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Author Topic: Is selling my photos at iStock undercut myself?  (Read 4786 times)

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« on: February 26, 2017, 08:19 »
0
I wonder if it's a good thing.  They sell 1080P video clips for $60 (or less) and give us only $12.  So, I don't sell my videos there, but I wonder how it is for photos.  Any opinion?  I mean, comparing to selling at Shutterstock and Fotolia. 
« Last Edit: February 26, 2017, 11:02 by helloitsme »


« Reply #1 on: February 26, 2017, 08:39 »
0
I wonder if it's a good thing.  They sell 1080P video clips for $60 (or less) and give us only $12.  So, I don't sell my videos there, but I wonder how it is for photos.  Any opinion?

Only if you bring the buyers with you.

Photodune Reject

« Reply #2 on: February 26, 2017, 10:32 »
0
I wonder if it's a good thing.  They sell 1080P video clips for $60 (or less) and give us only $12.  So, I don't sell my videos there, but I wonder how it is for photos.  Any opinion?

selling are photos on like 90% of these companies is undercutting ourselves!  :'(



« Reply #3 on: February 26, 2017, 12:36 »
+19
I think the worst thing about selling photos with istock is that it shows you're prepared to accept 15%, or a little bit more if you sell a lot.  The other sites see that and when they want to increase profits, guess what they will do.  Leaving has given me a burst of enthusiasm to work with the sites that pay us a much bigger cut.

« Reply #4 on: February 26, 2017, 14:14 »
+7
I think the stock industry in its present form has about 3-5 years left with royalties constantly declining because of too much content and a price war between the agencies.

At some point it won't be worth it for small contributors to justify the time and expense to produce content.

I also expect a shakeout with more consolidation and some agencies going out of business. Getty has an enormous amount of debt so it remains to be seen how they will fare.

People are still frantically uploading while there's some money to be made but most are losing ground. At some point the music will stop. Be prepared for when it does.




outoftheblue

« Reply #5 on: February 26, 2017, 16:08 »
+7
It's not about undercutting oneself: unless one is very famous (most of us are not) no buyer will look for a specific image/author on another agency.

It's about allowing an agency (iStock) to cut royalties to invest in stealing buyers from better paying agencies.
The more of us will accept this, the more we will damage ourselves collectively.
« Last Edit: February 26, 2017, 16:11 by outoftheblue »

« Reply #6 on: February 26, 2017, 16:38 »
+1
I think the stock industry in its present form has about 3-5 years left with royalties constantly declining because of too much content and a price war between the agencies.

At some point it won't be worth it for small contributors to justify the time and expense to produce content.

I also expect a shakeout with more consolidation and some agencies going out of business. Getty has an enormous amount of debt so it remains to be seen how they will fare.

People are still frantically uploading while there's some money to be made but most are losing ground. At some point the music will stop. Be prepared for when it does.
Agree but may last longer and its actually the big contributors who make big investment who may suffer worse. The so called "Hobbyists" with minimal investment and efficient workflow may find it worthwhile for longer. Tbh I'm surprised that so many smaller agencies seem to hang around so long.

Harvepino

« Reply #7 on: February 26, 2017, 17:59 »
0
I face this dilemma too.
On one hand, yes, certainly undercutting, not just myself, but the whole market.
On the other hand, quite possibly iStock serves different groups of customers than SS or P5. While P5 might suit well small creative companies, iStock with power of their sales teams targets large corporates... so not uploading to iStock may mean cutting myself off from large market...
I don't know if it is so, not easy to figure out really, still can't decide whether to continue uploading to iStock.

« Reply #8 on: February 26, 2017, 18:57 »
+5
GettyImages sells photos and videos on their site for very high price, but treat iStock contributors like crap with low royalty amount.  Is that right?

« Reply #9 on: February 26, 2017, 19:32 »
+6
you're giving yourself a giant uppercut by selling on istock

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #10 on: February 26, 2017, 20:00 »
+3
GettyImages sells photos and videos on their site for very high price, but treat iStock contributors like crap with low royalty amount.  Is that right?
Some Getty licenses sell for very little.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2017, 04:01 by ShadySue »

« Reply #11 on: February 27, 2017, 05:23 »
+5
I really don't see the dilemma, non-exclusives shouldn't be paid 15% and sell their licences for almost nothing.  If you tolerate that, then the other sites will be next.  Fight back by leaving or we might as well write off microstock.
« Last Edit: February 27, 2017, 05:30 by sharpshot »

Justanotherphotographer

« Reply #12 on: February 27, 2017, 05:43 »
+3
As much as everyone says buyers wont follow us to other sites the last several purchases I have made I have had to scour all the site to find what I want. Three of the last five images I could only find on one site each (Fotolia, Shutterstock and IStock, I hasten to ad that I would not make the purchase at IStock today knowing how badly they treat contributors).

Unless you are shopping for super-generic stuff you still need to follow the seller to get what you want and that will have an impact.

JimP

« Reply #13 on: February 28, 2017, 12:45 »
+3
GettyImages sells photos and videos on their site for very high price, but treat iStock contributors like crap with low royalty amount.  Is that right?
Some Getty licenses sell for very little.

Some of my Getty licenses are less than IS, much less! 1/2 to 1/6


 

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