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Author Topic: Nervous breakdown - Istockphoto, what else? Exlcusivity etc...  (Read 33452 times)

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« Reply #75 on: December 22, 2012, 08:28 »
0
Welcome to the dark side Mirkic and the very best of luck to you! Brave move but I am sure that in a year from now you will know you made the right decision.


traveler1116

« Reply #76 on: December 22, 2012, 10:25 »
0
Good luck!
I don't sell video, but from what I read, video excusivity at iStock was never a great option, especially after they split media in counting RCs.
You should do better with video independence.
Keep us informed.  ;D
I agree.  There are other options for video that pay a better rate which isn't really true for photos.  If I can ever get serious about doing video I'll drop exclusivity for that.

« Reply #77 on: December 22, 2012, 12:43 »
0
Good luck with the transition. Hope the sales are good for you

« Reply #78 on: December 22, 2012, 15:36 »
0
Just so sad that it has come to this for you, but good for you for having the bravery to toss the crown. 

« Reply #79 on: December 22, 2012, 15:42 »
0
Thanks for the update, keep us posted how it goes.  I'm guessing it won't take long before you know you made the right decision.

gillian vann

  • *Gillian*
« Reply #80 on: December 22, 2012, 17:50 »
0


you're not competing with your local or regional photographers, you're actually against the whole world army of photographers shooting the same subjects and using your same gear !

as the OP pointed out, he's in Serbia and $1000 is a lot to him. like all crowdsourcing, we're competing against those who are happy with a much lower rate of pay. perhaps the agencies are dreaming of an army of african photographers, willing to work for $1/day.

« Reply #81 on: December 22, 2012, 18:58 »
0


you're not competing with your local or regional photographers, you're actually against the whole world army of photographers shooting the same subjects and using your same gear !

as the OP pointed out, he's in Serbia and $1000 is a lot to him. like all crowdsourcing, we're competing against those who are happy with a much lower rate of pay. perhaps the agencies are dreaming of an army of african photographers, willing to work for $1/day.

You've missed the point of Antistock's comment here (btw it is from February) and the reply you wrote isn't really something you should so easily write without further exploration, knowledge or experience so please edit it. I'm no African but I would love to be one right now and ask you what did you mean with this remark about Africans! Also, country standards in the world differs a lot from one continent to another, but so is intelligence, education and knowledge. And for example, my video clips, sound effects, songs or photographs - cost as much as yours or anyone else for that matter on every single agency! So it's work, socialization, learning and not working for rotten and corrupted agencies that wouldn't gave you a chance on breaking certain figures (earnings)!
 
Also isn't microstock all about quantity of MICRO payments? 25c per image x 100, let's say, Shutterstock? Or odd istockphoto 7c sales? You, me or anyone else is competing with everybody in microstock but mostly with ourselves (laziness, stupidity, fear etc), and I don't see how a photographer from, let's say Serbia who is "happy" with 1000$ (but I just don't see a person in the world that would stop there - heeeey, got 1000$, I'm done for this month, ain't working no more till the next one) is a threat to you?

Great photo/video/sound/illustration/whatever/ can be a gold mine and it will sell no matter the origin or state of residence of a photographer may be! Also, mediocre/bad/forced/material will not sell and it will never sell! Maybe I'm wrong with what I'm writing here but please, READ AGAIN what you've wrote. Ok?

« Reply #82 on: December 22, 2012, 19:23 »
0
best of luck with your decision.. I am sure it will go much better for you..

just make sure you spread your portfolio to as many agencies as you can.. (especially top and middle tier.. don't bother with the rest just yet.. you have no time to waste.. once you are settled well with top and middle tier, then feel free to experiment with any others..)

uploading and keywording is lightyears ahead of istock on all agencies..

I will also answer a question Sue asked on another thread.. didn't have time then, or forgot to answer it.. but this thread reminded me that question and it is very relevant..

she asked me if it was better submitting to less agencies than 18 that I am submitting now and spend more time creating new images.. because she probably thought uploading and keywording would take too much time..

well here is the answer: uploading to 16 agencies "combined" is faster than istockphoto alone :) I would rather not upload to istock, than dropping any other agencies If I wanted to speed up the already fast process at all.. anyway, thanks to istock's policies I am not uploading there now, so it's all fast and smooth..

You were right when you said: "it's like a spaceship landing in my parking lot"..

There is really that much difference.. istock's technology is 10000 years BC while almost all other agents are star trek generation :)

I am excluding graphicriver which can rival istock's slow upload process and I don't upload there anyway because:
1- their upload process is pretty bad,
2- I don't like their vector pricing

lisafx

« Reply #83 on: December 22, 2012, 19:45 »
0
Congratulations on a brave decision!  I am sure it will work out for you.  Wishing you all the best :)

Well, almost one year later, I pushed all I had into producing new videos (that time, money and my newborn daughter and five year old son allowed) to Istock and 800 videos later (650 online, 300 pending) my income was dropping and now my crown is too! The money I reported in the beginning of this thread, when I was considering dropping exclusivity is now halved! Yup! So, when the graph hits zero sales, we get zero $$$

I gave up exclusivity for photo and video at Istock yesterday and the day before!
I gave them the best I could in this year and they gave me RR....

Already uploaded my whole port to three other sites and waiting the "excl time" to end. Doing two more sites. For now, got over 2000 files approved on each! That's awesome! Also, being able to upload and to see what "internet" and "programming" can do to a "upload and keywording process" is equivalent to a seeing a spaceship in my parking lot! Happy as a dog with a beefsteak! It took me two days to keyword (from excels copy/paste spreadsheet) almost 1500 files at Shutter! I couldn't believe it! And maybe a bit over 5 minutes to get the job done at Pond5 with csv upload! For 2500 files!!! Revelation! I hope the sales follow these "good vibes" I'm feeling! But it won't be hard to get over the 400$ mark that my Istock sales are sitting right now (without Getty/SFX Apple sales, those are bringing some good money but video sales are one month non existent and one month over 500$ so "waiting" for those to happen and couldn't be able to relay on those also added up to dropping my excls). We will see.

So, just wanted to let you guys know that I'm done with "nervous breakdown" :) Whatever happen, I'm really confident that I will do good!

Feeling a bit scared (six years looking at one site, many hours per day, every day) cause it's a bit traumatic :) Heck, I'm scared sh****s! But don't have much to lose! I think I can only gain by doing this! 

Keeping my Audio exclusivity for now cause the guys at audio sector are doing fair job for now... with some minor glitches.

Oh, and RR letter got me a bit over the edge, I forgot about that :)
Cheers guys! Will let you know how it goes!

« Reply #84 on: December 22, 2012, 20:47 »
+4
You've missed the point of Antistock's comment here (btw it is from February) and the reply you wrote isn't really something you should so easily write without further exploration, knowledge or experience so please edit it. I'm no African but I would love to be one right now and ask you what did you mean with this remark about Africans! Also, country standards in the world differs a lot from one continent to another, but so is intelligence, education and knowledge. And for example, my video clips, sound effects, songs or photographs - cost as much as yours or anyone else for that matter on every single agency! So it's work, socialization, learning and not working for rotten and corrupted agencies that wouldn't gave you a chance on breaking certain figures (earnings)!
 
Also isn't microstock all about quantity of MICRO payments? 25c per image x 100, let's say, Shutterstock? Or odd istockphoto 7c sales? You, me or anyone else is competing with everybody in microstock but mostly with ourselves (laziness, stupidity, fear etc), and I don't see how a photographer from, let's say Serbia who is "happy" with 1000$ (but I just don't see a person in the world that would stop there - heeeey, got 1000$, I'm done for this month, ain't working no more till the next one) is a threat to you?

Great photo/video/sound/illustration/whatever/ can be a gold mine and it will sell no matter the origin or state of residence of a photographer may be! Also, mediocre/bad/forced/material will not sell and it will never sell! Maybe I'm wrong with what I'm writing here but please, READ AGAIN what you've wrote. Ok?

No, I think you've missed the point of Vannphoto's post and taken offence when none was meant. All she was saying is that $1000 in one country might provide a considerably higher standard of living (or a living at all) than in other 'more developed' countries.

She, amongst other Australians, probably speaks with a certain rueful experience of that issue as their currency has almost doubled in value over the last few years in comparison to the US$. That means their microstock income has effectively halved in local purchasing power even if it has stayed the same in US$.

It is an undeniable fact that East Europeans, living in low-cost economies, have an economic advantage over their Western counterparts in microstock. Their models and their studio space cost considerably less but the images they produce sell for the same return. Not only that but the purchasing power of the profit is also far greater when spent in the local economy. With the money I make I'd be a rich man in Thailand but I'd probably struggle to get by in Norway. That's all Vannphoto was alluding to IMHO.

« Reply #85 on: December 22, 2012, 21:22 »
0
I agree to a certain point with Gostwyck. Also, would choose better comparison than "army of Afrikans happy to work for one dollar per day" :) Yet she was talking about agencies... never mind... it's not important! I'm kinda "touchy" when it comes to people rights and stuff :) Sorry for the offense, it wasn't on purpose and I don't want or have any time to argue or fight :) I misunderstood the post. 

Thank you all for kind words and wishes! I hope they all come true... and I hope I'll be able to endure! And again, minute ago I was browsing through some of the clips that are approved on Shutter and when I saw that you can click on a clip and pick out one out of ten or so thumbnails?!?!? I was deeeep under, slumbering... It's a whole different world out there alright :) I'm happy cause I can change thumbs... LOL...

One thing, when I click Portfolio: Approval status - I got some batches of clips since November with * to it? like this

616120 *   12/12/2012   17

And they all count into "pending approval" but when you click on them they don't have any thumbnails. Some don't even have names of the files. But when I'm on my contributor homepage I have minus all of those files with * next to them - pending.

Thanks people!

« Reply #86 on: December 22, 2012, 21:35 »
0
never mind the question, the clips are approved but weren't processed by the server... it's ok :)

« Reply #87 on: December 22, 2012, 21:50 »
+2
There is something worse than "africans".
That is rich amateurs who can afford to experiment and learn.
Hobbyists, do not work for a dollar or a bowl of rice.
They pay to play the microstock gamble.

« Reply #88 on: December 23, 2012, 02:09 »
0
There is something worse than "africans".
That is rich amateurs who can afford to experiment and learn.
Hobbyists, do not work for a dollar or a bowl of rice.
They pay to play the microstock gamble.

Good point. The hobbiest is willing to work for free or at times would be willing PAY to be in Microstock.

« Reply #89 on: December 23, 2012, 10:15 »
0
I don't know why you all have your sights set so high. I am happy just to make enough to buy a lens cap. Thank you iStock for your wisdom and great inspiration. Without iStock I would have never known what I should be striving for in microstock as I spend hundreds of dollars on a model shoot for my iStock portfolio.

aspp

« Reply #90 on: December 23, 2012, 11:17 »
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Slightly /OT but I find it surprising than so many of the remaining agencies still choose to be incorporated in countries which levy such high corporation and other taxes.

« Reply #91 on: December 23, 2012, 11:33 »
0
Those countries have the infrastructure, stability and legislation.
...and there are many ways for an international company to evade tax.
Thats common enough, to harvest the benifits in advanced societies and to promote the prices of less fortunate.
The whole world is doing that now.
Dont expect justice, just expect parasites.

« Reply #92 on: December 23, 2012, 11:45 »
0
Slightly /OT but I find it surprising than so many of the remaining agencies still choose to be incorporated in countries which levy such high corporation and other taxes.

Almost invariably, when businesses talk about their reasons for being in one place or another, their #1 concern is the availability of employees with the necessary skills. A successful microstock agency is obviously a very technical business and needs highly skilled people to make it work __ just the sort of people you're unlikely to find on some remote tax-haven island.

« Reply #93 on: December 23, 2012, 11:55 »
0
Which is why they emerge in North America, or Northern Europe.

... with southernly prices.
and global crowsourced content.

oh so smart...

velocicarpo

« Reply #94 on: December 23, 2012, 11:58 »
-1
Slightly /OT but I find it surprising than so many of the remaining agencies still choose to be incorporated in countries which levy such high corporation and other taxes.

Almost invariably, when businesses talk about their reasons for being in one place or another, their #1 concern is the availability of employees with the necessary skills. A successful microstock agency is obviously a very technical business and needs highly skilled people to make it work __ just the sort of people you're unlikely to find on some remote tax-haven island.
Nowadays you can find many skilled People around the world. It is not like they are all in the States or Europe. I would never ever, select a high tax counrty for setting up a itnernet business in these days.

« Reply #95 on: December 23, 2012, 12:08 »
0
it is not about skilled people. Its about infrastructure and law.
You cannot make a company that lives from selling legal licences, if its not on stable ground legally.
That means rule of law.
The agencies benifit from that.
And also benifit from that they are not easily caught when they do not play by the rules ( currencies, roundups, and super secret accounting)
That all sucks, and many agencies can only thrive because the arm of the law does not reach them when they play dirty, at the same time as they benifit from the stability that comes from rule of law.

I detest that.
And I wont have it.


« Last Edit: December 23, 2012, 12:11 by JPSDK »

« Reply #96 on: December 23, 2012, 12:10 »
+2
Nowadays you can find many skilled People around the world. It is not like they are all in the States or Europe. I would never ever, select a high tax counrty for setting up a itnernet business in these days.

It's simply not true that you can find specialised technical skills 'all around the world'. You can't even find them all around the same country, even one as big as the US. Why do you think so many tech-businesses choose to set themselves up in Silicon Valley rather than Idaho or any other State where the rent and/or local taxes might be a fraction of the cost?

Tax is simply the price you pay for living in a secure, civilised society.

« Reply #97 on: December 23, 2012, 12:13 »
0
When I think about it Shutterstock is the only agency that plays by the rules.
Which is why I have never said anything bad about them.

RT


« Reply #98 on: December 23, 2012, 12:36 »
0
Slightly /OT but I find it surprising than so many of the remaining agencies still choose to be incorporated in countries which levy such high corporation and other taxes.

I agree with gostwycks answer - staff availability and infrastructure. I don't think tax is the uppermost concern for any large company, a good accountant will "sort" that side of things out.

aspp

« Reply #99 on: December 23, 2012, 15:57 »
+1
A successful microstock agency is obviously a very technical business and needs highly skilled people to make it work __ just the sort of people you're unlikely to find on some remote tax-haven island.

London, Ireland, Luxembourg, The Netherlands and much of Canada are all tax havens by many comparative standards. It's really just about different competitive models. No different from one city levying different local taxes than another.

Taxes are fine if they get spent well. But most of the high tax countries have hugely wasteful govts, often with very close (revolving door) relationships to the private sector and expensive military and secuity programs.

California, which you mentioned, has potholes everywhere and a state govt which is broke.


 

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