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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: redfig on December 12, 2007, 15:22

Title: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: redfig on December 12, 2007, 15:22
Hi
If you could only choose one Microstock Site . ???
which one would it be
I think mine would be Shutterstock

All the very best
Redfig
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: maco0708 on December 12, 2007, 15:30
Probably iStock. If it keeps doing as well as now I might go exclusive.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: vphoto on December 12, 2007, 15:32
mine will be DT.  But I am very new to the microstocksites. 3 month only and I am not yet on Shutterstock.

vphoto
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Kngkyle on December 12, 2007, 15:33
Shutterstock

2nd place would be StockXpert.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Lizard on December 12, 2007, 15:50
Shutter , for me it still beats all others together
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: a.k.a.-tom on December 12, 2007, 16:39
Right now?   IS.   I used to run my mouth totally against being exclusive.....  Sometimes with IS.. I now think about it.... not  a lot...but once in awhile I wonder about it...    I would have never considered it my first year in micros.

2nd would be SS

Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: leaf on December 12, 2007, 16:45
shutterstock. 
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: PaulieWalnuts on December 12, 2007, 18:09
That's a tough one. It's between Istock and Shutterstock, but I'd lean toward Istock. 
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: jsnover on December 12, 2007, 18:16
Shutterstock in a heartbeat.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: epixx on December 12, 2007, 18:25
At the moment, IS. There are real advantages being exclusive there. DT could be an alternative. Not SS, since I'm not sure about the long term potential of subscription prices.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Smithore on December 12, 2007, 19:44
No hesitation: Lucky Oliver, very tranquil site, no stress.  ???
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Kngkyle on December 12, 2007, 20:06
No hesitation: Lucky Oliver, very tranquil site, no stress.  ???

And no sales.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: madelaide on December 12, 2007, 20:21
Hmm, IS is my best earner, even with a smaller portfolio due to picky inspection and not having my illustrations there, so I guess it should be my first choice.

I would like to pick StockXpert however, I think it's more fair in technical rejections and the earnings per image are much more decent.  Subs sales however may change this picture.

Regards,
Adelaide
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: ludesal on December 12, 2007, 22:12
IS is:
my best earner by far,
where I started,
where I learned the most,
and will be going exclusive on february... so yes, IS is the one I choose.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: litifeta on December 12, 2007, 23:18
dreamstime
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: yingyang0 on December 12, 2007, 23:43
I already did. ;D IS.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: null on December 13, 2007, 00:41
ShuttersTime.

Tough choice to be honest. SS and DT are so different and me thinks they attract different customers, and are not competitive to each other. IS gives me bad vibes. I'd hate to leave BigStock, so... no.

Some choices in life are impossible to make.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: DanP68 on December 13, 2007, 00:50
I would like to say Shutterstock.  They are a joy to upload to, they get images to market fast, and they have a very fair search engine.

But honestly, after the iStockphoto announcement of increased prices, I would have to lean in their direction.  They generally beat Shutterstock in monthly earnings for my portfolio, and "25 to 30 cents per image" is going to look awfully poor in comparison to iStock one month from now.  Hopefully the subscription sites start to value the images we produce a bit higher.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Karimala on December 13, 2007, 01:01
StockXpert or LO.  They are the only sites that haven't pissed me off at one time or another.  LOL
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Clivia on December 13, 2007, 02:55
Shutterstock for sheer professionalism, and my biggest earner by far.

Then SX (if they will ever pay me, when are they getting Paypal sorted?).

I have a real soft spot for Bigstock. When I first started out they were the most helpful site, the reviewers even sending me emails with pointers and tips. Their encouragement meant a great deal.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: grp_photo on December 13, 2007, 03:36
StockXpert or LO.  They are the only sites that haven't pissed me off at one time or another.  LOL
Same here Karimala  :D
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Peter on December 13, 2007, 09:26
Fotolia
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: digiology on December 13, 2007, 11:37
istock
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: jcphoto on December 13, 2007, 11:41
Istock hands down.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: gbcimages on December 13, 2007, 15:13
Gecko
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: vphoto on December 13, 2007, 15:31
what is Gecko ?

vphoto
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: stokfoto on December 13, 2007, 16:41
for  the time being  I am not thinking of going exclusive  but if I had to choose  one it would be IS
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: iclick on December 13, 2007, 16:50
Without a shadow of a doubt Shutterstock better income and not all the rubbish going on there...

this time last year I would have said IS but not now ?? no way!!
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: a.k.a.-tom on December 13, 2007, 17:12

I have a real soft spot for Bigstock. When I first started out they were the most helpful site, the reviewers even sending me emails with pointers and tips. Their encouragement meant a great deal.


I agree with that....  Bigstock has been great in every way for me except the important one...   sales.   If I could pull in the sales that I do with IS.. it would be BigStock.  Easier upload process, higher acceptance.  8)=tom
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: pixelbrat on December 13, 2007, 21:58
Definitely iStock for me.  They have been my top earner by a huge margin and I have learned the most from them.  Luckily I get very few rejections these days but when I do, 9 times out of 10 I agree with it. I don't get any of that "we have too many of this subject" nonsense like some other sites.

I still have no intention of going exclusive any time soon though.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: hatman12 on December 14, 2007, 00:23
iStock without a shadow of a doubt.

SS would be last on my list.  I think they're great - but I don't think they are a good investment for the future.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Karimala on December 14, 2007, 02:20
SS would be last on my list.  I think they're great - but I don't think they are a good investment for the future.

Agreed 100%!!! 
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: cornishman on December 14, 2007, 03:37
Well I went exclusive with iStock about a year ago, but due to the fact I wasn't allowed to sell 3D models on Turbosquid (why?), and rejections for IMO no good reasons, I went the other way again.
I did appeal the rejections to Scout but half of those I never heard of again, due to the amount of images in the que I think.

I couldn't work on an image for 3 or 4 days to have my sole stock company say its not suitable for stock. A no brainer really, had to go back to being non exclusive, and glad I did. Especially after all the server problems at iStock.

But if pushed to go exclusive again, for the money it would be iStock, but I do like Dreamstime, just love the level increase on popular images.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: zorki on December 14, 2007, 10:22
For the money, IS has been the best for me.

For ease of use it would have to be Dreamstime. I love that site...
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: nativelight on December 14, 2007, 11:27
Dreamstime or iStock for me.  ShutterStock can't be my first choice because I can't "feed the beast" often enough to get really good sales there.  When my SS sales fall off (as they are now), I still get consistent sales on DT and IS with old stuff.  The upload limits on IS are a pain so I would probably push DT ahead of them if I really had to make a choice.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: volk65 on December 14, 2007, 14:00
IS. It's a better investment for the long term. "Feed the beast" analogy is true for SS.

OK, here is my ideal microstock site:
* IS for consistency, detailed Web interface and market(ing) power
* SS for the number of sales
* Bigstock for per DL prices (it may change with IS's 2008 price policy)
* LO for the behaviour and kind responses of the reviewers
* All major ones except IS for unlimited (almost) ULs
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: CanuckStock on December 14, 2007, 14:42
Dreamstime or IStock, the edge might go to IStock after the price increase announcement.  Really like the people over at LO but just no sales, hoping for the best for them.  I agree with what a lot of people say about SS, you have constantly feed them and their royalty per download is starting to look just too low.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: takestock on December 15, 2007, 18:35
Dreamstime for me.
Great interface and steady reliable sales.
Tough on acceptance though, but when your images are up they stand a real good chance.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: dbvirago on December 15, 2007, 19:30
$hutter$tock
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: andresr on December 16, 2007, 00:04
Fotolia  ;D
I like Shutterstock but as someone already mentioned, it is not a good investment for the future, you need to keep uploading if you dont want your sales to drop and that is not good.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: rene on December 17, 2007, 12:00
iStock without a shadow of a doubt.

SS would be last on my list.  I think they're great - but I don't think they are a good investment for the future.
Agree.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Peiling on December 18, 2007, 09:03
I actually like Lucky Oliver but the sales is really disappointing....i am wondering why?? ::)
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: louoates on December 18, 2007, 10:31
My choice is UltimateMicroStock08.

No, that one doesn't exist yet. But we get so much satisfaction chasing the next outlet I vote for our never ending search for perfection.

Maybe next year a new site will pop up that will have EVERYTHING we want and NOTHING we hate.

Happy 2008 everybody!
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: vonkara on December 18, 2007, 10:36
The one I like the most for now is Stockxpert. If the sales was consistent like Istock was (not the case for me and my little portfolio), I will choose them.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Phil on December 18, 2007, 16:59
iStock without a shadow of a doubt.

SS would be last on my list.  I think they're great - but I don't think they are a good investment for the future.

I agree about ss, I dont see them as long term. 

Based on sales it would have to istock they are 33% of total stock income with less than a quarter of my images and I would get the advantages of exclusive but I like dt better :)
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: rinderart on December 19, 2007, 11:57
$$
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: Moustyk on December 19, 2007, 12:59
My choice is Shutterstock. The best.
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: ManicBlu on December 19, 2007, 17:22
Without question it would be iStock.

Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: XeniaII on December 19, 2007, 17:24
only fotolia here i earn the most money
Title: Re: If you could only choose one Microstock site
Post by: LanaLanglois on December 20, 2007, 07:49
Shutterstock