Author Topic: Is it worth to remove images that are not selling? (Read 14879 times)

enstoker · « **Reply #25 on:** February 01, 2014, 05:30 »

Quote from: JPSDK on January 29, 2014, 12:04

Quote from: Rinderart on January 29, 2014, 11:42
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"

Maybe you shoot sh..t, I do not.
Less is more!

ShadySue · « **Reply #26 on:** February 01, 2014, 05:44 »

Quote from: JPSDK on January 29, 2014, 12:04

Quote from: Rinderart on January 29, 2014, 11:42
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"

Other than certain very high commercial ports repeating the same model, style or themes, I doubt if many customers bother to go through a port.
It could be different with illustrators, some of whom have a very distinct style which a buyer might like for a particular extended project (but could backfire on them when the buyer moves on to another project and doesn't want the same style).

Rinderart · « **Reply #27 on:** February 01, 2014, 16:08 »

Quote from: enstoker on February 01, 2014, 05:30

Quote from: JPSDK on January 29, 2014, 12:04
Quote from: Rinderart on January 29, 2014, 11:42
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"

Maybe you shoot sh..t, I do not.

Would love to see your Port Pls.. a link Perhaps.
Less is more!

JPSDK · « **Reply #28 on:** February 01, 2014, 16:26 »

Quote from: Gino on February 01, 2014, 04:28

I had the same experience. One of my first images. Never sold and then $28 sale. So never delete anything.

Sure sure. Everybody are talking about the sales they get on old burried pictures.
So never delete a picture when it might earn 38 cents or even 28 dollars.

Noone thinks of the damage those 28,38 dollars do to their port.
And can you not imagine all the pictures you have NOT sold because some crap showed up when they searched in your neighbourhood.

JPSDK · « **Reply #29 on:** February 01, 2014, 16:29 »

Quote from: ShadySue on February 01, 2014, 05:44

Quote from: JPSDK on January 29, 2014, 12:04
Quote from: Rinderart on January 29, 2014, 11:42
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"
Other than certain very high commercial ports repeating the same model, style or themes, I doubt if many customers bother to go through a port.
It could be different with illustrators, some of whom have a very distinct style which a buyer might like for a particular extended project (but could backfire on them when the buyer moves on to another project and doesn't want the same style).

OR. the customer, might finally have found a mine of treasures, where he can get the nische content he wanted.

JPSDK · « **Reply #30 on:** February 01, 2014, 16:30 »

Quote from: enstoker on February 01, 2014, 05:30

Quote from: JPSDK on January 29, 2014, 12:04
Quote from: Rinderart on January 29, 2014, 11:42
NEVER DELETE.

Unless you care about what your port looks like in the customers eyes.
Like do they drool, or do they think: "Average, there is a lot of sh++t there"

Maybe you shoot sh..t, I do not.
Less is more!

My port is here:
http://www.shutterstock.com/portfolio/search.mhtml?gallery_landing=1&gallery_id=88729&page=1&safesearch=1&sort_method=newest

Goofy · « **Reply #31 on:** February 01, 2014, 18:53 »

"Sure sure. Everybody are talking about the sales they get on old burried pictures.
So never delete a picture when it might earn 38 cents or even 28 dollars.

Noone thinks of the damage those 28,38 dollars do to their port.
And can you not imagine all the pictures you have NOT sold because some crap showed up when they searched in your neighbourhood."

This is a good point of view, at least in my eyes. Sort of like sending a batch of images for review knowing one is not too good but hoping the reviewer will pass it. What happens if the first image that the reviewer sees is that one image that you know wasn't too good? It might turn them off thus they reject your entire batch! Of course, that never happens to us right...

ShadySue · « **Reply #32 on:** February 01, 2014, 19:06 »

Quote from: Goofy on February 01, 2014, 18:53

Noone thinks of the damage those 28,38 dollars do to their port.
And can you not imagine all the pictures you have NOT sold because some crap showed up when they searched in your neighbourhood."

No, because if someone wants an apple in my port, they won't not buy the apple because they didn't like the photo of a jellyfish I uploaded years ago.
(NB, don't bother looking, I have neither apples nor jellyfish, these were just examples.)
What's much more likely to bother buyers is if, in looking for apples on any site, they have to wade through dozens of images of pears, plums, bananas, hedgehogs, sticking plasters and any old random files people had keyworded 'apple'.
More and more on iS, for example, I see people keywording entire batches of files with keywords which might or might not apply to one of the files in the batch.

Even in Jens' example of the niche, if my niche was spingleplonks, I don't think a buyer is going to not buy my red spotted spingleplonk which they need and can't find elsewhere because they don't like my green stripey spingleplonk.

But everyone has to hoe their own furrow. (And I don't have any stock of that, either.)

ShadySue · « **Reply #33 on:** February 01, 2014, 19:17 »

However people may like to watch the pattern of the default sort order on the different sites to see if a cull might make sense on some sites (of files in more popular genres).
Just a possibility, I have no idea if this is so anywhere.

JPSDK · « **Reply #34 on:** February 02, 2014, 01:25 »

Quote from: ShadySue on February 01, 2014, 19:06

Quote from: Goofy on February 01, 2014, 18:53
Noone thinks of the damage those 28,38 dollars do to their port.
And can you not imagine all the pictures you have NOT sold because some crap showed up when they searched in your neighbourhood."
No, because if someone wants an apple in my port, they won't not buy the apple because they didn't like the photo of a jellyfish I uploaded years ago.
(NB, don't bother looking, I have neither apples nor jellyfish, these were just examples.)
What's much more likely to bother buyers is if, in looking for apples on any site, they have to wade through dozens of images of pears, plums, bananas, hedgehogs, sticking plasters and any old random files people had keyworded 'apple'.
More and more on iS, for example, I see people keywording entire batches of files with keywords which might or might not apply to one of the files in the batch.

Even in Jens' example of the niche, if my niche was spingleplonks, I don't think a buyer is going to not buy my red spotted spingleplonk which they need and can't find elsewhere because they don't like my green stripey spingleplonk.

But everyone has to hoe their own furrow. (And I don't have any stock of that, either.)

But they might find the red spotted on a search for spingleplon, because they looked into your port, because they liked the greenspotted.
Thats what I do, when I see a picture I like, then I check the port, and see what else that guy has, because he is good.

ShadySue · « **Reply #35 on:** February 02, 2014, 08:57 »

Quote from: JPSDK on February 02, 2014, 01:25

Quote from: ShadySue on February 01, 2014, 19:06
Quote from: Goofy on February 01, 2014, 18:53
Noone thinks of the damage those 28,38 dollars do to their port.
And can you not imagine all the pictures you have NOT sold because some crap showed up when they searched in your neighbourhood."
No, because if someone wants an apple in my port, they won't not buy the apple because they didn't like the photo of a jellyfish I uploaded years ago.
(NB, don't bother looking, I have neither apples nor jellyfish, these were just examples.)
What's much more likely to bother buyers is if, in looking for apples on any site, they have to wade through dozens of images of pears, plums, bananas, hedgehogs, sticking plasters and any old random files people had keyworded 'apple'.
More and more on iS, for example, I see people keywording entire batches of files with keywords which might or might not apply to one of the files in the batch.

Even in Jens' example of the niche, if my niche was spingleplonks, I don't think a buyer is going to not buy my red spotted spingleplonk which they need and can't find elsewhere because they don't like my green stripey spingleplonk.

But everyone has to hoe their own furrow. (And I don't have any stock of that, either.)
But they might find the red spotted on a search for spingleplon, because they looked into your port, because they liked the greenspotted.
Thats what I do, when I see a picture I like, then I check the port, and see what else that guy has, because he is good.

I'm not a buyer, but I can also imagine that in my scenario, a different buyer might like the green stripey one better, or it just fits their layout better.
I guess the bottom line is that there's no definitive answer, it depends on each agency and the way they do their 'best match' equivalent - which doesn't apply to niches anyway.

ArenaCreative · « **Reply #36 on:** February 03, 2014, 21:47 »

Another vote for NEVER

One man's junk is another man's treasure. Sometimes your largest duds become your biggest exclusive buyouts on sites like DT, or EL sales elsewhere.

Don't over analyze it, just keep making images and move forward, don't look back. Paralysis of analysis.

raclro · « **Reply #37 on:** February 07, 2014, 00:06 »

The one and only guarantee in this business is----If it is not available, it will not sell. Deleting a file guarantees NO SALE, EVER. I cannot imagine deleting a file unless copyright issues are a potential liability. I have had hundreds, no thousands of sporadic sales on old files with few or no previous sales. I consider a portfolio to be simply a means for sales, not a work of art.. Today I sold a "piece of crap" portfolio filler for $55 EL.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #38 on:** February 08, 2014, 11:52 »

Quote from: Blackx on January 29, 2014, 07:00

So, do YOU delete your unsuccessful files?

Or what do you think about it?

Thank you!

NO

Waste of time.

No one buys photos off my backup drives. Ever!

You're welcome.

lisafx · « **Reply #39 on:** February 08, 2014, 17:31 »

[quote author=Goofy link=topic=21847.msg363706#msg363706

This is a good point of view, at least in my eyes. Sort of like sending a batch of images for review knowing one is not too good but hoping the reviewer will pass it. What happens if the first image that the reviewer sees is that one image that you know wasn't too good? It might turn them off thus they reject your entire batch! Of course, that never happens to us right...

[/quote]

I think they are two separate issues. Don't submit pictures you know are of low quality hoping they squeek by. But if you have submitted images you believed to be good, and you still think they're good, I don't see a reason to delete them just because they are older.

JPSDK · « **Reply #40 on:** February 08, 2014, 17:55 »

No, its the same mechanism.

and it is global, which is why shop owners throw out outdated goods.
Remember.. We are shops, arent we? Small individual shops with only 2 windows ( newest first and most popular).
So what does your shop have on display in the window? and do the customers walk by, or do they step in and begin to shop around?

pancaketom · « **Reply #41 on:** February 08, 2014, 19:14 »

Quote from: JPSDK on February 08, 2014, 17:55

No, its the same mechanism.

and it is global, which is why shop owners throw out outdated goods.
Remember.. We are shops, arent we? Small individual shops with only 2 windows ( newest first and most popular).
So what does your shop have on display in the window? and do the customers walk by, or do they step in and begin to shop around?

I think shop owners throw out outdated goods (except food) to clear up space for new stuff. There is essentially no limit to the space in the back of the shop here. Also it doesn't matter if you throw images out what is on the first page of newest first or most popular (unless you advocate deleting the most popular images which nobody is).

I say unless there is something obviously wrong or copyright or model issues there is no reason to delete anything (assuming you can stomach the agency policies). If it sells you win, and if someone is looking at the back of your "shop" they shouldn't be turned off by low sellers. If agencies start messing with search so total portfolio sales ratio or something like that count then maybe you should delete low sellers, otherwise no.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #42 on:** February 10, 2014, 12:43 »

Not quite the same as shop owners. Inventory costs money. Display space costs money. Having old stale goods and out of date items on the shelf (except selling antiques) is an expense and financial liability.

We don't pay for storage, the images are already there, they are paid for and working. As Sue wrote: "Other than certain very high commercial ports repeating the same model, style or themes, I doubt if many customers bother to go through a port." I must agree.

The only people I've known to go through my collection are people here or SS forum, who want to see what I'm up to. Buyers for a photo of Curried Lamb aren't likely to look at my Tony Kanaan in a garage shots, or some pumpkin with Fall leaves, isolated on white.

I might be diverse (lacking identity) and have no special attraction or style, like someone who does pretty nature shots or layered macros, and buyers would be more likely to look through for more similar materials. I don't have that kind of collection on Microstock.

I'll rest on this. I don't sell much off my hard drives, except by request. No one ever buys an image that they can't see. Thus, leave them up or you have just removed all possibility that someone will download and license it.

I also agree with Lisa, I don't upload junk and am very selective. If it was good enough to pass for me, the first time, and pass review by an agency, it's good enough to be on the market. I can't see any advantage to churning the collection or what's on display.

Quote from: JPSDK on February 08, 2014, 17:55

No, its the same mechanism.

and it is global, which is why shop owners throw out outdated goods.
Remember.. We are shops, arent we? Small individual shops with only 2 windows ( newest first and most popular).
So what does your shop have on display in the window? and do the customers walk by, or do they step in and begin to shop around?

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Author Topic: Is it worth to remove images that are not selling? (Read 14879 times)

enstoker

ShadySue

Rinderart

JPSDK

JPSDK

JPSDK

Goofy

ShadySue

ShadySue

JPSDK

ShadySue

ArenaCreative

raclro

Uncle Pete

lisafx

JPSDK

pancaketom

Uncle Pete

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