Sales have stopped over the past few weeks for me at IS. I'm thinking the floodgates have opened with the unlimited uploads and now those of us with smaller portfolios are buried in the sea of additions. Anyone else noticing this?

Same here - my sales there have been pretty steady over the last few months, and in fact May was my BMY.  Can't say I've noticed any effect so far from the removal of upload limits.

It's been pretty bad for me recently, sales are really crushingly low compared to previous months and years.

I've been dithering around dropping exclusivity for years but luckily iStock will make the decision for me soon enough. If I can't make my RC target with 10,000 images, what's the point? I'm buggered if I'm taking a royalty cut just because they're too greedy and / or have poisoned the atmosphere there enough to drive away buyers.

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Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on June 04, 2013, 05:17

Quote from: tickstock on June 03, 2013, 23:01

Nope haven't noticed and there weren't really that many new images added.

Because 500k a month isn't a lot?

It is less than half the amount of the biggest competitor and it should slow down now that a lot of people have uploaded their backlog of files.  The queue is also around a third of what it was a few weeks ago.

Any speculation or insight as to what that removal of limits was supposed to achieve, given that, as Lobo said they had previously ingested over the limit for selected contributors anyway. There must be a hidden plan.

Almost every month my earnings at Istock are about 30% down on what they were in the same month the year before. It is remarkably consistent too __ a straight-line graph heading inexorably south. As a proportion of my total microstock income, over the last couple of years IS have slipped from nearly 40% to barely more than 20%. From the graph of my data I'm assuming that in another 2 years they'll be down to around 10%.

NB: I'm not including PP earnings within that data as my portfolio was only hoisted over to the PP in the last year or so.

Quote from: ShadySue on June 04, 2013, 07:13

Quote from: tickstock on June 04, 2013, 07:06

Quote from: Sean Locke Photography on June 04, 2013, 05:17

Quote from: tickstock on June 03, 2013, 23:01

Nope haven't noticed and there weren't really that many new images added.

Because 500k a month isn't a lot?

It is less than half the amount of the biggest competitor and it should slow down now that a lot of people have uploaded their backlog of files.  The queue is also around a third of what it was a few weeks ago.

Any speculation or insight as to what that removal of limits was supposed to achieve, given that, as Lobo said they had previously ingested over the limit for selected contributors anyway. There must be a hidden plan.

Sorry I'm not following.  I'm just posting the actual numbers, no speculation here.  Istock added 43% of the amount of new files as Shutterstock added since April 23 and the queue is around 100,000 now instead of close to 300,000 like it was a few weeks ago.

Just asking for speculation. I'm not interested with the SS comparison, just very concerned about what iStock is up to.

I think that's probably right.

Keep in mind I am coming in as someone a bit newer and with a smaller portfolio. I have had a steady growth pattern over the past year or so, seems the recent halt coincides with the unlimited uploads. That mixed with the best match, all my files new and old seem to be buried deep in search...previously I was pretty happy with results. With the mass uploading I see a few issues that aren't being addressed...the first being poor irrelevant keywording seems to be rampant again, contributors aren't self editing and just uploading everything, they opened up unlimited uploads BEFORE they worked out the best match issues.

Keep in mind I am coming in as someone a bit newer and with a smaller portfolio. I have had a steady growth pattern over the past year or so, seems the recent halt coincides with the unlimited uploads. That mixed with the best match, all my files new and old seem to be buried deep in search...previously I was pretty happy with results. With the mass uploading I see a few issues that aren't being addressed...the first being poor irrelevant keywording seems to be rampant again, contributors aren't self editing and just uploading everything, they opened up unlimited uploads BEFORE they worked out the best match issues.

Unlimited uploads seems to be working for me ... before, I was getting 50% rejection
Now, I get 50% acceptance.
 

I quit uploading there since (recently) turning non-exclusive.  Seems rather pointless with the current best match.  I'll wait and see if there is any improvement in indies chances with the collection changes and, hopefully, any best match changes that may go along with it.  However, I don't expect that there will be.  Exclusives deserve preferential treatment for sticking it out through all the problems that have been going on there lately.  Non-exclusives have the option of not bothering.....

Spoke too soon, had a rush at istock today. sold 2 at an average of .21

I can't face working it out because it'd be so depressing. I prefer to be in denial till I can escape.

Interesting that so few folk have bothered to report in the May Sales thread (on the IS forum). It seems that the previous contributor confidence and enthusiasm, that IS was so famous for, has evaporated somewhat.

Bizarrely, there seems to still be enthusiasm for the lypses.

Quote from: gostwyck on June 04, 2013, 15:45

Interesting that so few folk have bothered to report in the May Sales thread (on the IS forum). It seems that the previous contributor confidence and enthusiasm, that IS was so famous for, has evaporated somewhat.

I haven't been reporting May stats either here or at Istock.  Same thing every month - slow decline after hitting the wall.  If anything drastically changes I'll report it.  Otherwise, why bother?

I'm really sorry (and continue to be very surprised) to hear you're still declining across your agencies. It's so illogical. 

My sales are trending at below 2011 levels for the year, so if the year continues as it has I will earn less than I did in 2011 with a port more than twice as big and I think (hoped) twice as relevant.  However, I do think that my trending is actually overly optimistic.  I tend to think that my earnings will plummet to 2009 levels if recent sales figures are anything to go by.

I am a longtime diamond with thousands of images and I am exclusive.  I think I might be representative of many mid-level, 40% - earning contributors who are seeing earnings decline rapidly.  I do not compete in the business and lifestyle segments so I thought I might be somewhat immune to major changes as I have in the past - not so this time, I've been hit hard.

I don't see many alternatives in the market as I don't like the subs model at all.  If things do not change by November I will probably exit exclusivity and explore different options.  For now I have relegated shooting for Istock to my lowest priority, and luckily there is enough assignment work to survive on.

The upside is that I hope this business change at ISP will allow new (and existing) competitors to enter the market.  Someone out there must value us mid level suppliers who offer a diverse, more authentic look and serve segments that the factories can't quite make sense of.

We will see.  I am beyond throwing stones, as business is business and corporations will always look at ways to maximize profits and drive efficiencies.  I obviously do not fit their new mass-produced model.

^Not sure, maybe exit microstock and give all my attention to other revenue streams.  I would definitely look at the macro market and RM, not that I think it would replace the heydays of micro's income.  Probably just exit and shoot assignments.

I don't think I fit the 'cool kids' Stocksy requirements.  I also seriously distrust any approach that is heavily curated.  I am not anti the other micro sites, I just think it is a little late entering their collections now.  I'll wait it out and see where the market is going.

I'm not doom and gloom as so much of what I do is content related for assignment clients and I see that their content needs seem endless.  I don't see micro/macro stock disappearing, its just that many of us mid-level shooters have lost a great gig (in ISP) and may have to duck and weave for a while until the next site comes along.  With the speed the market is changing I don't think it will be too long that someone comes along to ring ISP's bell.

We just need 10,000+ shooters putting-up $1000 each to launch a crowd-sourced co-op model. 

Quote from: Topher on June 05, 2013, 13:06

My sales are trending at below 2011 levels for the year, so if the year continues as it has I will earn less than I did in 2011 with a port more than twice as big and I think (hoped) twice as relevant.  However, I do think that my trending is actually overly optimistic.  I tend to think that my earnings will plummet to 2009 levels if recent sales figures are anything to go by.

I am a longtime diamond with thousands of images and I am exclusive.  I think I might be respresentative of many mid-level, 40% - earning contributors who are seeing earnings decline rapidly.  I do not compete in the business and lifestyle segments so I thought I might be somewhat immune to major changes as I have in the past - not so this time, I've been hit hard.

I don't see many alternatives in the market as I don't like the subs model at all.  If things do not change by November I will probably exit exclusivity and explore different options.  For now I have relegated shooting for Istock to my lowest priority, and luckily there is enough assignment work to survive on.

The upside is that I hope this business change at ISP will allow new (and existing) competitors to enter the market.  Someone out there must value us mid level suppliers who offer a diverse, more authentic look and serve segments that the factories can't quite make sense of.

We will see.  I am beyond throwing stones, as business is business and corporations will always look at ways to maximize profits and drive efficiencies.  I obviously do not fit their new mass-produced model.

What about stocksy?  Tickstock is right in that the only MS market place that doesn�t involve subs is IS exclusive.

I only rarely uploaded to IS because they hate the type of stuff I do but, up to the end of last year, I was getting about 3X the downloads and 5X the income per image than from SS.  Now the only site that produces less revenue per image is 123.

Pond5 and GL don't have subs. Not high volume, though.

^The ISP subs program supplemented (some say eroded) the main income stream, though I think most ISP buyers are not sub-type consumers.  I don't think that anyone with any experience with ISP can argue with the opinion that they have been trying too hard to being all things to all people. 

I think the future is bright, we just have to wait and see.

Quote from: lisafx on June 04, 2013, 16:29

I haven't been reporting May stats either here or at Istock.  Same thing every month - slow decline after hitting the wall.  If anything drastically changes I'll report it.  Otherwise, why bother?

I'm really sorry (and continue to be very surprised) to hear you're still declining across your agencies. It's so illogical. 

Thanks Liz

Actually, my sales are not really declining across all agencies.  SS and DT are holding fairly steady, for the most part, and some of the smaller agencies are showing nice growth.  Unfortunately, it isn't enough to make up for the freefalls I have experienced at IS and FT. 

I was always unusual for an indie, in that the majority of my income came from Istock rather than SS.  My declines seem to track pretty closely with what I read from Istock exclusives. 

I don't see what I can do about it, other than maybe start shooting footage and/or getting more involved with POD.  ATM I am still dealing with some health and family issues that are keeping me from having the energy to pursue other avenues just yet. 

^The ISP subs program supplemented (some say eroded) the main income stream, though I think most ISP buyers are not sub-type consumers. 

Do you mean the PP scheme or iS's own sub scheme (which everyone, even exclusives, is 'in'), which IME and AFAIK hasn't been a rip-roaring success, and has had little effect on anyone's income stream. It may have retained a few buyers whose company needed that model for accounting purposes, the reason which was given for starting the subs scheme. It's not as ridiculously cheap as most/all other sub models.

from where I sit, there has been a long downtrend in downloads at IS. However, $$$ seemed to survive, until the the watershed change in September of 2012. After that, it's been quite downhill in $$$ as well.

           Good grief, I might even take up whisky again.

I already have.

Quote from: Red Dove on June 06, 2013, 09:31

I can't read the forums because of that toe rag and lickspittle of a moderator

Try when not logged in.

A workaround, granted - but I'd much prefer it if they got rid of the little carbuncle.