Since Fotolia has jumped on the subscription bandwagon as well, I found it interesting to have a look at what has happened at DT after they did the same. I've used one image as example, which isn't fair of course, but it's still a good example what can happen when customers have the possibility to buy images for next to nothing.

The image in question is a vector, which represent some of my most profitable objects. Here's the sales development:



So far this year, the total of all sales combined is less than each of the two last sales of 2007. Each of those sales generated 20 times as much as a subscription sale at DT. What I fear will happen now after all the major agencies have joined the subs, is that they will start competing on price. It's a stupid thing to do, but so far, none of them have shown much intelligence.

There's only one place to send the bill for a price-war: to the contributors. I'm not going to accept that. I will still keep my microstock accounts alive for the time being, and upload a few images each month, but my main emphasis will be on macrostock. I may not gain much to start with, rather the opposite actually, but I see this as an investment in future sales.

I'm considering uploading RM only to macrostock, leaving the option open to go exclusive at IS for RF content, if they maintain a healthier view on subscriptions. Time will show.

Just to illustrate how things are developing in total at DT for me, here are my sales statistics:



My portfolio at DT has increased with more than 50% the last 12 months, and the quality of my photos is much better than a year ago.

yeah.. I can see more and more old wolfs of microstock going to macrostock because of devaluation of our images. What a time came? Sell a photo or illustration for a poor pennies? I'm not speaking already about vectors. I'm doing some vectors also and I know how much work and time it costs, and sell it for 25 cents!?

Agencies are in a big multimillions war and there are only a few winners: the same agencies and a few successful authors. Others are only a meat of war.

A couple of months ago I also begin concentrate on macro and already begin to build portfolio at Alamy. Without reference to each other more and more microstockers are going this way. I predict that on microstock agencies in a few years will remain some old portfolios of old microstockers and a lot of new portfolios of new authors, especially from East countries: post soviet, Korea, China etc. They will be glad with a pennies for a time, till grow up and will begin to look around on macrostock as well. These young distributors will do wholesale uploads with a big batches of hundreds and thousands images. As control of copyright will be or already are lost in agencies there will be a lot of copy-pastes, dummies and fakes, even stolen works. I'm not talking about ideas, I'm talking about images. We can see these happening already: reviewers already can't control thousands or even tens of thousands of everyday's images. Everyone is in rush: contributors and agencies.

Crackbrained competition perverted all microstock market and all photo market as well. Microstock industry already is no more a nice place to sell and to buy like was a year or two years ago. It became maniacal race. There are no place anymore for those who are working nicety and doing one or two vectors a day. Today you must upload tens and hundreds of images every day in case to stay at the same earnings. But how to make tens of original vectors a day? It's impossible.

Today you can download hundred thousands vectors for free or buy it for pennies. So today you must have a minimum 10 thousand photos in your portfolio in case to see some tangible payments. So tomorrow will win users with portfolios of 10-50 thousands of images. It means there will be no more place for alone author. A futures' winners will be teams or conglomerates: a few or tens of authors, photographers, designers, editors etc... We already can see that.

Of course I'm not talking about those who are glad with 100-500 dollars/month. I'm talking about those who are trying to earn real money in this industry.

These my poor 25 cents... I wish I was wrong about that. I think I'm not looking pessimistic at everything, just reality is like it is. If you're thinking different, please comfort me.

sorry my English..

yeah.. I can see more and more old wolfs of microstock going to macrostock because of devaluation of our images.

Isn't it funny? Macrostock photographers complain microstock devaluate the market, and now microstockers feel the same.

Regards,
Adelaide

I think that one solution would be if the directors of biggest sites sit together and make a deal to raise the prices all together and direct their competition in some other direction beside dropping the prices insanely . Buyers would be forced to pay more and they would , cause they wouldnt stop buying images that they need for sure.

Small sites a newcomers would be forced to stick their prices somewhere around the big players sites cause no one serious would upload to their site.


The biggest problem is this theory would be SS as a huge player who is committed to subscription prices that would not follow that game.

Anyway we would earn much more and the sites would do the same for sure , but they just continue to compete who will give their images for less to the buyers that are ready to pay much more , but why would they when the sites  are pulling them by the hand to buy images for peanuts , so they just take advantage of that insane aggressive price dropping style of marketing.   
 

Sean's point is true.  I mean, for goodness sake I am not comfortable with putting my eggs all in one basket.  Nor am I comfortable with leaving a company like Shutterstock where I make a lot of money, for a company like iStock where I make not nearly so much money.  I also don't feel right pulling out of a company like Dreamstime, or Bigstock, which has always supported me and done a fine job marketing my images.  Particularly Dreamstime, where I consider Serban to be a friend as well as a caring owner.

But at some point a decision has to be made.  If companies like Fotolia are willing to undercut the industry to such a large degree, then it seems the only way to survive is to go with an agency which charges based on image size, and because of exclusivity can better leverage price terms to their buyers.

I've said it before and I will say it again.  I have no problem with subs sales.  And Shutterstock's prices still value our work to a large degree, particularly when you consider that only a fraction of those subs are used.  I know they've stated they want nothing to do with exclusivity, but right now I wish they had it.  I'd see it as an insulation from the race to the bottom.  After all it's only a race to the bottom if everyone has the same images.  Exclusivity gives a company better leverage with pricing, cos well...you can't get that image anywhere else so don't go looking for the cheaper solution! 

A very sad, sad week in microstock.  It takes away a lot of my motivation.