Author Topic: Will you or Won't you?? (Read 7238 times)

takestock · « **on:** July 16, 2008, 08:19 »

With patience in short supply these days and contributors anxiously looking for return (and rightly so) on their work from new agencies- How about the next "Start Up" site?

Will you be diving straight in and uploading your full port or adopting a "Wait & See" approach?
The thing is, new sites need to build a database of images and most of that has to come from us the contributors.

Personally, after some experience of much wasted time and effort on previous start ups, I'm now firmly in the "wait and see" camp.

vphoto · « **Reply #1 on:** July 16, 2008, 08:27 »

I will be looking at the right side of this site for the rest of my microstoking career.
Spending time with low earning sites is like hoping to make a living by playing lottery.

leaf · « **Reply #2 on:** July 16, 2008, 09:47 »

If the site looks promising i might upload 10 images just to check it out, if it looks really good and it is easy to upload to perhaps 100, but I agree with vphoto, it is really not worth time uploading tons of photos to sites that give $1.00/month on 1000´s of photos.... simply a waste of time. I think time should be given to the sites in about the same percentage as their RPI is.

nativelight · « **Reply #3 on:** July 16, 2008, 09:58 »

I'll definitely take a "wait & see" attitude. I've wasted way too much time on some of these sites. For example, I'll be spending the next 239 days continuing to delete one image a day from Albumo.

My current plan is to stick with SS, IS and DT. I'm dumping all other microstock sites as time permits. For now I'm not uploading any more to them.

My focus is moving to Photoshelter and Alamy. I might consider jumping on board something new in the midstock arena, but no more microstock.

jorgeinthewater · « **Reply #4 on:** July 16, 2008, 10:03 »

It seems to me that we as contributors believe that everytime a new site opens there are thousands of new designers/buyers also created to go along with the new site. Buyers that have never seen or bought the images that we have already on other sites. But that would be almost impossible wouldn't you think? After two years selling in the top 6 sites and adding a small amount of images a month what designer has not seen my work?
It would be wise I guess to stop chasing this new site that promises the world to us and just concentrate on the ones that have consistently produced the sales.
Also if there is a limited amount of buyers why would they jump ship to a new site if they are getting there needs met on the older sites?
There is a thing called loyalty, and if it isn't broken why fix it.
I manage an Optical Lab and every month I get calls from new vendors trying to get the foot in the door. I always answer the same thing to them: If you are doing a good job would you want met to stop buying from you just because someone comes along dropping the price by a dollar or two?

PeterChigmaroff · « **Reply #5 on:** July 16, 2008, 11:08 »

It's like going to the beach or the movies, once the good spots are taken it's tough to get one of them. The same thing applies with all sellers of images. What can a new upstart offer the customer that doesn't already exist? A smaller sample of images at a lower price? Do you, the photographer want to be in on the ground floor of a lower prices and if not lower prices do you want the hassle of submitting to a place where sales are nearly non existent? It's too late for most upstarts.

tan510jomast · « **Reply #6 on:** July 16, 2008, 11:43 »

as a long time working photographer, but relatively a "newbie" to stock photography (4 months), i started "ape-ing" everything that sold on microstock, but later got quite fed-up with that, as i felt hokey "wearing two hats!".
since july, i just shoot what i enjoy shooting,
and submit them. if they take them, and they sell, "whoopie, i have a few dollars to buy me another plate of french fries (bangers, if i'm back in UK)!".
if not, i am not going to cry or rant because i don't see microstock
as anything more than sharing the time with other photographers here and on IS, DT,StockXpert, BigStock...
let's just say, i enjoy the network, since some of you do write funny things every once in a while to make me laugh!
cheers!

oh, in reply to takestock's question:
i select a few new sites as i go, Cutcaster, SV,123rf ... and submit maybe 20-30 images, and wait.
each sale i get, i submit a little more. if nothing happens, nothing else is submitted. this far, it only ends up with StockXpert, DT and BigStock getting new images.

ichiro17 · « **Reply #7 on:** July 16, 2008, 11:49 »

No chance. I've been very vocal about upstarts before and I'm definitely not going to get involved in anymore random ones. I've got myself a Snapvillage account but I'm not even close to being convinced that its worth my time

jsnover · « **Reply #8 on:** July 16, 2008, 12:04 »

It would take something major to get me to submit work to a new site.

They'd have to have some clear plan as to how they will make a place for themselves in the existing market - which I think is hard to do at this point. They'd have to have a delete button for anytihing uploaded and no time commitments - no more crap with sites that won't let you delete what you upload. I'd have to be hearing good things from others who've uploaded there - about sales. I don't care about all the other "the reviewers were so nice and commented on my images" stuff - bells and whistles. And uploading would have to be fast and simiple (all the usual features).

I don't think uploading 10 images is useful as you can't tell anything about how a site is doing with that small a sample. Another contributor once said (I think we were talking about Gimmestock at the time) that if she uploaded 300 proven sellers (she had a much larger portfolio) and the site couldn't generate $50 a month from that, it wasn't worth uploading more.

gbcimages · « **Reply #9 on:** July 16, 2008, 13:15 »

I always give them a chance I don't have as many images as some of you other picture takers

lisafx · « **Reply #10 on:** July 16, 2008, 13:42 »

I am already uploading to 10 agencies and looking to drop a couple rather than take on any more.

The last two I joined were Crestock and Fotolia. In both cases I waited until sellers with similar sized portfolios reported steady sales.

In the case of Fotolia I wasn't disappointed - sales there are great. In Crestock's case I was a bit disappointed. Didn't realize the vast majority of sales would be subscription.

So no, I would not jump in to the next site. I would rather wait until they established themselves and prove they can bring in customers - that takes a year or better IMHO.

I would not want to get burned like the folks who contributed to Lucky Oliver and Albumo.

epantha · « **Reply #11 on:** July 16, 2008, 14:00 »

I work a 40 hour a week job plus upload to nine agencies. Don't really have time to add any more unproven new agencies. I gave Crestock a chance and that ended up being a dead end.

tan510jomast · « **Reply #12 on:** July 16, 2008, 14:04 »

Quote from: jsnover on July 16, 2008, 12:04

They'd have to have a delete button for anytihing uploaded and no time commitments - no more crap with sites that won't let you delete what you upload.

HURRAH, WELL SAID! i think that is the one thing i will look for, from here on.
although i must say that a couple of days ago, i emailed Image Catalog to delete an image and they did that almost immediately (same day).
so cheers to IC.

still, it would be better to have the option like with DT , StockXpert,etc... to edit , remove, or disable. after all, they are still our images.
esp. if you get the chance to sell outright an image or go exclusive , like so many of the more successfuls.

a.k.a.-tom · « **Reply #13 on:** July 16, 2008, 16:42 »

Quote from: takestock on July 16, 2008, 08:19

With patience in short supply these days and contributors anxiously looking for return (and rightly so) on their work from new agencies- How about the next "Start Up" site?

Will you be diving straight in and uploading your full port or adopting a "Wait & See" approach?

I am really gun shy now......

=tom

louoates · « **Reply #14 on:** July 16, 2008, 18:09 »

No way I'll ever, ever, ever be among the first to jump onto a new site. Absolutely not. In any circumstance. Lord strike me dead if I even harbor the thought! I'd sooner dip my stick into a barrel of live scorpions.

You never know, though. I still have a closet full of Nehru jackets.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #15 on:** July 16, 2008, 20:15 »

I'm now in the wait-and-see crowd unless I see a lot of the right things going on. Photoshelter was my most recent new site.

sharpshot · « **Reply #16 on:** July 17, 2008, 01:02 »

If we all wait and see, no new site has a chance. It is unfortunate that the new sites recently haven't had a good marketing plan or the money to promote their site and pay us a decent commission. Hopefully one day a new site will come along and get everything right. It is hard to see how that will happen at the moment but a site that functioned like yaymicro and gave us as many options as featurepics with a big incentive to upload and lots of money to attract buyers might get enough of us interested again.

Marburg · « **Reply #17 on:** July 17, 2008, 11:22 »

I agree. I always give them a chance too. I also have a much smaller portfolio than many of the other photographers. If they don't generate sales within 6 months I don't upload to them anymore.

Quote from: gbcimages on July 16, 2008, 13:15

I always give them a chance I don't have as many images as some of you other picture takers

Karimala · « **Reply #18 on:** July 17, 2008, 12:23 »

I've always been very cautious about uploading to new sites. They must offer something new and innovative to catch my interest, or I need to hear stories of images selling. If my portfolio was full of lifestyle or people shots, I might give more sites a chance, but instead it's full of niche subjects that don't garner a lot of sales. I'd rather invest my time uploading to sites like Alamy where I'll see a return on my time for niche subjects.

MikLav · « **Reply #19 on:** July 17, 2008, 15:31 »

Quote from: takestock on July 16, 2008, 08:19

How about the next "Start Up" site?

Will you be diving straight in and uploading your full port or adopting a "Wait & See" approach?

1. Evaluate if it worth my attention at all. E.g. I never uploaded to Gecko, and thus didn't suffer when it got closed.
2. Upload part of portfolio to help them to start.
3. Then "Wait & See".

tan510jomast · « **Reply #20 on:** July 17, 2008, 15:36 »

Quote from: Karimala on July 17, 2008, 12:23

If my portfolio ... full of niche subjects that don't garner a lot of sales. I'd rather invest my time uploading to sites like Alamy where I'll see a return on my time for niche subjects.

excellent idea! good that you share it with us.

travelstock · « **Reply #21 on:** July 17, 2008, 20:09 »

Quote from: lisafx on July 16, 2008, 13:42

I am already uploading to 10 agencies and looking to drop a couple rather than take on any more.

The last two I joined were Crestock and Fotolia. In both cases I waited until sellers with similar sized portfolios reported steady sales.

In the case of Fotolia I wasn't disappointed - sales there are great. In Crestock's case I was a bit disappointed. Didn't realize the vast majority of sales would be subscription.

So no, I would not jump in to the next site. I would rather wait until they established themselves and prove they can bring in customers - that takes a year or better IMHO.

I would not want to get burned like the folks who contributed to Lucky Oliver and Albumo.

I'm adopting a similar strategy - at the moment I'm only on 5, but will probably start uploading to StockXpert shortly - not going to bother with Crestock based on my initial upload. Fotolia sells well, except that I think only my newest files are really "active" the part of my portfolio that was uploaded before V2 (most of it) is still not being picked up in searches, so are effectively dead.

RT · « **Reply #22 on:** July 18, 2008, 05:06 »

Nope definately not, the market is already too oversaturated.

I've heard rumours about a new site that's due to open based in the UK, trouble is it's going to be subscription based.

What makes it worse and nearly made me fall off my chair is when I discovered that they've been consulting a woman who has no idea about microstock or photography and yet has convinced them she's an expert, then on top of that I found out about another guy who has convinced them he's one of the top 4 microstockers in the world.

Anybody who knows anybody in microstock wouldn't put these two in the top 5000 microstockers!!

So in answer to the question, No I would definately not contribute to a start up and especially not a subscription site.

Microbius · « **Reply #23 on:** July 18, 2008, 05:38 »

RT, I've just PM'd you!

Karimala · « **Reply #24 on:** July 18, 2008, 11:52 »

Quote from: RT on July 18, 2008, 05:06

Nope definately not, the market is already too oversaturated.

I've heard rumours about a new site that's due to open based in the UK, trouble is it's going to be subscription based.

What makes it worse and nearly made me fall off my chair is when I discovered that they've been consulting a woman who has no idea about microstock or photography and yet has convinced them she's an expert, then on top of that I found out about another guy who has convinced them he's one of the top 4 microstockers in the world.

Anybody who knows anybody in microstock wouldn't put these two in the top 5000 microstockers!!

So in answer to the question, No I would definately not contribute to a start up and especially not a subscription site.

Scary. I wonder if one of them is the same control-freak person I know who moves from micro site to micro site pretending to be an expert, but can't even shoot a decent photograph.

After watching so many sites' failure to thrive, I've begun wondering about the motivation behind why some of these sites are even started.

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Author Topic: Will you or Won't you?? (Read 7238 times)

takestock

vphoto

leaf

nativelight

jorgeinthewater

PeterChigmaroff

tan510jomast

ichiro17

jsnover

gbcimages

lisafx

epantha

tan510jomast

a.k.a.-tom

louoates

PaulieWalnuts

sharpshot

Marburg

Karimala

MikLav

tan510jomast

travelstock

RT

Microbius

Karimala

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