Author Topic: IStock stale (Read 9886 times)

dingles · « **on:** June 03, 2013, 22:53 »

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?

tickstock · « **Reply #1 on:** June 03, 2013, 23:01 »

Gannet77 · « **Reply #2 on:** June 04, 2013, 02:34 »

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.

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #3 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?

fotoVoyager · « **Reply #4 on:** June 04, 2013, 06:22 »

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.

ShadySue · « **Reply #5 on:** June 04, 2013, 06:29 »

Projecting to be consideraby down this year compared to the last two years, and possibly the two before that too.
Seems to be no point in uploading new material at the moment, as it's DOA. I see some newbies have had their cameras on servo and have been uploading entire bursts, looking like still frames from movie films. This was inevitable with unlimited uploads, and presumably they'd have foreseen this, though I know we can't assume anything from iS 'plans'.
Many of these newly accepted files are much lower in standard than previously rejected files (huh, I want a lot of my 'bad lighting' files changed to 'can resubmit') and the keywording is often way off - were the inspectors also told to lay off looking at keywords?
All this is not looking good for the future of iStock.

I suspect an 'evil plan', but on past experience, I'm sure my speculations won't be as bad as the real thing, when it's announced.

tickstock · « **Reply #6 on:** June 04, 2013, 07:06 »

Mantis · « **Reply #7 on:** June 04, 2013, 07:12 »

Quote from: ShadySue on June 04, 2013, 06:29

Projecting to be consideraby down this year compared to the last two years, and possibly the two before that too.
Seems to be no point in uploading new material at the moment, as it's DOA. I see some newbies have had their cameras on servo and have been uploading entire bursts, looking like still frames from movie films. This was inevitable with unlimited uploads, and presumably they'd have foreseen this, though I know we can't assume anything from iS 'plans'.

The last two months have been okay for me as I've stated a few times, due to TS increase. But the first few months were bad. I am on track to make a couple of thousand less this year than last year with Istock alone.

ShadySue · « **Reply #8 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.

tickstock · « **Reply #9 on:** June 04, 2013, 07:18 »

gostwyck · « **Reply #10 on:** June 04, 2013, 07:21 »

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.

dbvirago · « **Reply #11 on:** June 04, 2013, 07:22 »

I've only had one decent month in the last year and a half, so down is relative to already pretty low

ShadySue · « **Reply #12 on:** June 04, 2013, 07:23 »

Quote from: tickstock on June 04, 2013, 07:18

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.

tickstock · « **Reply #13 on:** June 04, 2013, 07:27 »

fotoVoyager · « **Reply #14 on:** June 04, 2013, 07:51 »

I think that's probably right.

JPSDK · « **Reply #15 on:** June 04, 2013, 08:28 »

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.

Liquids.
They are trying to push expenses and buy time.
(with a lot of new content they at the same time burry other images, so that the buyers buy the new content instead of older more expensive content).
Its called profit optimization in a non growth environment.
First they grew.
Then they stopped growing and began to suck blood on the contributors to keep the profit rate growing.
Then they began with financial tricks, such as currency hedging.
Now they are at the last steps down the ladder. Like chopping up the furniture for firewood.
Next step will be to pee in the pants to keep warm. ( the google deal could compare to that)

dingles · « **Reply #16 on:** June 04, 2013, 10:44 »

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.

JPSDK · « **Reply #17 on:** June 04, 2013, 10:54 »

As long as they do not change the demeaning upload procedure it wont change much.

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #18 on:** June 04, 2013, 11:01 »

Quote from: dingles on June 04, 2013, 10:44

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.

dingles · « **Reply #19 on:** June 04, 2013, 12:14 »

Quote from: JPSDK on June 04, 2013, 10:54

As long as they do not change the demeaning upload procedure it wont change much.

Not if they use Deepmeta. And as far as video FTP

mlwinphoto · « **Reply #20 on:** June 04, 2013, 12:57 »

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.....

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #21 on:** June 04, 2013, 13:17 »

Quote from: WarrenPrice on June 04, 2013, 11:01

Quote from: dingles on June 04, 2013, 10:44
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.

LOL... got a Minus 1 for that. Getting attention is a good thing.

dbvirago · « **Reply #22 on:** June 04, 2013, 15:43 »

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

gostwyck · « **Reply #23 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.

fotoVoyager · « **Reply #24 on:** June 04, 2013, 15:47 »

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

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Author Topic: IStock stale (Read 9886 times)

dingles

tickstock

Gannet77

Sean Locke Photography

fotoVoyager

ShadySue

tickstock

Mantis

ShadySue

tickstock

gostwyck

dbvirago

ShadySue

tickstock

fotoVoyager

JPSDK

dingles

JPSDK

WarrenPrice

dingles

mlwinphoto

WarrenPrice

dbvirago

gostwyck

fotoVoyager

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