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Microstock Photography Forum - General => General Stock Discussion => Topic started by: angelawaye on January 13, 2016, 10:10

Title: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: angelawaye on January 13, 2016, 10:10
For many years I upload 1 or 2 files every couple of months to istock and they ALWAYS reject everything (mostly because I do a lot of conceptual photoshop work). However, this past month they have accepted everything. I'm going with it!

So is this just a numbers game with their competitor? I was just going to be exclusive with SS because the other agencies are on a downward spiral but istock seems to be a good second earner for some.

Not sure if this is a good thing ... Have you guys noticed?
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: Sean Locke Photography on January 13, 2016, 10:13
Lol, where have you been lately?
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: ShadySue on January 13, 2016, 10:21
It's been happening for about a year now, and new files have hardly been selling (they tend to get pushed right down, very quickly, in best match, especially if exclusive, but best match is officially 'all over the place').
It might just be a 'your turn to think up a new policy' thing, or they might have an Evil Plan behind it.
Who knows? Probably they don't.
What they don't accept, however, is apparently what they deem 'too simple' illustrations. I discovered that an ancient and much used Chinese symbol wasn't properly represented there, spent ages measuring and positioning all the elements exactly in illustrator (true, I'm an Illustrator beginner) then rasterised it as I don't do vectors, as such. Firstly, it spent weeks 'pending executive', although I had put in the description that it was thousands of years old, then it was rejected as being 'too simple' , and Scout upheld it. I think that was probably the last non-IP rejection on iStock. Around the same time I saw a photo where the main subject was both well out of focus and well over-exposed, which the contributor had titled, and described, as 'bird on the ground'.  ::)
I have seen some very simple vectors accepted - and selling! - since, though; so who knows?
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: angelawaye on January 13, 2016, 10:25
I'm definitely out of the loop. Sorry if this topic has been mentioned already. I did a search but didn't see it.

So new work has no "light".

Maybe I shouldn't go through all the effort because their keywording is a pain to do...
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: ShadySue on January 13, 2016, 10:29
I'm definitely out of the loop. Sorry if this topic has been mentioned already. I did a search but didn't see it.

So new work has no "light".

Maybe I shouldn't go through all the effort because their keywording is a pain to do...

You have to decide for yourself. I don't find the keywording remotely painful, but my new files are only selling as subs, if anything, and it's hardly worth the electricity for 75c.
There are actually several searches where Indie files are highly promoted in the Best Match. My totally random selection of searches showed about 50/50, indies being promoted vs a more even selection in best match results.
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: Shelma1 on January 13, 2016, 10:47
Funny, I've had the opposite experience. Over the past few weeks iStock has gone back to rejecting a lot of my vectors for not having "visual impact," whatever that means, even though similar images of mine have been accepted there in the past and sell well there and elsewhere. (However, they do accept my crummy photos, which don't sell at all there.)
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: Dumc on January 13, 2016, 11:25
Shutterstock doesn't have exclusive.
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: angelawaye on January 13, 2016, 11:29
I know SS does not have Exclusive ... I just choose to only upload to them now. I'm sick of uploading photos to other agencies and making less money. Seems counterproductive ...
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: etudiante_rapide on January 13, 2016, 11:51
It's been happening for about a year now, and new files have hardly been selling (they tend to get pushed right down, very quickly, in best match, especially if exclusive, but best match is officially 'all over the place').
It might just be a 'your turn to think up a new policy' thing, or they might have an Evil Plan behind it.
Who knows? Probably they don't.
What they don't accept, however, is apparently what they deem 'too simple' illustrations. I discovered that an ancient and much used Chinese symbol wasn't properly represented there, spent ages measuring and positioning all the elements exactly in illustrator (true, I'm an Illustrator beginner) then rasterised it as I don't do vectors, as such. Firstly, it spent weeks 'pending executive', although I had put in the description that it was thousands of years old, then it was rejected as being 'too simple' , and Scout upheld it. I think that was probably the last non-IP rejection on iStock. Around the same time I saw a photo where the main subject was both well out of focus and well over-exposed, which the contributor had titled, and described, as 'bird on the ground'.  ::)
I have seen some very simple vectors accepted - and selling! - since, though; so who knows?

(re red letters):  LOL, so they approved it???
reviewer : "i don't see no bird!!!" 
scott : "oh, it must have flown away"...
reviewer : " ah OK!... so, approved???" ;D
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: PeterChigmaroff on January 13, 2016, 12:38
Quote from Wikipedia,

"In business, the term long tail is applied to rank-size distributions or rank-frequency distributions (primarily of popularity), which often form power laws and are thus long-tailed distributions in the statistical sense. This is used to describe the retailing strategy of selling a large number of unique items with relatively small quantities sold of each (the "long tail") — usually in addition to selling fewer popular items in large quantities (the "head"). Sometimes an intermediate category is also included, variously called the body, belly, torso, or middle. The specific cutoff of what part of a distribution is the "long tail" is often arbitrary, but in some cases may be specified objectively; see segmentation of rank-size distributions.

The long tail concept has found some ground for application, research, and experimentation. It is a term used in online business, mass media, micro-finance (Grameen Bank, for example), user-driven innovation (Eric von Hippel), and social network mechanisms (e.g. crowdsourcing, crowdcasting, peer-to-peer), economic models, and marketing (viral marketing)."

Sell a little of many equals quite a bit.
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: Justanotherphotographer on January 13, 2016, 13:19
I agree IS has started rejecting vectors again. Of course totally randomly and some of my best sellers as you'd expect from IS.
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: sharpshot on January 13, 2016, 13:29
I haven't uploaded to them for years now.  Don't care what they accept, I rejected their less than 20% commission.
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: Shelma1 on January 13, 2016, 13:38
I agree IS has started rejecting vectors again. Of course totally randomly and some of my best sellers as you'd expect from IS.

iStock rejects random vectors for random reasons; Dreamstime rejects icons and stamps for being "too simple" and similars for being too similar (even though their submission process encourages uploading similars; Fotolia rejects designs with Greek type in place, even though they sell more often; and Shutterstock accepts them all and wipes the floor with the other three.
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: Pauws99 on January 13, 2016, 14:15
I agree IS has started rejecting vectors again. Of course totally randomly and some of my best sellers as you'd expect from IS.

iStock rejects random vectors for random reasons; Dreamstime rejects icons and stamps for being "too simple" and similars for being too similar (even though their submission process encourages uploading similars; Fotolia rejects designs with Greek type in place, even though they sell more often; and Shutterstock accepts them all and wipes the floor with the other three.

Although Shutterstock seems to reject some contributors work for no discernible reason........that Mstock get used to it ;-)
 
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: Hongover on January 13, 2016, 20:04
I agree IS has started rejecting vectors again. Of course totally randomly and some of my best sellers as you'd expect from IS.

iStock rejects random vectors for random reasons; Dreamstime rejects icons and stamps for being "too simple" and similars for being too similar (even though their submission process encourages uploading similars; Fotolia rejects designs with Greek type in place, even though they sell more often; and Shutterstock accepts them all and wipes the floor with the other three.

iStock reject 5 vectors from me recently that was fairly complex. I think they rejected it for 'lacking visual interest', although they've accepted much simpler vectors in the past. Their reviewers seem to be bipolar. I'll upload it again next week and there's a good chance it'll get accepted.
Title: Re: WOW - iStock accepting everything
Post by: Stockmaan on January 14, 2016, 04:17
Illustrations and Vectors - Almost all REJECTED

It started happening to me a few weeks ago. :/