When you choose where to sell your photos, what do you prefer - high commissions or more sales? Obviously selling 10 photos and earning $1 is the same as selling 1 photo and earning $10, but which is better? I see most people have their photos on a few sites, that's why I ask how you make your choose.

The truth is (at least my take on it) that you rarely ever have a choice between 10 * $1 or 1 * $10. It's more like 100 * $0.25 or 1 * $5.

At least my sales so far as an independent are mostly coming from Shutterstock (low royalties per sale) and iStock (low percentage) while sites with higher price/higher royalties are hardly selling at all.

I don't see how I have much of a choice if the overall payment is my main focus.

You left off my choice = More Money. I don't care if it's "friendly staff", fancy stats, charts and graphs, views, RPI, RPD, Percentage or Sales numbers.

Show Me The Money!

So I guess I want high sales at high commissions? Is that a choice?

Although Michael Jay is correct in what he says above, given a straight choice of 10 sales at $1 or one sale at $10 I'd choose the latter. Fewer instances of the image out there to be lifted, easier to track what's likely to be genuine sales.

ditto.

at first I though, more sales = more ppl who like my work, but it also means more "cheap" ppl who like my work, more and even more ppl who won't pay get to see my work. my brain works slower but....... what she said.

The fact is that the site(s) that sell(s) a lot (to low price) sell 500 times more that the sites that sell (almost nothing) to high price�
So��

Depends totally on the image type, or so I'm hearing off here.
I'm certainly not hearing 500x very often, so your images must really suit their buyers, which is great.

Quote from: Beppe Grillo on April 22, 2013, 09:07

The fact is that the site(s) that sell(s) a lot (to low price) sell 500 times more that the sites that sell (almost nothing) to high price�
So��

Depends totally on the image type, or so I'm hearing off here.
I'm certainly not hearing 500x very often, so your images must really suit their buyers, which is great.

500x is not real of course, it is just a way of saying.

But �250 is close to a real figure, in my case, as I sold nothing on the "Low Earners" except PD and only on DP for the "Middle Tiers"
About the Top Tier my sales, in term of money, are almost equivalent for FT iS and DT, and 10 times more on SS.

I am very new on stocks, I have begun 3 months ago but I am operative only for a little more than one month, so probably my "numbers and opinions" cannot make good statistics

HOw many pictures did you uploaded to the sites? You are on 5 sites?

I am on 14 sites now, with a little more than 300-350 images on the ones where it is faster to upload.
Stockphoto is new for me too. I have worked for 35 years as advertising photographer but paradoxically I have no images for stocks as the images that I have produced during all these years are exclusive to my customers.

"You'll make it up in volume" isn't just an ancient lie, it's an ancient joke.   Slash prices today and you'll make more in the short run, at the expense of the future.   Bargain basement prices just reduce the perceived value of our product and once that's gone there's no way to get it back.   These facts haven't changed in 10,000 years and it doesn't matter if sales are "on the internet" or out of an oxcart.

The microstock concept slashed prices and made it up in volume and it's not been a short run. Unfortunately it started with low commissions, so although there are many more people who successfully sell their work because of microstock, who are naturally grateful that the concept exists, they got the short end of the stick from the start. Something which is difficult to reverse.

Every time I give away sell an image for 25c, 33c, 8c ...or for whatever ridiculously low subscription price I feel slightly sick, as this happens frequently throughout the day I'm beginning to think that stock photography is making me ill 

Every time I give away sell an image for 25c, 33c, 8c ...or for whatever ridiculously low subscription price I feel slightly sick, as this happens frequently throughout the day I'm beginning to think that stock photography is making me ill 

It is true, I agree.

But one question: does somebody oblige you to upload your images on these sites?
If you don't want to feel sick just don't do it!

"You'll make it up in volume" isn't just an ancient lie, it's an ancient joke.   Slash prices today and you'll make more in the short run, at the expense of the future.   Bargain basement prices just reduce the perceived value of our product and once that's gone there's no way to get it back.   These facts haven't changed in 10,000 years and it doesn't matter if sales are "on the internet" or out of an oxcart.

it was 1 sale for $10 (more accurately 1 sale for $100) until the new generation of 10 sales for $1 came along and essentially started to cannibalize the whole industry. now everyone seems to be running to submit to these very agencies that support this whole process by becoming indie - the subscription sites are the worst of the lot in terms of devaluing your work. that is the kiss of death and not too smart, but the cat has been out of the bag since this whole microstock concept of selling 10 images for $1 concept took off. it could have never happened without your continued support and sad to say the slide will only continue with your continued support.

It is true, I agree.

But one question: does somebody oblige you to upload your images on these sites?
If you don't want to feel sick just don't do it!

I know, I was being tongue in cheek but on a more serious note it's hard to see where the industry is heading when images are offered so cheaply and surely it must be devaluing them in the long term.

Every time I give away sell an image for 25c, 33c, 8c ...or for whatever ridiculously low subscription price I feel slightly sick, as this happens frequently throughout the day I'm beginning to think that stock photography is making me ill 

LOL - funny doesn't do this justice - if you could sell comedy on microstock, you'd be rich.