TAnd uploading to a bunch of others takes so much time and energy..   

Yeah, but you can upload to all the other sites in the same amount of time as uploading to Istock; Yuri Arcurs did an study:

http://www.arcurs.com/uploading-time-average

Quote from: Pixart on August 14, 2008, 14:46

Quote from: MHjerpe on August 14, 2008, 08:44

TAnd uploading to a bunch of others takes so much time and energy..   

Yeah, but you can upload to all the other sites in the same amount of time as uploading to Istock; Yuri Arcurs did an study:

http://www.arcurs.com/uploading-time-average

Great link and very true. And if you think the submission process at IS is slow for photos, try uploading a vector. You have to submit 2 files per submission and enter all metadata by hand.

IS requires the most time to submit, is the slowest to review, and is by far the most likely to reject stockworthy images for arbitrary or non-existent 'reasons'.

Not true. IS is the most consistent in reviewing.

Not true. IS is the most consistent in reviewing.
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Yes they are certainly the most  consistently inconsistent.



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your are right. this obvious truth has escaped me. I would like to improve on
you excellent phrasing. they are the most consistently inconsistent responding to falsehood.

IS for me is WAY down from even two years ago. After the disambiguation crap my downloads hit the skids and never recovered. I keep uploading there with good acceptance rates but still very slow compared with when I started there. SS is now topping them nearly every month, With DT nipping at IS's heels.

I've gone from average last year of over 1000 dls a month to average this year about 600 dls a month even though I am producing much better images now than I was last year.  Luckily the pricing has gone up so  that my earnings haven't dropped at the same rate. It's pretty dishearteining, I used to always upload first to IS but now I upload last to them when I get round to it.   It seems you need to be an exclusive photographer to really do well there now.

One thing this thread has proved is that iStock is different for everybody, for me personally if iStock introduced an image exclusivity arrangement they would be the only microstock site I'd upload too.

Quote from: RT on September 04, 2008, 06:16

One thing this thread has proved is that iStock is different for everybody, for me personally if iStock introduced an image exclusivity arrangement they would be the only microstock site I'd upload too.

Wouldn't that be the same as being exclusive anyway? Or am I missing your point?

No, image exclusivity means just that, you could upload an individual image to iStock and nobody else, but it means I could still sell other RF images at macro sites, their deal at the moment prohibits that.
Other sites like DT and FT offer image exclusivity but personally their sales figures don't warrant me doing so, however I think iStock are in a different league and I'd certainly upload images on an exclusive basis for some sort of extra reward.

Quote from: abimages on September 04, 2008, 14:25

Quote from: RT on September 04, 2008, 06:16

One thing this thread has proved is that iStock is different for everybody, for me personally if iStock introduced an image exclusivity arrangement they would be the only microstock site I'd upload too.

Wouldn't that be the same as being exclusive anyway? Or am I missing your point?

No, image exclusivity means just that, you could upload an individual image to iStock and nobody else, but it means I could still sell other RF images at macro sites, their deal at the moment prohibits that.
Other sites like DT and FT offer image exclusivity but personally their sales figures don't warrant me doing so, however I think iStock are in a different league and I'd certainly upload images on an exclusive basis for some sort of extra reward.

Ok I get you. I read this bit wrong," they would be the only MICROSTOCK site I'd upload too." sorry RT

I'd certainly upload images on an exclusive basis for some sort of extra reward.

Not to mention the fact that if they refuse a photo you would still be able to shop it around to other agencies.  For someone like me with a bad approval rate that is a big deal.   Virtually every photo IS has refused has been approved every where else (and some of them actually sell! LOL).