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Author Topic: Noticeable slow April - Minus 30%  (Read 16047 times)

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« on: April 23, 2012, 11:28 »
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Was just wondering if April was usually a ''slow'' month, like december?

It may catch up before the end of the month, but right now I am facing hard fact that if this conitnues like the previous 3 weeks, I am down 33% in income this month, which is a huge loss compared to a constant gain for over the last 14 months.

Was just wondering if anyone else was experiencing a general slowdown?

I hope it should catch up on the following month,

Thanks!


wut

« Reply #1 on: April 23, 2012, 11:35 »
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Your port's so big that soon (or perhaps it's already happening) you won't be able to upload enough to guarantee constant rise of earnings. That could be the case. I'm having a second BME already at SS, I didn't calculate it for the other sites. But I doubt it'll be a BME, although I was also having 3 consecutive

« Reply #2 on: April 23, 2012, 11:37 »
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April's generally slower for me than March, averaging down 7% over the past six years. May and June continue the decline, which reverses itself from July through October, declining again from November through January and then picking up in February.  The cycle has been remarkably consistent from year to year, even as I grow my portfolio.  30% sounds high, but may relate to the size and volatility of your port or seasonal content.

« Reply #3 on: April 23, 2012, 11:42 »
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Every month is different every year. This April is going well for me though (at least by my standards). Was that ambiguous enough?  ;)

rubyroo

« Reply #4 on: April 23, 2012, 11:54 »
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Whenever I start to worry mid-month, I re-read my sig and resolve to wait until the end of the month.  Saves a lot of stress.

« Reply #5 on: April 23, 2012, 13:13 »
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Whenever I start to worry mid-month, I re-read my sig and resolve to wait until the end of the month.  Saves a lot of stress.

Yes I told myself that last week, but now we have more than 3 weeks in April. Doing a great day today, but if I check the prorata of the month I am at 800$ difference from last months... Was just wondering if there was some noticeable change for everyone depending on the months since I only have 1 year of serious data to compare from,

...but I DO hope it resolves by the end of the month... 7 day to go... ! But would have to double my daily income for that to happen so not counting on it ;)

Thanks!

« Reply #6 on: April 23, 2012, 13:22 »
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March was good and April is slower.  I'm sure the Easter holidays lower sales.  Some slower months improve a lot in the last week, so there's still time.

« Reply #7 on: April 23, 2012, 13:26 »
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This is definitely the slowest April for nearly 12 months.

« Reply #8 on: April 23, 2012, 13:50 »
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I had a pretty good month in march, will be 300 off this month when compared to last.

rubyroo

« Reply #9 on: April 23, 2012, 13:56 »
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But would have to double my daily income for that to happen

Well I wish you that then.  ;D

Good luck and fingers crossed for you.

« Reply #10 on: April 23, 2012, 15:15 »
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Very slow for me, too.  Down a lot on all sites except for DepositPhotos, which is a BME.  Might end up 30% off of the last couple of months unless something changes dramatically.

Batman

« Reply #11 on: April 23, 2012, 15:29 »
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Absolutely dire !!! Do you know Herg?

« Reply #12 on: April 23, 2012, 16:22 »
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sure it's slower than march..

but not december slow..

« Reply #13 on: April 23, 2012, 16:37 »
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Cheer up, i'm at -40% !!
Very derpressing.

lisafx

« Reply #14 on: April 23, 2012, 17:55 »
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December's the slowest for me, because sales all but stop the last week or two.  But Summer is slow in general, and usually July is pretty bad. 

« Reply #15 on: April 23, 2012, 18:51 »
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Cheer up, i'm at -40% !!
Very derpressing.

Welcome to the joys of exclusivity and the vagaries of Istock's best match. You can't say you haven't been warned about this phenomena countless times on here. You know what the solution is.

« Reply #16 on: April 23, 2012, 20:36 »
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still climbing but then again I am very small


« Reply #17 on: April 23, 2012, 22:44 »
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I had a slow start to the month and figured it had to do with Easter and spring break/family vacations.

Things have really turned around in the past week and I'm on track to at least equal a great March.

« Reply #18 on: April 24, 2012, 15:27 »
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Thanks for the output everyone. Good to know the output and see the patterns :).

I am having good sales these days but I doubt I will catch up my ''loss'', maybe minimize it!

« Reply #19 on: April 24, 2012, 15:46 »
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march and last dec were my BME.  april started slow but will still be about 10% over last year's average

for me, EL and videos make a big difference from month to month, so my graph is jagged from month to month, but the overall trend averaged out continues to climb 10-20%

wut

« Reply #20 on: April 24, 2012, 16:05 »
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Cheer up, i'm at -40% !!
Very derpressing.

Yup, because we (indies) get our files put up front. For once ;)

« Reply #21 on: April 25, 2012, 10:34 »
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April's very slow for me as well... :(

« Reply #22 on: April 26, 2012, 09:41 »
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April has been pretty solid for me so far, maybe 5% or so down from March... but things look worse today all of a sudden.

FT has really taken a dive for me today.  I'm down about 80% from a typical weekday.  Has anyone else seen a substantial drop in FT today?  Sales were good there earlier this week, but it almost seems like a best match change or something else that has made my stuff less visible all of a sudden.  Or maybe it's just the April drop kicking in all of a sudden.  Is today a holiday anywhere in Europe?

wut

« Reply #23 on: April 26, 2012, 10:48 »
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April has been pretty solid for me so far, maybe 5% or so down from March... but things look worse today all of a sudden.

FT has really taken a dive for me today.  I'm down about 80% from a typical weekday.  Has anyone else seen a substantial drop in FT today?  Sales were good there earlier this week, but it almost seems like a best match change or something else that has made my stuff less visible all of a sudden.  Or maybe it's just the April drop kicking in all of a sudden.  Is today a holiday anywhere in Europe?

From tomorrow until Tue in some countries. You know labour day and other socialistic crap that can only happen and be celebrated in Europe ;)

WarrenPrice

« Reply #24 on: April 26, 2012, 11:13 »
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April has been pretty solid for me so far, maybe 5% or so down from March... but things look worse today all of a sudden.

FT has really taken a dive for me today.  I'm down about 80% from a typical weekday.  Has anyone else seen a substantial drop in FT today?  Sales were good there earlier this week, but it almost seems like a best match change or something else that has made my stuff less visible all of a sudden.  Or maybe it's just the April drop kicking in all of a sudden.  Is today a holiday anywhere in Europe?

From tomorrow until Tue in some countries. You know labour day and other socialistic crap that can only happen and be celebrated in Europe ;)

Ahhh... so there is a reason for my concern.  MORE holidays! :(

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #25 on: April 26, 2012, 11:42 »
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April has been pretty solid for me so far, maybe 5% or so down from March... but things look worse today all of a sudden.

FT has really taken a dive for me today.  I'm down about 80% from a typical weekday.  Has anyone else seen a substantial drop in FT today?  Sales were good there earlier this week, but it almost seems like a best match change or something else that has made my stuff less visible all of a sudden.  Or maybe it's just the April drop kicking in all of a sudden.  Is today a holiday anywhere in Europe?

From tomorrow until Tue in some countries. You know labour day and other socialistic crap that can only happen and be celebrated in Europe ;)

Best be prewarned then: Monday 7th is a UK holiday (not sure why it isn't the 2nd this year).

Ahhh... so there is a reason for my concern.  MORE holidays! :(

wut

« Reply #26 on: April 26, 2012, 19:52 »
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April has been pretty solid for me so far, maybe 5% or so down from March... but things look worse today all of a sudden.

FT has really taken a dive for me today.  I'm down about 80% from a typical weekday.  Has anyone else seen a substantial drop in FT today?  Sales were good there earlier this week, but it almost seems like a best match change or something else that has made my stuff less visible all of a sudden.  Or maybe it's just the April drop kicking in all of a sudden.  Is today a holiday anywhere in Europe?

From tomorrow until Tue in some countries. You know labour day and other socialistic crap that can only happen and be celebrated in Europe ;)

Best be prewarned then: Monday 7th is a UK holiday (not sure why it isn't the 2nd this year).

Ahhh... so there is a reason for my concern.  MORE holidays! :(

I think it's safe to say to just forget about European sales 'till the end of April ;)


lisafx

« Reply #27 on: April 27, 2012, 09:14 »
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What a dismal month this has turned out to be.  My April is always a bit down from March, but unless today and Monday are outstanding (no indication they will be), this month has turned out to be a huge disappointment. Is crappy the new normal?

wut

« Reply #28 on: April 27, 2012, 09:27 »
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What a dismal month this has turned out to be.  My April is always a bit down from March, but unless today and Monday are outstanding (no indication they will be), this month has turned out to be a huge disappointment. Is crappy the new normal?
I think it might be for lots of you big timers. Sean is seeing nothing but downward trend for months and the same thing applies to many indies, for instance there are a few threads where emeralds+ complain about falling sales (and demoted files), it seems you see the biggest drops on FT and IS. System is "against" you on those sites. DT did the same to a degree just now, at least according to some posts. And it's hard to make it all up with SS. But look at it that way; even if your sales are 50% down (yearly trends), they're still a lot higher than they are for 99% of the contributors. That would comfort me, if I were you. And I know you're not 50% down, because if you were, all hell would break loose ;D ;)
« Last Edit: April 27, 2012, 09:29 by wut »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #29 on: April 27, 2012, 09:34 »
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But look at it that way; even if your sales are 50% down (yearly trends), they're still a lot higher than they are for 99% of the contributors. That would comfort me, if I were you.
It wouldn't comfort me a bit if I were Lisa. "Getting more than 99% of contributors" doesn't put food on the table or put your children through college.

wut

« Reply #30 on: April 27, 2012, 09:38 »
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But look at it that way; even if your sales are 50% down (yearly trends), they're still a lot higher than they are for 99% of the contributors. That would comfort me, if I were you.
It wouldn't comfort me a bit if I were Lisa. "Getting more than 99% of contributors" doesn't put food on the table or put your children through college.

Of course it does! And more than that! I know ppl that were ranked from 70-200 on IS charts. That is in the roughly better 95-98% of the contributors range. They were all getting 6 figures in (yearly). Now it that's not enough to put food on the table and kids through college, than I don't know how much is...

« Reply #31 on: April 27, 2012, 11:14 »
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But look at it that way; even if your sales are 50% down (yearly trends), they're still a lot higher than they are for 99% of the contributors. That would comfort me, if I were you.
It wouldn't comfort me a bit if I were Lisa. "Getting more than 99% of contributors" doesn't put food on the table or put your children through college.

Of course it does! And more than that! I know ppl that were ranked from 70-200 on IS charts. That is in the roughly better 95-98% of the contributors range. They were all getting 6 figures in (yearly). Now it that's not enough to put food on the table and kids through college, than I don't know how much is...

dont know about the figures you have stated but I agree that we should adjust our lifestyle or go in other direction, sure there are tons of people living poorly, one thing I know, I never spend more than I earn, sure I have no kids or a big fancy car but if I had I would work harder or look for other solutions..

« Reply #32 on: April 27, 2012, 14:42 »
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But look at it that way; even if your sales are 50% down (yearly trends), they're still a lot higher than they are for 99% of the contributors. That would comfort me, if I were you.
It wouldn't comfort me a bit if I were Lisa. "Getting more than 99% of contributors" doesn't put food on the table or put your children through college.

Of course it does! And more than that! I know ppl that were ranked from 70-200 on IS charts. That is in the roughly better 95-98% of the contributors range. They were all getting 6 figures in (yearly). Now it that's not enough to put food on the table and kids through college, than I don't know how much is...

No way.  I was just outside that bracket last time I was able to look, and I was nowhere near that, and I'm rapidly going down now. We need accurate information in this forum, don't just make things up please!

wut

« Reply #33 on: April 27, 2012, 17:10 »
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But look at it that way; even if your sales are 50% down (yearly trends), they're still a lot higher than they are for 99% of the contributors. That would comfort me, if I were you.
It wouldn't comfort me a bit if I were Lisa. "Getting more than 99% of contributors" doesn't put food on the table or put your children through college.

Of course it does! And more than that! I know ppl that were ranked from 70-200 on IS charts. That is in the roughly better 95-98% of the contributors range. They were all getting 6 figures in (yearly). Now it that's not enough to put food on the table and kids through college, than I don't know how much is...

No way.  I was just outside that bracket last time I was able to look, and I was nowhere near that, and I'm rapidly going down now. We need accurate information in this forum, don't just make things up please!

I saw it with my own eyes, diamond with just over 40k, making 70k last year. Of course he wouldn't be even near the top 200. I didn't see the earnings directly on computer screen while they were logged in for the others, but I believe most of them. The math is easy, if you make 20K DLs/year, getting 40% royalties and have at least some A/V/E+ files that sell, you're over 5$/DL. That means you make over 100k. Of course Americans pay taxes and loose another 25% (or what?). So you might be out of that bracket, but that can be due to great sales back in the days, and not so good lately. Or having the same 20k DL/year, but not having or at least selling A/V/e+ files and/or not selling enough large sized files and ELs.

« Reply #34 on: April 27, 2012, 17:18 »
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he had 40k sales and had 20k in 2011? just got it.. he is far from the 70-200 ranking..
« Last Edit: April 27, 2012, 17:20 by luissantos84 »

« Reply #35 on: April 27, 2012, 18:25 »
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But look at it that way; even if your sales are 50% down (yearly trends), they're still a lot higher than they are for 99% of the contributors. That would comfort me, if I were you.
It wouldn't comfort me a bit if I were Lisa. "Getting more than 99% of contributors" doesn't put food on the table or put your children through college.

Of course it does! And more than that! I know ppl that were ranked from 70-200 on IS charts. That is in the roughly better 95-98% of the contributors range. They were all getting 6 figures in (yearly). Now it that's not enough to put food on the table and kids through college, than I don't know how much is...

No way.  I was just outside that bracket last time I was able to look, and I was nowhere near that, and I'm rapidly going down now. We need accurate information in this forum, don't just make things up please!

I saw it with my own eyes, diamond with just over 40k, making 70k last year. Of course he wouldn't be even near the top 200. I didn't see the earnings directly on computer screen while they were logged in for the others, but I believe most of them. The math is easy, if you make 20K DLs/year, getting 40% royalties and have at least some A/V/E+ files that sell, you're over 5$/DL. That means you make over 100k. Of course Americans pay taxes and loose another 25% (or what?). So you might be out of that bracket, but that can be due to great sales back in the days, and not so good lately. Or having the same 20k DL/year, but not having or at least selling A/V/e+ files and/or not selling enough large sized files and ELs.

70K is not 6 figures, is it? To make over 100K in euros, which is what you said, you would need about 130,000 US. I'm sure some of the people you mentioned are making that, but not the "All" that you stated.

wut

« Reply #36 on: April 27, 2012, 18:43 »
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But look at it that way; even if your sales are 50% down (yearly trends), they're still a lot higher than they are for 99% of the contributors. That would comfort me, if I were you.
It wouldn't comfort me a bit if I were Lisa. "Getting more than 99% of contributors" doesn't put food on the table or put your children through college.

Of course it does! And more than that! I know ppl that were ranked from 70-200 on IS charts. That is in the roughly better 95-98% of the contributors range. They were all getting 6 figures in (yearly). Now it that's not enough to put food on the table and kids through college, than I don't know how much is...

No way.  I was just outside that bracket last time I was able to look, and I was nowhere near that, and I'm rapidly going down now. We need accurate information in this forum, don't just make things up please!

I saw it with my own eyes, diamond with just over 40k, making 70k last year. Of course he wouldn't be even near the top 200. I didn't see the earnings directly on computer screen while they were logged in for the others, but I believe most of them. The math is easy, if you make 20K DLs/year, getting 40% royalties and have at least some A/V/E+ files that sell, you're over 5$/DL. That means you make over 100k. Of course Americans pay taxes and loose another 25% (or what?). So you might be out of that bracket, but that can be due to great sales back in the days, and not so good lately. Or having the same 20k DL/year, but not having or at least selling A/V/e+ files and/or not selling enough large sized files and ELs.

70K is not 6 figures, is it? To make over 100K in euros, which is what you said, you would need about 130,000 US. I'm sure some of the people you mentioned are making that, but not the "All" that you stated.

Read it again. And again if it won't work the first time ;)


velocicarpo

« Reply #37 on: April 27, 2012, 19:04 »
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Terrible month here too - after flying high in March :-/

« Reply #38 on: April 27, 2012, 19:22 »
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What a dismal month this has turned out to be.  My April is always a bit down from March, but unless today and Monday are outstanding (no indication they will be), this month has turned out to be a huge disappointment. Is crappy the new normal?

So it seems. Most days now I find myself saying, hmm, another crappy day. What to do about it, that's the question :)

« Reply #39 on: April 27, 2012, 22:31 »
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Is anyone very surprised by the April downturn?  This March to April drop looks exactly the same as all my other years in ms.  I braced myself for a drop of around 10%.  The reality is that I'm down more like 5%, so I've been pleasantly surprised.

My data from the past several years suggests May will be about flat to April, and June and July will sink a bit further.  August flattens out, then things start shooting up in September.

tab62

« Reply #40 on: April 27, 2012, 23:03 »
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I am down 54% from last month...

lisafx

« Reply #41 on: April 28, 2012, 12:45 »
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70K is not 6 figures, is it? To make over 100K in euros, which is what you said, you would need about 130,000 US. I'm sure some of the people you mentioned are making that, but not the "All" that you stated.

He must be talking about exclusives in that range.  I am around #30 on Istock and I didn't clear that this past year (in total, not just IS).  

As to the other points, yes, of course we all have to adjust our lifestyles to our earnings.  Duh.  

But what seems ridiculous to me is that two (now maybe three?) of the top sites have decided to actively punish their most successful contributors for being successful.  That just seems so counter-intuitive.

I won't get into why that's unfair, because fairness doesn't enter into business. However, while it may pad the profits in the short term, it is a strategy for failure in the long term.  Not only does it disincentivize the current crop of top sellers, it also gives the middle tier nothing to aspire to.  
« Last Edit: April 28, 2012, 12:48 by lisafx »

wut

« Reply #42 on: April 29, 2012, 02:55 »
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70K is not 6 figures, is it? To make over 100K in euros, which is what you said, you would need about 130,000 US. I'm sure some of the people you mentioned are making that, but not the "All" that you stated.

He must be talking about exclusives in that range.  I am around #30 on Istock and I didn't clear that this past year (in total, not just IS).  


Indeed I was. Funnily all successful microstockers I know personally are exclusive. It looks, from your post, that being exclusive is still the best way to earn money, at least for big, successful photographers. But then again, IS charts accounted only for total number of DLs, it doesn't tell much about earnings or yearly trends. I could extrapolate earnings of the one positioned just over #70 (or perhaps #50 I don't know, because I can't check anymore, he has 130k+ DLs now), because I knew he had at least 20k DLs in a year (getting from >100k to >130k) and knowing he was still getting 40%, he told me that much, I didn't ask him any other details, since we're not that close and he was really cool and gave me some simple tips that worked, after looking at my port (very few ppl share that).

« Reply #43 on: April 29, 2012, 03:45 »
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Deleted, wrong topic!
« Last Edit: April 29, 2012, 15:08 by borg »

« Reply #44 on: April 29, 2012, 04:47 »
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I'm getting bad vibes these days. It used to be that when something went down, something else went up but now all the minor sites seem to be fading and of the big boys it only seems to be SS that is more or less flat. Sales at DT have been sliding for a year and though a higher RPD has made it seem less disastrous than it might be, it's still not looking good. My combined IS+PP earnings are also gradually falling.

For the last three years my annual earnings have been on a plateau, with last year being the highest by a whisker. It's looking rather as if my total this year will be significantly down on that, putting me on the wrong side of a bell-shaped curve.

It's been a great party, of course, but it looks like it's coming to an end for me unless I come up with a new, more effective strategy.

gillian vann

  • *Gillian*
« Reply #45 on: April 29, 2012, 08:50 »
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in general the world is on an economic downturn, so for some to still be posting BME just last month is pretty great! I've got friends who've lost their jobs, businesses failed, gone bankrupt......even here in Australia where we felt fairly smug for a while that we were immune to the problems of the northern hemisphere........ the fall out continues to bring low retail results and businesses are struggling ("soft" is the term my magazine editor uses as she justifies why she can't me properly for the work I do for them). I am surprised that some still are expecting growth rather than being grateful just to be holding their position.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #46 on: April 29, 2012, 09:34 »
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Most, but not all, of those experiencing growth are relatively new, i.e. growing their ports by huge percentages each month. Of these people, it would be interesting to compare their growth in $$ compared to the growth in their portfolio sizes.


velocicarpo

« Reply #47 on: April 29, 2012, 10:23 »
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However, while it may pad the profits in the short term, it is a strategy for failure in the long term.  Not only does it disincentivize the current crop of top sellers, it also gives the middle tier nothing to aspire to.  

Lisa, I think with this statement you pointed out the biggest "design error" of the whole western business model. Our society in general cannot continue to run after short term profit - a concept which destroys our planet and literally burns our ressources beyond need. We cannot just continue to grow and ignore all moral values.

Especially in the last 40 years People got more and more convinced that "Profit is everything" and moral and fairness has to stay out of business. The result is that in the same time period we almost destroyed our whole planet and brought the economic world to the edge of a nearly unresolvable crisis.

I do not accept the argument that moral has to stay out of business.
I do not accept the argument that if you work for a company you are not responsable for what the company is doint because you need the money.
I do not respect nor buy from companies which try to ignore all moral - companies like istock, paypal etc.

lisafx

« Reply #48 on: April 29, 2012, 15:57 »
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However, while it may pad the profits in the short term, it is a strategy for failure in the long term.  Not only does it disincentivize the current crop of top sellers, it also gives the middle tier nothing to aspire to.  

Lisa, I think with this statement you pointed out the biggest "design error" of the whole western business model. Our society in general cannot continue to run after short term profit - a concept which destroys our planet and literally burns our ressources beyond need. We cannot just continue to grow and ignore all moral values.

Especially in the last 40 years People got more and more convinced that "Profit is everything" and moral and fairness has to stay out of business. The result is that in the same time period we almost destroyed our whole planet and brought the economic world to the edge of a nearly unresolvable crisis.

I do not accept the argument that moral has to stay out of business.
I do not accept the argument that if you work for a company you are not responsable for what the company is doint because you need the money.
I do not respect nor buy from companies which try to ignore all moral - companies like istock, paypal etc.

I completely agree with everything you posted.  I definitely think that morality, or more accurately ethics, should be a part of business, politics, society, and of each of our individual daily decisions. 

The only reason I said "fairness doesn't enter into business" isn't because I don't think it should, but because it so frequently is not considered by TPTB.  Also, there is a great deal of flexibility in what different cultures and individuals consider "moral", so it isn't enough to win you a debate about business practices.  Practical arguments are much more persuasive because they can be backed up with empirical evidence.

« Reply #49 on: April 29, 2012, 17:24 »
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I have waited to post in this thread, but April will be my biggest month in 6 years, albeit thanks to 10 ELs across three sites. Without the EL's it would have been an average month, not a loss, but about in line with the last 6 months.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #50 on: April 29, 2012, 17:32 »
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I have waited to post in this thread, but April will be my biggest month in 6 years, albeit thanks to 10 ELs across three sites. Without the EL's it would have been an average month, not a loss, but about in line with the last 6 months.
Congrats. It's exactly ELs that I'm missing. I got my first for this year this month: 75 credits: $12.  >:(
« Last Edit: April 29, 2012, 18:15 by ShadySue »

wut

« Reply #51 on: April 29, 2012, 17:49 »
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I have waited to post in this thread, but April will be my biggest month in 6 years, albeit thanks to 10 ELs across three sites. Without the EL's it would have been an average month, not a loss, but about in line with the last 6 months.
Congrats. It's exactly ELs that I'm missing. I got my first this month: 75 credits: $12.  >:(

12$ ?!?! How's that even possible, the lowest EL earnings I got was 15$+ ??? 16c/cr for an exclusive :o . WOW!

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #52 on: April 29, 2012, 17:55 »
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I have waited to post in this thread, but April will be my biggest month in 6 years, albeit thanks to 10 ELs across three sites. Without the EL's it would have been an average month, not a loss, but about in line with the last 6 months.
Congrats. It's exactly ELs that I'm missing. I got my first this month: 75 credits: $12.  >:(

12$ ?!?! How's that even possible, the lowest EL earnings I got was 15$+ ??? 16c/cr for an exclusive :o . WOW!
Low credits: below 53c depending on the original size of file bought.

lisafx

« Reply #53 on: April 29, 2012, 18:01 »
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I have waited to post in this thread, but April will be my biggest month in 6 years, albeit thanks to 10 ELs across three sites. Without the EL's it would have been an average month, not a loss, but about in line with the last 6 months.

Congratulations!  Nice to read some good news :)

« Reply #54 on: April 29, 2012, 18:06 »
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I have waited to post in this thread, but April will be my biggest month in 6 years, albeit thanks to 10 ELs across three sites. Without the EL's it would have been an average month, not a loss, but about in line with the last 6 months.
Congrats. It's exactly ELs that I'm missing. I got my first this month: 75 credits: $12.  >:(

75 credits sounds a lot better that $12 bucks :P

« Reply #55 on: April 29, 2012, 18:06 »
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I have waited to post in this thread, but April will be my biggest month in 6 years, albeit thanks to 10 ELs across three sites. Without the EL's it would have been an average month, not a loss, but about in line with the last 6 months.

Congratulations!  Nice to read some good news :)

Thank you, Lisa.

« Reply #56 on: April 30, 2012, 00:00 »
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I have waited to post in this thread, but April will be my biggest month in 6 years, albeit thanks to 10 ELs across three sites. Without the EL's it would have been an average month, not a loss, but about in line with the last 6 months.

I've noticed that I am having to rely increasingly on EL sales to bolster the totals. If ELs are in short supply, it ends up being a weak month.


« Reply #57 on: April 30, 2012, 03:08 »
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I`m down about 400$ compared to March which might be peanuts for lots of the pros here but it is a very huge drop for me. I hope the next month will be better.
Wish you all lots of sales.

« Reply #58 on: April 30, 2012, 03:47 »
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The past year has been a roller coaster ride.  Record lows during the winter to near record highs so far this spring.  Last month I actually had my first site-specific BME in over three years (DT), and this month I have another (BigStock).  In fact, BigStock's April earnings are 1.5 times my normal monthly average for that site.  It sucks to read how everyone else is going down, down, down, because my numbers are telling me at least some of the micros are staging a comeback.

IS and FT continue their downward spiral into oblivion.

wut

« Reply #59 on: April 30, 2012, 03:57 »
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It's mostly good for me to. But the thing is, I'm only a couple of years in this game and have a small port. I only shoot once or twice a month (on average) and only post the best shots (15 or so) so my port will still grow significantly over the next year without uploading more. Then I guess I have another year or two of increasing my earnings if I'll double the number of uploads and then I'll just join most of the ppl that complain about falling sales on yearly basis. It's a natural cycle. It looks like I'm going to have a 2nd BME, It's 2nd BME at IS and SS and BME at FT and I'm not sure about DT; it's either going to be a BME or a 2nd BME, there's still a lag in earnings report and I'm a few dollars short from a BME with a whole day left ahead of me. I had only 1 sale at Alamy and I didn't even check the rest of the agencies (low earners), however they seem to be stagnating without ULing.

lagereek

« Reply #60 on: April 30, 2012, 04:16 »
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April?  not too bad, not too good. Average really.

« Reply #61 on: April 30, 2012, 04:33 »
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However, while it may pad the profits in the short term, it is a strategy for failure in the long term.  Not only does it disincentivize the current crop of top sellers, it also gives the middle tier nothing to aspire to.  

Lisa, I think with this statement you pointed out the biggest "design error" of the whole western business model. Our society in general cannot continue to run after short term profit - a concept which destroys our planet and literally burns our ressources beyond need. We cannot just continue to grow and ignore all moral values.

Especially in the last 40 years People got more and more convinced that "Profit is everything" and moral and fairness has to stay out of business. The result is that in the same time period we almost destroyed our whole planet and brought the economic world to the edge of a nearly unresolvable crisis.

I do not accept the argument that moral has to stay out of business.
I do not accept the argument that if you work for a company you are not responsable for what the company is doint because you need the money.
I do not respect nor buy from companies which try to ignore all moral - companies like istock, paypal etc.

I completely agree with everything you posted.  I definitely think that morality, or more accurately ethics, should be a part of business, politics, society, and of each of our individual daily decisions. 

The only reason I said "fairness doesn't enter into business" isn't because I don't think it should, but because it so frequently is not considered by TPTB.  Also, there is a great deal of flexibility in what different cultures and individuals consider "moral", so it isn't enough to win you a debate about business practices.  Practical arguments are much more persuasive because they can be backed up with empirical evidence.

Interesting thoughts. 

It won't be long until IS and FT no longer profit off of my work (and 123RF might just be the next).  I just can't deal with their lack of consideration for anything other than their own bottom lines.  What about mine?  Doesn't matter to them.  So...because I (and all of us) don't matter to them, I'm hitting their bottom line by pulling my portfolio.  The only companies I'll submit my work to are those that are willing to act like we're industry partners and help me grow my business, not drive me out of business by keeping increasingly higher portions of my profits for themselves.

Lisa is so right that when companies "punish" the most successful among us, it gives us middle tier folks less incentive to work harder.  The harder we work, the less they will pay us?  Is that how it works?  Just makes me want to pull my portfolio from their hands, not work harder for them.  There's plenty of places that don't continually hurt their contributors where I can sell my image archive as stock or products.

As the old saying goes, "What you reap, so shall you sow."  Good ol' Karma will eventually catch up with these companies.  Take money away from us that we rightfully deserve, and I and many others will take our money away from them.  Plain and simple.             

Ed

« Reply #62 on: April 30, 2012, 10:11 »
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"Performing animals do tricks because their trainers throw them peanuts or small fish for doing so. You should aspire to do better. You will be a friend, a parent, a coach, an employeeand so on. But only in your job will you be explicitly evaluated and rewarded for your performance. Don't let your life decisions be distorted by the fact that your boss is the only one tossing you peanuts." -- Charles Wheelan


In this case....you are your boss.

« Reply #63 on: April 30, 2012, 10:14 »
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I hate to mess with my karma by saying this, but 2012 has been so much better than 2011 so far.  April has been a BME, and a BME at SS.  I did benefit from a few large sales this month though at different agencies.  I can't remember the last time I had EL at FT, the buggers still only give you one point toward ranking on a 100 credit sale.

« Reply #64 on: April 30, 2012, 10:24 »
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In this case....you are your boss.

I may not be paying myself a fair wage but I sure as hell like working for this boss better than for all the others who have screwed me over in the past

« Reply #65 on: May 02, 2012, 08:20 »
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Terrible month here too - after flying high in March :-/

It confirms for me too. 33% Drop from March even after adding new content, this is huge.

Good thing May is looking better with a 99$ (165$) sale on Alamy on Monday and 90.60$ single image sale in Shutterstock on Tuesday.... Hope it keep up!


 

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