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Author Topic: Predictions about iStockphoto!?  (Read 18318 times)

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vlad_the_imp

« Reply #50 on: September 12, 2010, 15:18 »
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Only if theres a substitute

Of course, but you'd have to be pretty special to have no similar or competing files on IS.


« Reply #51 on: September 12, 2010, 15:23 »
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Well there certainly hasn't been any exodus yet. Search results have all grown since the announcement. Granted, most of the files approved now were probably uploaded before the announcement.

« Reply #52 on: September 12, 2010, 15:34 »
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Many will wait to reach their payout amount, and many will continue until jan 1. and ripe the "better" royalties un til then.

As for sales - we have no way of knowing, but people would want to use up their credits first.

Xalanx

« Reply #53 on: September 12, 2010, 15:54 »
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Vlad - I can see, that you are not able to follow my line of reasonening and/ or arguments

Someone else pointed out the flaw in your thinking. Pulling an image doesn't mean IS lose a sale, a buyer will just choose different sellers images on IS so they lose nothing.

That's correct. A similar / same category image will be bought, because the buyer is determined to buy a photo representing "that".

« Reply #54 on: September 12, 2010, 16:09 »
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WELL - we will have to see what happends in the coming months.

As far as I can see, as of today IS has got 7.395.351 images online.

« Reply #55 on: September 12, 2010, 16:12 »
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they can't hold a candle to Shutterstock's quality by anyone's measure.

You are kidding? Well vector-wise IS has always been the best , admittedly SS has improved but IS is better without doubt IMHO.

Yes, Istock has been the top illustration place. It will be very interesting to see how long that lasts, with the incredible harsh terms they are presenting for their illustrators. Double the targets of the photogs, and if you do both you'll have to reach to different targets at once. I barely understand any of the reasoning for Istock, but this part of it is the craziest of them all. I should think the exclusive illustrators were the once they would do the most to keep happy?

« Reply #56 on: September 12, 2010, 19:35 »
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I appreciate your motivation and your action but unfortunately there is an obvious flaw. By removing your images does not necessarily mean that Istock will lose the revenue __ the buyer will simply chose a different image to fulfill their needs. Istock still gets their money but the commission you would have earned goes to another contributor. It's the buyers themselves we need to move away from Istock.

I don't know. If I had a project laid out with thumbnails I was going to buy and got approval from the client to purchase everything, I'd be ticked if all or some of the images disappeared. I might check one of the other agencies or Tineye to see if I could find them somewhere else instead of picking something new for approval.

« Reply #57 on: September 12, 2010, 19:44 »
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I think istock will do remarkably well out of its new direction. The NUMBER of contributors and buyers leaving is not a very useful measure. All members are equal but some are more equal than others. As long as their most prolific contributors and biggest buyers are happy, especially if they get more prolific contributors (Getty pros) and bigger buyers (agencies who want only macro quality) they won't care. And they'll still be offering micro, whether it be branded as istock or Thinkstock doesn't really matter much. Many independents will stay - how much is a sub sale on SS worth?

Shutterstock pays 25 cents per sub sale. According my math that's 15 more cents than IS will be paying me for a non-sub sale under the new program.

« Reply #58 on: September 12, 2010, 20:04 »
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Upload numbers mean little. Inspectors approve hundreds of images a day. We can only delete images one at a time. I'm told that if we call IS support they will close the account and remove everything at once, paying you the monies you have accrued. I'll have to call in the morning and see if that is true.

« Reply #59 on: September 12, 2010, 21:04 »
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Shutterstock pays 25 cents per sub sale. According my math that's 15 more cents than IS will be paying me for a non-sub sale under the new program.

I think you're comparing apples and oranged here, taking the XS from IS vs the larger size at SS.

(Not that IS is not biting us)

« Reply #60 on: September 12, 2010, 21:38 »
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OK, here are my predictions. The change for IS will be slow but slowly gaining momentum by Jan 1. It all starts with some buyers leaving as promised this week. The other agencies are generally cheaper than IS and have probably massively cought up with IS in diversity and quality so designers and IS contributors/buyers have good reasons to leave. This, in combination with the best match being clogged up by high priced content will actually reduce the income for many contributors even more than the percent change. Since most already have lost their good will in the recent debacle so will now start to seriously concider alternatives. It's not the end of IS but once they increase prices further and buyers realize how much quality they can purchase at DT or SS without sacrificing too much coverage, more willl leave really accelerating the exodus. I have no idea where the NEW buyers are supposed to come from that are willing to pay the higher prices. I am exlusive but I am affraid that is the beginning of the end.

OUT


 

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