month now. Worrying about every few isn't worth it. There's so many external factors that could affect sales. I don't think many people in the UK are doing much work now, far too busy watching the Olympics. The last few weeks of August will probably make up for it.
And it's got the biggest viewing figures in the US for any non US Olympics since the one in Montreal in the 70s, so bound to have an impact on sales over the weekend.
Keeping my fingers crossed for you for the rest of the month, I'm sure it will pick up.
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Dude chill -- it has only been four days and one was a weekend. ::)
+1
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My August looks good so far. And what does that tell you about August? Absolutely nothing. :)
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And I thought July was bad.
August 1 thru 4 have been TERRIBLE.
Today, Saturday the 4th, may end up being the worst day of the year.
Looking back at my data, it does appear that the first half of August is typically pretty low, and things start picking up in the second half.
But for the first time ever, I'm tracking behind year-ago levels. My July numbers ended up about 40% better than year-ago. But for the first four days of August, I'm trailing year-ago.
Is your August terrible, too? I'm particularly interested in hearing from people who had good sales in July (compared to 2011).
I don't expect miracles to happen in August , considering that is the holidays month in most of the countries. A average month will be ok for me.
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Yes it is slow.... may be due to Olympics or whatever be the reason. But its 5-6 days only of the month. Hope for good days ahead :)
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I'm getting very nervous now. 0 on Sat; 0 on Sun, 1 yesterday, 0 today.
I'm trying to believe it's the Olympics, but I was out and about today and it seems to be 'business as usual'.
It's much worse than previous Augusts, so I don't think it's just that a lot of countries have their holidays now.
::) ::) ::)
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Well, my July was terrible, but the first week of August looks good, even without any ELs.
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Well, my July was terrible, but the first week of August looks good, even without any ELs.
Maybe ebb and flow, then. :o
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I'm getting very nervous now. 0 on Sat; 0 on Sun, 1 yesterday, 0 today.
I'm trying to believe it's the Olympics, but I was out and about today and it seems to be 'business as usual'.
It's much worse than previous Augusts, so I don't think it's just that a lot of countries have their holidays now.
::) ::) ::)
OK, I'm done chilling.
We're on day 7, and my comments from the first post on this thread are holding true. The trend is continuing. This is my first month of running behind year-ago levels. Maybe it's just me, and I've finally hit the wall. But I don't think so. I shouldn't have hit the wall on all the agencies at once, by such a wide and sudden margin. This July was up over last July by a healthy margin. But this August is down on last August by a significant amount.
Hopefully it's just the Olympics. Plus DT and FT were firing on all cylinders for me last year, and both made changes this past year that put me into the toilet. I think these are the two reasons. We'll find out soon.
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No its not, micro is finished, all washed up, dried up, the world is going under. THE END IS NIGH! brace yourselves. ;D ;D ;D
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No its not, micro is finished, all washed up, dried up, the world is going under. THE END IS NIGH! brace yourselves. ;D ;D ;D
The negative merchant :P
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I'm getting very nervous now. 0 on Sat; 0 on Sun, 1 yesterday, 0 today.
I'm trying to believe it's the Olympics, but I was out and about today and it seems to be 'business as usual'.
It's much worse than previous Augusts, so I don't think it's just that a lot of countries have their holidays now.
::) ::) ::)
Or maybe is just IS.... going down month by month.
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After 7 days I'm down 40% in my prediction for the month compared to last month (which was weak), and IS in particular is down by 70%!
Not good, even for August which statistically is generally better than July and even June to me.
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I'm getting very nervous now. 0 on Sat; 0 on Sun, 1 yesterday, 0 today.
I'm trying to believe it's the Olympics, but I was out and about today and it seems to be 'business as usual'.
It's much worse than previous Augusts, so I don't think it's just that a lot of countries have their holidays now.
::) ::) ::)
Or maybe is just IS.... going down month by month.
Clearly, that's the fear.
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I had a look at my earnings in August 2008, when the last Olympics was on. It was slightly down on July and September that year but it was still a good month overall. I only have monthly data, so I'm not sure if earnings were down in the Olympics weeks and stronger the rest of the month. I'm not going to check this month until the 31st. Still don't see the point in getting concerned about a small downturn in a summer month, that happens all the time. People also get over excited when sales are good in the autumn, there will probably be lots of posts about a great start to the month then.
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I'm getting very nervous now. 0 on Sat; 0 on Sun, 1 yesterday, 0 today.
I'm trying to believe it's the Olympics, but I was out and about today and it seems to be 'business as usual'.
It's much worse than previous Augusts, so I don't think it's just that a lot of countries have their holidays now.
::) ::) ::)
Or maybe is just IS.... going down month by month.
Clearly, that's the fear.
Nobody really knows though.
I had a bad July. Last week was pretty bad too, not disastrous, just below average.
This week looks back to slightly better than normal. (Ignoring the couple of ELs I've had which are making it look really good at the moment :))
The Summer slump looks like it's been more pronounced this year, and I don't like the seeming lack of stability with results going up and down in a seemingly random way day to day.
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Well 8 days in and the trend for me is as the OP stated. SS especially.
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yes, it seems slow on all the agencies...little activity, just happy for august 1st's sale on alamy...that could save the month...
Is the second part of the month getting any better? Historically I mean...
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Well 8 days in and the trend for me is as the OP stated. SS especially.
Yes SS, is way down, its their search change that finally did it. I had a hunch this was coming, sooner or later, so Im not surprised, it gives new contributors a chance to sell. All the other agencies are on par, especially IS, which is a surprise.
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No its not, micro is finished, all washed up, dried up, the world is going under. THE END IS NIGH! brace yourselves. ;D ;D ;D
I know you are kidding here, but lately it's feeling this way. This is the worst summer slump I've ever had by a wide margin. This is not due to complacency - I have been uploading regularly and not "resting on laurels". Reading the stats threads IS, DT, and here, it seems that it's hitting most people hard.
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No its not, micro is finished, all washed up, dried up, the world is going under. THE END IS NIGH! brace yourselves. ;D ;D ;D
I know you are kidding here, but lately it's feeling this way. This is the worst summer slump I've ever had by a wide margin. This is not due to complacency - I have been uploading regularly and not "resting on laurels". Reading the stats threads IS, DT, and here, it seems that it's hitting most people hard.
Well, yes and no, read my exclusivity post a bit further down, Im seriously thinking about it, really and for various reasons. :) see I dont believe this is the usual summer slump, I believe we are watching the future! the micros have finally messed themselves up to the point of no return, falling out with buyers/contributors all over the place and in the end you pay the price. simple as that really.
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No its not, micro is finished, all washed up, dried up, the world is going under. THE END IS NIGH! brace yourselves. ;D ;D ;D
I know you are kidding here, but lately it's feeling this way. This is the worst summer slump I've ever had by a wide margin. This is not due to complacency - I have been uploading regularly and not "resting on laurels". Reading the stats threads IS, DT, and here, it seems that it's hitting most people hard.
It's only 8 days, but I am on pace to be down 40% from last August. I'm perplexed. July 2012 was definitely a big step up from July 2011. It's like everyone's accounts ran out on July 31st. ???
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I had a great July, but now I seem to be down about 50% from July... We are all doomed! Did you hear me: DOOMED!!!
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I had a great July, but now I seem to be down about 50% from July... We are all doomed! Did you hear me: DOOMED!!!
LOL! Well, I had a crappy July and I'm down on THAT! I must be double-doomed. Is that possible? ;D
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I had a great July, but now I seem to be down about 50% from July... We are all doomed! Did you hear me: DOOMED!!!
LOL! Well, I had a crappy July and I'm down on THAT! I must be double-doomed. Is that possible? ;D
Same here, doom and gloom, only the noobs are earning fortunes. :)
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I'm starting to think there's validity to the idea that the Olympics are causing this unusually bad start to August.
Nothing else makes sense.
My data suggests, and it seems many others are repeating, that August is always higher than July. And that hasn't been the case for many of us.
Many of us reported solid gains of July 2012 vs July 2011, then alarming decreases from Aug 2012 vs Aug 2011. That makes no sense. It's even more clear when I compare RPI from this year to last year, which eliminates the factor of portfolio size... July's RPI was the same as last year, but August's RPI is down significantly.
The Olympics are running from July 27 to August 12. Looking at my daily data, it does appear that I did well in July up until the last few days, and the slide began.
I guess we will see in the days immediately after Aug 12 whether the Olympics are the big culprit.
I haven't heard a better explanation yet, but if you have ideas, I'm all ears.
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^^^ From my data I can't see any effect from the Beijing Olympics in Aug 2008. August is marginally down from July in most years for me and this year appears to be no exception.
After 8 days my data projects SS to be up, IS & DT horrifically down and FT & BigStock about the same. Long way to go though.
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I don't know about you guys, but my August 2011 was extremely good, MUCH better than July 2011 and August 2010. So if I compare this first week with August 2011, yes then I am down a lot. This could of course be the Olympics, but it could also just mean that August 2011 was extraordinary.
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Dismal so far.
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I dont know what to make of this, my August sales have been bad, and today is shaping up to be my worst weekday at SS in over 6 years. I would like to blame the Olympics, but I checked my SS sales from Aug 2008(the Olympics, per Wikipedia, ran from Aug 8th-24th in 2008), and my sales then were just peachy. ???
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its because of windows 8 and whitish backgrounds.
We need to produce a whole new set of images.
If we havent already.
;-)
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its because of windows 8 and whitish backgrounds.
We need to produce a whole new set of images.
If we havent already.
;-)
What is Windows?
July was BME, August is a bit down so far (EL's)
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Hate me if you want, but August on SS just passed Jan and Feb combined and that's not including any ELs in any of the months. I don't include ELS for sales, because they are so unpredictable.
I guess that new search that hurts artist sales and only benefits the agency isn't hurting me? :o
July was BME and I haven't uploaded anything new (that was accepted) Since April! I did get some rejections which I of course don't agree with, but sorry, into the trash bin already... "Your image is not in focus or focus is not located where we feel it works best." Yeah, right, Byte Me! LOL ::)
Very happy at SS, only thing missing is a bonus for being exclusive.
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Did I say "dismal"? I meant to say "like death warmed over, except for the warmed over part".
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Thankfully, my August is looking better than July...
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Ironic, isnt it, yesterday turned out to be a most fantastic day, 4, ELs at BS, great at SS, DT and DP, weird!
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Ironic, isnt it, yesterday turned out to be a most fantastic day, 4, ELs at BS, great at SS, DT and DP, weird!
Same here EL, OD's and lots of subs on SS. not bad.... the rest of the agencies terrible.
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SS going great, other agencies ok or slightly below average. But really will have to wait till months end to know the real story
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Are we still open ??? Hasn't been this slow in a while.
Should we just start promoting our work here then?
Soon Microstockgroup will be transformed into the best selling microstock agency in the world!
Leaf, we all depend on you brother! Now get to it ;D
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My first four days of August were terrible, but it's picked up beautifully since then. However, I won't properly evaluate August's performance until 1st September.
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IS for me - less than 50% normal weekly sales :(
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Just had my first sale for Aug on the 10th. a sub at fotolia for 18 cents. Don't know if that means things are improving (only slighty) or if it was a fluke. Hopefully it means things will pick up. :-\
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Does anyone have stats on how many contributors signed up year by year agency by agency??? I fear its the increased competition and the lagging economy behind this unusual slump.
If your photos are competing with 50% more competition this summer than last, theres your answer to lower views which translates to less sales. sales go down, shoot more to stay afloat. guess what? the other guy next to you is doing the same thing and the hardest workers accelerate the the plunge to the bottom...
The crowd sourcing model of micro these days only favors agencies and the top top contributors...
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hoping for a post olympic bounce but not necessarily EXPECTING one!
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The closing ceremonies have started. Looking for the surge to begin. :P
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Just had my first sale for Aug on the 10th. a sub at fotolia for 18 cents. Don't know if that means things are improving (only slighty) or if it was a fluke. Hopefully it means things will pick up. :-\
Dan, I am so sorry but that made me laugh at loud. It can only get better for you :)
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Well, it's the morning after the Olympics ended. Sales-wise, this Monday is starting out like a Saturday. Maybe buyers are having an Olympics hangover and they're slow to start downloading again?
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Well, it's the morning after the Olympics ended. Sales-wise, this Monday is starting out like a Saturday. Maybe buyers are having an Olympics hangover and they're slow to start downloading again?
Shutterstock's going well __ it's just all the others.
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it seems the post olympics started slow.. SS is the only one that save the day, bust still less dwlds than July...the others are deserted!
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Well, it's the morning after the Olympics ended. Sales-wise, this Monday is starting out like a Saturday. Maybe buyers are having an Olympics hangover and they're slow to start downloading again?
Shutterstock's going well __ it's just all the others.
Huh. SS is disappointing me just as much as the others this month. I just looked at the SS forum to see if it's just me, and it looks like a whole bunch of people are saying August has been surprisingly weak, particularly compared to July and to Aug 2011.
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Well, it's the morning after the Olympics ended. Sales-wise, this Monday is starting out like a Saturday. Maybe buyers are having an Olympics hangover and they're slow to start downloading again?
Shutterstock's going well __ it's just all the others.
Yep! SS, going pretty well ( they did have a bit of a slope though), the others? well frankly it seems as if their staff has left the building.
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I'm actually having a really good month at StockFresh. I know, I know, I'm the SF fanboy and most people aren't doing well there. But really, I'm almost at payout already and it's not even halfway through the month yet. That's about double my usual earnings pace there.
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No surge for me. Maybe it's a travel day? ??? ::)
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SS removed my best selling image for copyright, been selling daily since january and made good money, still up on all other agencies so I'm sure sales will pick up there, smart move SS!
Only in hobbystock ;)
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^^^What was the photo of? Can you sell it as editorial? I know sometimes SS has picked up on things that the other sites haven't. I thought they got it right when they removed my British currency photos, the other sites are in the wrong on that one. Istock removed one of my photos of old playing cards. I looked up the reason why and think they got that one wrong but that's their choice.
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Things seem to flickering back to life today!
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There's life, but it's very weak. Still way down from July, when every previous year I've been in ms, August is ALWAYS a sizable bump up from July. This is very strange and discouraging.
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There's life, but it's very weak. Still way down from July, when every previous year I've been in ms, August is ALWAYS a sizable bump up from July. This is very strange and discouraging.
i am sorry to hear that, what do you think is happening with you? olympics, world crisis, best match on agencies? which agencies you are feeling more drops?
i am having a nice august actually but my sales are for sure 10x less than yours
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There's life, but it's very weak. Still way down from July, when every previous year I've been in ms, August is ALWAYS a sizable bump up from July. This is very strange and discouraging.
i am sorry to hear that, what do you think is happening with you? olympics, world crisis, best match on agencies? which agencies you are feeling more drops?
i am having a nice august actually but my sales are for sure 10x less than yours
I think SS and FT are the big underperformers for me this month. FT has been on a slide for me for a while, so that's not a surprise. I think SS recently made a best match change -- from defaulting to relevance as opposed to popularity -- and that seems to have really hit the people who generate high amounts of downloads (lots of complaints over in the SS forum). I have no Enhanced Downloads in August vs. a half dozen in July, and my Single & Other Downloads count is running at 50% compared to July.
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There's life, but it's very weak. Still way down from July, when every previous year I've been in ms, August is ALWAYS a sizable bump up from July. This is very strange and discouraging.
i am sorry to hear that, what do you think is happening with you? olympics, world crisis, best match on agencies? which agencies you are feeling more drops?
i am having a nice august actually but my sales are for sure 10x less than yours
I think SS and FT are the big underperformers for me this month. FT has been on a slide for me for a while, so that's not a surprise. I think SS recently made a best match change -- from defaulting to relevance as opposed to popularity -- and that seems to have really hit the people who generate high amounts of downloads (lots of complaints over in the SS forum). I have no Enhanced Downloads in August vs. a half dozen in July, and my Single & Other Downloads count is running at 50% compared to July.
My new usual at FT is $60-80 per month and I am on track to make $30 this month. I feel your FT slide, buddy. And it's steep, vinyl and soaking wet, too.