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Author Topic: Sales have tanked big time  (Read 180471 times)

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rubyroo

« Reply #800 on: December 13, 2011, 02:59 »
0
Over the weekend I actually had my first 'zero sales' day on Istock ... for 7 years (literally, my last zero sales day was 10th Dec 2004).

Don't worry Gostwyck, it might not be as bad as it looks.  Some time next year you'll find out if you actually had a sale on the PP last weekend.

'Woo-yay' (as they say)  ;)
« Last Edit: December 13, 2011, 03:01 by rubyroo »


lagereek

« Reply #801 on: December 13, 2011, 03:05 »
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This is the worst month I've had at IS in years. I'm shocked at how fast my earnings are declining there. It looks like the site is dying - maybe this was Getty's plan all along -- buy it then kill it.

It's not Getty, it's the financiers who own it. Getty bought it six years ago and actually expanded it. It's since the H&F takeover of Getty three (?) years back that things have got seriously peculiar.


Too true!  people tend to forget that. Getty and IS, are playing second violin here, no saying in any matters it seems. H&F, are the ones pulling the strings.

« Reply #802 on: December 13, 2011, 03:55 »
0
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Lol - me too but I got more !!
Hello,

A few of your file downloads were paid royalties at the wrong rate and we have made adjustments to your account balance to make up the difference.

A balance adjustment of $0.27 was added to your account.
 
We apologize for the inconvenience.
 
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    The iStock Team

« Reply #803 on: December 13, 2011, 10:21 »
0
I'm making more with DT than istock this month, that's a first for me.  DT sales this month are already higher than for all of December 2010.  I haven't uploaded much to either site this year.  Istock used to make 4 or 5 times my DT earnings.

« Reply #804 on: December 13, 2011, 13:53 »
0
Over the weekend I actually had my first 'zero sales' day on Istock ... for 7 years (literally, my last zero sales day was 10th Dec 2004). It has been gradually getting closer and the way sales have been slipping it didn't come as a surprise. I'm expecting to 'enjoy' such events more and more regularly in the future.

Wow.  Sorry to hear this. 

Thanks but, the way things have been going at Istock, it had a certain inevitability about it! When Istock became uber-greedy, using the absurd pretence of their business being 'unsustainable', I think most independent contributors hoped that their significance as an agency would wane in favour of others. Well now we're gradually getting what we wished for ... and Istock's business is genuinely becoming 'unsustainable' too ... with every month that passes. Kind of ironic that.

« Reply #805 on: December 13, 2011, 16:15 »
0
Over the weekend I actually had my first 'zero sales' day on Istock ... for 7 years (literally, my last zero sales day was 10th Dec 2004). It has been gradually getting closer and the way sales have been slipping it didn't come as a surprise. I'm expecting to 'enjoy' such events more and more regularly in the future.

Wow.  Sorry to hear this. 

Thanks but, the way things have been going at Istock, it had a certain inevitability about it! When Istock became uber-greedy, using the absurd pretence of their business being 'unsustainable', I think most independent contributors hoped that their significance as an agency would wane in favour of others. Well now we're gradually getting what we wished for ... and Istock's business is genuinely becoming 'unsustainable' too ... with every month that passes. Kind of ironic that.

It's hard to believe what's happening. So far today, iStock, Deposit Photos and Bigstock have all sold the same number of images for me (two each), 123 has sold five. Meanwhile, SS and DT have both generated more than 10 times the income from iS.

I've had two zero sales days this year and a couple last year after six years without a gap. They have all been at weekends or on major holidays but it looks as if it won't be long before I start to see them on weekdays, too.

« Reply #806 on: December 13, 2011, 17:04 »
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I get a few zero days at weekends but I had one on Monday 26th last month, my first on a working day for years.

« Reply #807 on: December 13, 2011, 17:51 »
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I'm another with shocking sales, got to think there has been a major best match shift. December has never been a good month, but everysite except IS is sitting on average sales so far. IS has more than halved, and for me this month is now 5th behind, SS, DT, FT and 123

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #808 on: December 13, 2011, 18:04 »
0
I'm another with shocking sales, got to think there has been a major best match shift.
There was a huge best match shift on 7th/8th, and some shuffling since.
However, different searches seem to have different algorithms, some heavily pushing Vetta to the almost exclusion of all else (e.g. Gorilla), others being much more mixed (eg businessman).
« Last Edit: December 13, 2011, 18:16 by ShadySue »

« Reply #809 on: December 13, 2011, 18:14 »
0
I'm another with shocking sales, got to think there has been a major best match shift.
There was a huge best match shift on 7th/8th, and some shuffling since.
However, different searches seem to have different algorhythms, some heavily pushing Vetta to the almost exclusion of all else (e.g. Gorilla), others being much more mixed (eg businessman).

That's when my earnings got cut in half. How heroic: death by search engine algorithm. Perhaps I'll be proclaimed a martyr.

« Reply #810 on: December 13, 2011, 18:40 »
0
Martyr? You'll have to line up and wait your turn!

Today at iStock has so far netted a grand total of two images for $2.79 which is a complete joke - even if it were a weekend, which it isn't. 123rf can beat that hands down and that (until recently) never happened. DT almost beat that with just one of the day's sales - for a medium level 1 image.

Perhaps it's a bug, or maybe a feature. Either way, it's pretty sad.

CarlssonInc

« Reply #811 on: December 14, 2011, 02:34 »
0
Something is definitely going on at iStock, but I don't fully buy into buyers running away this quickly - it is all happening way too fast. Could be the best match search spreading DLs around in a significantly different way, for sure hurting the more vocal contributors thereby "painting the picture" that doomsday has arrived.

« Reply #812 on: December 14, 2011, 03:36 »
0
Yesterday only one dl... :o

Slowly I will leave this ship, without wind...

CarlssonInc

« Reply #813 on: December 14, 2011, 03:57 »
0
Something is definitely going on at iStock, but I don't fully buy into buyers running away this quickly - it is all happening way too fast. Could be the best match search spreading DLs around in a significantly different way, for sure hurting the more vocal contributors thereby "painting the picture" that doomsday has arrived.

And today the best match looks a hell of a lot better...at least for the three searches I ran..."high heels", "woman AND t-shirt" and "business".

« Reply #814 on: December 14, 2011, 04:17 »
0
istock are pushing now in front of best match the images from the low canister contributor....this explain why the old diamond and black diamond canister are loosing sales day by day about 40% / 50% rather than the happy past years  ???

CarlssonInc

« Reply #815 on: December 14, 2011, 04:32 »
0
istock are pushing now in front of best match the images from the low canister contributor....this explain why the old diamond and black diamond canister are loosing sales day by day about 40% / 50% rather than the happy past years  ???

Can't say that I can see what you are talking about. Today the best match mix looks more "normal", as well as a lot better (more representative, better mix). It even seems to give new files a nice fighting chance for attention.

Independents though are nowhere to be seen in the search - serves them right though having no faith in iStock (joking).

SNP

  • Canadian Photographer
« Reply #816 on: December 14, 2011, 15:27 »
0
December sales suck

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #817 on: December 14, 2011, 15:36 »
0
istock are pushing now in front of best match the images from the low canister contributor....this explain why the old diamond and black diamond canister are loosing sales day by day about 40% / 50% rather than the happy past years  ???

Can't say that I can see what you are talking about. Today the best match mix looks more "normal", as well as a lot better (more representative, better mix). It even seems to give new files a nice fighting chance for attention.

Independents though are nowhere to be seen in the search - serves them right though having no faith in iStock (joking).
I just tried 'telesales' out of interest, and found that one contributor has images, which look very much like the others at the top of that search, but they're all Agency. Looked at their port, and it seems that all their images are Agency.

I can certainly see how buyers wouldn't have a clue between collections. Apart from the 'oddities', all the pics at the top of that search, from basic indie pricing to Agency all look just the same - 'microstocky'.

« Reply #818 on: December 14, 2011, 16:07 »
0
December sales suck

True. I just checked mine and for the first 13 days my sales are down a staggering 44% compared to the same period in Dec 2010. Ouch __ that's unsustainable.

SNP

  • Canadian Photographer
« Reply #819 on: December 14, 2011, 16:31 »
0
thanks to all the site issues etc., my seasonal uploads have all been kicked in the ornaments by the sucky best match. by the time I managed to get them up...big surprise, they were buried

« Reply #820 on: December 14, 2011, 20:24 »
0
Well, Id like to add something positive. I am really impressed with the editorial sales. That is something I see as a successful project in 2011.

I will definetly add more in 2012.

SNP

  • Canadian Photographer
« Reply #821 on: December 14, 2011, 21:23 »
0
Well, Id like to add something positive. I am really impressed with the editorial sales. That is something I see as a successful project in 2011.

I will definetly add more in 2012.

really? I have to completely disagree with you there....editorial is my greatest disappointment at iStock for 2011. but the flipside is that the only place to go is up....? isn't that how it works?
« Last Edit: December 15, 2011, 10:58 by SNP »

lagereek

« Reply #822 on: December 15, 2011, 02:16 »
0
Over the weekend I actually had my first 'zero sales' day on Istock ... for 7 years (literally, my last zero sales day was 10th Dec 2004). It has been gradually getting closer and the way sales have been slipping it didn't come as a surprise. I'm expecting to 'enjoy' such events more and more regularly in the future.

Wow.  Sorry to hear this. 

Thanks but, the way things have been going at Istock, it had a certain inevitability about it! When Istock became uber-greedy, using the absurd pretence of their business being 'unsustainable', I think most independent contributors hoped that their significance as an agency would wane in favour of others. Well now we're gradually getting what we wished for ... and Istock's business is genuinely becoming 'unsustainable' too ... with every month that passes. Kind of ironic that.

It's hard to believe what's happening. So far today, iStock, Deposit Photos and Bigstock have all sold the same number of images for me (two each), 123 has sold five. Meanwhile, SS and DT have both generated more than 10 times the income from iS.

I've had two zero sales days this year and a couple last year after six years without a gap. They have all been at weekends or on major holidays but it looks as if it won't be long before I start to see them on weekdays, too.

Yep!  same here!  SS, apart from an EL and some SODs,  8, times more then IS,  DT and FT,  6, times more then IS and DP and BS, twice as much. Frankly, even if they purposley set out to destroy a site,  they couldnt do much worse.
However I think Gostwyck ( can never spell his name right), hit the nail in another thread. They want it this way, this is the plan according to the blueprint. Think about it. How could they possibly survive on as measly 5K, exclusives, its an impossibillity and it doesnt take a genious to work out the result.

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #823 on: December 15, 2011, 06:46 »
0
Well, Id like to add something positive. I am really impressed with the editorial sales. That is something I see as a successful project in 2011.

I will definetly add more in 2012.

really? I have to completely disagree with you there....editorial is my greatest disappointment at iStock for 2011. but the flipside s that the only place to go is up....? isn't that how it works?

Not necessarily at iStock  ;)

« Reply #824 on: December 15, 2011, 14:38 »
0
If istock are indeed going through a heavy slump in sales do you think they will take an appropriate course of action?

A company such as istock which has been in this business from the begining and has seen exponential growth followed by a slump which we can clearly see ourselves. I mean, we all have our graphs so we can see whats going on. Do you think there is someone looking at the whole picture and saying - well, we were once like this and we had this much sales, now we are like this and now we have this much sales. For many contributors it's quite easy to see what's going wrong but do you think they really know the answer?

I'd like to point out that it is still feasible that they may not actually be getting hit hard financially because best match matches may simply be shifting searches through to other contributors that may not be active on any internet forums hence we really are left in the dark as to how good or bad their sales really are - i find this frustrating.

However by looking at the drastic slump in sales I myself have been experiencing this year, plus looking at the comments on istock forum and the comments here, as well as trafic stats (which as pointed out are not 100% accurate but give a good indication) leads me to believe that things really are going bad at istock.

If this is indeed true a huge loss of sales is a huge loss in sales no matter how you cut it and a company can only sustain it for so long before the staff at istock are forced to take a long hard look at their business model, and if need be make cut backs but not necessarily make changes for the better.

All of this is really frustrating for myself and i suspect that full-timers are really having to push the boat out to get any decent return in investment.

Good luck to all of you.
« Last Edit: December 15, 2011, 14:41 by stocker2011 »


 

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