I wrote to customer support, to close my account at YAY, and delete my 3000+ images I uploaded. In 4 months, only 2 sales. That is ridiculous. They can keep the money, I dont want to waste any of my time on that site. My biggest mistake in microstock world. But learned lesson: never upload on new sites, if they are not offering money per upload.

well they have only been open for how long?  2 months?  I think i'll wait it out a little longer.

they have been for 5 months. I was present with my portfolio in jun, july, august and now september. no sales at all.

If I dont want to waste time on BXP, I certanly dont want to waste it on even lower YAYmicro.

I also stopped uploading on 123rf, but wont close account.

Yep, I will wait as well. What do I have to loose if I will wait a year or two longer? The only time I waste on yay is checking once a month for sales and write this forum post

Quote from: Freezingpictures on September 18, 2008, 11:59
Yep, I will wait as well. What do I have to loose if I will wait a year or two longer? The only time I waste on yay is checking once a month for sales and write this forum post

I simply dont want to do business like that. I work hard to produce images, and I expect money. If there is no serious income, I wont do it. I am not doing this for hobby.

I will wait as well. I want this editorial thing to work. I think it is a good idea.

And the people who run it have experience, and I have heard they got some Government funding.

humm a bit early to close down I guess... You did the work to upload why not leaving the pics there even if they generate only 50 euros a year

Well, I am not doing this for my hobby as well. And I am with you, I am not doing it if there is no serious income that is why I do not upload to 123rf and BigStock as well. And I also do not upload to Yay anymore until they prove to provide serious income. But it does not hurt me to let my images stay there a year or two until they are proven unsuccessfully.

I think I will wait also as they have not even started to market the site yet! I do not expect any sales at all before the first of the year.
-Larry

I have wasted a bit of time with duds. Like Crestock, MostPhotos, PhotoShelter, CanStockPhoto.

I have a good feeling about Yay. Maybe it is that I just want to sell editorial stuff.

Like Jan says. Might as well leave them there for a while.

It just amazes me how impatient some people can be.  I'm sure it took some of the bigger names in stock photography time to get their site off the ground.  If you took the time to upload your work, why not just let them stay there for a year and see how things go?  That's what I plan on doing.

Yay was open for contributors to upload their images a few months ago.
The site was supposed to go "live" with advertising, etc, in the beginning of Sept.

You had two sales BEFORE THE SITE WAS LIVE TO THE PUBLIC.

I'd say that was pretty good.  But, if you want to pull your port, who am I to stop you?

Please pull your port immediately.  The less images there, the better chance for those of us who choose to speculate.

Thank you in advance!

Quote from: litifeta on September 18, 2008, 12:15
I have wasted a bit of time with duds. Like Crestock, MostPhotos, PhotoShelter, CanStockPhoto.

I have a good feeling about Yay. Maybe it is that I just want to sell editorial stuff.

Like Jan says. Might as well leave them there for a while.

Everyone keeps having 'good feeling' but everyone keeps getting disappointed.  What makes anyone think that a new startup can grab customers that a well established, working, and systematic site can't?

Quote from: Tazzy on September 18, 2008, 12:47
It just amazes me how impatient some people can be.  I'm sure it took some of the bigger names in stock photography time to get their site off the ground.  If you took the time to upload your work, why not just let them stay there for a year and see how things go?  That's what I plan on doing.

It doesn't matter if it took the bigger names longer, they were the first and people had no choice.  The barriers to entry are significantly higher and customers will not switch to these random start up sites.  If you stick to the big 5 or 6, stop increasing the sprawl of microstock companies and allow the bigger, more established ones to do their thing, we will all be better off because the 'new entry' competition is bad for the industry.  Why?  Because all these companies do is come in and undercut other sites

Quote from: Freezingpictures on September 18, 2008, 12:08
Well, I am not doing this for my hobby as well. And I am with you, I am not doing it if there is no serious income that is why I do not upload to 123rf and BigStock as well. And I also do not upload to Yay anymore until they prove to provide serious income. But it does not hurt me to let my images stay there a year or two until they are proven unsuccessfully.

From my experience I think you are wrong about 123RF.

I have some images there - not a great lot though.
Could have uploaded more but decided to wait.

Personally I don't think YAY is presently sending out any real positive signals.
Yes! there is not much patience amongst contributors. This is justified to a great extent as we are all here to make money and not to hang around waiting and waiting. This demanding attitude I feel arises from the recent "stings" people have had with new sites and thus the tolerance level has really come down.

Whatever way, it's now really up to YAY to convince us that things are on the up.

I feel (as this initial post indicates) that as the weeks and months go by more contributors are likely to drop off unless they see real action.

Time is not on YAY's side!

Quote from: ichiro17 on September 18, 2008, 13:36

Everyone keeps having 'good feeling' but everyone keeps getting disappointed.  What makes anyone think that a new startup can grab customers that a well established, working, and systematic site can't?

There are no well established microstock sites. They are all just a few years old, and within the next few years, anything can happen. We don't know who has money in the bank and who hasn't. One of the big 6 can go under as well as one of the upstarts.

Quote from: whitechild on September 18, 2008, 15:36

Quote from: Freezingpictures on September 18, 2008, 12:08
Well, I am not doing this for my hobby as well. And I am with you, I am not doing it if there is no serious income that is why I do not upload to 123rf and BigStock as well. And I also do not upload to Yay anymore until they prove to provide serious income. But it does not hurt me to let my images stay there a year or two until they are proven unsuccessfully.

From my experience I think you are wrong about 123RF.

I find 123rf and BigStock have good consistent sales.  Those two combined often make me more than some of the top 5 sites.

I'll keep my images with them for now

Quote from: sharpshot on September 18, 2008, 16:51

Quote from: whitechild on September 18, 2008, 15:36

Quote from: Freezingpictures on September 18, 2008, 12:08
Well, I am not doing this for my hobby as well. And I am with you, I am not doing it if there is no serious income that is why I do not upload to 123rf and BigStock as well. And I also do not upload to Yay anymore until they prove to provide serious income. But it does not hurt me to let my images stay there a year or two until they are proven unsuccessfully.

From my experience I think you are wrong about 123RF.

I find 123rf and BigStock have good consistent sales.  Those two combined often make me more than some of the top 5 sites.

I know that some are doing well with them. But I am doing horrible with them. They account together for ~1%-2% of my microstock income.

Quote from: takestock on September 18, 2008, 15:46
I have some images there - not a great lot though.
Could have uploaded more but decided to wait.

Personally I don't think YAY is presently sending out any real positive signals.
Yes! there is not much patience amongst contributors. This is justified to a great extent as we are all here to make money and not to hang around waiting and waiting. This demanding attitude I feel arises from the recent "stings" people have had with new sites and thus the tolerance level has really come down.

Whatever way, it's now really up to YAY to convince us that things are on the up.

I feel (as this initial post indicates) that as the weeks and months go by more contributors are likely to drop off unless they see real action.

Time is not on YAY's side!

Seems to me once you have decided to upload - especially a significant number of images - you need to give the site a chance.  Once you have invested the time to upload your portfolio I cannot see the upside to investing more time getting them off the site - sometimes this can be non-trivial.  Doesn't cost anything to keep them there.  You don't have to upload anymore and you can just collect whatever little they do take in.  YAY especially has not really had a chance to show what they can do.  If they spend some money on the right kind of marketing they could have a chance but it will not happen overnight.

Downside of pulling your account will at least mean reuploading your portfolio if the site starts doing well and you want back in.  fred

fred

Have some of you and specialy Peter born as natural photographer and start producing photos right after you born. I don't think so. I don't even think that your first pictures even worth something.
So, give some of this new sites time at least year or two. You can upload or not but don't judge sites while they are new and trying to find their part in this business.
Dario

I love watching the stern defence of hopelessness.

I give you credit for wasting your time in vain (and just plain greed) for an extra two dollars.  If you change the amount of time spent on uploading to producing and uploading better pictures to established sites, you would see substantial income growth.

I think that the best advice I can offer anyone foolish enough to have uploaded there (me included) is to wait and see. I've got 240 of my best images there and zero results in months.

So after been burned by Lucky Oliver and being slowly charred by SnapV and Yay I have learned my lessons and hereby resolve:

1. No more uploads to Yay or Snap until things pick up there, if ever.
2. No more uploads to any new site regardless of the hype unless sales are actually demonstrated.
3. Concentrate only on uploading to my decent producing sites: Istock, ss, dt, StockXpert.

If you are a newbie to microstock and insist on running after the latest newbie site, can I interest you in a nice big Lehman Brothers bond?

QuoteIf you are a newbie to microstock and insist on running after the latest newbie site, can I interest you in a nice big Lehman Brothers bond?

Do these new sites really think they are going to become "The Next Big Thing"? And make millions of dollars? Or do the scam 100s of photographers to upload to their sites and make money off them before they reach their first payout and then fold?