MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => iStockPhoto.com => Topic started by: vuk8691 on November 27, 2012, 02:20
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How long last the procedure for termination of exclusive contract with Istockphoto?
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30 days.
You can read about this on IS. Note that once you start the 30 day clock, if you change your mind, you need to wait 90 days to return to exclusivity. So don't start the clock until you're sure.
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Thanks!
I'm still not entirely sure but my earnings here has dropped by half, and I'm getting closer to that decision.
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Thanks!
I'm still not entirely sure but my earnings here has dropped by half, and I'm getting closer to that decision.
Under present circumbstances, the grass is far from green at almost all other sites. Just read their forums and you get the idea. I would be very careful in terminating any exclusivity, especially if you have a large port.
As an independant, IS, is still my 2nd or 3d, best earner and with SS gone a bit weird after the IPO? its a hell of a gamble.
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Be very sure of what you're doing. Some have given up exclusivity and have found it a lot more difficult out there than they expected. Some have returned to exclusivity apparently.
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Also the higher your royalty rate at IS the more you lose.
I agree that at 25% one does not have much to lose.
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Here's someone it hasn't worked out for...
http://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/ss-one-year-on/msg0/?topicseen#new (http://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/ss-one-year-on/msg0/?topicseen#new)
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I terminated my exclusivity at the beginning of 2012, but did not start uploading to other agencies until october (life and other work got in the way). Not a good move financially (I hope that will change with time), but it was necessary for my peace of mind. Frankly, the way contributors are treated there nowadays makes me me wonder why I (or anyone) still bother to upload there.
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I terminated my exclusivity at the beginning of 2012, but did not start uploading to other agencies until october (life and other work got in the way). Not a good move financially (I hope that will change with time), but it was necessary for my peace of mind. Frankly, the way contributors are treated there nowadays makes me me wonder why I (or anyone) still bother to upload there.
Are they treated better elsewhere? I dont think so. Just that we put up with it simply because they dont enforce exclusivity.
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Are they treated better elsewhere? I dont think so. Just that we put up with it simply because they dont enforce exclusivity.
After the long, looong silences from iStock support, I've been impressed with the communication on all sites I tried so far. May be the newbie bonus, though.
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I dropped the crown the month they revealed the new royalty plan/RC debacle. Between the terrible customer service, and payment issues that was it for me. In my case it was worth it to have my freedom, it took a while to build back up financially but now I have the peace of mind that my income is spread out over several sites one of which is all mine so I don't have to lose sleep over iStock/Getty changing the game overnight. It's a personal decision based on you circumstances but I'm one happy former exclusive. Good luck either way!
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I'm down to 1/3 of my peak earnings, so I've decided to give up exclusivity at the end of the year. If anyone has tips on how to make the transition easier, I'd love to hear them. Jan/Feb are usually slow months for freelancing, so I figured that would be a good time for uploading on new sites. I may not make more $$$, but at the current rate of decline, I'll be at zero before summer. :P
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Best of luck if you make that choice Brett, long been a fan of your work. I made the jump only last month so pretty new and can't comment on any financial success, but I've found the love again for stock work, actually enjoying logging in to see whats happened download wise - rather than the negative feeling of what have they broken now. Got to the point my confidence in their interest in their contributors was rock bottom and some of their business decisions were just plain depressing.
One month independent now, only on 1 other site so far but already more downloads in that month than I've ever had to date per month on iStock. Royalty level as a starter is certainly down and therefore cash is down for now but as I said happy levels back up.
Gotta try something, grass may not prove to be greener for long but so far, so good. Right now thinking 2 sites is good for now, may expand but sort of going slowly as I start my life as an independent. Will keep uploading to istock tho and continue to be a member as I have had good experiences there and cling to the hope the site will once more be the place i used to love.
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I can't say I have any experience with being exclusive, but iStock went from my number one agency to the garbage can in about a year. Now, my earnings are back up without them and this should be my best year. So if there is life without iStock at all, I'm sure some of you exclusives will land on your feet as independents.
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I'm nearly 18 months into my return to being indie and things are looking pretty good - with the exception of iStock's sales. They are my second agency in monthly $$, so I'd rather they didn't implode. November isn't quite over yet, but I'm up 30% up over last November and within striking distance (but I doubt I'll make it without some lucky ELs) of my all time high of November 2010.
Keywords in the IPTC and generic (versus tailored to iStock's CV) would be general advice about something that can trip people up when submitting to multiple sites. As you do vectors, figuring out each site's vector submission rules (much less homogenous than for images) in advance would probably make sense too.
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but I've found the love again for stock work, actually enjoying logging in to see whats happened download wise - rather than the negative feeling of what have they broken now.
You know that really is one of the good things about being independent. Whatever is happening bad at some of the sites there are usually others that can bring a more optimistic feeling back to you. It must be awful being at one site and just watching it spiralling down and down.
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@ jonlarter
That is so lovely and refreshing to hear. We get so obsessed with numbers around here that it's easy to forget the happiness factor. Obviously the degree to which contributors can focus on that varies according to how dependent they are on microstock income... BUT I'm so pleased to read your post and am very happy for you.
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Yeah, I want to try to get back to enjoying myself again. The changes from two years ago and the constant death spiral haven't inspired much enthusiasm and a chunk of my decline is from lack of uploading. I don't need actual gains as much as I need the possibility of gains to inspire new stuff. ;)
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Yeah, I want to try to get back to enjoying myself again. The changes from two years ago and the constant death spiral haven't inspired much enthusiasm and a chunk of my decline is from lack of uploading. I don't need actual gains as much as I need the possibility of gains to inspire new stuff. ;)
Well said. I realize one of the reasons for implementing the RC system was to encourage new uploads and keep the collection fresh. But everything else that's happened since then has been so demoralizing, there's little incentive to upload. And what is the point of new files if they're not getting seen in search results? Every day I get DLs on files I forgot were even in my portfolio, they're so old. So it's like there's a double disincentive to create new files.
I've found other work, so I no longer rely on iStock for my income - maybe it would be good to break free and find some joy in it again.
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Well said. I realize one of the reasons for implementing the RC system was to encourage new uploads and keep the collection fresh. But everything else that's happened since then has been so demoralizing, there's little incentive to upload. And what is the point of new files if they're not getting seen in search results? Every day I get DLs on files I forgot were even in my portfolio, they're so old. So it's like there's a double disincentive to create new files.
But over on the iStock forum, people are complaining that the best match is too full of new files.
We're all getting different results, and I'm still finding that some searches are heavily dominated by new files, and others by big sellers, but in both cases E+ files are STILL heavily penalised.