I believe the entry point was 3 for $35 which seems to align with the 8% discount. I wonder if that's a sale or reduced prices. Either way, it's lower, and the wrong direction. Plus the Essentials Subscription includes 750 images a month for $166. $.22 cents per image. Great for buyers, horrible for contributors.

I know someone who used to work for an advertising agency. 15 years ago they regularly paid thousands for dollars, sometimes over $10,000 US, to license an image for a single use. Maybe that pricing was a bit extreme, but things have swung in the extreme opposite direction. $166 a month for what is essentially unlimited images with unlimited usage. Insane. 

Plus the Essentials Subscription includes 750 images a month for $166. $.22 cents per image. Great for buyers, horrible for contributors.

Looks like Shutterstock got rid of daily limits too, is that new?

Quote from: tickstock on March 14, 2015, 09:57

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on March 14, 2015, 08:52

Plus the Essentials Subscription includes 750 images a month for $166. $.22 cents per image. Great for buyers, horrible for contributors.

Looks like Shutterstock got rid of daily limits too, is that new?

not in my browser

This is all I see:  "Try our most popular plan and get 750 images a month, every month" no mention of a daily limit anywhere.

Yes I'd agree about the Adobe/FT deal not being a slam dunk or for our benefit

Why do you always disrupt any IS thread with irrelevant SS diversions:



There, feel better now? It's still the 25-A-Day plan.

Quote from: Uncle Pete on March 15, 2015, 09:30

I don't know how to explain this to you Mr. Tick, but you should be aware... this is a thread about iStock and credit prices.

Quote from: tickstock on March 14, 2015, 09:57

Quote from: PaulieWalnuts on March 14, 2015, 08:52

Plus the Essentials Subscription includes 750 images a month for $166. $.22 cents per image. Great for buyers, horrible for contributors.

Looks like Shutterstock got rid of daily limits too, is that new?

It doesn't happen in a vacuum just like Shelma (the OP) referenced Shutterstock's pricing, and my observation was in response to PaulieWalnuts comment about iStock subs.  Don't be surprised to see a price war between nonexclusive content from subs to individual sales.  It's all connected and soon Adobe Fotolia will get more involved in this.  If you think the Adobe Fotolia deal is going to make things better I think you'll be in for a surprise.   iStock credits are lowered to be more competitive with Shutterstock single sales, Shutterstock subs get rid of daily limits to compete with iStock subs, it's all connected and part of a larger trend.  Credit pricing is not an isolated issue.

Shutterstock hasn't lowered their prices. Instead they're going after the midstock market and charging higher prices for big customers. iStock is getting increasingly desperate and basically trying anything at this point. Lowering prices a few months ago made things worse, so in true iS fashion they're lowering them again, which REALLY won't work.

The difference between my earnings at SS and iS was three to one last year and five to one this year. Earnings at SS have increased for me over the past year, and decreased at iS.

I'm not sure what the Fotolia deal will bring. But Adobe markets to big customers as well, so I'd expect them to raise prices, because many of their customers are used to paying big bucks for images. But that's just an educated guess on my part.

Wow I must be at some secret back door site. Too bad you can't see it. (sarcasm mode please) Here's the link... http://www.shutterstock.com which is shutterstock.com look in the upper left. What do you see?

Are you trying to not see or are you just so blinded by your defensive attitudes for IS that you refuse to see it?

You really believe that iStock is changing their pricing with no thought about Shutterstock?  Why are they lowering single sale pricing then?  Obviously it's to compete better against SS.  If all you are looking at is credit pricing you aren't seeing the big picture.  iStock is lowering prices, Shutterstock is changing terms, this is all connected.

You are being shown a different price than me on SS.  This is the text that I see with no mention of 25 a day anywhere on the site:
Subscribe and Save

Try our most popular plan and get 750 images a month, every month
1 YearSAVE 20% $199/month

And now you just shift gears and go for something new?

I've seen Shutterstock offering a lot of discounts in the past couple months.  20% off image packs or subscriptions and now it appears they are offering a monthly subscription instead of a daily one. 

All the agencies, continuously offer discounts, coupons and promotional deals! I have a question for you to consider? See if you can answer without going off into SS of FT or off into something else?

Did iStock just lower credit prices?

Adobe markets to big customers as well, so I'd expect them to raise prices, because many of their customers are used to paying big bucks for images. But that's just an educated guess on my part.

My guess is that Adobe will bundle X images per month subscriptions as part of Creative Cloud. Perhaps not at first.

There is only so much additional CS functionality which users actually want - therefore adding value in different ways makes sense for them. It can help to support subscriptions which will inevitably peak and then begin to decline anyhow.

I believe that they will run Fotolia to break even.

Quote from: tickstock on March 15, 2015, 10:38

Like I said they are probably showing different things to different people.  For me, right now, they are saying 750 images per month with no mention of 25 a day.  I would be willing to bet I'm not the only one seeing this.

Mine shows daily limits as others are saying.

Much better than the iStock pricing page which delivers a server error for me these days because iStock fails to geo locate my IP address. The only way I can get to the pricing page is via a VPN in a different country. I raised this on their bug thread and was told to open a support ticket. As if !

Check out twitter people are tweeting about it now.  "I really like the new format from @Shutterstock! 750/month instead of 25/day is awesome!"  that was favorited by Shutterstock.

Quote from: Shelma1 on March 15, 2015, 10:20

Shutterstock hasn't lowered their prices. Instead they're going after the midstock market and charging higher prices for big customers.

I've seen Shutterstock offering a lot of discounts in the past couple months.  20% off image packs or subscriptions and now it appears they are offering a monthly subscription instead of a daily one.   I think it's great if you are getting some higher priced sales, it seems from most of the comments I've seen on here that those are rare and may be getting rarer.  If yours are up then great.  One off sales aren't going to move the market much though, it's the very low average price that is doing it.

Big difference between SS and iS: When iS offers discounts you make less, but when SS offers discounts they still pay you the same amount. My earnings per image at SS surpassed iS last year, and the disparity keeps getting larger. I'm not sure what you consider "big sales," but I get dozens of non-sub sales on SS daily. And I make about 40% more for a sub sale at SS than at iS. SS is setting higher pricing but still taking market share from iS and Getty. I get no "really big" sales from iS at all, but I do at SS every so often. Just the facts. I'd love it if iS did something right.

Quote from: Shelma1 on March 15, 2015, 11:15

Big difference between SS and iS: When iS offers discounts you make less, but when SS offers discounts they still pay you the same amount.

That's not true.  When SS offers a discount on enterprise sales those discounts "flow" to the contributor as has been said before.  You get a percentage of what the customer paid for those sales.  Subs pay a set rate but that is the same at iStock too.  I'm assuming discounts to image packs also "flow" to the contributor but if you have something specific that says those discounts don't then please do post a link to that.

I see no difference whatsoever in the amount I make. Subs still earn me exactly the same amount, as do ODDs, EDs and SODs. Those pay a flat rate. On iS any discount has a direct impact on my credit sales, which are comparable to ODDs on SS (though much less since they dropped the prices of non-exclusive vectors). iS subs pay less too. iS doesn't offer anything comparable to EDs and SODs, as far as I know.

Quote from: tickstock on March 15, 2015, 11:24

Quote from: Shelma1 on March 15, 2015, 11:15

Big difference between SS and iS: When iS offers discounts you make less, but when SS offers discounts they still pay you the same amount.

That's not true.  When SS offers a discount on enterprise sales those discounts "flow" to the contributor as has been said before.  You get a percentage of what the customer paid for those sales.  Subs pay a set rate but that is the same at iStock too.  I'm assuming discounts to image packs also "flow" to the contributor but if you have something specific that says those discounts don't then please do post a link to that.

I see no difference whatsoever in the amount I make. Subs still earn me exactly the same amount, as do ODDs, EDs and SODs. Those pay a flat rate. On iS any discount has a direct impact on my credit sales, which are comparable to ODDs on SS (though much less since they dropped the prices of non-exclusive vectors). iS subs pay less too. iS doesn't offer anything comparable to EDs and SODs, as far as I know.

If any change I will make more. Still shows 25 a day on my SS page. One tweet in Florida must be a very small test group. IS just lowered credit prices that lowers my income. I'll make less. I don't like that.