Author Topic: It maybe time for a cull :) (Read 5949 times)

Johnski2015 · « **on:** July 09, 2015, 12:13 »

Well did some number crunching last night and it may be time to cull a few agencies that are not making me any money:

All of the below are not performing - with a port of 2158 images since Feb 2015 I have had 0 sales.

Crestock
Panther
VEER
PIXTA
Alamy
StockFresh
Feature Pics
Zoonar
Yaymicro

The below are in risk of being exterminated - sales across all of these are 42

DreamsTime
CanStock
DepositPhotos
Pond5
Photodune

The below are making a dent and will be saved - to be honest I will probably only submit to these sites now:

ShutterStock
BigStock
123rf
iStock
Fotoalia

On the ther hand - it could be Port has no Commercial Value, but who knows..

sobm · « **Reply #1 on:** July 09, 2015, 12:38 »

Quote from: Johnski2015 on July 09, 2015, 12:13

Well did some number crunching last night and it may be time to cull a few agencies that are not making me any money:

All of the below are not performing - with a port of 2158 images since Feb 2015 I have had 0 sales.

Crestock
Panther
VEER
PIXTA
Alamy
StockFresh
Feature Pics
Zoonar
Yaymicro

The below are in risk of being exterminated - sales across all of these are 42

DreamsTime
CanStock
DepositPhotos
Pond5
Photodune

The below are making a dent and will be saved - to be honest I will probably only submit to these sites now:

ShutterStock
BigStock
123rf
iStock
Fotoalia

On the ther hand - it could be Port has no Commercial Value, but who knows..

But your sales on IS got only a bit more 10 dls, if those subs save you?How about subs working on IS? How do you upload your 1506 files into IS in few months?I just fiind you registered there in Jan this year.

Shelma1 · « **Reply #2 on:** July 09, 2015, 12:41 »

Quote from: sobm on July 09, 2015, 12:38

Quote from: Johnski2015 on July 09, 2015, 12:13
Well did some number crunching last night and it may be time to cull a few agencies that are not making me any money:

All of the below are not performing - with a port of 2158 images since Feb 2015 I have had 0 sales.

Crestock
Panther
VEER
PIXTA
Alamy
StockFresh
Feature Pics
Zoonar
Yaymicro

The below are in risk of being exterminated - sales across all of these are 42

DreamsTime
CanStock
DepositPhotos
Pond5
Photodune

The below are making a dent and will be saved - to be honest I will probably only submit to these sites now:

ShutterStock
BigStock
123rf
iStock
Fotoalia

On the ther hand - it could be Port has no Commercial Value, but who knows..

But your sales on IS got only a bit more 10 dls, if those subs save you?How about subs working on IS? How do you upload your 1506 files into IS in few months?I just fiind you registered there in Jan this year.

So annoying when anonymous people comment on non-anonymous people's portfolios.

Johnski2015 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 09, 2015, 12:45 »

Quote from: sobm on July 09, 2015, 12:38

Quote from: Johnski2015 on July 09, 2015, 12:13
How do you upload your 1506 files into IS in few months?I just fiind you registered there in Jan this year.

DeepMeta

Microstock Posts · « **Reply #4 on:** July 09, 2015, 13:15 »

Quote from: Shelma1 on July 09, 2015, 12:41

Quote from: sobm on July 09, 2015, 12:38
Quote from: Johnski2015 on July 09, 2015, 12:13
On the ther hand - it could be Port has no Commercial Value, but who knows..

But your sales on IS got only a bit more 10 dls, if those subs save you?How about subs working on IS? How do you upload your 1506 files into IS in few months?I just fiind you registered there in Jan this year.

So annoying when anonymous people comment on non-anonymous people's portfolios.

I think anyone is allowed to reply here so long as the reply is relevant to the subject. The subject is about the performance of the OP's files on the sites he mentioned.

Pixart · « **Reply #5 on:** July 09, 2015, 15:38 »

Did you just go indie in Feb? That would mean it's only been 5 months, and it's simply not the season right now to judge sales. Summer ~~can be~~ is discouraging. I would suggest you give it through November now to see how a site truly performs.

This year I dumped Featurepics, and when I was waiting for a Veer payout I hit $42 so I won't be deleting them until they make sales (but how will they make any sales if I don't upload?). BigStock is tanked, I still get a few payouts there - but when I look at my history I have been making about 1 sale for every 30 subs so I've got no problem cutting them off.

Gosh, who will I have left to whine about?

etudiante_rapide · « **Reply #6 on:** July 09, 2015, 16:29 »

to me, all those agencies to the right of this page that have been around for more than 5 years
and is still in single digit or even 10, should be time for them to call it quits.
reason being they are sitting with some money in their bank that really belongs to some contributor who wasted all the time to upload there and still to date waiting for payout.
those agencies should all pay out even if it is 2 bucks ( pathetic) as 2 x 2000 contributors= 4000 bucks sitting in their bank. i am sure they have much much more than 2000 contributors AP of $2 and more.

Tryingmybest · « **Reply #7 on:** July 09, 2015, 16:50 »

Speaking for myself, I am anonymous because I cannot afford to be retaliated against by the agencies. If microstock income was not as important to me as it is now, I would not be anonymous.

[/quote]

So annoying when anonymous people comment on non-anonymous people's portfolios.
[/quote]

heywoody · « **Reply #8 on:** July 09, 2015, 17:05 »

Quote from: Microstock Posts on July 09, 2015, 13:15

Quote from: Shelma1 on July 09, 2015, 12:41

Quote from: sobm on July 09, 2015, 12:38

Quote from: Johnski2015 on July 09, 2015, 12:13
On the ther hand - it could be Port has no Commercial Value, but who knows..

But your sales on IS got only a bit more 10 dls, if those subs save you?How about subs working on IS? How do you upload your 1506 files into IS in few months?I just fiind you registered there in Jan this year.

So annoying when anonymous people comment on non-anonymous people's portfolios.

I think anyone is allowed to reply here so long as the reply is relevant to the subject. The subject is about the performance of the OP's files on the sites he mentioned.

100% agree with Shelma. Of course anyone is allowed to reply but it’s pretty bad manners to comment on someone’s work while hiding your own. A relevant reply might consist of how well one’s (hidden) port performs relatively across the different sites as THAT is what the OP was posting about.
Also, the IS stats show regular sales only and, as we all know, that is a tiny number compared to PP so not safe to draw any conclusions from that.

sharpshot · « **Reply #9 on:** July 09, 2015, 17:12 »

I don't see the point in dumping sites. Maybe these should go if you have to do it.

Crestock
Panther
PIXTA
Feature Pics
Zoonar
Yaymicro
Photodune

The rest should carry on making money, just leave them alone or upload once a year. Sold 1 photo for over $1,000 with alamy last month, seems crazy not to be in that lottery when it costs nothing to leave your portfolio there. You might never get a big sale but at least having images there gives you a chance.

PaulieWalnuts · « **Reply #10 on:** July 09, 2015, 17:17 »

Can there ever be a post in this place that doesn't stray into mindless bickering? And people wonder why others are leaving.

heywoody · « **Reply #11 on:** July 09, 2015, 17:49 »

Quote from: sharpshot on July 09, 2015, 17:12

I don't see the point in dumping sites. Maybe these should go if you have to do it.

Crestock
Panther
PIXTA
Feature Pics
Zoonar
Yaymicro
Photodune

The rest should carry on making money, just leave them alone or upload once a year. Sold 1 photo for over $1,000 with alamy last month, seems crazy not to be in that lottery when it costs nothing to leave your portfolio there. You might never get a big sale but at least having images there gives you a chance.

Excellent advice

PROStalkFatagopher · « **Reply #12 on:** July 09, 2015, 19:14 »

Perhaps it's time to cull all the agencies! Lets cull em' all and watch em' fall! C'mon y'all!

Rage · « **Reply #13 on:** July 10, 2015, 22:35 »

Quote from: sharpshot on July 09, 2015, 17:12

I don't see the point in dumping sites. Maybe these should go if you have to do it.

Crestock
Panther
PIXTA
Feature Pics
Zoonar
Yaymicro
Photodune

The rest should carry on making money, just leave them alone or upload once a year. Sold 1 photo for over $1,000 with alamy last month, seems crazy not to be in that lottery when it costs nothing to leave your portfolio there. You might never get a big sale but at least having images there gives you a chance.

Do you upload some photos specially to Alamy or is it the same batch that goes to all the other microstock sites?

Just started with Alamy, not sure how to approach them.

Metsafile · « **Reply #14 on:** July 11, 2015, 01:19 »

Just started with Alamy, not sure how to approach them.
[/quote]

Lots of patience.

disorderly · « **Reply #15 on:** July 11, 2015, 10:25 »

Quote from: sharpshot on July 09, 2015, 17:12

I don't see the point in dumping sites.

Nor do I. The only places where I've reduced my presence are agencies that abused our professional relationship, specifically iStock and Fotolia. I have a second tier of agencies that only get new content when they make a sale, which doesn't happen very often. Veer, Zoonar, Restock, SignElements, Yay, and a few others belong in that category. They may be a waste of time, but it's not much time, and it would waste even more time to remove my work with no benefit I can see.

sharpshot · « **Reply #16 on:** July 11, 2015, 11:37 »

Quote from: izzikiorage on July 10, 2015, 22:35

Quote from: sharpshot on July 09, 2015, 17:12
I don't see the point in dumping sites. Maybe these should go if you have to do it.

Crestock
Panther
PIXTA
Feature Pics
Zoonar
Yaymicro
Photodune

The rest should carry on making money, just leave them alone or upload once a year. Sold 1 photo for over $1,000 with alamy last month, seems crazy not to be in that lottery when it costs nothing to leave your portfolio there. You might never get a big sale but at least having images there gives you a chance.
Do you upload some photos specially to Alamy or is it the same batch that goes to all the other microstock sites?

Just started with Alamy, not sure how to approach them.

I do both. I have one pseudonym for my microstock images and others for ones that I only have on alamy. My microstock portfolio makes more money but my alamy exclusive photos are almost all editorial that wouldn't be accepted or make much on the micros.

Tryingmybest · « **Reply #17 on:** July 11, 2015, 19:09 »

After investing many hours uploading, attaching releases and submitting work, I am not clear why you should delete your account and portfolio from a site. I would think you should leave it there and if they want to, they can delete it (like Stockfuel did to mine).

I'm not trying to be obstinate. I sincerely want to understand.

skyfish · « **Reply #18 on:** July 12, 2015, 01:54 »

I think that deletion from Yay is justifyed by protecting sales on other sites

disorderly · « **Reply #19 on:** July 12, 2015, 09:07 »

Quote from: skyfish on July 12, 2015, 01:54

I think that deletion from Yay is justifyed by protecting sales on other sites

Do you have any basis at all for believing that it makes any difference? I get more sales in a day from Shutterstock than a year of Yay. If hardly anyone is buying from the latter, how can it be affecting sales elsewhere in any noticeable way? Seems a mass deletion would be a lot of work for no benefit. Unless you have even anecdotal data, you're just indulging in magical thinking.

Noedelhap · « **Reply #20 on:** July 12, 2015, 10:42 »

The only reason I'd have for deleting my portfolio is when sales are so low it takes more than a year to reach a payout. If the agency goes bankrupt in the meantime, will we get our money?

wordplanet · « **Reply #21 on:** July 12, 2015, 16:37 »

I'm only on the first tier micros, plus a tiny port on Bigstock and Deposit - the rest never seemed worth the effort but despite BS and DP's poor performance for me, I wouldn't bother pulling my work off.

I have been with Alamy since 2008. Even back then it took me 8 months to get my first sale on Alamy but there it can be feast or famine so I wouldn't pull my portfolio - especially considering how much work it is to upload there. I got a single image $400 sale there Friday ($200 to me) which IMHO shows patience can pay off. I average a few sales a month there but sometimes they come all in bunch and sometimes I go a few months without a single sale there - it's different than the micros.

As Striving and some other people said, why go through the trouble of pulling your work off all these sites? IMHO less than a year is way too short a period in which to judge a site - you should give them two years before deciding - and then why not wait for payout before dumping a poor performer?

I think disorderly is right that the tiny sites don't affect your sales on the large micros, however, if you have the same work on Alamy and the micros, that can pull sales away from Alamy. I went to a meeting at Alamy's Brooklyn headquarters some years back and a buyer who spoke to us said they searched on Fotolia if they found an RF image they liked on Alamy just in case it on Fotolia for less. Just FYI.

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Author Topic: It maybe time for a cull :) (Read 5949 times)

Johnski2015

sobm

Shelma1

Johnski2015

Microstock Posts

Pixart

etudiante_rapide

Tryingmybest

heywoody

sharpshot

PaulieWalnuts

heywoody

PROStalkFatagopher

Rage

Metsafile

disorderly

sharpshot

Tryingmybest

skyfish

disorderly

Noedelhap

wordplanet

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