Author Topic: When the straw broke the camel's back? (Read 4206 times)

CD123 · « **on:** December 08, 2012, 00:45 »

What do you do when you finally decided that you had enough of a site you are unhappy with and are going to quit in 2013?

Do you leave you images on the site or delete it?

Personally I do not like to undo hours of work. So unless there is a real legal or ethical reason (site fraudulently not paying, blatant dishonesty, etc.), I rather leave my images on the site. Have done it in the past and after a year or 2 I at least got one payout (making me feel a tiny bit better about what I have put in).

JPSDK · « **Reply #1 on:** December 08, 2012, 03:18 »

I remove them, so that I do not compete with myself on other sites.
People think that it costs them nothing to have their ports floating here and there.

It might cost a lot. In sales you never get paid for, in undercutting other agencies, and in strange and random even illegal distribution of your images.

Also I like to know that im not earning anything at that place, and therefore not have to come back and look if there is a payout.

CD123 · « **Reply #2 on:** December 08, 2012, 03:29 »

Quote from: JPSDK on December 08, 2012, 03:18

I remove them, so that I do not compete with myself on other sites.
People think that it costs them nothing to have their ports floating here and there.

It might cost a lot. In sales you never get paid for, in undercutting other agencies, and in strange and random even illegal distribution of your images.

Also I like to know that im not earning anything at that place, and therefore not have to come back and look if there is a payout.

The sites I normally drop are on the smaller side, so my feeling on that is that I probably would not have made the sale in the first place (that users of the top sites would not have visited these sites in the first place). So I see it as a little bonus sale.
I further group my sites on my spreadsheet and keep the "dead ones" apart. I also keep these separate in my bookmarks, so I make a point of visiting them only once a month.

sharpshot · « **Reply #3 on:** December 08, 2012, 03:58 »

I usually leave my images but if the site can't make at least an annual payout, I will probably remove them. I usually leave my images because it's taken time to get them on the site and there might be the possibility that things will improve in the future.

Microbius · « **Reply #4 on:** December 08, 2012, 09:39 »

I have only ever deleted my portfolio from two sites (from the 30+ that have represented me over the years). Usually I just leave my old work up.
I only delete where I have trust issues with the site, for example if their policy swings are so erratic I don't know what they will be doing with my work when my back is turned!

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #5 on:** December 08, 2012, 10:30 »

Quote from: sharpshot on December 08, 2012, 03:58

I usually leave my images but if the site can't make at least an annual payout, I will probably remove them. I usually leave my images because it's taken time to get them on the site and there might be the possibility that things will improve in the future.

+1
After all the work of uploading I don't want to undo it when there is a possibility that the site may turn around. Leaving images is a way to monitor success and if they start selling again I will resume uploading. Veer is one of those on the edge for me - after slow and weird review results plus slow sales I get annoyed and take them off the list, then will get some string, high-value sales and put them back on. Right now they're on, but my last batch was 100% rejected and I've had no sales so far this month so they may be off again in January. Crestock is one where I have stopped and started but have now stopped for a long time - with a 20% commission and 25-cent subs they will have to generate phenomenal sales to get me interested again. Featurepics is another one that I have stuck with - sales are slow, but prices are reasonable and their commission is 50%, uploading is easy and reviews are fast and consistent. They will stay on the list as long as they generate some sales. I stopped uploading to Cutcaster a couple of years ago due to no sales ever but have kept images there to monitor in case they improve. Nowadays companies can go in and out of favor quickly and I like having something ready to go just in case.

Mantis · « **Reply #6 on:** December 08, 2012, 11:09 »

Quote from: sharpshot on December 08, 2012, 03:58

I usually leave my images but if the site can't make at least an annual payout, I will probably remove them. I usually leave my images because it's taken time to get them on the site and there might be the possibility that things will improve in the future.

This is why I still have my images on Stockfresh. With a glimmer, a twinkle of hope that something good will happen over there. At this point I see no reason to remove my port there and Peter seems like an honest lad, so I don't worry so much. Not trying to turn this into a SF discussion, just using them as an example.

Ed · « **Reply #7 on:** December 08, 2012, 11:41 »

Remove all images.

I shop at certain markets because there are certain types of groceries that I like to buy...if that particular product isn't in a market, then I take my business elsewhere. Price does not usually matter when I'm looking for a certain product with a certain quality (i.e. I prefer to get my vegetables as fresh as possible and I'm willing to drive a few more miles and spend a few more dollars to get the produce I want).

Same applies to the agencies - if the customers see the work they need/want at a different place, then they will shop at a different place.

cthoman · « **Reply #8 on:** December 08, 2012, 11:55 »

Quote from: JPSDK on December 08, 2012, 03:18

I remove them, so that I do not compete with myself on other sites.
People think that it costs them nothing to have their ports floating here and there.

It might cost a lot. In sales you never get paid for, in undercutting other agencies, and in strange and random even illegal distribution of your images.

I agree. There is something to be said for "herding" buyers to the sites you actually want to do business at. On the other hand, money is always a factor in any decision to pull the plug, so I'm in the depends on the situation camp.

disorderly · « **Reply #9 on:** December 08, 2012, 13:21 »

It depends. If it's a matter of poor sales (e.g. Zoonar, StockFresh) or ridiculous reviews (e.g. Crestock), I'll leave them up in case something changes or I can make a payout every year or two. I figure I've already put in the work, and whatever images they have are aging and not of my current quality. I don't worry about their presence competing with my sales on more successful sites.

On the other hand, sites that screw me (iStock and Fotolia, I'm looking at you) get a slow deletion. I've removed anything that hasn't sold, or at least hasn't sold recently. Again, I put in the effort to upload them, what they have isn't my most recent work, and why not squeeze out some last sales while I can? If reducing my portfolio on iStock from over 3000 images to 576 as of today doesn't let them know how I feel, removing them completely won't get the point across any better.

cascoly · « **Reply #10 on:** December 08, 2012, 17:32 »

i've never understood the "dont want to compete with my other ports" argument -- someone who's buying on A is not going to know anything about your ports on B C & D. and most are not looking exactly what you have in image x when there are similars elsewhere. so removing your images from a site has basically 0 effect

the other argument is that leaving images on a site generates sales with no payout, but any site i leave is generating so little income that's of little consequence also

so i rarely actually leave a site, i just ignore them

cthoman · « **Reply #11 on:** December 08, 2012, 18:02 »

Quote from: cascoly on December 08, 2012, 17:32

i've never understood the "dont want to compete with my other ports" argument -- someone who's buying on A is not going to know anything about your ports on B C & D. and most are not looking exactly what you have in image x when there are similars elsewhere. so removing your images from a site has basically 0 effect

the other argument is that leaving images on a site generates sales with no payout, but any site i leave is generating so little income that's of little consequence also

so i rarely actually leave a site, i just ignore them

It's probably a coincidence, but almost every time I delete a site, some other site will step up to fill the void the next month. But, you are right. Some buyers just buy at one site and don't look around.

That said, there are also a lot of buyers out there that come in through Google. So if your image only exists at a couple places, those are the places that search engine traffic will bring up. I think people often underestimate the power of search engines to bring in traffic. Obviously, the agencies don't because they seem to spend a lot on Adwords.

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Author Topic: When the straw broke the camel's back? (Read 4206 times)

CD123

JPSDK

CD123

sharpshot

Microbius

sgoodwin4813

Mantis

Ed

cthoman

disorderly

cascoly

cthoman

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