Author Topic: The month when I decided to stop uploading my files to IS (Read 5484 times)

NitorPhoto · « **on:** September 29, 2011, 04:59 »

Yes, after cheking my earnings this month and making some test searches with top keywords I made my decision. I'll not upload to iStock anymore. The recent changes in best match was a complete disater for me, it already halved my contantly decreasing sales while uploading the new files requires the most effort in the industry. When I checked the current best match results I saw plenty of mediocre or bad images in front only from exclusives and from their so called agency collection. IS doesn't give space for independets anymore so I do not see the point why should I waste my time there? I leave my files online and will check back once or twice a month to pick up my income - but that's the all, good bye.

ShadySue · « **Reply #1 on:** September 29, 2011, 06:18 »

Interesting: I haven't been noticing Agency or exclusive images dominating my usual test searches, so I checked on 'businessman' as a more stocky keyword: 8 of the top twenty are non-exclusive and only 1 is agency. What I will say about that particular search ('businessman') is that new images are squeezed out of the current search (not so in other search terms).
I guess this reflects that best match is different for different keywords (or maybe it's the geographical bias).
Nevertheless, you have to do what is best for yourself; and many are reporting better results from SS at the moment.

ayzek · « **Reply #2 on:** September 29, 2011, 07:29 »

New best match is not best match any more its like Best New Match.
Just checked my portfolio 1st page around %20 of them old selling files rest is newest.

BaldricksTrousers · « **Reply #3 on:** September 29, 2011, 07:38 »

It's a catastrophe for me - sales down 50% for the last week. Maybe they will shake it in the other direction next time round. The month as a whole is going to end up pretty average since it started well and was propped up with ELs.

fujiko · « **Reply #4 on:** September 29, 2011, 07:49 »

Someone told me that sales were great after the announcement until he accepted the new agreement.

pancaketom · « **Reply #5 on:** September 29, 2011, 09:32 »

Well, you accepted the new agreement last night unless you pulled your port, so we get to see what happens now. For me it was the RC system that got me to stop uploading there.

Allsa · « **Reply #6 on:** September 29, 2011, 09:48 »

I was originally intending to pull my entire port from IS, but I didn't want to kill off an (ever diminishing) income stream in what could be a futile gesture. Not to mention all the time and effort I've put into uploading all those images over the last 6 years - so I decided to leave my port in place and stop uploading instead. I've also stopped uploading to FT as well. Let the sites that treat me fairly get all my new fresh content.

Jo Ann Snover · « **Reply #7 on:** September 29, 2011, 11:00 »

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on September 29, 2011, 07:38

It's a catastrophe for me - sales down 50% for the last week. Maybe they will shake it in the other direction next time round. The month as a whole is going to end up pretty average since it started well and was propped up with ELs.

It's hard for me to categorize it as a catastrophe as the last couple of months has been like that - a decent week or two and then one that's half the prior week. Ignoring last week's EL, my sales are less than half last week and Friday's typically not a great day. So I'm guessing this week will end up half of last week.

There's a certain punch-drunk fuzziness that each of these agency moves leaves me with (SS's latest initiative excepted; my only complaint with them is periodic bursts of nothing has any commercial value in reviewing). I find it harder and harder to get outraged as they pull one stunt after another.