Well , now i have my site online and i�m facing one problem to set subs plans.....Seeing another sites like SS they sell images for $0,26 and pay $0,25...impossible for me ! I think maybe, just maybe, people never download the 25 a day and this is a make a difference. Now seeing IS partnership to TS.

  Thinkstock sell images in one year plan at $0,22 . BUT , in partner program according to IS we receive $0,28 commission .... Well, or my math is wrong or agreements are changed everytime we sold an image there or there is something dark here ?

  Now, even there is a good explanation for that and i believe in it, these prices have taxes included ??

 My curiosity is not to set my prices, i can do my own math, is only to understand this insanity.....If prices just have taxes included , they pay more than receive....so ...maybe they don�t pay all sales.... or money rise from the ground?

PS: I already receive $0,08 commission in a IS sale so......i believe in everything! But Partner program granted $0,28 and TS sell for less.

that is so naive and the same goes for opening an agency without having any knowledge about stock agencies, just because there is Ktools or other doesn't mean we know or should open an agency, you are only at microstock for a few months but there are tons of small agencies having tiny downloads, do you think you have more $ to invest? you are trying to paint something that is very hard but you think it is so simple...

just so you can erase the subscription dark side, SS had 2.26$ revenue for every download they have between June and September

http://investor.shutterstock.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=251362&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1759499&highlight=

  Hi thanks for reply. To SS have $2.26 revenue is just because no one download the 25 a day. Thats the point .Maybe the others play with that too. Thanks for help.

  Then , yes , i have money to invest. Since i opened my studio i m investing money on it , in equipment to, and now in a site from ktools. Great program by the way.

  Now, i upload to 5 agencies and i will continue to upload as any contributor and i will talk about others as any others contributor.  newlightagency.com is a site were i sell my stock , have my portfolio and allow others to do the same, if they want, is free for them. I use that site as my personal site too, even today i will put a pregnant studio session there to clients see in private and download files if they want ( Have to pay off course) . Is my web place, i have that right. If someone join me ,fine, if not , great...i spend less in a smaller server.

 Do you think i�m stupid or some a rich kid without responsability and compromises ? Do you think i believe i will stay rich with this ? Do you think i will stole files ??

  I already spend my money and my time in this site. A 2tb dedicated server costs less that a smugmug account. A state of art server 8TB expansible placed in germany buildings cost 80� per month , i pay 50� per month at Areal Media to have a site from them with 50gb space and the site was never mine...Are you think i will spend money trying to get or beat the best sites....?

I make it simple because my project is simple, is humble, but exists ...at least it serves for me!

..If i had put it another name and build this with behind the scenes and change all the html template like Others do (there are so many ktools stock agencies out there , more than you think) it was a new agency . But , i decide to tell my project and ask for help. So is just another stupid kid? That�s it....from a portuguese fellow....!

Thanks Luis for your sincerely opinion but allow me to have a place to sell my work. You can sell your work there to if you want. I don�t promise you sales, but i will not charge you nothing for the space.

 

no I don't think you are stupid or going to steal our work, what I am saying is that building an agency is hard and the worst part is getting clients, buyers, designers, bloggers and other coming to the website and purchase.... that is insanely hard, if you read here only one or two are being successful doing it and they are working on it for years... and the amount made is far from what they earn comparing to SS or IS or other...

my concern is that you will be losing money month after month, its cool that you are trying to build something but you need to open a few small agencies and see the content they have but still having just a few sales...

how do you plan to reach clients? word of mouth? google right? try and do a few searches and see where your search placement is, its a crazy world out there... how many views are your files having? you will need months to see your first sale, if not years...

Yuri took 6 or 7 years to open his own store, think about everything I am saying here and go slow so you don't have a big disappointment, anyway I wish you luck!

Yes you are right, but try to search in agencies by Folclore ..... or babies changing diapers ... you will see babies, but changing diapers .!

What i can say, i have my work , my clients, my weddings , all of that. I start this with conscience that is extremely difficult. In DT forum someone ask if wedding images selling well and someone told that they not sell if they don�t upload them (At IS i sold today a Xlarge file from one of my brides that gave me a $3.12. What I am trying to say is that anything happen if we don�t do something, yes we need to work. Publicity in google , why? Everyone is in Twitter or Facebook , is cheap. If you get some cool good friends others will see. Is need time, yes it is, but i am not worry , i have my job and time to do it.

   I created a twitter account yesterday , today i have ten people following the agency. Designers, health companies, etc...with effort. Now i will try to get some healthy height loss images to promote there...because they follow me. If i not sell this fine here, fine i sell in SS....but maybe, just maybe this could grow and if you can help me or join me, as a Portuguese guy , if we can meet us and work together , your experience is very needed.

 In Portugal, what we have? Anyone of the stock agencies promoted our things and there anything to promote our things like Folclore and other traditions . If someone goes to a concern and take pictures to see this images in magazines must give the images, but , we don�t have a agencyb to receive and promote the images directely to our newspapers....is amazing , is missing here. Spain have a stock bank, Greece have a stock bank, we don�t have...we don�t have anything. So , my frustation sometimes is people getting problems instead looking for solutions. This is my point of view, and work work work work ....

Yeah, the math doesn't work, so buyers definitely aren't using all their downloads or SS would be out of business. They probably use around 30% of it would be my guess.

As far as adding subs to a small agency, I would say don't do it. You will probably never reach the volume of a Shutterstock, so I would try to maximize the profit from each sale. Find that balance between affordable and profitable.

+1

Also some places sell CDs. While at first glance it may seem a good way to make some money, it's also the way that someone else can buy your whole collection and redistribute it. Nice and if I did that, I'd be providing a service to the black market for a few CD sales?

No Subs, No Collections, individual images only for a small agency.

Following up on the other suggestion. The biggest two problems I see are getting buyers to find you and having enough interesting material so they come back. The software and a website are easy. At minimum have funding for two years, without any profit, before you start. Probably the number one killer for any new business or start-up is being under funded and having enough to make it through the first two years of building.

I would hope that some of the people who really put energy into their private sites would comment on returns. Lisa would be one of the best people, (OK maybe The Best!) since she has 7,000 great images, her own site, and has very appropriate microstock materials. Anyone who hopes to have their own site should strive to be like her.

Leaf, I think he reads here now and then?