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Author Topic: iStock Something Is Wrong!!  (Read 7616 times)

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« Reply #25 on: November 13, 2012, 18:25 »
0
Video is a very stable income

But you said you went 4 days without a sale. That doesn't sound too stable.

edit: gostwyck beat me to it.


ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #26 on: November 13, 2012, 18:48 »
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Video is a very stable income

Not that stable according to your opening post. Mind you, I suppose zero sales for 4 days does represent 'stability' of a kind. At least you're unlikely to go any lower than that __ and that must be of some comfort anyway.
<whispers>Refunds.  :(  >:(

« Reply #27 on: November 13, 2012, 19:06 »
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The other thing that's noticeable (and might relate to jjneff's predicament) is that sales drop sharply whenever an additional process has to be run.  This happens to me and many others (and has also been reported in the relevant threads).  Many people have commented on the volatility of sales, things chugging along for two or three days, then Wham a sudden down day of 30% or more.  These 'bad days' seem to coincide with the index runs or other additional activities.  For instance my own sales are always noticeably lower whenever they are running the PP payments.

This suggests that either the servers are configured incorrectly, or there simply isn't enough power in the system for it to cope with an additional process.  So some of the servers or other functions have to be cut.  Hence the drop in sales reported by many people.  Reminds me of my old desktop computer which would occasionally pop up a message 'your system is running low on memory, please close some programs'.

My own sales drop whenever they run the index.  And sales have been slow these last three days while the PP payments have been credited.

No surprise to find that jjneff's sales have dropped off a cliff exactly when they've been running the PP payments for the same three or four day period.

So: either the back end systems are inefficient, configured incorrectly, or the systems department has been so starved of cash that there isn't enough capacity to run everything at the same time.

« Reply #28 on: November 13, 2012, 19:18 »
+1
I sent a note to contributor relations about my frustration with the sudden drop in sales that started sometime in september october. The first response was a copy and paste explanation of best match. I sent a sort of rude follow up and received a snotty portfolio critique. Something has definitely changed. I wish it were easy to delete a portfolio and move it to another agency or agencies. Maybe next year.

« Reply #29 on: November 13, 2012, 19:36 »
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While I am not happy about the sales in November, keep in mind that a significant portion of E+ files have been moved to Getty. We may see some higher priced Getty sales either the end of November or later. Who knows.

mattdixon

« Reply #30 on: November 13, 2012, 19:54 »
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Something is definitely wrong, I've been watching the sales drop over the last 2 months with an open mouth, November looks to decline further still. Can't quite believe what I'm seeing, I'm beginning to wonder if iStock will actually still be here next year.

« Reply #31 on: November 13, 2012, 19:55 »
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Stable as in the year which I am happy about! It's just I am seeing strange trends and have concern with iStock staying viable in the future. They pay the highest for video than all the others so staying is great if buyers keep coming! I am up about 25% over last year which is good.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #32 on: November 13, 2012, 20:02 »
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While I am not happy about the sales in November, keep in mind that a significant portion of E+ files have been moved to Getty. We may see some higher priced Getty sales either the end of November or later. Who knows.
Maybe 'a significant portion' of your E+s. Not mine nor some others I know. I did notice that others in the Exclusive forum said most of theirs were through. Not even a quarter of mine are transferred.
That's not the point anyway. Surely the idea is that any Getty sales should be over and above what we are earning at iStock, not replacing lost sales.
Getty sales can be ridiculously small. I've had one netting me $1.19, and I've seen lower. I can't even work out how that can happen. And whatever, they are only at 20% to us.

« Reply #33 on: November 13, 2012, 20:30 »
+1
I'm seeing a big drop also. Sept, Oct and Nov are way down. This month I am on track to make 1/2 of what I did last November (!)

I've seen ups and downs over the last 5 years, but not like this. Luckily I've socked away money knowing this might happen. I'm not going to stress with the holidays coming up, but will wait to see if there's the usual rebound early next year. If not, I will consider dropping exclusivity.

« Reply #34 on: November 14, 2012, 07:15 »
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I am also feeling the hurt this week with sales at istock. What gets me is their attitude with 'well, our financials are in line with our expectations'. But I always think to myself that if exclusives are complaining then there is definitely something terribly wrong at istock.

My advice would be if you are going to drop exclusivity next year now is the time to start planning. eg. which sites you plan on submitting to, upload processes, is it possible to start uploading now, what prices will you set your files at etc. If i were you i would also have a bit of buffer money in the bank to help ease the change over.

« Reply #35 on: November 14, 2012, 07:17 »
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I am also feeling the hurt this week with sales at istock. What gets me is their attitude with 'well, our financials are in line with our expectations'. But I always think to myself that if exclusives are complaining then there is definitely something terribly wrong at istock.


Good morning ....  ;)

« Reply #36 on: November 14, 2012, 07:29 »
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While I am not happy about the sales in November, keep in mind that a significant portion of E+ files have been moved to Getty. We may see some higher priced Getty sales either the end of November or later. Who knows.

3% of mine so far, so insignificant would be the word for me.

KB

« Reply #37 on: November 14, 2012, 10:31 »
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Since the OP was about video sales, I thought I'd add my iStock experience this month.

I've had a total of ZERO video sales so far this month on iStock.

The longest I had to wait anytime this year for a sale before this month was in September, when I didn't get my first sale until the 4th of the month.

My port is nowhere near the size or quality of the OP's, but this seems highly unusual.

lisafx

« Reply #38 on: November 14, 2012, 11:54 »
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My advice would be if you are going to drop exclusivity next year now is the time to start planning. eg. which sites you plan on submitting to, upload processes, is it possible to start uploading now, what prices will you set your files at etc. If i were you i would also have a bit of buffer money in the bank to help ease the change over.

Most importantly, start (re)keywording your images in the IPTC with an eye toward how keywording works on other sites.  For example you will need synonyms and plurals added, which isn't necessary with the Istock CV. 

« Reply #39 on: November 14, 2012, 12:28 »
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Do other libraries tend to have a 50 keyword limit as well?

lisafx

« Reply #40 on: November 14, 2012, 13:03 »
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Do other libraries tend to have a 50 keyword limit as well?

Some do.  I'll be honest, I don't go over 50 on them because that's enough, and I don't want the hassle of removing them from the sites that limit it to 50. 

Crestock now limits to 35, but it isn't really an issue because sales there are nearly non-existent. 

« Reply #41 on: November 14, 2012, 13:04 »
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50 is a pretty good rule of thumb as an upper limit.  Note that a number of sites limit the length  of titles so I try not to go over 40 characters. 


« Reply #42 on: November 14, 2012, 13:38 »
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Back in the day I was a non-exclusive with SS and others. I know if I am dropping I can upload my port and keep it non active. I have a plan B and have had one for three years. You can bank on everything changing. The value I have is my work, there is always a need for good work :-) so we all should be in business for a while.

« Reply #43 on: November 14, 2012, 14:32 »
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My advice would be if you are going to drop exclusivity next year now is the time to start planning. eg. which sites you plan on submitting to, upload processes, is it possible to start uploading now, what prices will you set your files at etc. If i were you i would also have a bit of buffer money in the bank to help ease the change over.

Most importantly, start (re)keywording your images in the IPTC with an eye toward how keywording works on other sites.  For example you will need synonyms and plurals added, which isn't necessary with the Istock CV.

Good suggestions. Luckily I only have 400 files, so it shouldn't be too painful. I'll probably poke around other sites, but I'm going to give it some time. For the last 5 years, this one included, iStock has been surprisingly consistent for me. My yearly totals don't fluctuate more than 10% or so. It's what happens in-between that's maddening! And I know that happens, but like I said, this one is bigger than usual. Fingers crossed it rebounds shortly.


 

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