Author Topic: What are you going to do when istock cut commissions tomorrow? (Read 35209 times)

nopow · « **Reply #50 on:** January 02, 2011, 13:35 »

Quote from: jsnover on January 01, 2011, 18:14

I don't see how, given that Yuri isn't in a different position vis-a-vis IS in 2011 from 2010, he'd have any interest in any sort of protest. And I'm sure that is just what IS wanted.

Well even though his commission may not change in 2011, I would think he'd be interested in a protest simply because his 2010 commission was trash. iStock has the lowest commission rates for all their non-exclusives - even Yuri (correct me if I'm wrong). Just like me, it's in his best interest to take iStock down and drive those buyers to other sites (or force their commissions rates to rise).

SNP · « **Reply #51 on:** January 02, 2011, 14:12 »

then what? let's magnify this to the absurd...iStock falls due to contributor protest. then what? other agencies have you in an even more vulnerable position. I don't know Yuri and am usually reluctant to use another contributor's numbers, but I doubt he would have any interest in protesting. I'd venture that most serious serious contributors are too busy working to get tangled up in this kind of stuff.

dirkr · « **Reply #52 on:** January 02, 2011, 17:01 »

And to the other extreme: If everyone goes on like before after Istock's royalty cuts that sends a clear message to all the other agencies and they will follow. And soon we will see 10% royalties everywhere.

As an independent contributor the only logical reaction (when thinking about long term implications) would be to remove the complete portfolio and not sell for the lowered rates. But for those relying on the income this obviously is not an easy decision, in some cases probably not even an option.

But to answer the original question:

Quote from: sharpshot on December 31, 2010, 04:24

As the istock commission cuts are happening 1st January 2011 and we have all had a few months to think about it, I thought it would be interesting to see what people are doing now. I have stopped uploading and started removing some of my portfolio. I will leave gradually and hope there are new owners soon that have a better long term strategy.

Yesterday I finished removing my files, down from close to 700 to 1 (I'll keep that one just for fun, to have an active account. And if - what I doubt, at least for the near future - Istock returns to reasonable commission rates, I may re-activate my portfolio).

For me it is an easy decision, as Microstock is just a hobby for me and irrelevant in terms of income.
I have no illusions that anyone at Istock will even notice my few files missing and that this is any kind of relevant "statement" whatsoever. But I am not willing to sell at their new commission rates.

ichiro17 · « **Reply #53 on:** January 02, 2011, 20:13 »

Quote from: ShadySue on January 01, 2011, 11:34

Quote from: louoates on January 01, 2011, 11:26
Quote from: Komar on January 01, 2011, 04:50
From 112 votes so far, just 37.5% will be carrying on as usual. It seems that a fair few will be making a stand or have already done so.

I don't see how leaving will make a difference in how anyone is treated in this business. Supply and demand rules here as in any other non-government enterprise. So "making a stand" is akin to the local shoe store owner reducing his hours of operation when Walmart opens up down the street.
The only people would be the really big hitters who are independent. If they pulled their images and uploaded elsewhere, iStock would feel it.
For the rest of us, while there might be some satisfaction, it won't matter to iStock one iota.
Added: I'm not sure what would happen to iStock if Yuri pulled his port totally. Interesting to speculate.

Nothing would happen. Yuri is not that important to this model. Its crowdsourcing, not Yuri-sourcing. There's hundreds of guys who can step up and make images like Yuri, and he's just another guy here. Whats Yuri's portfolio as a ratio of the entire site's total photos? Miniscule. WHat happens is other people get better search placements. And I'm all for that. Plus, he's not even exclusive so its not like people have to go to iStock to see his work.

etienjones · « **Reply #54 on:** January 03, 2011, 04:46 »

Quote from: blackwaterimages on December 31, 2010, 17:11

Quote from: sjlocke on December 31, 2010, 08:12

I will bet you a dollar that they won't be happening tomorrow. I would say the 17th at the earliest.

I'm sure they'll probably get around to it on or about the 17th, but it wouldn't surprise me the slightest little bit if they went back and adjusted everyone's royalties to reflect it having started on the 1st.

Boy, they sure are organized over there at IS, got my first .18 sale this morning . . . . . . . . . . .

Microstock Posts · « **Reply #55 on:** January 03, 2011, 05:05 »

Quote from: etienjones on January 03, 2011, 04:46

Quote from: blackwaterimages on December 31, 2010, 17:11
Quote from: sjlocke on December 31, 2010, 08:12

I will bet you a dollar that they won't be happening tomorrow. I would say the 17th at the earliest.

I'm sure they'll probably get around to it on or about the 17th, but it wouldn't surprise me the slightest little bit if they went back and adjusted everyone's royalties to reflect it having started on the 1st.

Boy, they sure are organized over there at IS, got my first .18 sale this morning . . . . . . . . . . .

Lol! Sure feels good to feel valued :-)

Shank_ali · « **Reply #56 on:** January 03, 2011, 08:28 »

I am staying exclusive at Istockphoto for the foreseeable future because....I lose my crown and lose an instant 14% commission.I also lose best match placement on 1600+ photograpghs.So presume i take that hit and start uploading those 1600 files to another 4/6 microstock sites.How long would that exercise take and is there any real guarantee that my work would do as well with such a saturated microstock market.
"Better the devil you know...."

gostwyck · « **Reply #57 on:** January 03, 2011, 08:37 »

Quote from: shank_ali_reborn on January 03, 2011, 08:28

I am staying exclusive at Istockphoto for the foreseeable future because .... I also lose best match placement on 1600+ photograpghs.

That's not actually true and hasn't been so for at least a couple of years since they wheeled out 'best match 2.0'. It's yet another of those 'microstock myths' that will be trotted out a regular intervals for evermore.

There is no evidence whatsoever that exclusive/independent status influences best match position (obviously excluding Vetta/Agency files from the issue).

SNP · « **Reply #58 on:** January 03, 2011, 11:42 »

^ THAT'S not true either. no one knows what criteria affect the best match. secondly, unless you're exclusive...you have no access to E+/Vetta/Agency...all of which definitely get best match bumps...(with the exception of the ~~unfair/special~~ exclusivity that seems to be allowed to some Agency contributors)

gostwyck · « **Reply #59 on:** January 03, 2011, 11:52 »

Quote from: SNP on January 03, 2011, 11:42

no one knows what criteria affect the best match.

Don't be so ridiculous. How can the code be written or the management's policy be enacted if "no one knows". Do you think it is 'magic' and somehow delivered by fairies?

A few searches and half a brain on how these things work (i.e. it's mathematics not magic) will comfortably flag the obvious primary influencing factors __ and exclusivity ain't one of them.

You need to get your head sorted out if that's what you believe.

SNP · « **Reply #60 on:** January 03, 2011, 12:00 »

do you think you're the only contributor who sits here calculating . out of every stat available to us? (edited snarky comment) no one as in CONTRIBUTORS really knows, including you despite all your posturing. to suggest that exclusives don't get some best match boost despite all evidence to the contrary is wishful thinking. add to that Vetta/E+ and Agency.....that's more visibility in the best match...

KB · « **Reply #61 on:** January 03, 2011, 12:27 »

Quote from: gostwyck on January 03, 2011, 08:37

There is no evidence whatsoever that exclusive/independent status influences best match position (obviously excluding Vetta/Agency files from the issue).

The day before I became exclusive, I checked the best match placement of several score of my images.

A couple of days after I became exclusive, I re-checked the best match placement of those same images.

The result was that every image improved its best match placement, some considerably (several 100 positions), some barely (10 or 20 positions). Much depended on the age of the image, as well as the # of results in the search.

Not to mention before I became exclusive, I often noticed older, exclusive files with fewer sales ahead of my files.

So, in my experience, there is plenty of evidence that exclusivity does positively affect best match placement.

gostwyck · « **Reply #62 on:** January 03, 2011, 12:53 »

^^^ But when was that? I know exclusivity used to affect best match placement but all the research I've done of late indicates that it is no longer a factor.

Of course it's very recently become more difficult to tell because the downloads numbers are further disguised.

If anyone is in any doubt there is one very easy way to check on how much the best match is influenced by exclusivity __ although it does take a bit of work to do so.

Pick a search term preferably in a niche subject that will have few if any Vetta or Agency images as they confuse the issue and need to be ignored for the purpose of the exercise. Food subjects are often good in that respect. Sort the results by best match and count how many exclusive images are in the first 25 or 50 images (or whatever sample size you choose). Then sort them by Age, Downloads, Size and count again. If best match is indeed influenced by exclusivity then statistically you should see a strong pattern emerge in which, when sorted by best match a higher proportion of exclusive images should be evident. Age and Size are of course statistically random. Sorting by Downloads should also be random but obviously, if exclusive files have been improved by the best match, then they should dominate the results too and further support the theory that best match really does help exclusives.

Try it for yourself. Personally I can find no statistical supporting evidence whatsoever that the best match favours exclusives. You can either do the work and prove it mathematically to your own satisfaction __ or alternatively you can believe in SNP's 'magic fairies theory'.

KB · « **Reply #63 on:** January 03, 2011, 12:56 »

Quote from: gostwyck on January 03, 2011, 12:53

^^^ But when was that?

Ok, you may be right about that. It was 6 months ago, so it could certainly have changed since then -- just about everything else about iStock has!

lisafx · « **Reply #64 on:** January 03, 2011, 13:01 »

Keep seeing posts in the IS forum suggesting that the new royalty structure is in place. I can't tell from my numbers. Does anyone know?

SNP · « **Reply #65 on:** January 03, 2011, 13:05 »

it all seems to be anecdotal, but I think it might be in place...saying that, there's still no drop down for 2011 RC totals in my stats

gostwyck · « **Reply #66 on:** January 03, 2011, 13:07 »

Quote from: lisafx on January 03, 2011, 13:01

Keep seeing posts in the IS forum suggesting that the new royalty structure is in place. I can't tell from my numbers. Does anyone know?

Because we don't know how much the credits were bought for the main way we will see the effect is when you have enough sales to generate a meaningful dollars/sales figure. My commission is going down by 10% so I assume I'll see my average sale drop from $1.24 to $1.12 but it will probably take a few days to get reliable figures.

lisafx · « **Reply #67 on:** January 03, 2011, 13:18 »

Thanks for the responses. I figured it would be hard to tell, but became curious because some people are stating this as a certainty (guess there are always some folks who state everything as a certainty

).

It really is a bit nerve-wracking waiting for the other shoe to drop over there at IS. Maybe, as Sean said, we will have to wait until mid month to hear something definitive.

What I do NOT want to see happen is, they take their time implementing the changes, but then make them retroactive and deduct money from our accounts.

Chico · « **Reply #68 on:** January 03, 2011, 13:22 »

Quote from: lisafx on January 03, 2011, 13:01

Keep seeing posts in the IS forum suggesting that the new royalty structure is in place. I can't tell from my numbers. Does anyone know?

At least for me, royalties are the same until now.

gostwyck · « **Reply #69 on:** January 03, 2011, 13:27 »

Quote from: lisafx on January 03, 2011, 13:18

Thanks for the responses. I figured it would be hard to tell, but became curious because some people are stating this as a certainty (guess there are always some folks who state everything as a certainty ).

It really is a bit nerve-wracking waiting for the other shoe to drop over there at IS. Maybe, as Sean said, we will have to wait until mid month to hear something definitive.

What I do NOT want to see happen is, they take their time implementing the changes, but then make them retroactive and deduct money from our accounts.

I'm pretty sure it has NOT happened yet. My last sale was a Large file for which I got $3.00. Under the smallest credit package (at $1.54 per credit) the most I could earn from a Large sale at my new commission rate would be $2.77.

lisafx · « **Reply #70 on:** January 03, 2011, 13:31 »

Quote from: gostwyck on January 03, 2011, 13:27

I'm pretty sure it has NOT happened yet. My last sale was a Large file for which I got $3.00. Under the smallest credit package (at $1.54 per credit) the most I could earn from a Large sale at my new commission rate would be $2.77.

Thanks Gostwyck. That seems definitive.

Sorry for relying on your math skills. I've made no secret of the fact that I am mathematically challenged...

jen · « **Reply #71 on:** January 03, 2011, 13:40 »

Quote from: gostwyck on January 03, 2011, 12:53

^^^ But when was that? I know exclusivity used to affect best match placement but all the research I've done of late indicates that it is no longer a factor.

I did the same test when I became exclusive and all of the files I checked moved up in best match placement. That was only in September.

pancaketom · « **Reply #72 on:** January 03, 2011, 13:41 »

I had a XS sale for .10 in December, so I think it will take a while or an announcement to tell for sure when things are changed, although Gostwyck's example looks like pretty good evidence that it hasn't happened yet.

That would be pretty slimy (and typical) to make it retro-active. I am guessing they need to sort out the RC mess before they can implement the drops though. I'd be pretty annoyed if I were one of the few that was supposed to benefit and I wasn't yet.

Jonathan Ross · « **Reply #73 on:** January 03, 2011, 14:00 »

Hi Jen,

That is very interesting to hear. We can all try to calculate what the changes are here but it is like spitting into a fire. Their back end is so in depth that there is no real way of knowing what takes place behind closed doors. Anything else here is just conjecture or educated guessing. It helps to get together here and try to solve the puzzle but in the end I think we still will find a lot of pieces missing from the box. Just my opinion.

Best,
Jonathan

SNP · « **Reply #74 on:** January 03, 2011, 14:24 »

Quote from: Jonathan Ross on January 03, 2011, 14:00

Hi Jen,

That is very interesting to hear. We can all try to calculate what the changes are here but it is like spitting into a fire. Their back end is so in depth that there is no real way of knowing what takes place behind closed doors. Anything else here is just conjecture or educated guessing. It helps to get together here and try to solve the puzzle but in the end I think we still will find a lot of pieces missing from the box. Just my opinion.

Best,
Jonathan

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What are you going to do when istock cut commissions tomorrow?

Author Topic: What are you going to do when istock cut commissions tomorrow? (Read 35209 times)

nopow

SNP

dirkr

ichiro17

etienjones

Microstock Posts

Shank_ali

gostwyck

SNP

gostwyck

SNP

KB

gostwyck

KB

lisafx

SNP

gostwyck

lisafx

Chico

gostwyck

lisafx

jen

pancaketom

Jonathan Ross

SNP

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