http://www.dreamstime.com/thread_19813

Above is a link to the new Credit Schedule at Dreamstime.  Looks good to me.  Hope those old credits get used up soon.   

Good news:) they will modify also  the image levels in a good way:)

level 1:  0-4 dls (0-4 in 2010)
level 2:  5-19 dls (5-9 in 2010)
level 3:  20-49 dls (10-24 in 2010)
level 4:  50-99 dls (25-49 in 2010)
level 5:  > 100 dls (>50 in 2010)

Good news but very difficult to estimate the actual increase we will see to our monthly incomes there, especially so with all those subscription sales.

Quote from: gostwyck on December 14, 2009, 16:45
Good news but very difficult to estimate the actual increase we will see to our monthly incomes there, especially so with all those subscription sales.

Indeed.

Higher prices on credit sales without any change in subscription terms will almost certainly mean only one thing: More subscription sales. 

There will be more of these news as a result of istockphoto announcement.

I am expecting all other agencies to make non-exclusivity more appealing.

Quote from: cidepix on December 14, 2009, 16:54
There will be more of these news as a result of istockphoto announcement.

I am expecting all other agencies to make non-exclusivity more appealing.

I too had wondered if this was influenced by announcements at iStock.

Quote from: ldambies on December 14, 2009, 16:41
Good news:) they will modify also  the image levels in a good way:)

level 1:  0-4 dls (0-4 in 2010)
level 2:  5-19 dls (5-9 in 2010)
level 3:  20-49 dls (10-24 in 2010)
level 4:  50-99 dls (25-49 in 2010)
level 5:  > 100 dls (>50 in 2010)

That is VERY good news.

Is this part of the increased prices and lower commissions that they announced a few months ago?

http://www.microstockgroup.com/dreamstime-com/royalties-subscriptions-and-sr-el-update-on-dreamstime/

Quote from: sharpshot on December 14, 2009, 17:09
Is this part of the increased prices and lower commissions that they announced a few months ago?

http://www.microstockgroup.com/dreamstime-com/royalties-subscriptions-and-sr-el-update-on-dreamstime/

That's a good question. I was wondering that too. I remember them talking about increased prices and level bumps before, but I'd never seen a boost to sales. Maybe, they just hadn't implemented it. Regardless, it is good news. I hope other sites are paying attention too. I really don't want to go exclusive with iStock.

Quote from: cthoman on December 14, 2009, 18:00

Quote from: sharpshot on December 14, 2009, 17:09
Is this part of the increased prices and lower commissions that they announced a few months ago?

http://www.microstockgroup.com/dreamstime-com/royalties-subscriptions-and-sr-el-update-on-dreamstime/

That's a good question. I was wondering that too. I remember them talking about increased prices and level bumps before, but I'd never seen a boost to sales. Maybe, they just hadn't implemented it. Regardless, it is good news. I hope other sites are paying attention too. I really don't want to go exclusive with iStock.

A large part of the referenced thread was pointed toward going exclusive at DT.  I think that "exclusive" push will continue ... at several sites.

Quote from: cthoman on December 14, 2009, 18:00
I hope other sites are paying attention too. I really don't want to go exclusive with iStock.

Yeah, this sums up my feelings too.  I much prefer my independence, but can't ignore the money.  

With the carrots dangled at Istock combined with the loss of sub sales on Photos.com and JIU, Getty is certainly turning the screws.   

I hope it remains financially viable to be independent.  

This move by Dreamstime is a good start.

I think it's all about herding buyers onto subscription plans.  And the intent of a subscription is to get the buyer to either buy more than they actually need, or even better - never actually download all the images they're paying for.  Contributors only get paid for images actually downloaded. 

Quote from: KB on December 14, 2009, 16:51


Higher prices on credit sales without any change in subscription terms will almost certainly mean only one thing: More subscription sales. 

There is one positive thing about sub sales at DT: They pay more for subs from level 3 on (IIRC). And level 3 will need half the downloads it used to from next year on...

Quote from: KB on December 14, 2009, 16:51

Quote from: gostwyck on December 14, 2009, 16:45
Good news but very difficult to estimate the actual increase we will see to our monthly incomes there, especially so with all those subscription sales.

Indeed.

Higher prices on credit sales without any change in subscription terms will almost certainly mean only one thing: More subscription sales. 

That's my fear too.  If they would only let me opt out...  I would happily live without that extra income.

Exactly, I was still getting around 60-70% subscriptions sales at DT 3 days ago, before I disable my portfolio there. It's useless to me, when you own a subscription plan who is giving away images almost free, for one month.

I like this "merry christmas" part of the announcement. good stuff. Also the dropping of the levels is nice, esp. as it pertains to the level 3 and up sub sales. On a side note, today with a level 4 small sale (8 credits $3.30) I passed my total for last month (which was absolutely horrible).

I fear the other side of the shoe - the "happy new year" for DT will be more for them, less for us.  Still, at least maybe with the IS increase all the sites can increase their prices giving them a lot more and us a bit more.

Edit to change - what I meant about the other shoe is I fear that this means the further dropping of out % will now happen. Still, I like what they said this time.

Someone please tell me I'm wrong, but have we seen the whole reduction in our payments yet?  Weren't they rolling it out gradually?  Will we actually see an increase? 

As far as subscription sales go there has to be some factors we are missing that result in an increase in subscription sales because I always hear people complaining about them but subscriptions account for only a very small portion of my sales .. I just flicked back through my last 200 sales and only 25 of them were subscriptions .. so that's only 12%. I dont want to sit here and figure every single percentage up but at a glance I see mostly large-max sales .. followed by small-medium .. not to many extra small or subscription sales.

I don't have a massive amount of sales on DT, just over 6,000 total but the thought of those being 60-70% subscription sales would freak me out. So, my point is .. maybe people should try looking into why they get so many subscription sales and not just the fact that they are getting them.

Are there any patterns you can see in your subscription sales versus normal sales? There has to be a correlation somewhere that you're not seeing. I'm guessing it probably has something to do with subject matter in relation to portfolio size (too many generic shots with little diversity) or technical quality of the images in general.

QuoteAre there any patterns you can see in your subscription sales versus normal sales? There has to be a correlation somewhere that you're not seeing.

That's a great point!

I'm not unhappy with the amount of subs that I get so I guess that I never thought about it before. No time like the present!

Subs don't bother me too much, but I don't really see a pattern. I sell the whole spectrum small, max, additional and subscriptions. The only thing I notice about the subs is that people will buy multiple images in a series frequently. Which is weird because Dreamstime likes to reject images that are in a series. If you're reading Dreamstime, think about it. I'm just saying this because the customer is always right.

This looks good.  If Dreamstime finds that everyone switches over to subscription they will be loosing money as well and can put up subscription prices / commissions if they have to.  Dreamstime also has a very fair system of increasing the level of an image even with subscription sales.

If you have an image with 10 sales and the buyer buys a medium resolution license - under the old system it would get you a 5 credit sale.  Under the new system you will be getting a 10 credit sale.  That is a great increase for us!

I still think that Dreamstime's image level system is one of the best.  Great images that sell over and over are boosted into the higher earning bracket and continue to sell at the high price, while other images, perhaps less desirable stay cheaper.  If the cheap images are better they will be very attractive to buyers and will be quickly boosted up to a higher image level.  Since the rank increases are done on a per image basis - not entire portfolio basis, so someone who is new to the site can benefit just as much as someone who has been online for 5 years.

Quote from: leaf on December 15, 2009, 09:22
That is a great increase for us!

I still think that Dreamstime's image level system is one of the best.  Great images that sell over and over are boosted into the higher earning bracket and continue to sell at the high price, while other images, perhaps less desirable stay cheaper.  If the cheap images are better they will be very attractive to buyers and will be quickly boosted up to a higher image level.  Since the rank increases are done on a per image basis - not entire portfolio basis, so someone who is new to the site can benefit just as much as someone who has been online for 5 years.

I totally agree with you

Any news about an increase in commissions is good news, however I also feel that Dreamstime should put some effort into their marketing of the site to try and get themselves up there along with iStock, Shutterstock and Fotolia.
At a time when a number of their contributors are being forced into considering exclusivity at iStock a price rise isn't enough, they need to be seen to be actively promoting the site in order to get the volume of sales to make it worth while staying.
I've just bought the yearly review of a trade mag for everyone involved in the 'visual communications' industry, Shutterstock and Fotolia both had full page ad's and iStock where mentioned in a feature, no mention anywhere of Dreamstime and I see the exact same thing in other design related media all the time, it's always the same three microstock names, if Dreamstime don't market themselves properly a price rise is pointless.

I don't have a pattern, but there were months when subs were over 50% of downloads.  They are normally below 20%, but I would anyway prefer not to have them.  I simply disagree with the philosophy of cheap subscriptions the way most sites handle them.  Microstock images are already too cheap.

I see a pattern, but I don't understand it. Some pictures sell only as subs (e.g. my obesity series), while my iceberg pictures have a RPD of close to 2$. Could it be that the iceberg pics are used to illustrate news stories (the last sale had the keywords "climate change"), while the sub sales go to commercials?