MicrostockGroup Sponsors

Shutterstock is an embarassment

Started by stockman11, June 23, 2023, 22:26

Previous topic - Next topic

Pacesetter


August 1 - 6, 2023: $289.34

August 1 - 6, 2024: $21.77

odesigns

Quote from: Pacesetter on August 07, 2024, 23:56
August 1 - 6, 2023: $289.34
August 1 - 6, 2024: $21.77

My August, 2024 is bad, but my August, 2023 was horrible.

August 1 - 6, 2023: $22.42
August 1 - 6, 2024: $177.84

Starting August 8, 2023, the month picked up tremendously, so I am still holding out hope for this August.

cascoly

Quote from: odesigns on August 08, 2024, 00:30
Quote from: Pacesetter on August 07, 2024, 23:56
August 1 - 6, 2023: $289.34
August 1 - 6, 2024: $21.77

My August, 2024 is bad, but my August, 2023 was horrible.

August 1 - 6, 2023: $22.42
August 1 - 6, 2024: $177.84

Starting August 8, 2023, the month picked up tremendously, so I am still holding out hope for this August.

again, given the wide variability month to month,  single month comparisons aren't as useful as 3 or 4 month running averages
Steve Estvanik 
travel & photo blog https://cascoly-images.com

yuriy

Quote from: cascoly on August 08, 2024, 20:01
Quote from: odesigns on August 08, 2024, 00:30
Quote from: Pacesetter on August 07, 2024, 23:56
August 1 - 6, 2023: $289.34
August 1 - 6, 2024: $21.77

My August, 2024 is bad, but my August, 2023 was horrible.

August 1 - 6, 2023: $22.42
August 1 - 6, 2024: $177.84

Starting August 8, 2023, the month picked up tremendously, so I am still holding out hope for this August.

again, given the wide variability month to month,  single month comparisons aren't as useful as 3 or 4 month running averages

this is comparing a single week of a single month

cascoly

Quote from: yuriy on August 08, 2024, 22:54
Quote from: cascoly on August 08, 2024, 20:01
Quote from: odesigns on August 08, 2024, 00:30
Quote from: Pacesetter on August 07, 2024, 23:56
August 1 - 6, 2023: $289.34
August 1 - 6, 2024: $21.77

My August, 2024 is bad, but my August, 2023 was horrible.

August 1 - 6, 2023: $22.42
August 1 - 6, 2024: $177.84

Starting August 8, 2023, the month picked up tremendously, so I am still holding out hope for this August.

again, given the wide variability month to month,  single month comparisons aren't as useful as 3 or 4 month running averages

this is comparing a single week of a single month
statistically, even worse!

next we'll see day by day comparisons!
Steve Estvanik 
travel & photo blog https://cascoly-images.com

Pacesetter

I've found hourly and even minutely comparisons to be statistically reliable and informative.

dbvirago

I'm still at about 60% of my best year in 2017 at Shutterstock, but Adobe has more than made up the difference, so overall, my sales have continued to grow, albeit only slightly.

Micha91

Month by month, it's getting worse, at least for me. Last month was very weak, and August seems like it won't even reach half of last month. I earned more when I had just a few hundred works back in 2015. New items aren't selling, which is strange because on Adobe Stock, new items are moving, so that's probably not the issue. Maybe I have a shadow ban because how else can I explain it? After reaching level 5, I noticed quite intense drops in sales.

Does anyone else have a similar experience? It breaks my heart to see how my once-favorite stock photo site is hitting rock bottom.

Stockhome Syndrome

Quote from: Micha91 on August 19, 2024, 14:54
Does anyone else have a similar experience? It breaks my heart to see how my once-favorite stock photo site is hitting rock bottom.

My August is surprisingly bad.  I may not hit $1K.  And this at an agency where it wasn't uncommon for me to hit $5K - $7K per month just a few years ago!  Guess everyone who wanted my clips got them.

Uncle Pete

Quote from: Pacesetter on August 09, 2024, 03:28
I've found hourly and even minutely comparisons to be statistically reliable and informative.

Remember the software that would ping the sites, every minute, to check if we had a new download? The agencies had to block that. But 14 years ago, minute by minute was a real thing.

And then the people who watched so close that if there was a drop, in a particular time period, they imagined that they were being blacked out by zones. Now instead of hours, it's black out days.

Speaking of the best SS Subject, which is so true, I've noticed that most of my sales, those wonderful dimes, are not subscriptions anymore. Almost all are Single or OD. Talk about an embarrassment. What used to be no sale Saturday has become, no sale weekends.

I have cameras, lenses, lighting, all kinds of expensive equipment to make better images, and what do I get?

≧◉◡◉≦ <a href=https://www.antique-images.com/> My Vintage and Antique images ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Your art isn't worth anything unless someone else believes it is.

Camillo

Quote from: stockman11 on June 23, 2023, 22:26
My SS earnings used to be 15x higher than now, and they just keep nosediving from month to month. Once a good earner, now abomination. Seems like it will join mid-tier agencies soon. Inexcusable.

During this same time, my Adobe Stock earnings has been growing, and Istock has been consistent.

I'm considering to start treating SS like the other mid-tier agencies and completely stop uploading there.

I stopped uploading to shutterstock in 2020. Was all in but 10 cents is not worth the trouble. Im not very succesful at all in these stock companies but adobe stock is doing better for me than shutter ever did. Shutter was great with video sales.

Camillo

Quote from: Camillo on August 21, 2024, 00:02
Quote from: stockman11 on June 23, 2023, 22:26
My SS earnings used to be 15x higher than now, and they just keep nosediving from month to month. Once a good earner, now abomination. Seems like it will join mid-tier agencies soon. Inexcusable.

During this same time, my Adobe Stock earnings has been growing, and Istock has been consistent.

I'm considering to start treating SS like the other mid-tier agencies and completely stop uploading there.

I stopped uploading to shutterstock in 2020. Was all in but 10 cents is not worth the trouble. Im not very succesful at all in these stock companies but adobe stock is doing better for me than shutter ever did. Shutter was great with video sales.

I feel your pain! when shutter used to pay 40 bucks a video I whent out and got a gymbal, professional studio lighting and started leveling up my skills and quality on videos. Was all n and really motivated in 2019 but then in 2020 the great news came and I still feel like what?

Micha91

Quote from: Stockhome Syndrome on August 19, 2024, 21:43
Quote from: Micha91 on August 19, 2024, 14:54
Does anyone else have a similar experience? It breaks my heart to see how my once-favorite stock photo site is hitting rock bottom.

My August is surprisingly bad.  I may not hit $1K.  And this at an agency where it wasn't uncommon for me to hit $5K - $7K per month just a few years ago!  Guess everyone who wanted my clips got them.


I used to earn somewhat lower amounts, and I don't think I'll surpass $1K this month either. The worst part is that I barely have any subscription sales anymore—just Single & Other, sometimes clip packs. The number of sales has dropped about 8 to 10 times compared to the best years, 2017-2019. I'm not sure if it's due to algorithm changes or customers leaving, but I can't stop the decline despite frequent uploads.

Asthebelltolls

Quote from: Stockhome Syndrome on August 19, 2024, 21:43
Quote from: Micha91 on August 19, 2024, 14:54
Does anyone else have a similar experience? It breaks my heart to see how my once-favorite stock photo site is hitting rock bottom.
My August is surprisingly bad.  I may not hit $1K.  And this at an agency where it wasn't uncommon for me to hit $5K - $7K per month just a few years ago!  Guess everyone who wanted my clips got them.

I can only imagine what your production costs must be if you're making what you claim to make in the microstock business!

Stockhome Syndrome

Quote from: Asthebelltolls on August 21, 2024, 15:11
I can only imagine what your production costs must be if you're making what you claim to make in the microstock business!

Production costs? For me, basically zero. It's me in a spare room in my free time churning out video clips when the inspiration hits.

Pacesetter

Quote from: Stockhome Syndrome on August 21, 2024, 18:53
Quote from: Asthebelltolls on August 21, 2024, 15:11
I can only imagine what your production costs must be if you're making what you claim to make in the microstock business!

Production costs? For me, basically zero. It's me in a spare room in my free time churning out video clips when the inspiration hits.

Curious what your port numbers are, do you have both stills and video? 

Stockhome Syndrome

Quote from: Pacesetter on August 21, 2024, 22:58
Curious what your port numbers are, do you have both stills and video?

Mostly video. Over 10.000 clips at multiple agencies.  And a handful of stills. 

Pacesetter

Quote from: Stockhome Syndrome on August 21, 2024, 23:29
Quote from: Pacesetter on August 21, 2024, 22:58
Curious what your port numbers are, do you have both stills and video?

Mostly video. Over 10.000 clips at multiple agencies.  And a handful of stills.

Really well done and great results (from reading your post on the other thread) even with over 10,000 clips. 

cascoly

Quote from: Camillo on August 21, 2024, 00:02....

I stopped uploading to shutterstock in 2020. Was all in but 10 cents is not worth the trouble. Im not very succesful at all in these stock companies but adobe stock is doing better for me than shutter ever did. Shutter was great with video sales.

your choice, but the 10c cheapest sale isn't a true measure - i can't remember anyone here reporting their RPD was < $.20 /image --  mine varies from$.50-.75 /image - only slightly less than AS but with higher actual income/mo (which is what really matters)
Steve Estvanik 
travel & photo blog https://cascoly-images.com

danielstassen

A $76.31 video sale on SS today. It's picking up at about the same time as it did on August 23. I'm hoping the summer slump is over now.

CptCurk

Hello !

That mean that for videographer shutterstock is still relevant ? I'm quitting blackbox guild to upload on my own name. I realized that plateform wasn't good at all for the business.

I'm originally videographer, but would like to become hybrid shooter like 80% video / 20% photo.

Do you think Shutterstock is a go to ?

WendyT

Quote from: cascoly on August 22, 2024, 01:14
Quote from: Camillo on August 21, 2024, 00:02....

I stopped uploading to shutterstock in 2020. Was all in but 10 cents is not worth the trouble. Im not very succesful at all in these stock companies but adobe stock is doing better for me than shutter ever did. Shutter was great with video sales.

your choice, but the 10c cheapest sale isn't a true measure - i can't remember anyone here reporting their RPD was < $.20 /image --  mine varies from$.50-.75 /image - only slightly less than AS but with higher actual income/mo (which is what really matters)

I quit SS when my RPD went to <20c for several months in a row, that and their ethics made me pull the pin.
Wendy

Jaggy

Quote from: cascoly on August 22, 2024, 01:14
Quote from: Camillo on August 21, 2024, 00:02....

I stopped uploading to shutterstock in 2020. Was all in but 10 cents is not worth the trouble. Im not very succesful at all in these stock companies but adobe stock is doing better for me than shutter ever did. Shutter was great with video sales.

your choice, but the 10c cheapest sale isn't a true measure - i can't remember anyone here reporting their RPD was < $.20 /image --  mine varies from$.50-.75 /image - only slightly less than AS but with higher actual income/mo (which is what really matters)

My average RPD since I started with SS in 2018 is $0.57. My average RPD for this year is $0.91 (helped by a $261 sale a couple of days ago  8))

Jens G

Quote from: Micha91 on August 19, 2024, 14:54
...
Does anyone else have a similar experience? It breaks my heart to see how my once-favorite stock photo site is hitting rock bottom.
Same here.
My earnings on Depositphotos is twice that of Shutterstock this month. And it's not because Depositphotos is better than normal.

Shutterstock used to be at least 10 times better than Depositphotos.

RalfLiebhold

This is a recurring and daily groundhog day discussion  ;)

There is in my opinion no fundamental general pro or con for Adobe or Shutter ... or any other agency. It all depends very much on the portfolio content.

My personal reality at the moment is that Adobe has pretty much crashed.

Adobe: approx. 200 DLs per month - RPD 80 - 90

Shutterstock: 800 - 900 DLs per month, RPD 70 - 80

Only Foto, no AI

And yes, I hate the January reset at Shutter, but are several months of review times at Adobe really more "ethical" while those images are making money at other agencies in that time?