MicrostockGroup
Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: Artist on March 15, 2017, 23:20
-
My march is doing very well and its still in the mid.
Great pickup from shutterstock. Getting good single and others on daily basis now.
Fotolia/Adobe is still same for me, no high and no low.
iStock, don't know what they are cookin
123rf very bad month in here
All other agencies, very bad
But I am overall happy with shutterstock and fotolia :)
-
shutterstock showing progress and low sales everywhere else.
-
Nothing exceptionally good or bad DT showing a flicker of life RF123 doing quite well. The "minnows" very slow
-
great sales, and march has 23 working days :)
-
Looks normal, as expected. Nothing outstandingly good or bad.
-
i have the impression that some algorithm prevents me from selling more and more...th months started great plus 40% in the first day compared to febraury then 6 appalling days nothing sold after 14.00, while the three months before i sold practically only from 14 to 24....i understand something change but here it seems so programmed. anyway keep uploading the lot of things i still have to upload.
being positive,. i'm increasing other side of business so micro will be only a side kicks dollar
-
I can only hope for the second half of the month to be as good as the first. Then it will be a pretty nice BME!
Anyway, being better than last March is almost a certainty.
Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk
-
Just between February and April...
-
SS - On pace for BME.
FT - On pace for BME.
123RF - On pace for BME.
IS - No idea, haven't logged on in a while.
DT - On pace for 0 sales.
-
DLs down everywhere - horrible. SS doing OK for money due to more high-value sales than usual - lots of nice SODs, plenty of ODs, plus clips and even an EL. FT OK for DL numbers but most are base-level subs so not much money. If big sales continue on SS it will make up for losses by the others - here's to hoping.
-
Sales were good during January and February (including one video sale on SS.) So far, March has been pretty poor overall.
-
SS - On pace for BME.
FT - On pace for BME.
123RF - On pace for BME.
IS - No idea, haven't logged on in a while.
DT - On pace for 0 sales.
If you do 0 at DT, is your BME $10 at SS?
-
These kinds of threads are useless without figures
A best month or doing very well could be $10,000 $1,000 or $5 depending on the contributor's perspective
-
Gooood!
-
These kinds of threads are useless without figures
A best month or doing very well could be $10,000 $1,000 or $5 depending on the contributor's perspective
Very well here is, I am making my living and having saving too.
-
SS all the same, FT - breathing again after a couple of months in coma, although not as it used to be. BS - still dead, 123 - suddenly a terrible month after sales started to grow in the last few months. IS - no idea either as even the DeepMeta 2 doesn't let me to log in anymore and see my frigging balance :D
-
These kinds of threads are useless without figures
A best month or doing very well could be $10,000 $1,000 or $5 depending on the contributor's perspective
Very well here is, I am making my living and having saving too.
and buy a ferrari u forget
-
These kinds of threads are useless without figures
A best month or doing very well could be $10,000 $1,000 or $5 depending on the contributor's perspective
Very well here is, I am making my living and having saving too.
and buy a ferrari u forget
haha, not so much to buy a farrari. But I wish to get one. :)
-
SS - On pace for BME.
FT - On pace for BME.
123RF - On pace for BME.
IS - No idea, haven't logged on in a while.
DT - On pace for 0 sales.
If you do 0 at DT, is your BME $10 at SS?
I only have a few dozen images on DT, compare to thousands on SS, FT and 123RF. DT has never been a big seller for me, so I don't waste my time uploading there. They also reject a good percentage of my work, so I stopped uploading.
If you want an idea of how much I make on SS, it's 4 figures per month.
-
SS - On pace for BME.
FT - On pace for BME.
123RF - On pace for BME.
IS - No idea, haven't logged on in a while.
DT - On pace for 0 sales.
If you do 0 at DT, is your BME $10 at SS?
I only have a few dozen images on DT, compare to thousands on SS, FT and 123RF. DT has never been a big seller for me, so I don't waste my time uploading there. They also reject a good percentage of my work, so I stopped uploading.
If you want an idea of how much I make on SS, it's 4 figures per month.
i thought 6
appalling week t shutter stock....cleaaly they do something to share the cake between all customer...since monday sam number s of download zero sod zero sales after 15.....dreamstime today sold 5 photos for 35 dollar...not bad this year dreamstime seems more competitive. appalling fotolia also. if you stop uploading for 2 weeks the earning i see earning falling down.
-
23 working days and not too many holidays round the world. It should be BME for many people.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
-
For footage.
BME at Shutterstock already - unusual surge this last week.
Pond5 slow.
VB slow.
Fotolia slow.
I guess sales do move around. Big marketing effort by Shutterstock or just the random nature of things? Who knows...
-
Video here:
For me March always seems to be the final hangover month from the Christmas and New Years holidays before things get going solidly in April, this year following that trend but doing better overall than last year. Overall I'm very optimistic about everything, not sure why though. Maybe because I'm out shooting a lot more content than before.
-
For footage.
BME at Shutterstock already - unusual surge this last week.
Pond5 slow.
VB slow.
Fotolia slow.
I guess sales do move around. Big marketing effort by Shutterstock or just the random nature of things? Who knows...
Its pure marketing efforts, I see ads everywhere including social media. They have also introduced a new plan for buyers which is working well for ss, its a good sign.
For me BME crossed on 18th March :)
-
My sales on SS don't seem to pick up, don't know why.
Other agencies are pretty stable.
-
My march is doing very well and its still in the mid.
Great pickup from shutterstock. Getting good single and others on daily basis now.
Fotolia/Adobe is still same for me, no high and no low.
iStock, don't know what they are cookin
123rf very bad month in here
All other agencies, very bad
But I am overall happy with shutterstock and fotolia :)
SS - slow less than 50%down compare last year
FT - some sale
123RF - some sale
IS - No idea,
DT- some sale
Alamy-some sale
This mean bad month so far but I am optimistic :)
-
After a very strong start tailing off badly....need a good few days to get back on track...not horrible but not great
-
After 4-5 month of steady growth (I'm a total beginner, gone from 1-2$ a month to 16$ last month) this was the first month I've seen a significant drop (shutter stock went down from 60ish downloads to <30).
I've kinda made up the sales through other sites (sold a few prints in society6 etc.) but was not a good month for me :/
-
Started well and seems to have been dropping steadily. Won't be my worst month in the last year or so, but will be a close second or third.
-
For the first few days at the beginning of the month had high hopes now tailing off to be pretty average according to my 12 month rolling average.
-
one of the best months so far, almost BME
-
Up and down, not too bad at SS and FT after all.
I just realised I have 0 downloads with DT this month :) Not a big deal, but unsual. I hoped for the second half of March with 123rf, but nothing happened - I'll get about 20% of what February earned.
-
BME for me (regarding footage):
Shutterstock way above average
VB above average
Pond5 and Fotolia slow, below average...
Don't even look at DT anymore...
One more day to go.
-
Up and down, not too bad at SS and FT after all.
I just realised I have 0 downloads with DT this month :) Not a big deal, but unsual. I hoped for the second half of March with 123rf, but nothing happened - I'll get about 20% of what February earned.
This illustrates how different people's experiences are and how we can't judge overall performance from our sales. For me both rf and dt are having good months....though DT is from a very low base.
-
we have a really bellow average March here...
SS way bellow average (we blame the unusual low sales after uploading hundred of photos (http://video-stock.org/shutterstock-number-of-sales-rise-but-income-is-lower/))
Pond above average
Fotolia bellow average
Dissolve bellow average
but yet it is another day till the end of month to surprise us.
-
BME by a good margin.
I do video only, but this month I started to upload a few still image extracted from footage and timelapses.
I did not bother with still images so far, but they seem to sell much better than I expected, although too soon to tell
-
Much to my surprise, a BME on SS by a wide margin due to more high-value SODs than usual and lots of ODs, plus even a couple of ELs. FT about half what it had been - many base-level subs and even some sales for 25 cents - no idea what those are for, I didn't think they went that low. Canva way off what it was a few months ago and getting less every month, unfortunately. Other agencies moribund. However, with SS doing so well it is a second BME overall. I am assuming this is a statistical blip and will be back to depressing next month but in the meantime will celebrate March.
-
For me (vector illustrations only):
Shutterstock is average (it seemed to shape up to be a better month, but it did not happen in the end)
Fotolia above average
iStock, well, no idea yet
-
SS back on track after several average months.
FT average month
123rf good (as 123rf can be)
DT dead again
iS ...who is iS ?
-
SS - On pace for BME.
FT - On pace for BME.
123RF - On pace for BME.
IS - No idea, haven't logged on in a while.
DT - On pace for 0 sales.
Looks like things lived up to my expectations.
SS - BME
FT - BME
123RF - BME
IS - Still haven't checked
DT - Had a couple sales.
-
shutterstock very poor. lack of video el and sod, 50% down from the new normal,
-
These sort of threads are completely meaningless since a BME to somebody with 500 files might be the WME for somebody with 5000 files and often is. My March was steady with DT finally coming alive showing some really good sales. SS and Ft just steady.
SS have become an enigma. I cant work it out but I keep comparing to the Istock shambles of showing fatigue and sort of happy go lucky with what they've got. Any ambitions seems to be gone.
I shouldnt really say this but if a place like SS closed down they would probably do the entire stock-market the world of good turning it into a healthier environment and a sort of new start. haha!
On the more conventional side the RM/Rf agencies showing very good results with a couple of sales close to $.900 each.
-
These sort of threads are completely meaningless since a BME to somebody with 500 files might be the WME for somebody with 5000 files and often is. My March was steady with DT finally coming alive showing some really good sales. SS and Ft just steady.
SS have become an enigma. I cant work it out but I keep comparing to the Istock shambles of showing fatigue and sort of happy go lucky with what they've got. Any ambitions seems to be gone.
I shouldnt really say this but if a place like SS closed down they would probably do the entire stock-market the world of good turning it into a healthier environment and a sort of new start. haha!
On the more conventional side the RM/Rf agencies showing very good results with a couple of sales close to $.900 each.
No more meaningless than posts about bad days and second hand reports of friends performance on occasional days.
-
These kinds of threads are useless without figures
A best month or doing very well could be $10,000 $1,000 or $5 depending on the contributor's perspective
Very well here is, I am making my living and having saving too.
Yes strong in the way of stock you are my young padewan :D
-
....On the more conventional side the RM/Rf agencies showing very good results with a couple of sales close to $.900 each.
Same here RM sales of $300 :)
-
^yes lets hope it keeps up! the way micro is going we're going to need it! :)
-
Shutter: BME
Istock: who cares?
Alamy: Very poor, only 1 small RF despite 100s of views and a few zooms a day
Robert Harding: Nothing yet
Arcangel: Nothing yet...
-
Nothing wrong with a sales thread, but always best to not put too much stock in the responses when it comes to overall sales, trends, end of the world planning etc.
Take me for example... VideoHive is the only place I have an exclusive account and a non-exclusive account. On my exclusive account, it's the worst month in seven months. On my non-exclusive account, it's the best month I've had in six months. As they say in the land of the free and the home of the brave... go figure.
-
BME, due to a big sale on Alamy (125$ net). But I uploaded a lot of files in the last months so based on that sales were very weak..
???
-
-no BME, but very good 4 digits month for SS
-surprisingly good month for Alamy
-very good month for 123RF
-normal month for FT.
-under average for DT, close but the first time in almost two years without at least one monthly payment :(
Edit: Best month for 123! Nice way to finish it with $45 EL!
Edit: BME for all agencies combined.
-
Very good, especially compared to lately. This is mostly due to a number of higher $ sales at Alamy, but SS was better than average for lately and Adobe and Canva did well too. DT was weak with almost all low subs.
It beat every month last year and would have been second best month in 2015 and 2014.
YAY Alamy. I hope this is some new trend, but is probably just a lucky one-off.
-
overall BME
SS best in 2 yrs
canva BME, 3rd mo in a row
FT 2ndBME
-
SS has been incredible this month. Fixing the 'Same Artist' section certainly helped. I don't know what they did marketing-wise, but I had a lot of ELs & large SODs and a record amount of subs, resulting in a 50% increase from February.
-
SS was amazing, very happy to see progress. Fotolia also performed good.
123Rf went very down to half of feb.
iStock still unaware whats going on, I have also not uploaded anything as the system is still buggy.
Canstock: poor
-
SS has been incredible this month. Fixing the 'Same Artist' section certainly helped. I don't know what they did marketing-wise, but I had a lot of ELs & large SODs and a record amount of subs, resulting in a 50% increase from February.
Yes, they sure did something right (for me, I'm sure not for everyone). 3x February sales and almost 3x January.
It can also have a lot to do with that I have mostly clips related to summer in my portfolio and now is the right time for them.
-
Unfortunately, not a good month for me with overall revenue 33% down compared to March 16. Main problem is low sales at SS not helped by declining sales on DT. Closed my IS account back in October. On positive side Canva remains strong and Pond 5 BME.
-
BME at SS with a huge single sale of 40 USD.. :o
others - so so
-
overall BME
SS best in 2 yrs
canva BME, 3rd mo in a row
FT 2ndBME
BME and that's because of FT and SS. IS is headed for the dust bin and I won't miss them. Anything anyplace else is normal and average. I watch the complaints of falling numbers on SS as mine just kept climbing. Only three selected uploads in March I'm just coasting.
-
Just a side note:
Sold photo on 3/23/17 for $4.18 that I had uploaded on 9/10/09 at DT. It was the first time it had been sold. Maybe "oldies can be goodies"
Smiling Jack
-
BME at SS with a huge single sale of 40 USD.. :o
others - so so
$40 huge?
Try $300 for a single sale :D
-
BMY, but it usually is. Still down on last year, but with the huge drops on IS and not uploading it's to be expected. Fortunately my expenses are also down.
-
haha, not so much to buy a farrari. But I wish to get one. :)
I don't think microstock is really much good for those who lust after fashionable accessories (with a handful of honourable exceptions such as the Yuris, Seans and Lises). It's quite good for those who just want enough cash to feed themselves and have the occasional beer.
My long decline continued in March. Dreamstime was better than last year, SS following the gentle downtrend, 123 was pathetic for the third month in a row, Alamy has been particularly weak since the start of the year after holding up pretty well for several years - maybe their marvellous innovations have hit me. Istock's also slumped again.
Overall earnings are down about 65% from their peak five or six years back but I've done very little to add to my portfolio for the last two years.
-
BME at SS with a huge single sale of 40 USD.. :o
others - so so
$40 huge?
Try $300 for a single sale :D
awesome, congratulations for it, still waiting for that single sale number. :)
-
BME at SS with a huge single sale of 40 USD.. :o
others - so so
$40 huge?
Try $300 for a single sale :D
it is the biggest one for me so far, I have quite a small portfolio ;D
Congrats for your sale :)
-
My shutterstock showing normal sales.
-
haha, not so much to buy a farrari. But I wish to get one. :)
I don't think microstock is really much good for those who lust after fashionable accessories (with a handful of honourable exceptions such as the Yuris, Seans and Lises). It's quite good for those who just want enough cash to feed themselves and have the occasional beer.
My long decline continued in March. Dreamstime was better than last year, SS following the gentle downtrend, 123 was pathetic for the third month in a row, Alamy has been particularly weak since the start of the year after holding up pretty well for several years - maybe their marvellous innovations have hit me. Istock's also slumped again.
Overall earnings are down about 65% from their peak five or six years back but I've done very little to add to my portfolio for the last two years.
Looking at many replies in this thread one is beginning to see a pattern. Don't know if you've thought of that. Seems like the longer you have been with SS the less you are going to get. I think it was this guy Rindler or something who some time back pointed out that old contributors was in the fireing line. maybe he did have a point. Dont know?
-
Looking at many replies in this thread one is beginning to see a pattern. Don't know if you've thought of that. Seems like the longer you have been with SS the less you are going to get. I think it was this guy Rindler or something who some time back pointed out that old contributors was in the fireing line. maybe he did have a point. Dont know?
There are several factors at work but the main one has got to be dilution. When I started I had something like 500 files with SS in a total collection of something like 30,000, now I have something like 6,000 in collection of scores of millions. They haven't managed to increase the revenues at the same rate that they are increasing the size of the collection.
Given that I've gone down from having one sixtieth of the collection to having something like one ten-thousandth of it, it's really quite remarkable that I still make as much as I do.
PS: While my March sales are a bit down on a year ago, Feb and March of this year have each improved on the month before, so in the short-term my sales are improving, I don't know why.
-
Looking at many replies in this thread one is beginning to see a pattern. Don't know if you've thought of that. Seems like the longer you have been with SS the less you are going to get. I think it was this guy Rindler or something who some time back pointed out that old contributors was in the fireing line. maybe he did have a point. Dont know?
There are several factors at work but the main one has got to be dilution. When I started I had something like 500 files with SS in a total collection of something like 30,000, now I have something like 6,000 in collection of scores of millions. They haven't managed to increase the revenues at the same rate that they are increasing the size of the collection.
Given that I've gone down from having one sixtieth of the collection to having something like one ten-thousandth of it, it's really quite remarkable that I still make as much as I do.
PS: While my March sales are a bit down on a year ago, Feb and March of this year have each improved on the month before, so in the short-term my sales are improving, I don't know why.
Yes but I am completely convinced its improving or declining with the algorithm and whatever its beyond our control anyway. I know some who are uploading something like 200 files per week and one minute theyre well up and with the next change badly down. with an agency housing 110 million files its all down to luck! not my cup of tea I would prefer quality and skill before luck and sort changes.
-
Looking at many replies in this thread one is beginning to see a pattern. Don't know if you've thought of that. Seems like the longer you have been with SS the less you are going to get. I think it was this guy Rindler or something who some time back pointed out that old contributors was in the fireing line. maybe he did have a point. Dont know?
There are several factors at work but the main one has got to be dilution. When I started I had something like 500 files with SS in a total collection of something like 30,000, now I have something like 6,000 in collection of scores of millions. They haven't managed to increase the revenues at the same rate that they are increasing the size of the collection.
Given that I've gone down from having one sixtieth of the collection to having something like one ten-thousandth of it, it's really quite remarkable that I still make as much as I do.
PS: While my March sales are a bit down on a year ago, Feb and March of this year have each improved on the month before, so in the short-term my sales are improving, I don't know why.
and of course if you are new you can increase your portfolio rapidly e.g by 100% by increasing it from 500 to 1,000 if you have 10,000 images that would be 5%.
-
Well it was a bit of a surprise. Mine went out like a last minute leprechaun. But still a bit of a cheep one none the less since SS changed the amount for an extended license. ::)
-
Yes but I am completely convinced its improving or declining with the algorithm and whatever its beyond our control anyway.
Everything depends on how many of our files are in the first few pages of any given search, globally or regionally. If that changes substantially, then our earnings are going to change.
-
^ I read somewhere the important thing was the first 4-5 pages? given the default search and amount of pictures on the page!
-
^ I read somewhere the important thing was the first 4-5 pages? given the default search and amount of pictures on the page!
Sounds plausable to me I can't imagine many people getting past 4 pages....I guess they might refine their search if theres nothing suitable there
-
^ I read somewhere the important thing was the first 4-5 pages? given the default search and amount of pictures on the page!
That's one of the advantages of having stuff from small niches - if there are only a handful of shots of a subject then you have a good chance of selling on the few occasions someone searches for it. I don't reckon I'd have much chance of ever selling a "beautiful business woman with her team" if I shot it, whereas my Circassian chicken on a plate sold a couple of times in the past week - even though everybody knows what the first of those is and not a lot of people are familiar with Circassian chicken (though in a curious nod to the influence of beautiful women, the name of the dish is said to be derived from the skin colour of the Circassian beauties in the Turkish Sultan's harem) .
-
^ I read somewhere the important thing was the first 4-5 pages? given the default search and amount of pictures on the page!
That's one of the advantages of having stuff from small niches - if there are only a handful of shots of a subject then you have a good chance of selling on the few occasions someone searches for it. I don't reckon I'd have much chance of ever selling a "beautiful business woman with her team" if I shot it, whereas my Circassian chicken on a plate sold a couple of times in the past week - even though everybody knows what the first of those is and not a lot of people are familiar with Circassian chicken (though in a curious nod to the influence of beautiful women, the name of the dish is said to be derived from the skin colour of the Circassian beauties in the Turkish Sultan's harem) .
Now if you had "beautiful business woman with her team eating Circassian chicken" you'd really be onto something. Yep I tend to shoot "niche" with the theory that my average images may have rare content...easier than shooting the best ever image of the Taj Mahal......
-
^ I read somewhere the important thing was the first 4-5 pages? given the default search and amount of pictures on the page!
That's one of the advantages of having stuff from small niches - if there are only a handful of shots of a subject then you have a good chance of selling on the few occasions someone searches for it. I don't reckon I'd have much chance of ever selling a "beautiful business woman with her team" if I shot it, whereas my Circassian chicken on a plate sold a couple of times in the past week - even though everybody knows what the first of those is and not a lot of people are familiar with Circassian chicken (though in a curious nod to the influence of beautiful women, the name of the dish is said to be derived from the skin colour of the Circassian beauties in the Turkish Sultan's harem) .
Logic is in place but practice has proved me wrong, my best selling photos are from such broad bussiness categories that one would think are beyong extreme saturation.
Sent from my SM-J510FN using Tapatalk
-
^ I read somewhere the important thing was the first 4-5 pages? given the default search and amount of pictures on the page!
That's one of the advantages of having stuff from small niches - if there are only a handful of shots of a subject then you have a good chance of selling on the few occasions someone searches for it. I don't reckon I'd have much chance of ever selling a "beautiful business woman with her team" if I shot it, whereas my Circassian chicken on a plate sold a couple of times in the past week - even though everybody knows what the first of those is and not a lot of people are familiar with Circassian chicken (though in a curious nod to the influence of beautiful women, the name of the dish is said to be derived from the skin colour of the Circassian beauties in the Turkish Sultan's harem) .
Well maybe but I think you might be looking just a bit too deep into this and trying to find some logic in it? I know exactly what you mean but somehow I think the equation is quite simple.
I give an example. My portfolio is niched yes. Among my total port I have around 70 pictures which I am completelty alone in having. There is no one else in this world at least not in stock photography that could even come close in similarity let alone the real thing. Lets say I was there at the right place the right time. These 70 pictures represented around 80% of my SS income and sold in hundreds every single day for the past five years and I mean hundreds every day. All of a sudden like an ON/OFF switch they stopped selling! well maybe 20 times a day. This was not a drawn out thing it just whollop! happened over night AND with exactly the same search placement!. I actually asked a Tech friend of mine who has his own firm and very knowledgable in this sort of stuff. He told me my images had been replaced. They were still there of course but when buyers searched somebody elses images came up given the same category etc. That was all he could see and say.
I really dont know if he was right or wrong. However lets assume the concept of fairness much talked about here. Might be as simple as a search is trying to give a fair amount to everybody and thereby ruining the incentive of producing quality?
What do you say about this maybe ( crazy and stupid) idea?
-
Now if you had "beautiful business woman with her team eating Circassian chicken" you'd really be onto something.
Careful. Yuri might be lurking ;)
-
What about a Circassian chicken eating a beautyful business woman?
Even more niche :-)
-
March was fine.
But what happened this week on SS? Sales are literally cut to half of normal. It's really frightening. I'm contributing for 10 years and never seen such thing..
-
March was fine.
But what happened this week on SS? Sales are literally cut to half of normal. It's really frightening. I'm contributing for 10 years and never seen such thing..
Exactly the same here! and overnight!
-
March was fine.
But what happened this week on SS? Sales are literally cut to half of normal. It's really frightening. I'm contributing for 10 years and never seen such thing..
Its Tuesday.....it might be a tad early to jump to conclusions........
-
March was fine.
But what happened this week on SS? Sales are literally cut to half of normal. It's really frightening. I'm contributing for 10 years and never seen such thing..
3 digits day yesterday, high two digits today... so far, sales are good this week ;)
But an old proverb says that "Una hirundo non facit ver", neither one way or the other.
-
March was fine.
But what happened this week on SS? Sales are literally cut to half of normal. It's really frightening. I'm contributing for 10 years and never seen such thing..
Same here, March very good, this week almost totally dead on SS.
-
Among my total port I have around 70 pictures which I am completelty alone in having......They were still there of course but when buyers searched somebody elses images came up given the same category etc.
Surely you give your own answer? At one time you got all the sales because you were alone in your niche, now you have a competitor in your niche. Maybe it's a subject where your rival's images make an acceptable substitute to illustrate a concept, even if the subject matter is not exactly the same as yours.
I believe I was the second person to have pictures of the iconic Santorini blue-domed Greek churches on Microstock, in the summer of 2004, and they sold very well for a few years but now they've been swamped by newer material. It happens. (And I bet the first person to upload the subject was less than pleased when mine turned up a few weeks later!).
-
Well March on SS wasn't too bad but just the first few days of April look terrible. Mainly video.
-
This March is NR 2 of all time.
1. Shutterstock BME with +70%
2. Pond5 +11%
3. Depositphotos +549%
4. Fotolia/Adobe +25%
5. Videoblocks -36%
I compared March with average of 2016 year.
Shutterstock made 45% of March and 54% of all time earnings.
Last three years i work only on videos.
-
Among my total port I have around 70 pictures which I am completelty alone in having......They were still there of course but when buyers searched somebody elses images came up given the same category etc.
Surely you give your own answer? At one time you got all the sales because you were alone in your niche, now you have a competitor in your niche. Maybe it's a subject where your rival's images make an acceptable substitute to illustrate a concept, even if the subject matter is not exactly the same as yours.
I believe I was the second person to have pictures of the iconic Santorini blue-domed Greek churches on Microstock, in the summer of 2004, and they sold very well for a few years but now they've been swamped by newer material. It happens. (And I bet the first person to upload the subject was less than pleased when mine turned up a few weeks later!).
Just came back from a shoot and read your post here. No! I am not replaced as such in my category the pics are not even showing the same subject. Its like a differece of lets say for example my shots are of Mykonos but now instead shots of a NY-skyline from people with very small ports of no more then 300 files. Thats the difference.
For all I know you might be right I am no expert at this but as far as I am concerned I firmly believe that its a matter of giving everybody a fair break. This is completely nuts in my books because whats the point then of uploading when genuine and hard work dont count for nothing. DT makes no secret of this but SS does well nowadays you dont hear anything from them at all. Deadly silence. :)
-
whats the point then of uploading when genuine and hard work dont count for nothing.
Well, that's the big question, isn't it? We're all competing against 120,000,000 other images so the cake is going to be sliced very thin. The agencies only care about having the necessary file available to meet the buyer's needs. They don't care how much or how little effort went into making it.
-
whats the point then of uploading when genuine and hard work dont count for nothing.
Well, that's the big question, isn't it? We're all competing against 120,000,000 other images so the cake is going to be sliced very thin. The agencies only care about having the necessary file available to meet the buyer's needs. They don't care how much or how little effort went into making it.
Indeed and why should they? The only comfort is that an awful lot of images seem pretty unsaleable
-
I agree with a lot of people:
Excellent March, and nothing this week, really scary.
But I am used to it: agencies always shut the tap for at least one week every month, especially SS.
Even more scary is that so far this year practically all my sales in SS come from a single fie (I have a bit less than 2,000, video only).
Not that I am complaining, because sales in February and March have been goo, but all of them coming from a single file in SS is a bit scary
-
I agree with a lot of people:
Excellent March, and nothing this week, really scary.
But I am used to it: agencies always shut the tap for at least one week every month, especially SS.
Even more scary is that so far this year practically all my sales in SS come from a single fie (I have a bit less than 2,000, video only).
Not that I am complaining, because sales in February and March have been goo, but all of them coming from a single file in SS is a bit scary
You mean they stop people buying images? Seems a rather odd thing to do. Maybe its just chance variation or seasonal factors lets see how people react when easter hits.
-
I agree with a lot of people:
Excellent March, and nothing this week, really scary.
But I am used to it: agencies always shut the tap for at least one week every month, especially SS.
Even more scary is that so far this year practically all my sales in SS come from a single fie (I have a bit less than 2,000, video only).
Not that I am complaining, because sales in February and March have been goo, but all of them coming from a single file in SS is a bit scary
You mean they stop people buying images? Seems a rather odd thing to do. Maybe its just chance variation or seasonal factors lets see how people react when easter hits.
I don't know what they do, but certainly there are very strange things happening.
For six months in a row I had always the exactly same amount of sales in SS, to make it easy let's say $500 a month.
Sometimes I got to $500 at the 12th of the month, so I would think: "great, this is going to be a fantastic month". But then not one single sale until the end of the month.
Other times I would get absolutely nothing at the beginning of the month for 2 weeks, not a single sale, so getting pretty depressed. Then the last 10 days sales falling like crazy, and same huge $150 sales, until I get to my allotted monthly total.
I am not complaining because sales are not bad, maybe they are doing it to make everyone happy and maybe it works very well.
But as I said even more scary is that this year (I mean the last 3 months) 98% of my sales are coming from the same single file, over and over again. It makes you question what is the point to upload more stuff.
I am talking about video only. For still images (which apparently is what most peaople do here) things may be totally different
-
Well March on SS wasn't too bad but just the first few days of April look terrible. Mainly video.
Makes me wonder. Other months same thing. Do one month subscriptions end at the end of a month? Do people with a subscription catch up on downloads at the end of the month? When the 1 and 2 are Sat and Sunday wouldn't that make the start of a month, two worst days, naturally slow?
-
Well March on SS wasn't too bad but just the first few days of April look terrible. Mainly video.
Makes me wonder. Other months same thing. Do one month subscriptions end at the end of a month? Do people with a subscription catch up on downloads at the end of the month? When the 1 and 2 are Sat and Sunday wouldn't that make the start of a month, two worst days, naturally slow?
I haven't really analysed it but typically I'd say my months start slowly and then pick up. Theres all kinds of seasonal business cycle patterns. I find it hard to see why SS would hide content from buyers. But having said that if people are getting EXACTLY the same amount then that is very odd
-
Said it in another thread it really seems as if some contributors earnings are pre-set. My earnings from Monday this week up to now Friday morning differs only by cents not even a dollar. I find it extremely suspect.
Well its a matter of just giving up thinking about it really. Much worse is all the negative and bad publicity SS right now is getting almost in every single forum and texts concerning photography stock photography etc. if I'm not wrong thats really what finally triggered the downfall of Istock?
-
Said it in another thread it really seems as if some contributors earnings are pre-set. My earnings from Monday this week up to now Friday morning differs only by cents not even a dollar. I find it extremely suspect.
Well its a matter of just giving up thinking about it really. Much worse is all the negative and bad publicity SS right now is getting almost in every single forum and texts concerning photography stock photography etc. if I'm not wrong thats really what finally triggered the downfall of Istock?
Where for example?
-
Said it in another thread it really seems as if some contributors earnings are pre-set. My earnings from Monday this week up to now Friday morning differs only by cents not even a dollar. I find it extremely suspect.
Well its a matter of just giving up thinking about it really. Much worse is all the negative and bad publicity SS right now is getting almost in every single forum and texts concerning photography stock photography etc. if I'm not wrong thats really what finally triggered the downfall of Istock?
Where for example?
Where??? oh! " please tell me this makes sense" thread! this is how I have had it since the beginning of January 2017! frankly I don't mind too much but I do find it laughable almost comical.
-
Said it in another thread it really seems as if some contributors earnings are pre-set. My earnings from Monday this week up to now Friday morning differs only by cents not even a dollar. I find it extremely suspect.
Well its a matter of just giving up thinking about it really. Much worse is all the negative and bad publicity SS right now is getting almost in every single forum and texts concerning photography stock photography etc. if I'm not wrong thats really what finally triggered the downfall of Istock?
Where for example?
Where??? oh! " please tell me this makes sense" thread! this is how I have had it since the beginning of January 2017! frankly I don't mind too much but I do find it laughable almost comical.
I thought by every single you didn't mean a single I don't think criticizing ss is anything new here....indeed for some it seems to be a crusade over the years
-
Said it in another thread it really seems as if some contributors earnings are pre-set. My earnings from Monday this week up to now Friday morning differs only by cents not even a dollar. I find it extremely suspect.
Well its a matter of just giving up thinking about it really. Much worse is all the negative and bad publicity SS right now is getting almost in every single forum and texts concerning photography stock photography etc. if I'm not wrong thats really what finally triggered the downfall of Istock?
Where for example?
Where??? oh! " please tell me this makes sense" thread! this is how I have had it since the beginning of January 2017! frankly I don't mind too much but I do find it laughable almost comical.
I thought by every single you didn't mean a single I don't think criticizing ss is anything new here....indeed for some it seems to be a crusade over the years
I beg you pardon! crusade over the years? I been with them since 2007! how long have you been there? I find it insulting. I earn very good money there even if its gone down. I have absolutely no need or wish for any crusades but wanting them to do well and at least for my sake.
If one can not point out the obvious together with hundereds of so called old shrivled up old-timers then whats the point and whats the need of a forum?? whats the need of MSG where we all meet sharing experiences up or down. Everything is not just black/white. The world is not honesty personified.
Kindly refrain from any insinuating actions or simply don't read my postings.
Thanks and appreciating that.
-
"I shouldnt really say this but if a place like SS closed down they would probably do the entire stock-market the world of good turning it into a healthier environment and a sort of new start. haha!" You can see why I might find this a somewhat mixed message
-
"I shouldnt really say this but if a place like SS closed down they would probably do the entire stock-market the world of good turning it into a healthier environment and a sort of new start. haha!" You can see why I might find this a somewhat mixed message
Thats a big fact Paws! they started it allselling 0.25 together with Bruce at Istock and would you believeit nowadys years later Bruce actually admits it! it was good while the going was good but dreadful in reallity.
This is actually a veruy intersting point you are bringing up. Before micro you could easily get paid. $. 1000 for just a cloud formation well thats history.
You have to admit its pretty nasty photographing and perhaps with overheads studio this and that considering micro prices. However its a quantity factor really.
I do stand by my words 1000% if stock-photography went back to the way it was ( digital of course so much more predictable then film) yes most people would experience a completely different world.
Haha thats not a crusade man thats just a wish thats all. Never mind I have little if any time. :)
-
"I shouldnt really say this but if a place like SS closed down they would probably do the entire stock-market the world of good turning it into a healthier environment and a sort of new start. haha!" You can see why I might find this a somewhat mixed message
Thats a big fact Paws! they started it allselling 0.25 together with Bruce at Istock and would you believeit nowadys years later Bruce actually admits it! it was good while the going was good but dreadful in reallity.
This is actually a veruy intersting point you are bringing up. Before micro you could easily get paid. $. 1000 for just a cloud formation well thats history.
You have to admit its pretty nasty photographing and perhaps with overheads studio this and that considering micro prices. However its a quantity factor really.
I do stand by my words 1000% if stock-photography went back to the way it was ( digital of course so much more predictable then film) yes most people would experience a completely different world.
Haha thats not a crusade man thats just a wish thats all. Never mind I have little if any time. :)
Of course you are right about that for professional photographers but the advent of digital and the internet have turned this and many other industries upside down. Good for some but bad for others its happened many times in the past with technology changes....like canal vs railways etc etc
-
"I shouldnt really say this but if a place like SS closed down they would probably do the entire stock-market the world of good turning it into a healthier environment and a sort of new start. haha!" You can see why I might find this a somewhat mixed message
Thats a big fact Paws! they started it allselling 0.25 together with Bruce at Istock and would you believeit nowadys years later Bruce actually admits it! it was good while the going was good but dreadful in reallity.
This is actually a veruy intersting point you are bringing up. Before micro you could easily get paid. $. 1000 for just a cloud formation well thats history.
You have to admit its pretty nasty photographing and perhaps with overheads studio this and that considering micro prices. However its a quantity factor really.
I do stand by my words 1000% if stock-photography went back to the way it was ( digital of course so much more predictable then film) yes most people would experience a completely different world.
Haha thats not a crusade man thats just a wish thats all. Never mind I have little if any time. :)
Of course you are right about that for professional photographers but the advent of digital and the internet have turned this and many other industries upside down. Good for some but bad for others its happened many times in the past with technology changes....like canal vs railways etc etc
Well in a sense youre right but dont forget we used to Drum-scan large format trannies as long back as the 80s and many of the large photo-agencies back then actually wanted digital trannies rather then the trannies themselves.
Of course now if you look at the owners of most micros they are x-computer geeks software people etc so it onlöy stand to reason they were the ones inventing micro-stock.
I know everyone hates IS but to be really honest Bruce had far more knowledge ( without having to buy expertise) and know-how then Oringer. Bruces problem was getting intoxicated and ultimately selling to Getty. Biggest most epic mistake ever and look what happened.
-
"I shouldnt really say this but if a place like SS closed down they would probably do the entire stock-market the world of good turning it into a healthier environment and a sort of new start. haha!" You can see why I might find this a somewhat mixed message
Thats a big fact Paws! they started it allselling 0.25 together with Bruce at Istock and would you believeit nowadys years later Bruce actually admits it! it was good while the going was good but dreadful in reallity.
This is actually a veruy intersting point you are bringing up. Before micro you could easily get paid. $. 1000 for just a cloud formation well thats history.
You have to admit its pretty nasty photographing and perhaps with overheads studio this and that considering micro prices. However its a quantity factor really.
I do stand by my words 1000% if stock-photography went back to the way it was ( digital of course so much more predictable then film) yes most people would experience a completely different world.
Haha thats not a crusade man thats just a wish thats all. Never mind I have little if any time. :)
Of course you are right about that for professional photographers but the advent of digital and the internet have turned this and many other industries upside down. Good for some but bad for others its happened many times in the past with technology changes....like canal vs railways etc etc
Well in a sense youre right but dont forget we used to Drum-scan large format trannies as long back as the 80s and many of the large photo-agencies back then actually wanted digital trannies rather then the trannies themselves.
Of course now if you look at the owners of most micros they are x-computer geeks software people etc so it onlöy stand to reason they were the ones inventing micro-stock.
I know everyone hates IS but to be really honest Bruce had far more knowledge ( without having to buy expertise) and know-how then Oringer. Bruces problem was getting intoxicated and ultimately selling to Getty. Biggest most epic mistake ever and look what happened.
Its unusual I think that people deeply immersed in the current way of doing things spot the next big opportunity...take Kodak for example. Sadly for them some of their knowledge can become useless watchmakers for example were extremely skilled and knowledgeable but I would imagine the demand for mechanical watches is vanishingly small. The skill set now is in marketing something that looks expensive but in terms of function is no better than a $4.99 digital watch ;-)
-
March was on the average for me on SS.
-
I used to make 4-5 times a day what I'm getting now. Rats.
-
Sean, Ive just browsed your site. I like your portraits (especially from a lighting point of view.)
-
"I shouldnt really say this but if a place like SS closed down they would probably do the entire stock-market the world of good turning it into a healthier environment and a sort of new start. haha!" You can see why I might find this a somewhat mixed message
If all the big box stores closed and all the fast food places closed and we didn't have cheap products from offshore and if the internet had never been invented, or boats or rockets or airplanes, the world would be a healthier environment for businesses that were obsoleted by progress. Why should photography be any different.
Yes I agree mixed message is more like lost in the past hoping that the future and present didn't happen. SS isn't the problem, it's just the sign of the times.
-
March was my best month ever and April is shaping up to be my worst month ever.
-
"I shouldnt really say this but if a place like SS closed down they would probably do the entire stock-market the world of good turning it into a healthier environment and a sort of new start. haha!" You can see why I might find this a somewhat mixed message
If all the big box stores closed and all the fast food places closed and we didn't have cheap products from offshore and if the internet had never been invented, or boats or rockets or airplanes, the world would be a healthier environment for businesses that were obsoleted by progress. Why should photography be any different.
Yes I agree mixed message is more like lost in the past hoping that the future and present didn't happen. SS isn't the problem, it's just the sign of the times.
If anything its the other sites who don't seem to be able to compete to push SS harder that is the "problem" much as SS has some big faults its still by far the biggest seller.
-
March was my best month ever and April is shaping up to be my worst month ever.
Easter coming up...my seasonal pics not doing great so its probably a slow one for me.......
-
Is the week before Easter usually worse than the week after Easter? (sales wise) :D
I have this Christmas pace to my sales since last Friday, very annoying
-
Is the week before Easter usually worse than the week after Easter? (sales wise) :D
I have this Christmas pace to my sales since last Friday, very annoying
Both weeks are usually kinda slow for me. Some people take Spring Break the week before, some after.
-
April looks to be about half my higher months. Really disappointed. I expected more consistency.
-
i havent even made pay out yet, which i have never seen before, im down like 80% and that seems to be the new trend. this is what happens when sod and EL dries up,
normally i would see bad weeks followed by good weeks, now its all just bad weeks, 6 weeks in a row.
i think mantis said it on another thread, i am also down to under $10 per day
-
Another strong month, the year is looking good so far. ;D
-
Started slow this month, but pickuped very well.
-
April looks to be about half my higher months. Really disappointed. I expected more consistency.
April looks to be one of the worst months I've had in years...
-
April looks to be about half my higher months. Really disappointed. I expected more consistency.
April looks to be one of the worst months I've had in years...
Same here :(
-
same :'( down 40%
images 250k GOOD IN QC.
-
April down 50% so far! :-\ micro is getting tough no wonder one hear about lots of people quit uploading. I read in a private stock forum about american based agencies might be switching off servers to Europe now and then. Can they do that??
-
April down 50% so far! :-\ micro is getting tough no wonder one hear about lots of people quit uploading. I read in a private stock forum about american based agencies might be switching off servers to Europe now and then. Can they do that??
I don't think they will ever do such thing, can you link the stock forum here?
-
April down 50% so far! :-\ micro is getting tough no wonder one hear about lots of people quit uploading. I read in a private stock forum about american based agencies might be switching off servers to Europe now and then. Can they do that??
I don't think they will ever do such thing, can you link the stock forum here?
I cant see why they would buyers would be up in arms
-
April down 50% so far! :-\ micro is getting tough no wonder one hear about lots of people quit uploading. I read in a private stock forum about american based agencies might be switching off servers to Europe now and then. Can they do that??
I don't think they will ever do such thing, can you link the stock forum here?
I cant see why they would buyers would be up in arms
Makes no sense that anyone would shut off any source for income. And Stock, micro or other will never be the way it was. Times change, technology changes, everything moves forward. If SS hadn't started subs, someone else would have. Just like the electric light, telephone, modern bicycle, automobile or airplane. All of these are natural advances where technology drives the new inventions. Different people are inventing and innovating at the same time. One of them does it right, first or has the best plan.
SS and IS had the right ideas and ran parallel ideas for a good long time. The rest are trying to catch up, but won't. Exceptions will be special houses like Stocksy or maybe Canva or Evanto types. The other big one will keep growing because they have the smarts and the marketing and the money. Adobe FT is a sleeping giant which can take over both SS and IS in time with the cloud connection and the intelligent organization.
That's it. Three and there is no way it used to be. Times change.
-
March was my best month ever. First part of April was slow (Easter , now strongly picking up after the holidays.