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Author Topic: istock raises prices for some E+ files and video  (Read 16952 times)

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helix7

« on: November 15, 2011, 10:25 »
0
Here's the comparison of old to new, thanks to Sean over at the istock forums:

Old
XSmall 5
Small 10
Medium 20
Large 30
XLarge 35
XXLarge 40
XXXLarge 50

New
XSmall 5
Small 10
Medium 22
Large 33
XLarge 35
XXLarge 40
XXXLarge 50

This seems strange given the slumping sales and general concern among pretty much everyone regarding the direction the company is headed in. I don't see how a price increase helps get buyers to be more active at the site and purchase more images. If anything this only seems to further frustrate buyers and widen the gap between istock and some of the far less expensive competition.


« Reply #1 on: November 15, 2011, 10:30 »
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Its a small increase, they probably hope that most people dont notice and it can certainly help someone reach their targets for the quarter. But would this be necessary if the last quarter was rocking with sales and customer traffic steadily increasing after the summer slump? Probably not.

I always welcome more money, I just hope this doesnt upset the customers. Its a very odd time for a price increase. But if it works out, I suppose I should be grateful.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2011, 10:33 by cobalt »

wut

« Reply #2 on: November 15, 2011, 10:43 »
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I wish all agencies would do it, at current prices, MS images are a steal

« Reply #3 on: November 15, 2011, 10:46 »
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Then why are you submitting your art to microstock? You can always send your files to higher priced agencies and ignore the micros. There are plenty of photographers out there who dont submit to ms and  are doing fine.

« Reply #4 on: November 15, 2011, 10:51 »
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Photos+ prices went up the same way that regular exclusive files did - XXL from 25 to 27 and XXXL from 30 to 32. It's good that they kept those two in sync, but these little price hikes seem truly bizzare. Not only that they're doing them, and doing them under the radar (no announcement), but that they bumped one size group for Exclusive plus and a different one for Photos+/regular exclusive. Regular independent files had XXL go from 20 to 22 and XXXL from 25 to 27.

I'm assuming they're more worried about their own numbers than contributors' RC numbers and that they have some data that leads them to think there's the best chance of a boost from upping the prices on these sizes, but soaking more cash out of the buyers you have - versus getting more buyers or more volume from the same buyers - seems strange to me.
« Last Edit: November 15, 2011, 12:09 by jsnover »

wut

« Reply #5 on: November 15, 2011, 10:53 »
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Then why are you submitting your art to microstock? You can always send your files to higher priced agencies and ignore the micros. There are plenty of photographers out there who dont submit to ms and  are doing fine.

My photos aren't good enough and my stuff isn't nearly high budget enough. I'm being realistic about myself, but also about MS. It's time MS matures, days of getting everything almost for free should be long over.

BTW Mantis, this should be good for you since you're independent, buyers will now more likely buy P+ rather than E+ ;)

helix7

« Reply #6 on: November 15, 2011, 11:08 »
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My photos aren't good enough and my stuff isn't nearly high budget enough. I'm being realistic about myself, but also about MS. It's time MS matures, days of getting everything almost for free should be long over...

"Mature" to me was back when a large photo or a vector image cost $10 and the artist always got at least 20% of that. And sales volume was good enough for it not to matter that the prices were lower. Simple credit pricing seemed mature to me also, when a credit still cost pretty close to a dollar. All the maturing istock has been doing has been a big help in cutting my income over there 10 just 10% of what it used to be.

I think they're going in the wrong direction with this. They should have cut prices, not raised them.

« Reply #7 on: November 15, 2011, 11:09 »
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Its good to be realistic, but the prices have been going for a long, long time. When I started submitting to istock it was all for 50 cents. Things definetely have changed.

But if you work on the quality of your files you can get into the higher priced libraries if you really want to. Personally I prefer high volume sales, I dont like to be dependent on a small number of clients. That business model is just too vulnerable and easy to exploit by the competition.

« Reply #8 on: November 15, 2011, 11:16 »
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I'm assuming they're more worried about their own numbers than contributors' RC numbers and that they have some data that leads them to think there's the best chance of a boost from upping the prices on these sizes, but soaking more cash out of the buyers you have - versus getting more buyers or more volume from the same buyers - seems strange to me.

Me too. It's been a long time since they 'worried' about their contributors ... if indeed they ever did. Nowadays it's all about making those targets and huge profits for H&F.

lisafx

« Reply #9 on: November 15, 2011, 16:24 »
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I'm assuming they're more worried about their own numbers than contributors' RC numbers and that they have some data that leads them to think there's the best chance of a boost from upping the prices on these sizes, but soaking more cash out of the buyers you have - versus getting more buyers or more volume from the same buyers - seems strange to me.

Me too. It's been a long time since they 'worried' about their contributors ... if indeed they ever did. Nowadays it's all about making those targets and huge profits for H&F.

Me three.   I don't for a moment imagine this has anything to do with helping contributors.  It's about padding the bottom line in a much slower than expected holiday season. 

But as usual, it is completely misguided.  When I read the title of this thread I almost couldn't believe it.  Positively insane to be raising prices in the midst of massive buyer exodus to other sites.   :o

« Reply #10 on: November 15, 2011, 16:27 »
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They lowered prices for video and illustrations. So there is some balance.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #11 on: November 15, 2011, 16:35 »
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Maybe it was the tea lady's day for making a suggestion.
(Sorry, tea lady, I was being facetious. I didn't intend to impugn your reputation)

« Reply #12 on: November 15, 2011, 16:38 »
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If you compare the traffic stats of istock and shutterstock on compete, you see that istock so far does not show a significant upswing after the summer slump:

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/istockphoto.com/

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/shutterstock.com/

Shutterstock however is going through the roof.

istock, what are you going to do about this? :-(

lisafx

« Reply #13 on: November 15, 2011, 16:57 »
0
If you compare the traffic stats of istock and shutterstock on compete, you see that istock so far does not show a significant upswing after the summer slump:

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/istockphoto.com/

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/shutterstock.com/

Shutterstock however is going through the roof.

istock, what are you going to do about this? :-(


Those stats should put a chill in everyone involved with running Istock. Their traffic is less than 1/3 of what it was one year ago.

helix7

« Reply #14 on: November 15, 2011, 17:02 »
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They lowered prices for video and illustrations. So there is some balance.

Wish they lowered all prices for illustration. That category of illustration isn't all that common. I think they should revert on all of the vector price increases from earlier in the year.

And tell people when they do finally do something good and lower prices. I don't expect them to announce a price increase, but they should be letting buyers know about a price drop, even if it's a small one.

ayzek

« Reply #15 on: November 15, 2011, 17:21 »
0
If you compare the traffic stats of istock and shutterstock on compete, you see that istock so far does not show a significant upswing after the summer slump:

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/istockphoto.com/

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/shutterstock.com/

Shutterstock however is going through the roof.

istock, what are you going to do about this? :-(


Goodbye my lover.
Goodbye my friend.
You have been the one.
You have been the one for me.
 :'( :'( :'(

« Reply #16 on: November 15, 2011, 17:24 »
0
If you compare the traffic stats of istock and shutterstock on compete, you see that istock so far does not show a significant upswing after the summer slump:

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/istockphoto.com/

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/shutterstock.com/

Shutterstock however is going through the roof.

istock, what are you going to do about this? :-(


More to the point ... what are you going to do about this? At least your own actions are something you can control. Why do Istock deserve your loyalty? For how much longer?

« Reply #17 on: November 15, 2011, 17:54 »
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Ive quit video exclusivity. Today is my last day as a video exclusive. I only have 12 files and no sales, so this is nothing heroic.

For two reasons:

it takes them ages to accept video files, even for exclusives it can take several months. I am a total video newbie and I simply cannot learn about video this way. It is not just the technical side of video that I have to learn, but I also have to understand the video market, which usually means I have to have several hundred files online for around 18 months.

I do believe that istock has the best video library with an extremely high quality of files. istock also has files with over 1000 downloads at their high prices, which I havent seen anywhere else.

But as a photographer I can never create enough videos to compete with the quality of the pros or upload enough to move up in rank.

However, I believe the video market has tremendous growth potential and I hope it will bring balance to my photo portfolio.

So - even without the traffic stats I felt I had no choice. It was a very painful and difficult decision, but stock is the biggest part of my income, in business you have to be practical. I did wait to see what the big plans were that JJ kept hinting at, but so far...

Video is a completely new market, there is no market saturation, so there should be tremendous growth on istock video. However, even in the video threads people are reporting slow sales.

I will spend the next year focussing on Getty and video. Of course I will still upload to istock, but it is obvious I need to diversify.

It was a painful decision, because Ive met the video team and they are all hard working, totally devoted people. This is not their fault. And I truly need to learn about video, istock seems to be site that has more pro videographers.

I sincerly hope istock turns things around in 2012. They still can IMO, it is a huge site and even with fewer customers I wouldnt be surprised if they are making more money than all the other sites.

I have never heard Shutterstock or anyone announcing that they pay out 1.9 million USD A WEEK to their contributors.

I am also not ruling out that I will return as a video exclusive to istock if my video sales there are good.

This is my 7th year in stock. It is time to look around and learn about the wider industry. From what I read here on msg the other sites are no angels and istock has for many years been an extremely reliable business partner.

2012 will be an interesting year.

« Reply #18 on: November 15, 2011, 19:42 »
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Ive quit video exclusivity. Today is my last day as a video exclusive. I only have 12 files and no sales, so this is nothing heroic.

[...]
It was a painful decision, because Ive met the video team and they are all hard working, totally devoted people. This is not their fault. And I truly need to learn about video, istock seems to be site that has more pro videographers.

Just try Pond5 and your decision will be less painful;-) Uploading is fast and easy, you fix your price, you get 50%. And they sell much more then IS.
I was exclusive video and never regret my decision to give up.
IS video team, probably like other teams, are nice and devoted people but they are not performing well. And they have to work with "warlocks" (IT) who have talents to break everything.

« Reply #19 on: November 16, 2011, 14:26 »
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If you compare the traffic stats of istock and shutterstock on compete, you see that istock so far does not show a significant upswing after the summer slump:

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/istockphoto.com/

http://siteanalytics.compete.com/shutterstock.com/

Shutterstock however is going through the roof.

istock, what are you going to do about this? :-(


Those stats should put a chill in everyone involved with running Istock. Their traffic is less than 1/3 of what it was one year ago.


Yesterday I subscribed to 'follow' Istock on compete.com. They've just sent me an email saying that with 447K UV's recorded it represents a change in the last month of -5.72% and a yearly change of ... wait for it ... -71.8%. Me thinks that Rebbecca has a job on her hands.

« Reply #20 on: November 16, 2011, 14:55 »
0
"Shutterstock however is going through the roof."

They smell blood. I just received this email from them seconds ago:

Break Free From Exclusivity: We Make It Easy
Expand your horizons. If you're submitting exclusively to a different stock site, learn how to move your images to Shutterstock without interrupting your sales.

lisafx

« Reply #21 on: November 16, 2011, 15:03 »
0
"Shutterstock however is going through the roof."

They smell blood. I just received this email from them seconds ago:

Break Free From Exclusivity: We Make It Easy
Expand your horizons. If you're submitting exclusively to a different stock site, learn how to move your images to Shutterstock without interrupting your sales.


Wow! AFAIK this is a first.

Smart move on Shutterstock's part.  Apparently they feel Istock is vulnerable to harvest its exclusives. 

Wonder how widespread this e-mail is - whether it is going to all exclusives or targeted to certain canister levels, or people who have expressed dissatisfaction. 

« Reply #22 on: November 16, 2011, 15:05 »
0
just looks like part of a general newsletter

« Reply #23 on: November 16, 2011, 15:07 »
0
"Shutterstock however is going through the roof."

They smell blood. I just received this email from them seconds ago:

Break Free From Exclusivity: We Make It Easy
Expand your horizons. If you're submitting exclusively to a different stock site, learn how to move your images to Shutterstock without interrupting your sales.



Read all about it here;

http://www.shutterstock.com/buzz/control-your-portfolio-opt-in-or-opt-out?sid=NOVNLS&utm_source=article2&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=NOVNLS

« Reply #24 on: November 16, 2011, 15:25 »
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Just a note to anyone considering taking SS up on their offer: The opt out feature is great. Getting approved and doing some uploads to get a feel for SS's approval standards and desired subjects while still exclusive is an excellent idea.

One thing to consider is that you probably don't want to have a huge quantity of material uploaded and not for sale as I think it may affect the placement of your images in default (popularity) searches.

As such, while you can definitely smooth over the bumps, if you have a large-ish portfolio, you probably won't be able to flip the switch on day one of independence with all or most of your portfolio already approved on SS.

SS is very smart to promote this, but like most promotional materials, it makes things sound simpler than they really are.

And DT will disable your portfolio for you (support has to do it) so you can effectively do the same thing there).


 

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