pancakes

MicrostockGroup Sponsors


Author Topic: iStock rebound?  (Read 19818 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

« Reply #75 on: January 27, 2009, 17:23 »
0
I mentioned it in the "totalitarian" thread, but I'll agree here, that sales at istock are not down across the board.  Just shifted. 

The people who got a HUGE bonus of sales from mid October through December are no longer so heavily favored, and those of us who lost thousands of $ in sales during that time are recovering to the sales levels we had before that massive best match shakeup in October. 

I don't agree that sales at iStock are not down across the board;  I've been monitoring total downloads as reported on the multimedia.de site since November, and average total downloads over the first two weeks of January were as low as 30% of the figures during November.

They've recovered somewhat since, but are still only about 60% or so of the November figure, though rising again.  But isn't that what you'd expect over the holiday season?

That's not to say the best match changes had no effect - obviously they caused a shift, as you say - but a drop in downloads of up to 40% compared to November can be accounted for by this fall in overall sales, it's not just the best match.

Unfortunately I don't have anything to compare with previous years, so I can't even guess if this is a normal seasonal thing or not.  My own downloads didn't show any radical changes (I guess I was one of the lucky ones) and seem comparable to last year in terms of being good in Oct/Nov, dropping down in December, back up in January but not all the way.


lisafx

« Reply #76 on: January 27, 2009, 19:23 »
0

I don't agree that sales at iStock are not down across the board;  I've been monitoring total downloads as reported on the multimedia.de site since November, and average total downloads over the first two weeks of January were as low as 30% of the figures during November.


You are right, I should not assume sales are not down across the board.  I don't track istock's overall sales.  Just my own and the trends reported in the best match threads. 

Judging from my Nov. sales I would never in a million years have guessed istock's sales were good - mine were tragic!

Whatever amount of sales there are, you are right that they have mostly shifted to different contributors. 

I am just so relieved to be having sales again there.  Getting b*tch slapped by the best match was really NOT fun.

yecatsdoherty

« Reply #77 on: January 27, 2009, 20:00 »
0
I'm the kind of person who rarely jumps on a band wagon. I can be a bit of a contrarian at times, not because I like to stir the pot, but because I am not going to just accept something I am told until I figure it out for myself.

I was told by many that I should channel my enthusiasm for IS the company into my own work and not to treat it like an elite club. now in my third year, I see what people were talking about. I think IS is a great company, and I continue to believe that exclusivity is the right decision for me, however, I also see the culture they promote and I am not a fan. it is freaky at times, I often expect them to start passing out koolaid to the loudest nay-sayers first.....gulp.

« Reply #78 on: January 27, 2009, 20:14 »
0
I mentioned it in the "totalitarian" thread, but I'll agree here, that sales at istock are not down across the board.  Just shifted. 

The people who got a HUGE bonus of sales from mid October through December are no longer so heavily favored, and those of us who lost thousands of $ in sales during that time are recovering to the sales levels we had before that massive best match shakeup in October. 
I'm definitely in that first category - Brilliant November and December for photos, but my vectors disappeared. Now the photos have dies, and the small vector sales haven't made up for the fall. I learned early on  not to rely on continuing patterns of sales form istock - I got hit by the Great Upheaval in best match in October 2006 - my sales have never got back to that level again, despite a big increase in portfolio!

But right now is pretty sad - I've had zero sales today on what is typically my best day of the week. But at least vectors are back up in the search now (maybe a bit too much if my portfolio is anything to go by) so given they pay a lot more at least my $s should recover a bit if people start buying what they can now find.

I'm a bit puzzled by people saying that new files aren't favoured -  the only two files I've uploaded this year are right near the top of the obvious searches for them (not that they are great stock, and they won't sell much) And my best seller - an older file - has dropped right down the best match- (it was number one in the search for violin for a while which did my downloads the world of good, but it's now barely in the first 100 - as it was carrying my photo sales, it's hardly suprising I'm seeing a big fall off)) and has been overtaken by the vector version of the same thing in position - a much newer file.

« Reply #79 on: January 27, 2009, 20:20 »
0
It's like a switch went on around the 20th. I've had anemic sales for about 3 months and now I'm almost back to where I was a few months ago... I almost was ready to stop uploading to IS, but now I'm very happy... I hope it lasts for a while!


 

Related Topics

  Subject / Started by Replies Last post
2 Replies
7734 Views
Last post July 25, 2006, 06:12
by leaf
5 Replies
13719 Views
Last post August 22, 2006, 15:49
by amanda1863
5 Replies
4069 Views
Last post October 27, 2006, 12:10
by CJPhoto
3 Replies
5072 Views
Last post November 20, 2006, 19:19
by yingyang0
3 Replies
5253 Views
Last post January 26, 2007, 14:53
by madelaide

Sponsors

Mega Bundle of 5,900+ Professional Lightroom Presets

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors