September 2012 Earnings Thread

[sharpshot]

if so I don�t understand why many top contributors keep on whining when they aren�t producing enough? does that mean that IS is doing the right thing? same goes for FT lately right? again searches depending on regular uploading, it ain�t a passive job thats for sure

I think you are confused Luis.  The "top contributors" who are "whining" are not the people who have hardly uploaded in years.  The "top contributors" by definition, are aware this "ain't a passive job" and have continued to up their games technically and keep uploading regularly. 

In my case, if I am one of the whiners you are talking about, I did admit I haven't uploaded as much this past year as the prior 6.5 years.  Definitely dropping from uploading 1k pictures per year to 500 is a drop, but 1) it is still a fairly consistent effort, and 2) the sales drops started before my production slipped, and were partly responsible for my lowered output.

The point is, when producing at your top capacity still results in drop in income, why knock yourself out?

I'm not going to whine about what happened at FT but describe what happened to my mini-folio as I get the impression that this happened to a lot of established contributors but on a larger scale. I had 3 top-selling (for me anyway) photo's that suddenly (over a two-week period) stopped selling completely. They didn't decline slowly, they just fell off their twig........zero and haven't sold since. The total sales were 400+, ~150 and ~140 and sold regularly with dl's up until March 2012 (around when FT changed the search).

I wasn't a regular uploader but most uploads went unviewed and unsold anyway which didn't much inspire constant uploading.

Unconvinced by the argument that my 'old' files were dated and that FT justifiably demoted them from the search, I joined SS at the end of June and two of the old FT 'dated rubbish' have become among my best sellers at SS with both subs sales and ODD's. Still not a single sale at FT in that period.

In September I uploaded a small number of new files to FT and SS simultaneously, of which one has become my fastest/best seller at SS with 30+ sales since approval (subs and ODD's). The same image at FT has sold 9 times (all subs) and nearly all the other images in that upnload to FT haven't even been viewed!

From Feb 2008 until March 2012 I was totally exclusive at FT and increased my small portfolio size (200) by 50% from 2009 to 2012.
Here's a quarterly chart of credits earned: Q3 2012 was 65......

Thought I would do my quarterly chart.  Doesn't inspire me to carry on with FT.  The problem is, what can we do about it?  I just hope buyers go elsewhere.

[HerMajesty]

you went from $600-700 to ZERO ? Or is that just the new 'quarter' that just started.

I have two accounts @Fotolia, one where I stopped uploading about two years ago. My graph looks very similar to the one you posted. 80% drop in less than 2 years. But the other account where I keep on uploading new stuff is doing pretty well actually.

[HerMajesty]

Down 10% to last month, and up 18 to September 2011. Best four: Shutterstock, DepositPhotos,  Zazzle, Photospin

Seriously ... Zazzle, Photospin ? Were those like a single $1000 sale that just skewed the results or are you seriously getting regular sales?

[sharpshot]

you went from $600-700 to ZERO ? Or is that just the new 'quarter' that just started.

I have two accounts @Fotolia, one where I stopped uploading about two years ago. My graph looks very similar to the one you posted. 80% drop in less than 2 years. But the other account where I keep on uploading new stuff is doing pretty well actually.

Ignore the last data point on the graph but it is heading that way.  I did upload a lot of new images a few months ago and it made no difference to the steep decline.

[oboy]

Down 10% to last month, and up 18 to September 2011. Best four: Shutterstock, DepositPhotos,  Zazzle, Photospin

Seriously ... Zazzle, Photospin ? Were those like a single $1000 sale that just skewed the results or are you seriously getting regular sales?

I am getting regular sales every month with Zazzle and Photospin. Zazzle does has its spikes but last month was more low. I am only a few month with Photospin, but I had sales right from the beginning.

[HerMajesty]

Interesting. I even registered on Zazzle a long time ago, but somehow it didn't seam like a place one would be making any serious money. 

[oboy]

From all the POD's Zazzle is in my opinion the best.

[luissantos84]

- from August 2012 (down 24.3%)
- from September 2011 (up 2.6%)
- 41 months of stock
- no new uploads in September (all agencies)
- traditional top 5 - 66.8% (SS, IS, FT, 123RF, DT) (Aug - 69.4%)

Sep % - Aug % - last month $ %

TOP 8 - 80.3% (82.5%)
SS 38.4% (47%) (down 37.5%) (Sep - 0 EL + 1 SOD = 2.55$) (Aug - 2 EL + 5 SOD = 207.5$)
IS 12.7% (9.3%) (down 3.7%) (7 months with no new uploads)
FT 7.1% (5.5%) (down 0.8%)
Z 5.7% (7%) (down 38.2%)
123RF 5.5% (5.3%) (down 20.6%)
ISIGN 4.8% (3.8%) (down 2%)
DT 3.1% (2.7%) (down 13%) (May 69$ (BME), Jun 35$, Jul 35$, Aug 39$, Sep 34$)
DP 3% (1.9%) (up 17.7%)

MIDDLE - 15% (11.1%)
XZ 2.5% (1.8%)
XX 2.2% (1.8%)
PD 2% (1.7%)
XY 1.9% (2%)
CanStockPhoto 1.9% (1.9%)
V 1.7% (1.3%)
MP 1.6% (0.2%)
BigStock 1.2% (0.4%)

LOW - 4.7% (3.2%)
(13 agencies all below 1% each)

[pro@stockphotos]

Looking at sales for independents, I don't see this as a great time for anyone to dump IS exclusivity. 

Sue, as Istock exclusive, is reporting $ down 5% from August and down 26% from last Sept. 

As an independent, I am down 8% from August and 35% from last year. 

Others from both camps are reporting similar.  Why would anyone make a drastic change to or away from exclusivity in such a volatile situation?

Yes you are right on here!  It does not seem that exclusives or independents are pulling away from the argument of which is better.  It seems bad on both sides.  The 5 years of exclusivity advantage may be closing but those dollars lost over that time can't be recovered by independents.  If you are down year over year as an independent then sales on the competing site aren't making up for the loss on istock.   The mismanagement of istock seems to be hurting the whole microstock industry.  Selling your images for next to nothing doesn't seem to be the answer to me either.   Istock is saying that Sept. wasn't that bad!!!   What!!!!!  If they lose exclusives what would they have left.  The fattest rats are always last to jump off a sinking ship.