Sales and discounts are happening all the time at any given agency. And I'm sure that Shutterstock even offers steep discounts for huge clients as well. We just don't hear about it.

I doubt that SS do. A year's subscription package is only $2400, hardly a major expense for a big user of images. They wouldn't need to discount PPD's either because if the customer was spending enough to warrant a discount then a subscription would be better value. That's the beauty of SS's business model. Nice & simple, easy to understand.

I kind of agree, but this business goes (or should go) both ways. Technically we're in this together (agency and contributor) so if a successful agent has a sale I don't mind taking a small hit if it leads to the promised outcome.

So I guess you don't mind them keeping the vast majority of money buyers pay for content? It's like a semi rhetorical question...

People always quote Alexa graphs. I do not know and have never known anyone who has the Alexa toolbar installed. From which these viewing figures are extrapolated. Not one single person.

I don't believe in it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexa_Internet

Who the *, needs a sale in this Micro-scopic business, where prices are already smashed into smitherines. They need money, thats whats it all about, all the shambles and screw-ups have resulted in big-time loss of money.

Sale?? in this business,  never heard of anything so absurd.

snip
I expected your reaction but I also have to admit that offering discounts or freebies (most agencies even do freebies!) is an established form of advertising and marketing.
Its purpose is to initiate growth and as I mentioned before, if iStock in this example cannot live up to the expectations it's just going to be another strike against them.

OTOH, what are we supposed to do as IS offers this sale? Withdraw all of our images and take IS out of business?

I'd rather go down with the sinking ship and take what I can until they close the doors than dropping them now and therefore losing my family's health insurance. No thanks.
It didn't happen overnight that IS keeps "the vast majority of money buyers pay for content" so this sale is not going to make a difference either in regards how "reputable" and "sustainable" IS is.

Well, the only way to teach a company that it can't continue to suck suppliers dry and treat buyers and contributors like crap is to play to hard ball and hit them in the pocket. So my answer is a resounding YES! 

Also note that many people seem to have reported gradually increasing PP sales which likely means that some of the traffic has gone to other parts of the empire with different but probably related business models.

I think you'll find that most of the traffic is finding its way to SS rather than the PP. The growth of SS almost exactly mirrors the decline of Istock over the last 18 months or so on my data. The fact that Getty had to increase commissions for the PP to bribe folk into opting-in tells me that it hasn't been particularly successful.

Quote from: bunhill on May 24, 2011, 16:08

Also note that many people seem to have reported gradually increasing PP sales which likely means that some of the traffic has gone to other parts of the empire with different but probably related business models.

I think you'll find that most of the traffic is finding its way to Shutterstock rather than the PP. The growth of Shutterstock almost exactly mirrors the decline of Istock over the last 18 months or so on my data. The fact that Getty had to increase commissions for the PP to bribe folk into opting-in tells me that it hasn't been particularly successful.

Don't forget that Getty house contributors were given a take-it-or-leave-it new contract, part of which included the option for Getty to put the content onto Thinkstock & other subscription programs. No opt out for that offered to the Getty contributors (because they were fairly sure everyone would opt out).

Also, the last two 'lypses, Tokyo and London, included terms that required content from the lypse go into the Partner program even for those who were opted out for their portfolio in general.

The happy noises I hear from the PP monthly sales report seem to come from iStockers who never participated in a real subscription site (by that I mean iStock's subscriptions aren't really subscriptions the way SS et al. are) - they are bowled over by the high volume of downloads compared to what they're used to at iStock.

@FreeTransform - I did notice the vector in the e-mail about the sale and chuckled a bit. At software companies there's a notion of eating your own dog food (you have to use the software you build) - seems iStock could promote photos with photos and vectors with vectors, no?

... As for P+ - yes, I am happy to have the extra income for those sales.  Too bad that extra income will now evaporate as a result of this "sale", and stats go right back in the toilet...

That's the typical iStock "strategy". If you even think they might do something good to you it's just another kick in the ball$ (pardon my french) in the end.

Who the , needs a sale in this Micro-scopic business, where prices are already smashed into smitherines. They need money, thats whats it all about, all the shambles and screw-ups have resulted in big-time loss of money.

Sale?? in this business,  never heard of anything so absurd.

It's not so absurd at the most expensive microstock agency in the business. And maybe that's the whole idea. istock might have finally hit the ceiling, and if so, now they're testing a price reduction.

This sale is doing really nothing for me, haven't had a single XL+ since it started 36h ago...Not that sales aren't pathetic compared to SS anyway, just over 25% (of SS earnings) at this moment, but this figures are of course without the PP sales (not that they turn things around)

No difference for me too.
Today strange L format sales while XL photos only 1 or 2 credit more.

Im having really good days here!  dont know whats happening?  but its almost back to normal and the P+, are selling well.

me too.
after my message,  i sold 10 XL and still selling L size

I don't know about the rest of you, but I haven't sold a single XL or above all weekend and only a couple on Friday.  I don't see this "sale" having any positive affect on my downloads.