Author Topic: JULY SALES (Read 22548 times)

sarah2 · « **on:** July 26, 2017, 01:14 »

My July has been terrible for sale, the worst month for years. Yours?

Pauws99 · « **Reply #1 on:** July 26, 2017, 01:30 »

Coming in about similar to last July some odd sales patterns though

derek · « **Reply #2 on:** July 26, 2017, 01:42 »

Micro-stock not very good but sort of saved by some good RM and RF sales. If August dont show better results in micro I will probably leave micro for good. The RM/RF agencies dont allow same stuff with micro and I would need my port, thats that really.

kaboom · « **Reply #3 on:** July 26, 2017, 01:58 »

What Im seeing is mostly stagnation. But I didnt submit any new images except for one in the last 4 months so I dont really expect any increase..

My Shutterstock sales dropped by 30% overnight in November and since then, Im stuck in this new level, Im still in four figures monthly but it is tight.. July will be slightly better, thanks to two big SODs.

As for the smaller agencies, iStock still generates enough for a monthly payout, stagnating since last year when I removed almost half of my port there.
Dreamstime is about the same for me for the last six years... it takes two or three months to reach the payout, no increase, no decrease, no nothing..
My 123rf sales have been decreasing since I stopped adding new images.
My Adobe sales have been increasing since I stopped adding new images

BelieveInStock · « **Reply #4 on:** July 26, 2017, 07:39 »

Very bad July. I have seen a decrease since November 2016 as well, especially on Shutterstock. Uploading even more than before. Doesn't seem to make sense

.
Looking for other venues to sell premium high quality images. What RM agencies do you recommend ?

PS: I know I should change my nickname here.

zebra007 · « **Reply #5 on:** July 26, 2017, 09:44 »

Me too

Bad in 6 years.

mboy · « **Reply #6 on:** July 26, 2017, 11:00 »

SS - bad
DT - bad
FT - ok

drd · « **Reply #7 on:** July 26, 2017, 13:42 »

Quote from: sarah2 on July 26, 2017, 01:14

My July has been terrible for sale, the worst month for years. Yours?

Tickstock says it has been his best month and year ever. BME .....BYE!

Chichikov · « **Reply #8 on:** July 27, 2017, 02:42 »

This has been a really bad month.

On Shutterstock I have had the worst month of these last 3 years with an earnings amount equal to 50% of my worst previous earnings amount of these last 3 years!!!!!
Even reading the figures i cannot believe it.
No one "Enhanced", لا شيء, nada, rien, nulla, ничего, 没什么

Fotolia has not been very satisfying too: 75% of my usual average.
(+ some extra rejections for "Lack of aesthetic or commercial appeal")

While Dreamstime and 123RF have shown a huge increment in sales… but they are low earners and a "huge increment" is not really so "huge" compared to the earnings of the high earners.

Alamy: I prefer not to say………

The rest: there is a rest?

sandatksf · « **Reply #9 on:** July 27, 2017, 04:09 »

July is my worst month after 9 years.

DT - below 300$ so far

i miss my old days.. in july 2007 I have earned 355$ with only 30 illustrations online. but now I have 3000+ hi quality images and still below 300$

shutterstock - 50% decrease
Fotolia - average
123 rf - 30% decrease

Karen · « **Reply #10 on:** July 27, 2017, 05:12 »

Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42

The rest: there is a rest?

iStock?

ShadySue · « **Reply #11 on:** July 27, 2017, 05:22 »

Quote from: Karen on July 27, 2017, 05:12

Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42
The rest: there is a rest?

iStock?

IS for me for DLs is much the same as previous months this year, and about the same as July 2015*. Of course, it'll be another four weeks before I know how the RPD translates that into $$.

*Compared to previous years, that's nothing to write home about. I was hoping we may be bouncing back from the nadir, but from Jan-June stats, it turns out that a small selection of my pics is showing well in best match, whereas previous best-sellers have gone from best match and never sell, including one that for a while was averaging >1 day (that's good for me, small cheese for others, I know). At that time, it was in the top ten in best match for over a year on its main search term, and usually on the top line. Now that file is below 1000 in best match (I couldn't be bothered looking further back) and hasn't sold once this year.

Chichikov · « **Reply #12 on:** July 27, 2017, 05:45 »

Quote from: Karen on July 27, 2017, 05:12

Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42
The rest: there is a rest?

iStock?

Karen, iStock sales for July* are not available now, as I know

*see thread title

ShadySue · « **Reply #13 on:** July 27, 2017, 05:51 »

Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 05:45

Quote from: Karen on July 27, 2017, 05:12
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42
The rest: there is a rest?

iStock?

Karen, iStock sales for July* are not available now, as I know

*see thread title

Download numbers are available, but not money earned.

jonbull · « **Reply #14 on:** July 27, 2017, 06:38 »

Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 05:51

Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 05:45
Quote from: Karen on July 27, 2017, 05:12
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42
The rest: there is a rest?

iStock?

Karen, iStock sales for July* are not available now, as I know

*see thread title

Download numbers are available, but not money earned.

where?

ShadySue · « **Reply #15 on:** July 27, 2017, 06:45 »

Quote from: jonbull on July 27, 2017, 06:38

Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 05:51
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 05:45
Quote from: Karen on July 27, 2017, 05:12
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42
The rest: there is a rest?

iStock?

Karen, iStock sales for July* are not available now, as I know

*see thread title

Download numbers are available, but not money earned.

where?

Account management > Profile.

It is literally 'downloads year to date', but I've been recording them, so I know how many I've made this month.
After the bump earlier in the month, I understand it's now as accurate as any iS/Getty recording is likely to be.

Chichikov · « **Reply #16 on:** July 27, 2017, 07:27 »

Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 06:45

Quote from: jonbull on July 27, 2017, 06:38
Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 05:51
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 05:45
Quote from: Karen on July 27, 2017, 05:12
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42
The rest: there is a rest?

iStock?

Karen, iStock sales for July* are not available now, as I know

*see thread title

Download numbers are available, but not money earned.

where?

Account management > Profile.

It is literally 'downloads year to date', but I've been recording them, so I know how many I've made this month.
After the bump earlier in the month, I understand it's now as accurate as any iS/Getty recording is likely to be.

Thank you ShadySue, I did not notice that.
So you have to record the number at the end of the month and then count the difference.
Was it so difficult for iStock to give the number of downloads from the beginning of each month? ? ? ? ?

But as now one sale amount can space from $0.02 to $100+ I am not sure that it is very useful.

ShadySue · « **Reply #17 on:** July 27, 2017, 07:47 »

C'mon - you surely don't think they're going to give us any USEFUL information. I'm not even sure that the information is accurate, and some of the stats they have chosen to provide are irrelevant as well as useless.

I did say above that although I know the dls, I don't know the $$.
But people in the July threads have been saying their dls are down massivly on other sites.
My dls ad $$ have been worse on iS than in year prior to 2015. It was a rapid downturn in 2015, then almost every month after that was, for me, the worse Jan, Feb, March etc since 2007 - but within that scenario my June was 1% up from last June and July is going to be in the same ballpark, depending on the next few days, for downloads.

jonbull · « **Reply #18 on:** July 27, 2017, 08:09 »

Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 06:45

Quote from: jonbull on July 27, 2017, 06:38
Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 05:51
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 05:45
Quote from: Karen on July 27, 2017, 05:12
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42
The rest: there is a rest?

iStock?

Karen, iStock sales for July* are not available now, as I know

*see thread title

Download numbers are available, but not money earned.

where?

Account management > Profile.

It is literally 'downloads year to date', but I've been recording them, so I know how many I've made this month.
After the bump earlier in the month, I understand it's now as accurate as any iS/Getty recording is likely to be.

well my download year in profile account is much less than the total of download from the monthly sheet.
i don't know what is considered in that number but i cannot clearly have any indication from that stats.

ShadySue · « **Reply #19 on:** July 27, 2017, 09:41 »

IME, very little balances with any other stat there. It's all smoke and mirrors.
With the way they are reporting subs, they could be indicated as selling today, but the actual calculation of the sale may not appear on the monthly chart until a few months down the line. But as they can roll over subs, I'm not sure when we ever get paid for someone who keeps renewing their subscription. AIUI, they work it out when the sub is over, though I think I did read something about what they do with a renewal.

I was talking about actual sales this month, which is what the title of this thread is about.

drd · « **Reply #20 on:** July 27, 2017, 10:13 »

Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 07:27

But as now one sale amount can space from $0.02 to $100+ I am not sure that it is very useful.

I am pretty much sure we will have to forgot about the $100+ sales with the introduction of the Premium Access.

HalfFull · « **Reply #21 on:** July 27, 2017, 11:50 »

Quote from: jonbull on July 27, 2017, 08:09

Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 06:45
Quote from: jonbull on July 27, 2017, 06:38
Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 05:51
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 05:45
Quote from: Karen on July 27, 2017, 05:12
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42
The rest: there is a rest?

iStock?

Karen, iStock sales for July* are not available now, as I know

*see thread title

Download numbers are available, but not money earned.

where?

Account management > Profile.

It is literally 'downloads year to date', but I've been recording them, so I know how many I've made this month.
After the bump earlier in the month, I understand it's now as accurate as any iS/Getty recording is likely to be.

well my download year in profile account is much less than the total of download from the monthly sheet.
i don't know what is considered in that number but i cannot clearly have any indication from that stats.

Yeah, my profile reports over 600 sales less than the combined monthly sales from the sales reports. I wouldn't be placing much weight on the figures in the profile.

ShadySue · « **Reply #22 on:** July 27, 2017, 12:00 »

OK, don't read what I wrote.
In fact, the difference in my downloads year to date sum for June and my report was 2 (two).

Presumably you're selling many thousands per month for your difference to be so high. Fair enough.

Still, as it's unlikely that my reported sales for July will be less than my ytd numbers, it's still relevant for this thread, which most of the subsequent discussion has not been.

Bad Company · « **Reply #23 on:** July 27, 2017, 20:01 »

This is my 7th July (Started the business in March 2011) and turn out to be my best July. But I am a below average earner (only $3,500 USD for July) thus not a significant factor compared to some folks that make from $10,000 USD to $30,000 USD a month- those are the artists that truly show what the business is doing or not doing.

Minsc · « **Reply #24 on:** July 27, 2017, 22:46 »

FT - A small drop, but still going to be a good month.
SS - A surprisingly good month with some large sales early. 3rd best month of the year.
123RF - A decent size drop. I think it'll recover nicely next month.
DT - Barely any activity.
IS - If this month is any indication, it should be decent next month.

I expected worse from July, since was always my worst month of the year and it didn't turn out so bad. I think next month should be better overall.

alexzappa · « **Reply #25 on:** July 28, 2017, 03:00 »

Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 06:45

Quote from: jonbull on July 27, 2017, 06:38
Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 05:51
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 05:45
Quote from: Karen on July 27, 2017, 05:12
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42
The rest: there is a rest?

iStock?

Karen, iStock sales for July* are not available now, as I know

*see thread title

Download numbers are available, but not money earned.

where?

Account management > Profile.

It is literally 'downloads year to date', but I've been recording them, so I know how many I've made this month.
After the bump earlier in the month, I understand it's now as accurate as any iS/Getty recording is likely to be.

On which website? I can't find it on ESP (and can't login to istock from workplace)

ShadySue · « **Reply #26 on:** July 28, 2017, 03:07 »

ESP

Account Management is top right of the page and Profile is one of the tabs near the top on the left.

PinHead · « **Reply #27 on:** July 28, 2017, 03:41 »

July it is bad but not with Shutterstock...(for a video port)

1. Shutterstock normal with 40 sales (2500 clips & 250 pic)
2. Videoblocks down 50 % (3200 clips)
3.Fotolia/Adobe down 80% (2500 clips & 200 pic)
4.Pond5 down 80% (over 3500 clips & 250 pic)
5. Dreamstime normal with 10+ sales (3200 clips & 250 pic)
6.Depositphotos down 60% (3200 clips & 250 pic)
7. 123rf down 80% (3200 clips & 250 pic)
8.Istock up 50% (with only 250 clips)

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #28 on:** July 28, 2017, 03:53 »

It feels like the worst month ever, but looking at the stats... last July, I made 76% of what I made in June.This year, I've already made 78% of what I made last month, with a few days to go... so I guess it's not all that bad. And last August went back up to around June levels, so hopefully the same thing will happen this year. Fingers crossed.

Dumc · « **Reply #29 on:** July 28, 2017, 10:43 »

SS pretty good thanks to two EL's, one yesterday, one today. Without those, it would be OK, not good, but not bad either. Compared to last july I made 3 times more, but last july was extremly bad.

FT another disastrous month. I'm making less with more photos and silver rank compared to, when I was bronze and had less photos.

Canva pretty good, not best month, but not bad either

Photodune BME thanks two 2 EL's

Other low earning sites as usual. Low earnings

angelawaye · « **Reply #30 on:** July 28, 2017, 12:00 »

July is such a disaster I feel embarrassed for myself ...

southpict · « **Reply #31 on:** July 29, 2017, 01:08 »

Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 07:27

Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 06:45
Quote from: jonbull on July 27, 2017, 06:38
Quote from: ShadySue on July 27, 2017, 05:51
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 05:45
Quote from: Karen on July 27, 2017, 05:12
Quote from: Chichikov on July 27, 2017, 02:42
The rest: there is a rest?

You can use Deepmeta to see how many sales your did the last months and then compare with the value in ESP Profile. Not good for me in July anyway...

iStock?

Karen, iStock sales for July* are not available now, as I know

*see thread title

Download numbers are available, but not money earned.

where?

Account management > Profile.

It is literally 'downloads year to date', but I've been recording them, so I know how many I've made this month.
After the bump earlier in the month, I understand it's now as accurate as any iS/Getty recording is likely to be.

Thank you ShadySue, I did not notice that.
So you have to record the number at the end of the month and then count the difference.
Was it so difficult for iStock to give the number of downloads from the beginning of each month? ? ? ? ?
But as now one sale amount can space from $0.02 to $100+ I am not sure that it is very useful.

temis · « **Reply #32 on:** July 29, 2017, 04:53 »

my july has been the worst too, I am not positive anymore, the more I upload the less I sell. Well, digital world changes continuosly, I had already put a limit in the profits for the future shooting for microstock, time has arrived. It is high time we gave it up if we wished the profits we have had till 2 or 3 years ago. Microstock companies have opened up to everybody, there isnt almost any control of the quality of the pics, almost everything is accepted so it is almost impossible that our pics, even of highest quality, are bought as before. you cannot help it.

Justanotherphotographer · « **Reply #33 on:** July 29, 2017, 06:40 »

Look to be slightly up on last year, so not too bad I guess given current trends.
Of course I work full time on this so an only marginal gain means a big drop in RPI.

jonbull · « **Reply #34 on:** July 29, 2017, 07:07 »

Quote from: temis on July 29, 2017, 04:53

my july has been the worst too, I am not positive anymore, the more I upload the less I sell. Well, digital world changes continuosly, I had already put a limit in the profits for the future shooting for microstock, time has arrived. It is high time we gave it up if we wished the profits we have had till 2 or 3 years ago. Microstock companies have opened up to everybody, there isnt almost any control of the quality of the pics, almost everything is accepted so it is almost impossible that our pics, even of highest quality, are bought as before. you cannot help it.

i agree. look some portfolio asking review here...some where so amateur that makes me think why they are accepted.
i change my tactic off uploading in last period because the most important thing is that good photos are sold and sell soon they uploaded, if not they go buried by some millions files, and as i already aid anybody wants to search infinitely for a relevant files with good and correct keyword in that mess under the tab new files. thats why those who have many popular files still are selling good.

derek · « **Reply #35 on:** July 30, 2017, 00:36 »

people constantly uploading is what keeps these sites alive! and then expecting sales among 400 million pictures all scattered all over the Internet. As one agency-boss said: if uploading was reduced only by 25% Oh boy then we would have to get our act together. Our files are an agencys assets, think about that when you go to the bank and ask for a potential loan of $10 million. Agencies are using OUR assets not only for selling but also for all sorts of negotiations. SS would never have gone public without our pictures would they.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #36 on:** July 30, 2017, 00:51 »

Quote from: derek on July 30, 2017, 00:36

people constantly uploading is what keeps these sites alive! and then expecting sales among 400 million pictures all scattered all over the Internet. As one agency-boss said: if uploading was reduced only by 25% Oh boy then we would have to get our act together. Our files are an agencys assets, think about that when you go to the bank and ask for a potential loan of $10 million. Agencies are using OUR assets not only for selling but also for all sorts of negotiations. SS would never have gone public without our pictures would they.

It surprises me how shallow investors seem to be....in the various Q and A sessions I've never seen once an investor question the quality of the "assets" but just suck up the boast about number of images. While I don't share your vision of impending disaster sooner or later SS growth will slow and I expect investors to do a bit of digging....

sarah2 · « **Reply #37 on:** July 30, 2017, 01:32 »

I once joined a company with a massive warehouse of old, unsellable stock. Still with some value on the balance sheet though written down. Took ages to convince top management that there was no value here - just extra costs storing and auditing and space filled up which could be better used..... And that was face to face and literally walking them round them the space!
But how you get this message to shareholders about such intangible assets as our files is a serious problem.....

Till somebody realizes this, new files, no matter how good, just get washed away in the flood. On the other hand, if they only accept truly professional stuff requiring full frame cameras, studios, 38 different reflectors etc we are still up the creek as they WILL still sell for pennies.

Can't win this game.

sharpshot · « **Reply #38 on:** July 30, 2017, 03:05 »

I'm sure there are benefits for sites having a huge amount of images. Most of them have gone from strange rejection policies that often rejected good images to accepting low commercial value images. Is it because they do much better with Google with more images? I don't think the shareholders care about much, just look at the people investing in banks when they were about to go bust. Most investors have a lot of similarities with gamblers.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #39 on:** July 30, 2017, 03:33 »

Quote from: sarah2 on July 30, 2017, 01:32

I once joined a company with a massive warehouse of old, unsellable stock. Still with some value on the balance sheet though written down. Took ages to convince top management that there was no value here - just extra costs storing and auditing and space filled up which could be better used..... And that was face to face and literally walking them round them the space!
But how you get this message to shareholders about such intangible assets as our files is a serious problem.....

Till somebody realizes this, new files, no matter how good, just get washed away in the flood. On the other hand, if they only accept truly professional stuff requiring full frame cameras, studios, 38 different reflectors etc we are still up the creek as they WILL still sell for pennies.

Can't win this game.

I guess the cost of storage etc is close to zero the problem is though I don't think the search algorithms are good enough to present buyers with good choices. I think in the past the sites had a far higher standard than buyers which was also counter productive. The pendulum has swung too far the other way.

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #40 on:** July 30, 2017, 10:23 »

Quote from: Pauws99 on July 30, 2017, 03:33

I guess the cost of storage etc is close to zero the problem is though I don't think the search algorithms are good enough to present buyers with good choices. I think in the past the sites had a far higher standard than buyers which was also counter productive. The pendulum has swung too far the other way.

never thought i'd see the day i'd agree with you, pauws, but this time i am in agreement.
if i look at my consistent top sellers, i would say they're pretty ordinary compared to many , no, alot of my non-sellers.
unique, "amazing" photography, do not make stock great sales. it's like music.. or art.. or even cuisine..
like the newspaper is meant for what? primary 5 readers, trying to sell cordon bleu to the masses is pretty much suicide,
as with trying to sell coltrane to the masses who go "awwwww!" at lady gaga or celine dion ,etc.
stock photos are the same. we waste out time trying to catch the great one, when really it's the silly stupid minnow that they really want. so, as they give us peanuts for stupid monkeys, give them minnows

stop upgrading your equipment, sell the whole sebang and shoot with mob. everything else is profit!!!

derek · « **Reply #41 on:** July 30, 2017, 10:48 »

Same here Paws!! youre spot on! I just hate to agree with you, hate it!!!!

sarah2 · « **Reply #42 on:** July 30, 2017, 11:24 »

[/quote] I guess the cost of storage etc is close to zero the problem is though I don't think the search algorithms are good enough to present buyers with good choices. I think in the past the sites had a far higher standard than buyers which was also counter productive. The pendulum has swung too far the other way.
[/quote]

I don't think the buyers now have higher standards than the sites - st least not SS. I think they are equally low.

When I see some of the show-me, just-sold-this threads it just makes me despair.

sarah2 · « **Reply #43 on:** July 30, 2017, 11:25 »

"stop upgrading your equipment, sell the whole sebang and shoot with mob. everything else is profit!!!"
If only that was true. Depends where you live. Here fixed costs and taxes have to be paid even if I don't sell a bean...!

Pauws99 · « **Reply #44 on:** July 30, 2017, 13:53 »

Quote from: derek on July 30, 2017, 10:48

Same here Paws!! youre spot on! I just hate to agree with you, hate it!!!!

I'm sure normal service will be resumed soon ;-)

Microstockphoto · « **Reply #45 on:** July 30, 2017, 18:07 »

62% down on my bme, but lets say 50% down on my average before sales plunged overnight

Minsc · « **Reply #46 on:** July 31, 2017, 00:39 »

I don't think the algorithm will ever be good enough for everyone. There will also be someone dissatisfied with it because their files are not showing up on the search.

On amazon, sellers are complaining that their search placement is not high enough, so they buy advertisement on the search rankings. If you do a search for 'led writing tablet', you get over 100 results. And it's like this for nearly every product. And then you have the App Store, where there are nearly 2 million apps and everyone is angry that their app can't be found. Or webmasters frustrated that their website doesn't rank high enough on Google or Bing.

That's basically the problem of any search engine. Not matter how good the algorithm, it will never be good enough for everyone. The only way to get visibility is to understand each search engine and optimize the heck out of everything.

Pauws99 · « **Reply #47 on:** July 31, 2017, 00:53 »

Quote from: Minsc on July 31, 2017, 00:39

I don't think the algorithm will ever be good enough for everyone. There will also be someone dissatisfied with it because their files are not showing up on the search.

On amazon, sellers are complaining that their search placement is not high enough, so they buy advertisement on the search rankings. If you do a search for 'led writing tablet', you get over 100 results. And it's like this for nearly every product. And then you have the App Store, where there are nearly 2 million apps and everyone is angry that their app can't be found. Or webmasters frustrated that their website doesn't rank high enough on Google or Bing.

That's basically the problem of any search engine. Not matter how good the algorithm, it will never be good enough for everyone. The only way to get visibility is to understand each search engine and optimize the heck out of everything.

By definition an Algorithm well never be good enough for everyone....its purpose though is to maximise profit for SS or whoever not to satisfy sellers.....we are probably third in line behind buyers who the sites need to keep happy with images to suit their needs. They also need to keep sellers sufficiently interested to keep uploading but this doesn't currently seem an issue.

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #48 on:** July 31, 2017, 12:59 »

Quote from: Pauws99 on July 31, 2017, 00:53

we are probably third in line behind buyers who the sites need to keep happy with images to suit their needs. They also need to keep sellers sufficiently interested to keep uploading but this doesn't currently seem an issue.

definitely, as i said before, if they drop an sjlocke and let him suffer a shortfall, and instead please 1000 or even 10,000 marginal contributors that would go on ss forum every day as soon as the end the month with 30 dollars, they would not be lacking any new images from sjlocke. there's enough copycat to fill his void, and yes, their work won't be as good as sean's, but really,
the buyers can't see the diff anyway! it's like hamburgers..you feed them garbage and eventually millions will buy from you everyday

Brightontl · « **Reply #49 on:** July 31, 2017, 14:51 »

For me there is another reason why most agencies now accept everything: reviewers cost a lot of money and they generally do an extremely bad job.
How can you expect reviewers paid peanuts to guess which files are going to sell?
Even if an image is plain, stupid and technically wrong, it can be just what the customer needed in that moment.
I understand the strategy of most agencies, at least the surviving one: accept everything and let the market choose which images are the winners.
Then their search engine becomes extremely important: people who have no sales are immediately; downgraded and basically disappear from the scene, as if their images were not approved, only that the choice is made by the buyers, not the reviewers (and also doesn't cost any money).
It does make a lot of sense

Pauws99 · « **Reply #50 on:** July 31, 2017, 15:46 »

Quote from: Brightontl on July 31, 2017, 14:51

For me there is another reason why most agencies now accept everything: reviewers cost a lot of money and they generally do an extremely bad job.
How can you expect reviewers paid peanuts to guess which files are going to sell?
Even if an image is plain, stupid and technically wrong, it can be just what the customer needed in that moment.
I understand the strategy of most agencies, at least the surviving one: accept everything and let the market choose which images are the winners.
Then their search engine becomes extremely important: people who have no sales are immediately; downgraded and basically disappear from the scene, as if their images were not approved, only that the choice is made by the buyers, not the reviewers (and also doesn't cost any money).
It does make a lot of sense

Yes I agree with that but I don't think the search engines are up to the job....

Pauws99 · « **Reply #51 on:** July 31, 2017, 15:48 »

Quote from: etudiante_rapide on July 31, 2017, 12:59

Quote from: Pauws99 on July 31, 2017, 00:53
we are probably third in line behind buyers who the sites need to keep happy with images to suit their needs. They also need to keep sellers sufficiently interested to keep uploading but this doesn't currently seem an issue.

definitely, as i said before, if they drop an sjlocke and let him suffer a shortfall, and instead please 1000 or even 10,000 marginal contributors that would go on ss forum every day as soon as the end the month with 30 dollars, they would not be lacking any new images from sjlocke. there's enough copycat to fill his void, and yes, their work won't be as good as sean's, but really,
the buyers can't see the diff anyway! it's like hamburgers..you feed them garbage and eventually millions will buy from you everyday

and if the buyers cant see the difference in the end thats the only thing that matters

Brightontl · « **Reply #52 on:** July 31, 2017, 16:35 »

Quote from: Pauws99 on July 31, 2017, 15:46

Quote from: Brightontl on July 31, 2017, 14:51
For me there is another reason why most agencies now accept everything: reviewers cost a lot of money and they generally do an extremely bad job.
How can you expect reviewers paid peanuts to guess which files are going to sell?
Even if an image is plain, stupid and technically wrong, it can be just what the customer needed in that moment.
I understand the strategy of most agencies, at least the surviving one: accept everything and let the market choose which images are the winners.
Then their search engine becomes extremely important: people who have no sales are immediately; downgraded and basically disappear from the scene, as if their images were not approved, only that the choice is made by the buyers, not the reviewers (and also doesn't cost any money).
It does make a lot of sense
Yes I agree with that but I don't think the search engines are up to the job....

I think the best search engine is SS one.
And that is the reason why they are by far the number one.
Anyone else is miles and miles behind

ShadySue · « **Reply #53 on:** July 31, 2017, 19:15 »

With all the provisos mentioned above, my downloads ytd on iS for July was my BMY by 10%, and up 16% on June. (I remembered to delete the small bump for balancing ytd stats numbers)
However, as my figures are now so low, probably Not Statistically Relevant.

As my monthly rpd fluctuates rapidly, the dl increases might still result in a poor $$$ month, or I might be pleasantly surprised. I'll know in three weeks' time.

Oh, the excitement.

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #54 on:** July 31, 2017, 19:18 »

Quote from: Brightontl on July 31, 2017, 16:35

.
And that is the reason why they are by far the number one.

correction! they are #1 but not by far ! it is like they say in politics or boxing, they are chosen not because they are the best, but that there is nothing else worth selecting. ss is the only bozo that is #1 based on their history; something they are "by far" and "miles and miles behind" the SS that we all chose in the first place.

ShadySue · « **Reply #55 on:** July 31, 2017, 19:26 »

SS is peculiar. An SS ad turned up on my phone today (must get an adblocker installed there, where is that round tuit?) and when I clicked on it (so they had to pay for annoying me, plus I was on a long bus journey), I got to a French language page (though the photo which was in the ad had been taken in the UK). I just typed in shutterstock into a new tab to see if the search engine had improved (it was awful, it was good then it was so-so, but I haven't checked in ages) and I got to a ~~Spanish~~ sorry, it's Portuguese, language page. All I did was type shutterstock into the URL line and somehow landed there, searching from Scotland.

Doesn't matter, as I'm not a buyer, but seems strange ...

Pauws99 · « **Reply #56 on:** August 01, 2017, 01:16 »

Turned out a better month than it felt...assuming IS doesn't tank better than last july. Volume down on SS but more than compensated for by some higher value downloads. FT/adbobe poor. DT third month in a row above rolling average..maybe an improvement is "sticking" for once. Third month RF123 has been disaster after previously been punching above its weight for me. Not great no apocalypse.

sarah2 · « **Reply #57 on:** August 01, 2017, 01:38 »

Worst month for years unless IS rides to the rescue (unlikely).

eyewave · « **Reply #58 on:** August 01, 2017, 01:57 »

Quote from: sarah2 on August 01, 2017, 01:38

Worst month for years unless IS rides to the rescue (unlikely).

Same here.
SS: worst month since Feb. 2014 (despite my files having doubled)
FT: worst month in about 2 years
Stock: worst month since 2010 (but who cares anyway)

qunamax · « **Reply #59 on:** August 01, 2017, 05:38 »

IS a bit less than average months.
SS BME almost double my average months, I did increase my portfolio but new files sell rarely.
FT completely dead since June, flat line, it was in line with IS before June, very strange.

jonbull · « **Reply #60 on:** August 01, 2017, 08:01 »

i suspect that there is very few we can do to improve significantly...

or u hit the jackpot with some niche photos, practically impossible, the big problem is that if they accept every crap , it's impossible to being noticed if people cheat with keyword and they accept all.
i suspect if you have many files in popular tab so you can still do good, but if you have not many you can't grow up cause practically nobody is looking for photos through new files, due to a completely illogical mess. i made some search to see what is selling yesterday...really is not possible to have such a mess and nobody who doesn't do nothing.

Mantis · « **Reply #61 on:** August 01, 2017, 08:39 »

I thought I'd never say this but I am hoping that IStock bails out my huge drop from Shutterstock.

pancaketom · « **Reply #62 on:** August 01, 2017, 10:27 »

SS was horrible. Lowest RPI ever, I have to go back to Nov 2007 to find a lower month there - that was with less than 1/6 of the images (nearly 1/7).

It wasn't the worst month of the year - in fact there were 2 worse this year. Ok sales at Alamy and a few of my middle sellers kept things from being completely dire, but it is still pretty sad.

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #63 on:** August 01, 2017, 17:19 »

Quote from: eyewave on August 01, 2017, 01:57

Quote from: sarah2 on August 01, 2017, 01:38
Worst month for years unless IS rides to the rescue (unlikely).

Same here.
SS: worst month since Feb. 2014 (despite my files having doubled)
FT: worst month in about 2 years
Stock: worst month since 2010 (but who cares anyway)

ss was up .. but that was because for months it tanked so , anything looks like up nowadays ...
but like you said, who cares anyway?
i think pancake tom sums it all up ...

Quote from: pancaketom on August 01, 2017, 10:27

SS was horrible. Lowest RPI ever, I have to go back to Nov 2007 to find a lower month there - that was with less than 1/6 of the images (nearly 1/7).

Quasarphoto · « **Reply #64 on:** August 01, 2017, 18:16 »

Same as last year.

UKstock · « **Reply #65 on:** August 01, 2017, 20:40 »

Video sales were down on last year on SS and P5 despite 2000 more uploads and better content.

YadaYadaYada · « **Reply #66 on:** August 01, 2017, 22:23 »

Quote from: sarah2 on August 01, 2017, 01:38

Worst month for years unless IS rides to the rescue (unlikely).

Which we don't know until September and by then, we have more important things to look at than two month old reports from a snake in the grass.

derek · « **Reply #67 on:** August 02, 2017, 00:24 »

You people here from where do you get this stamina? I admire it actually!! I mean for those of us who are doing this full-time and as a living its pretty obvious that the micro ship is overall sinking and the reason it will never recover is the fact the agencies are still piling up millions and millions of accepted files no matter what and every single month.
Its become a complete mugs game.

Dumc · « **Reply #68 on:** August 02, 2017, 02:37 »

Stop whining already and just quit. We got it by now. MS is dead, your earnings are down 50% and new files don't sell.

derek · « **Reply #69 on:** August 02, 2017, 04:28 »

Quote from: Dumc on August 02, 2017, 02:37

Stop whining already and just quit. We got it by now. MS is dead, your earnings are down 50% and new files don't sell.

Sure Box! hehehe!

derek · « **Reply #70 on:** August 02, 2017, 06:36 »

Quote from: Mantis on August 01, 2017, 08:39

I thought I'd never say this but I am hoping that IStock bails out my huge drop from Shutterstock.

Actually you could be right! might just do. I have noticed a considerable increase in sales from IStock! probably around a 200% increase. Dont ask me how come because Im an independent.
It could be that they have taken a kinder attitude towards indies and finallty realize they actually need their content!

alexzappa · « **Reply #71 on:** August 02, 2017, 06:47 »

Quote from: ShadySue on July 28, 2017, 03:07

ESP

Account Management is top right of the page and Profile is one of the tabs near the top on the left.

It's where I was looking for... all I can see are personal information (Name, Address and so on..)

sauletas · « **Reply #72 on:** August 02, 2017, 08:06 »

This July is my worst month this year but +24% compared to last year July.
Pond5 beat up Shutterstock first time ever!
Here is my top 7 (50$+) compared with July/average of 2016 year:

1. Pond5        +156%/ +23%
2. Shutterstock -23%/ -41%
3. Fotolia/Adobe +3%/ -4%
4. Videoblocks     +46%/ -53%
5. Dreamstime    +131%/+153%
6. 123rf       +358%/ +4%
7. Depositphotos -15%/ +72%

lightphoto · « **Reply #73 on:** August 02, 2017, 10:51 »

Worst month since July 2012, when my ports were about half the size they are now. Down 40% from June, 2017. Down 10% from July 2017
Shutterstock continues a very poor 2017, but July was bad in 2016, too. -70% from June, down 7% from a poor July 2016.
Getty/Istock (June) - another decent month, but down slightly from other months in 2017. Still, it was double June 2016.
Fotolia - OK, only down 18% from June, down 15% from July 2016.
Dreamstime - down 40% from June, down 1/3rd from July 2016
123RF - BAD. down 85% from a record June. down 80% from July 2016
Alamy - Zip, zero, nada. hard to compare months since sales are so all over the place.
I do have two Alamy sales in August already, so that's looking up.

YadaYadaYada · « **Reply #74 on:** August 02, 2017, 21:10 »

Quote from: Dumc on August 02, 2017, 02:37

Stop whining already and just quit. We got it by now. MS is dead, your earnings are down 50% and new files don't sell.

He's been writing the same for five years. Might be right, but it's like telling someone that they aren't 18 anymore, when they are 30. We already know that. Just like we know that the whole Micro Market has changed since years ago. Trads are no more. Competition is uploading 1 million new photos a month. Why discuss and argue the obvious with some slant or conspiracy. The market has changed, the competition has changed, the old days are gone for years now, not months.

derek · « **Reply #75 on:** August 03, 2017, 00:35 »

Quote from: YadaYadaYada on August 02, 2017, 21:10

Quote from: Dumc on August 02, 2017, 02:37
Stop whining already and just quit. We got it by now. MS is dead, your earnings are down 50% and new files don't sell.

He's been writing the same for five years. Might be right, but it's like telling someone that they aren't 18 anymore, when they are 30. We already know that. Just like we know that the whole Micro Market has changed since years ago. Trads are no more. Competition is uploading 1 million new photos a month. Why discuss and argue the obvious with some slant or conspiracy. The market has changed, the competition has changed, the old days are gone for years now, not months.

5years?? blimey Ive only been active in this forum for 2 years or even less. didnt know the market have changed

thought it was the same like back in 2005. I wasnt even aware of SS going public until I joined this forum so steady on buddy.

Chichikov · « **Reply #76 on:** August 03, 2017, 01:33 »

A picture is worth a thousand words

zebra007 · « **Reply #77 on:** August 03, 2017, 04:08 »

Me too!

Dumc · « **Reply #78 on:** August 03, 2017, 06:19 »

Quote from: Chichikov on August 03, 2017, 01:33

A picture is worth a thousand words

Take your best month and your worst month/2 and you're in the average. Where's the problem?

Chichikov · « **Reply #79 on:** August 03, 2017, 06:53 »

Quote from: Dumc on August 03, 2017, 06:19

Quote from: Chichikov on August 03, 2017, 01:33
A picture is worth a thousand words

Take your best month and your worst month/2 and you're in the average. Where's the problem?

The problem is that I want my average to be equal to my best month

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #80 on:** August 03, 2017, 07:10 »

Quote from: Chichikov on August 03, 2017, 06:53

The problem is that I want my average to be equal to my best month

Nice thought, but that will never happen.

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #81 on:** August 03, 2017, 07:52 »

Overall worst month since July 2015. SS was below monthly averages for the past five years back through 2013. FT strong but only about 1/3 of SS. BMY on DP and Stockxpert (anybody else still have images there?). WMY on DT and Canva. DT very bad - only about 1/3 of the average from 2015. Canva was the biggest disappointment. Last year they really made up the slack from declining sales elsewhere but this year they are tanking with each month worst than the last - July was only about 1/3 of the average from last year. I assume it is just competition from other contributors - too bad, wish all the competition would just go away!