First sale for this year on Shutterstock is in.

Isn't she a beaut!

Don't wanna hear anyone say Shutterstock is dead. 

2026 started badly for me. 10 sales in the first 5 days and a total of $1.

Quote from: Pacesetter on January 06, 2026, 06:19
First sale for this year on Shutterstock is in.

Isn't she a beaut!

Don't wanna hear anyone say Shutterstock is dead.

I'm in the same boat.

Quite bad for me as well, slowest start from the last 6 years.

Single sale from Alamy $67 

Cool now you can buy a chewing gum  ;  

Quote from: Pacesetter on January 06, 2026, 06:19
First sale for this year on Shutterstock is in.

Isn't she a beaut!

Don't wanna hear anyone say Shutterstock is dead.

Oh that's nothing, I have DOUBLE THAT!

 

I drove over 600 miles, spent three days, I shot thousands of images, all for that dime! Here's the 1st for 2026

Uncle Pete! Do you have any microstock courses you can sell me. I'd love your insider secrets. I covet your results!

All the sales on SS are being taken by two our folks on this site (Leaf and Mr Locke)! If only they would be willing to share some of that loot to us 

Be grateful you have a nice world map with a blue dot to see where the $0.10 came from.

Yes, thats totally normal. The beginning of the year is usually slow, especially the first one or two weeks. Many contributors see just one tiny sale or none at all, and it doesnt mean Shutterstock is dead. From our experience, some years start with a $0.10 sale, some with silence, and then things pick up later. Stock works in waves - ups and downs are part of the game. I wouldnt judge anything based on the first days of January. Just keep producing and uploading - thats the only thing that really pays off in the long run.

Lol, geez... then I am REALLY outpacing you guys...

I already have 3-4  TWENTY-FIVE cent sales...

& lol mmkay maybe its not 'just me' with respect to shitterstock

Quote from: Pacesetter on January 07, 2026, 20:05
Uncle Pete! Do you have any microstock courses you can sell me. I'd love your insider secrets. I covet your results!

Just send money, I'll tell you the secrets later. I'm also selling a free pass that guarantees all your uploads will have same day review and everything will pass. But you have to send money in advance. Very private, the secret code will arrive by a messenger wearing blue, in a disguised envelop that says, buy four windows get four more for free. 

Just leveled up. A few days slower than last year.

i'm pretty close to stopping contributing to shutterstock.  it's been absolutely pathetic and only getting worse. 

I've had 3 video sales for $0.25 each on SS in the last couple of days.

Are other also seeing those sales?

Yes.  Most of my sales so far this month have been "clip pack" sales.  Today alone so far, I've had 20.  Sounds great, until you learn each are only netting me 30-cents each.

Must be some new initiative SS implemented at the beginning of the year.  I don't ever recall such drastic clip pack sales before.  Perhaps a last grasp on SS's part?

Same here, lots of tiny clip packs sales for cents.

How low can you go, sh1tterstock?

Interestingly (or not), those $0.25 video sales don't appear on the map.

Same here. Plenty of small sales, but nothing that adds up to real earnings.

Honestly, we had the same yesterday: 15 sales at $0.30 on one account. It was annoying. But that account is still small and just reached Level 2. If this pace continues, Level 3 is close - and that means better royalties.

From our experience preparing and keywording video for clients: small sales feel bad, we all miss the "old days", but the system works in waves. Tiny payouts dont excite, yet they push the account forward.

Thats the reality now: many small sales instead of a few big ones. Question to you: how did your year start? Same tiny amounts? Did anyone else have 10-15 files sold in one day at ~$0.30?

If it was lots of small sales in addition to the big sales that would be fine and help speed your climb back up to the higher levels you used to always just have before the "highly motivating" yearly reset to peon status.

Sadly, I think it is replacing a number of sales at an ok rate with less sales for less money.

I guess my video sale for 1$ is quite a good rpd today then?

This is my very first post on this forum. Been a Shutterstock contributor since 2023, with a portfolio of 6000+ mostly travel images from across the world and mostly pictures myself and the missus take with our regular Canon and Sony cameras. None of the that AI BS, all regular pictures only.

In 2024, I had 1578 sales and in 2025, it was 2759. But ever since the Getty merger, sales have plummeted. I used to sell about 200-250 images monthly easily on average, and its now down to 150 on average since August last year which is when the merger took place. My sales on iStock picked up proportionally, but as you all know, you get zillions of 0.04 and 0.02 sales over there.

Anyway, January is a s%^tshow per usual...very dissapointing.