Author Topic: Sales have tanked big time (Read 208376 times)

Slovenian · « **Reply #300 on:** October 22, 2011, 10:11 »

I have just one msg for all these greedy pigs responsible for the cuts across agencies


YES THEY DESERVE TO DIE AND I HOPE THEY BURN IN HELL!

SNP · « **Reply #301 on:** October 22, 2011, 10:26 »

Quote from: Slovenian on October 22, 2011, 10:07

Nice or not, their greedy capitalistic logic is not going to work long term, instead of milking the cow, they'll settle for huge short term profits, mess up the site completely and then sell it. IS will never recover if it keeps on going like this for a while. Unless they have some super strategy which is taking longer than expected to incorporate (I highly doubt that).

And of course I wish traffic would go up, why wouldn't I want to earn more? Unless it goes to sites that will pay me at least 3 times the royalties (50%+)

I have to mostly agree with this sentiment. though, I think what people are calling greed is in fact just the driving force of capitalism--being in a constant state of wanting more. semantics, but not really. we're all capitalists selling in this type of industry. and frankly it is capitalist advertising and marketing that keeps us in business. so while I agree with your assessment that the agencies are throwing us to the wolves for short term profit growth and resale...I think a non-capitalist culture would hang our industry completely. free market economies require constant marketing presence, and thank goodness for us.

maybe it's naive, but I think there is a place for sustainable, fair trade capitalism in the world. but as long as consumers want bargains....this is how it will be. consumers are the wheels on the bus dude

fujiko · « **Reply #302 on:** October 22, 2011, 10:49 »

I believe greed is in fact what is killing capitalism. A little greed is a good engine, too much of it and it just stops working.

If you consider a capitalism to be like a living organism, greed people, the ones that hoard huge amounts of money and that look only for fast short term profit or that believe that growth can be sustained forever, are like a cancer or a thrombosis. They kill the system with their infinite uncontrolled growth or they kill it by stopping the normal flow of life sustaining blood (cash).

Growth has to benefit all cells in the organism and must have limits or it dies. Blood has to flow to all cells in the organism or it dies.

gostwyck · « **Reply #303 on:** October 22, 2011, 11:03 »

Quote from: SNP on October 22, 2011, 10:26

I have to mostly agree with this sentiment. though, I think what people are calling greed is in fact just the driving force of capitalism--being in a constant state of wanting more. semantics, but not really. we're all capitalists selling in this type of industry.

Yes, however successful capitalism also requires good judgement even if the motivating force is 'greed'. Istock/Getty appear to have failed in their judgement of what they thought they could get away with (in their bid to optimise profits and the re-sale value of the business). Big, big mistake. It looks to have blown up in their faces. You can only mess customers about so much and when you start screwing the contributors too (of which so many are also customers) then you have a recipe for disaster.

You'll probably find Jon Oringer is a full-on capitalist too. He just has much better judgement than Istock/Getty and has the patience to play the long game.

My earnings from Istock are just about hanging in there but really only by virtue of the boost from P+. Without P+ my earnings would only be about 20% of my total __ that's down from a steady 40% or thereabouts not so long ago.

cthoman · « **Reply #304 on:** October 22, 2011, 11:10 »

Is it still greed if it's not working?

I just have to wonder if all these changes worked for them. Was it worth it? Are they making more?

My numbers were way down, so much so that it didn't matter if I left. I estimate that they earned about 23K less from me this year than they did last year. Plus, any future earnings because I pulled the plug.

WarrenPrice · « **Reply #305 on:** October 22, 2011, 11:20 »

It's a conspiracy. This entire thread was a Sean Locke initiated scheme to discourage those who are just getting started ... and anyone else he and the Greedy Full-Timers can convince that the market has folded....

Just kidding... but, ....

Sean Locke Photography · « **Reply #306 on:** October 24, 2011, 12:01 »

Lol...

Sorry for not responding at all - I was out of town.

October is on track to have downloads dropping about 25% from 2010 and $$$ down 2-3%. Again, this is on portfolio growth of around 20%. So, no growth at all, and actual backpedaling.

Slovenian · « **Reply #307 on:** October 24, 2011, 12:09 »

Quote from: sjlocke on October 24, 2011, 12:01

Lol...

Sorry for not responding at all - I was out of town.

October is on track to have downloads dropping about 25% from 2010 and $$$ down 2-3%. Again, this is on portfolio growth of around 20%. So, no growth at all, and actual backpedaling.

I'd feel very comfortable in your shoes

. It's gonna take another hundred years or so before you drop to an average salary

Phadrea · « **Reply #308 on:** October 24, 2011, 12:27 »

Had enough of this crap. I am going to give up exclusivity as this month has taken a dive from a pretty good start. I am going to get my images i8n as many libraries as possible.

Slovenian · « **Reply #309 on:** October 24, 2011, 12:29 »

Quote from: Herg on October 24, 2011, 12:27

Had enough of this crap. I am going to give up exclusivity as this month has taken a dive from a pretty good start. I am going to get my images i8n as many libraries as possible.

C'mon man wait at least until they announce the new RC targets, you just might be able to get a raise in the next cycle

lthn · « **Reply #310 on:** October 24, 2011, 12:36 »

Quote from: Slovenian on October 22, 2011, 10:07

Quote from: cclapper on October 22, 2011, 09:20
Quote from: Sadstock on October 22, 2011, 07:31
Quote from: cobalt on October 22, 2011, 05:40

I find it very hard to believe that "they are out to get me". I know most people here think, the exclusives are naive, we are not. We have met many people from the team, and they are all hard working, very dedicated people.

---------------------------------------

I agree nobody is out to get you or anyone else. I certainly don't think you or top tier exclusives are naive, and I certainly value your input. I've also met a number of the istock management and I agree they are hard working and dedicated people. I don't think that is the group of people that Slovenian is talking about. I think he's talking about Getty and H&F and I don't think that that those people care about exclusives or independents one bit.

The one thing that is surprising to me is how long the original Istock staff is hanging onto their jobs. I don't think most of them have much future with Istock/Getty. As the content line blurs more and more, the need for dedicated Istock staff (marketing, accounting, and likely inspectors too) decreases and the impact of their salaries on the bottom line becomes more and more apparent.

I agree and I have not met a number of istock management, but I suppose they are nice people. Most contributors here are nice people. The people at Getty making all the decisions are probably nice people too. But this is business (remember?). Niceness doesn't have anything to do with it! I don't know why people seem to think that those two statements even belong in the same sentence. The people at Getty and H&F want their money. Period. And no, they don't care about anything but their own bottom line and their own interests.

Nice or not, their greedy capitalistic logic is not going to work long term, instead of milking the cow, they'll settle for huge short term profits, mess up the site completely and then sell it. IS will never recover if it keeps on going like this for a while. Unless they have some super strategy which is taking longer than expected to incorporate (I highly doubt that).

And of course I wish traffic would go up, why wouldn't I want to earn more? Unless it goes to sites that will pay me at least 3 times the royalties (50%+)

H&F mission statement pretty much sais they come, milk cash out and lave, and do all that as fast as possible, if you can read between the lines.

pancaketom · « **Reply #311 on:** October 24, 2011, 14:21 »

Well, I'd like to see them (H&F) leave as soon as possible, but since they are strangling the goose, they might not be able to find a buyer. I do wonder how long it would take to get things back on track if they did leave. The damage (for contributors) might be terminal.

RacePhoto · « **Reply #312 on:** October 24, 2011, 14:46 »

Quote from: pancaketom on October 24, 2011, 14:21

Well, I'd like to see them (H&F) leave as soon as possible, but since they are strangling the goose, they might not be able to find a buyer. I do wonder how long it would take to get things back on track if they did leave. The damage (for contributors) might be terminal.

I'd be forced to agree! There's one about a pooch but we can't write it here in mixed company.

I don't know if I'm allowed to reply, you see there's a certain bronze on IS who joined in May of 2008, with just under 500 files, who seems to think I'm not entitled to comment because of my sales history and number of files. I don't meet his standards for being allowed to have an opinion.

But I wanted to say, +1 to your comments. The sooner they get their profit and go away, probably the happier most of us will be.

Phadrea · « **Reply #313 on:** October 24, 2011, 16:19 »

Quote from: Slovenian on October 24, 2011, 12:29

Quote from: Herg on October 24, 2011, 12:27
Had enough of this crap. I am going to give up exclusivity as this month has taken a dive from a pretty good start. I am going to get my images i8n as many libraries as possible.

C'mon man wait at least until they announce the new RC targets, you just might be able to get a raise in the next cycle

I do hope you are kidding.

Slovenian · « **Reply #314 on:** October 24, 2011, 16:23 »

Quote from: Herg on October 24, 2011, 16:19

Quote from: Slovenian on October 24, 2011, 12:29
Quote from: Herg on October 24, 2011, 12:27
Had enough of this crap. I am going to give up exclusivity as this month has taken a dive from a pretty good start. I am going to get my images i8n as many libraries as possible.

C'mon man wait at least until they announce the new RC targets, you just might be able to get a raise in the next cycle

I do hope you are kidding.

Using sarcasm and trying to avert more competition

helix7 · « **Reply #315 on:** October 24, 2011, 19:37 »

Quote from: nico_blue on October 21, 2011, 20:21

October is on track to be my worst month on istock in 5 years (since December 2006). That's pretty pathetic to say the least.

Unreal. I figured most of you top guys were holding steady.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #316 on:** October 24, 2011, 19:52 »

Quote from: Herg on October 24, 2011, 12:27

Had enough of this crap. I am going to give up exclusivity as this month has taken a dive from a pretty good start. I am going to get my images i8n as many libraries as possible.

I don't know if this last quarter of the year is typically a busy one for you, but you might want to at least consider waiting until January to leave (or early December to put in your 30 days notice) so you can get the maximum from your portfolio during the fall/winter season and take the hit during the process of uploading elsewhere during the quiet time at the beginning of next year.

HughStoneIan · « **Reply #317 on:** October 24, 2011, 20:17 »

Down 40% from 2010.

dbvirago · « **Reply #318 on:** October 24, 2011, 20:34 »

Quote from: helix7 on October 24, 2011, 19:37

Quote from: nico_blue on October 21, 2011, 20:21
October is on track to be my worst month on istock in 5 years (since December 2006). That's pretty pathetic to say the least.

Unreal. I figured most of you top guys were holding steady.

Worst since Sept of 2006 for me. Considering the trouble it is to upload there, I'll be done there soon.

Phadrea · « **Reply #319 on:** October 25, 2011, 00:54 »

Quote from: jsnover on October 24, 2011, 19:52

Quote from: Herg on October 24, 2011, 12:27
Had enough of this crap. I am going to give up exclusivity as this month has taken a dive from a pretty good start. I am going to get my images i8n as many libraries as possible.

I don't know if this last quarter of the year is typically a busy one for you, but you might want to at least consider waiting until January to leave (or early December to put in your 30 days notice) so you can get the maximum from your portfolio during the fall/winter season and take the hit during the process of uploading elsewhere during the quiet time at the beginning of next year.

Yes, that's good advice

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #320 on:** October 25, 2011, 02:05 »

The trap all exclusives are in is that handing in the little brass crown will probably cut your istock earnings by about half and it is likely to take a long time to make up for that on the other sites. The sites you must do well at to compensate are SS and DT and there is no guarantee your existing istock portfolio will get accepted in total on either, particularly if some of it is at 2008 or 2009 quality standards.
So while independence is probably a good long-term strategy be aware that it may take quite some time to get back to the earnings you already have - and the larger and better established your portfolio is, the longer it will take and harder it is likely to be to get back to where you are.

Slovenian · « **Reply #321 on:** October 25, 2011, 03:11 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on October 25, 2011, 02:05

The trap all exclusives are in is that handing in the little brass crown will probably cut your istock earnings by about half and it is likely to take a long time to make up for that on the other sites. The sites you must do well at to compensate are SS and DT and there is no guarantee your existing istock portfolio will get accepted in total on either, particularly if some of it is at 2008 or 2009 quality standards.
So while independence is probably a good long-term strategy be aware that it may take quite some time to get back to the earnings you already have - and the larger and better established your portfolio is, the longer it will take and harder it is likely to be to get back to where you are.

Indeed, SS is a top earner by far for most contributors, but the catch is, their rejection rate is very high in the last 6 months, I used to get 100% rejections of big batches, while IS accepted over 95% of those same batches. DT also rejects any remotely similar images, so if you're one of those contributors that bombard a stock site with huge series, full of shots with different angles of the same subject, you won't get a lot on DT. The other sites probably won't even make over 5% of your current IS earnings (FT has fallen off the cliff, IS is doing great compared to them). And yes I'm being serious this time, read some threads on the matter, there are many (extensive too).

aeonf · « **Reply #322 on:** October 25, 2011, 03:21 »

If one is a higher ranking exclusive at IS (at 35% or 40% levels) expected income can go down by even 70%-80%
Maybe Jsnover can gives us better figures.

loop · « **Reply #323 on:** October 25, 2011, 04:03 »

Quote from: aeonf on October 25, 2011, 03:21

If one is a higher ranking exclusive at IS (at 35% or 40% levels) expected income can go down by even 70%-80%
Maybe Jsnover can gives us better figures.

I don't think so. Staying at IS like non-exclusive, would get you about 50% of what you were earning there. Let's say 35-40%% if you have Vetta and Agency pictures. From here, any new income adds, so reaching 50%-60% in the beggining should be easy.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #324 on:** October 25, 2011, 06:34 »

Quote from: loop on October 25, 2011, 04:03

Quote from: aeonf on October 25, 2011, 03:21
If one is a higher ranking exclusive at IS (at 35% or 40% levels) expected income can go down by even 70%-80%
Maybe Jsnover can gives us better figures.

I don't think so. Staying at IS like non-exclusive, would get you about 50% of what you were earning there. Let's say 35-40%% if you have Vetta and Agency pictures. From here, any new income adds, so reaching 50%-60% in the beggining should be easy.

It's probably worse than that because exclusives have higher commission percentages AND higher file prices, so even without vetta they lose out twice over if they cancel. It isn't just going from 30% to - say - 17%. The exclusive base rate is the same as the independent "photos+" rate, so you might lose another 30% there. The decline could easily exceed 50% even for a silver or gold level contributor without Vetta or Getty earnings. They might also see the 17% commission rate drop to 16% after a year, because lower prices mean fewer "redeemed credits" even if your sales are unchanged. It's a serious issue for them.

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Author Topic: Sales have tanked big time (Read 208376 times)

Slovenian

SNP

fujiko

gostwyck

cthoman

WarrenPrice

Sean Locke Photography

Slovenian

Phadrea

Slovenian

lthn

pancaketom

RacePhoto

Phadrea

Slovenian

helix7

Jo Ann Snover

HughStoneIan

dbvirago

Phadrea

BaldricksTrousers

Slovenian

aeonf

loop

BaldricksTrousers

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