Author Topic: Pricing on Pond5 (Read 33023 times)

SpaceStockFootage · « **on:** August 16, 2016, 02:11 »

Ok, so I see a lot of threads where people increase the price of their items on P5 and their sales stay the same, or sometimes even increase. I thought I'd give it a try and it's not been the same for me unfortunately!

All my HD stuff was originally priced at $25 and $49 for 4K. I started selling stock on VideoHive back when it was $6 for HD and now it's up to $8 for HD. If I'd started on SS or iS then I probably would have been pricing my clips at $79 or something.

Anyway, so a month ago I decided to double all my prices... $49 for HD and $99 for 4K. The main reason was that I've been travelling for a couple of months and hadn't uploaded anything since I've been away... so it would be a better comparison of sales, as normally my portfolio is increasing month on month.

The month prior to increasing my prices I made $150, and the month since increasing my prices, I've made $106.50. Not a massive difference, but with the 100% increase in price, that means about a 65% drop in the number of sales.

My work isn't the best, but it's of a pretty decent standard, so I get a few sales on SS, iS, VB, FT etc... but the majority of my sales still come from VideoHive. I'm wondering if...

A) There's a certain market, for certain types of stock, that have different price expectations or budgets?

B) I've not waited long enough to draw any accurate comparisons.

C) It's just that it's summer, and things might pick up next month.

D) I should have put them up by 50% instead.

Anyway... just thinking outloud. Any advice or opinions would be gratefully received!

Scott

alno · « **Reply #1 on:** August 16, 2016, 02:46 »

B and C IMO.
I could be wrong but there are really a lot of different buyers with different video quality estimation skills and there can be some kind of "more expensive = better" choices

JoeClemson · « **Reply #2 on:** August 16, 2016, 03:28 »

I can't help but think that a month or two is not a lot of time to make a judgement on how much effect a price change is having, especially in a quiet period like August. A video project may take weeks or months to come to fruition and decisions on clip purchases likewise.

Bite the bullet and see how things look at the end of the year using a higher price strategy. If anything I would reckon that the higher prices you have set are a minimum and you could go higher still, especially with the 4K. Over the years I've come to the conclusion that if the clip you possess is the one the client needs, they will pay what is required - the budget for clips is only a small part of the overall cost for a professional project. I also think Irina is correct in suggesting that sometimes the buyer perception is that cheap clip = poor quality=avoid.

Tror · « **Reply #3 on:** August 16, 2016, 03:34 »

Please excuse me, i haven`t had a look at your Portfolio, but maybe it depends a lot on what material you offer. If you have quite generic stuff it might make sense to compete pricewise, if your content is more unique, it won`t sell so often, but imho the buyer pays then what is needed.

By my experiences, in the Video market, professional buyers are more frequent and have considerable budgets. However, in 5 years, I could not find a clear answer to your question except the aspect that although it might be profitable short term it does not make much sense to support companies like Envato/Videohive on the long run.

cobalt · « **Reply #4 on:** August 16, 2016, 04:11 »

I think the summer months are mostly to blame. I didn´t change my prices and everything has dropped at the moment.

If you really want to test the effect of pricing - why don´t you try different price points at the same time and see what sells best for which content type.

Also one of the reasons I like to have a selection of cheap files is to get regular and steady sales and traffic to my portfolio. Often customers buy a series, the cheap file might have lured them in, but then they also take the more expensive ones from the same series.

However, I do try to make sure there is a very visible difference in quality along with the price and the majority of my income is from higher priced files. But without the cheap offers, my overall sales go down a lot.

The artists in the membership program are using this concept in a quite extreme way - offer some files from a series for 5 dollars in membership, the rest of the series for 500 dollars.

Eco · « **Reply #5 on:** August 16, 2016, 04:15 »

My sales at Pond5 plummeted since the introduction of their membership program. Your lower sales may thus be (in part) due to this general decline in sales of clips not in the membership program and not only due to an increase in prices.

sharpshot · « **Reply #6 on:** August 16, 2016, 05:32 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on August 16, 2016, 02:11

Ok, so I see a lot of threads where people increase the price of their items on P5 and their sales stay the same, or sometimes even increase. I thought I'd give it a try and it's not been the same for me unfortunately!

All my HD stuff was originally priced at $25 and $49 for 4K. I started selling stock on VideoHive back when it was $6 for HD and now it's up to $8 for HD. If I'd started on SS or iS then I probably would have been pricing my clips at $79 or something.

Anyway, so a month ago I decided to double all my prices... $49 for HD and $99 for 4K. The main reason was that I've been travelling for a couple of months and hadn't uploaded anything since I've been away... so it would be a better comparison of sales, as normally my portfolio is increasing month on month.

The month prior to increasing my prices I made $150, and the month since increasing my prices, I've made $106.50. Not a massive difference, but with the 100% increase in price, that means about a 65% drop in the number of sales.

My work isn't the best, but it's of a pretty decent standard, so I get a few sales on SS, iS, VB, FT etc... but the majority of my sales still come from VideoHive. I'm wondering if...

A) There's a certain market, for certain types of stock, that have different price expectations or budgets?

B) I've not waited long enough to draw any accurate comparisons.

C) It's just that it's summer, and things might pick up next month.

D) I should have put them up by 50% instead.

Anyway... just thinking outloud. Any advice or opinions would be gratefully received!

Scott

It could be B) but you forgot E)
E) Selling clips on VideoHive for next to nothing is going to make buyers used to paying a pittance and they are less likely to buy the same clips from Pond5 at much higher prices.

Some buyers aren't bothered by price but others are and you don't have to get many lost sales on Pond5 from price hunters to make a big difference.

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #7 on:** August 16, 2016, 05:41 »

Pond5 has completely died since May for me (for footage), and I actually panicked and LOWERED my prices... No change so far. I sold regular HD clips for $150, and they were NOT unique or very hard to film.

I think P5 has lost a lot of momentum on the footage side of things, but my music sales are as good as ever and I price much higher than the competition. Maybe my music is more unique but I definitely make more with higher prices.

---

On the other hand though, speaking from a buyer's perspective, I need footage sometimes to make simple music videos. I would never ever pay $99 for a single clip as an independent, no chance. I think that's the market Envato is good for - the independent YouTube market who would never even dream of paying $1,000 for a collection of clips.

KB · « **Reply #8 on:** August 16, 2016, 10:32 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on August 16, 2016, 02:11

All my HD stuff was originally priced at $25 and $49 for 4K. I started selling stock on VideoHive back when it was $6 for HD and now it's up to $8 for HD. If I'd started on SS or iS then I probably would have been pricing my clips at $79 or something.

Anyway, so a month ago I decided to double all my prices... $49 for HD and $99 for 4K.

Those are insane prices that you've been selling your clips for. I'm familiar with your port, and even $49 for HD and $99 for 4K seems too low to me (but at least, more reasonable). IMO, you shouldn't support a site like VideoHive that sells clips at even more insane prices, but WDIK?

I average about a dozen sales a month on P5 (my HD clips have always been priced at $45, but they are far less unique than yours). This month (halfway over): ZERO sales. That never happens ... until it does.

So just be patient. Keep your prices where they are (or raise them even more). The sales will come (unless there's a permanent decline with P5 sales, which is possible due to their stupid membership program).

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #9 on:** August 16, 2016, 10:40 »

As a seller, I am all FOR high pricing ($99+ för HD, $199+ for 4k) but we also need to understand the new markets that are emerging at this very moment.

I'm more of a music veteran, but it's the same there. Prices have gone down with the likes of Envato selling licenses for full tracks for $19, while that could've been $499 10 years ago.

But 10 years ago your average independent Joe didn't produce 5-10 YouTube videos PER WEEK, each needing 3-4 music tracks. Paying $15-19 for a track seems doable, while $499 * 15 is not and you resort to "borrowing". At Pond5 I price high, effectively pricing my music out of reach for the average YouTuber, but I have other tracks selling for cheaper, and very often, for low budget buyers.

Same with images - "you used to get $1,000" for an image" - sure, but there weren't countless blogs back then needing new images every day who could never afford that. A new market emerges.

Same with footage, but a bit behind. YouTube creators use footage more and more and they could never afford 20 clips * $99 for a single YouTube video. A new market emerges and it's up to us sellers to either provide that market or not.

---

I think tiered pricing is the ultimate way to go though, and it works really well at Envato (with music). Most licenses are cheaper YouTube ones but several times a month I sell tracks for $240+ to bigger buyers needing music for broadcast.

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #10 on:** August 17, 2016, 07:17 »

Thanks for all the input guys, much appreciated. I completely agree about the emergence of the 'Youtube Market'... people need more and more content, and unless they're the big guys on Youtube who are making millions in ad revenue, then even a handful of clips for a daily video can make it prohibitive when you're paying $50 to $100 each.

I see the point about people not wanting to buy on more expensive sites if I have them cheaper on VideoHive, but I get most of my stock income from VideoHive, about two thirds, so it's too risky to take everything off. Sure, I could get a bunch more sales at the other places, but I might just get a third of what I am currently.

I like VideoHive, they have a decent community, variety in their offering and they seem like a pretty decent company. They obviously though there was a market for low cost high volume, and it seems to be paying off. They've been about for ten years this month, so I can't see them going anywhere any time soon.

I remember it was $6 for HD back in 2010, seems they put it up a dollar every few years, so we'll be at $49 by 2139! But they're talking about bringing in Author driven pricing, so you can set your own prices. They've already done that on GraphicRiver. Hopefully that won't result in a race to the bottom, but from what I hear, that's not happening on GraphicRiver.

The subscription thing didn't seem to affect me. There was a bit of a downward trend from January to March, but sales increased month on month from March to June... it's just July and August that have seen a big drop. Anyway, I'll give it another month and see how I get on. Maybe I could try $10 a clip for the two months after that, for a true comparison!

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #11 on:** August 17, 2016, 07:51 »

I don't have any footage at VideoHive (yet) as their upload process is INSANELY slow and I was planning on waiting until they introduce author pricing. $8 still seems too cheap even for YouTube...

I suppose there's a lot behind the scenes affecting which sites sell too, like marketing efforts. Like now, SS died (footage) and VB is blossoming. In June/July it was the opposite with VB completely quiet...

alno · « **Reply #12 on:** August 17, 2016, 13:41 »

Quote from: increasingdifficulty on August 17, 2016, 07:51

I don't have any footage at VideoHive (yet) as their upload process is INSANELY slow and I was planning on waiting until they introduce author pricing. $8 still seems too cheap even for YouTube...

I suppose there's a lot behind the scenes affecting which sites sell too, like marketing efforts. Like now, SS died (footage) and VB is blossoming. In June/July it was the opposite with VB completely quiet...

Upload process is not that slow as it is stupid

They reject the most of the content which sells nice with the other agencies. They have paranoid fear of detailed file names and accept only 15 keywords which is surely not enough if you plan to build up really big and good video selling site.

pkphotos · « **Reply #13 on:** August 17, 2016, 14:58 »

One or two months price testing is simply not enough, especially during the slow months of July and August. You need to try at least four months for a different pricing model. Try and shoot niche subjects and do them really well, then you can have minimum HD prices of $79.

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #14 on:** August 17, 2016, 16:14 »

Quote from: Irina Anosova on August 17, 2016, 13:41

They have paranoid fear of detailed file names and accept only 15 keywords which is surely not enough if you plan to build up really big and good video selling site.

Yes, 15 is a serious limitation. 30 minimum but I find that I need at least 40 on most clips and I try to be very relevant.

alno · « **Reply #15 on:** August 17, 2016, 17:03 »

Quote from: increasingdifficulty on August 17, 2016, 16:14

Quote from: Irina Anosova on August 17, 2016, 13:41
They have paranoid fear of detailed file names and accept only 15 keywords which is surely not enough if you plan to build up really big and good video selling site.

Yes, 15 is a serious limitation. 30 minimum but I find that I need at least 40 on most clips and I try to be very relevant.

I got an email from Videoblocks today saying they have up to 100 keywords now! I thing it's great even if I wouldn't add all them to each clip. It's quite natural for quickly growing collection to have more keywords to make customers feel more specific. Several dozens of additional keywords surely wouldn't waste their disk space. Instead of that simple useful thing Videohive has ALL: multicolor teenager badges, instagram-like followers (aren't we are just selling there?), stars, reviews and 1 month + of review time...

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #16 on:** September 04, 2016, 03:32 »

Well it looks like I was right to wait it out. See image below. It was the July sales that were worrying me, which coincided with me doubling my prices. Big drop in sales, but thankfully things seemed to get back into gear in August and it ended up my best month ever.

Now should I get greedy and double them again to $99 for HD, or should I stick with $49? Maybe I could go to $79 to match Shutterstock.

increasingdifficulty · « **Reply #17 on:** September 04, 2016, 05:12 »

Quote from: SpaceStockFootage on September 04, 2016, 03:32

Maybe I could go to $79 to match Shutterstock.

I see very few sales that actually go for $79 there, do you? That just seems like a theoretical maximum to me.

Daniel Dash · « **Reply #18 on:** September 04, 2016, 07:31 »

Quote from: Irina Anosova on August 17, 2016, 13:41

Upload process is not that slow as it is stupid They reject the most of the content which sells nice with the other agencies. They have paranoid fear of detailed file names and accept only 15 keywords which is surely not enough if you plan to build up really big and good video selling site.

Yup. Im fighting with them about those 15 keywords. No luck. Maybe more people should join my forum thread and say what they thing about this.
https://forums.envato.com/t/allow-us-to-put-more-than-15-keywords-to-videos/57851

Video-StockOrg · « **Reply #19 on:** September 13, 2016, 04:47 »

Quote from: increasingdifficulty on August 16, 2016, 05:41

Pond5 has completely died since May for me (for footage), and I actually panicked and LOWERED my prices... No change so far. I sold regular HD clips for $150, and they were NOT unique or very hard to film.

I think P5 has lost a lot of momentum on the footage side of things, but my music sales are as good as ever and I price much higher than the competition. Maybe my music is more unique but I definitely make more with higher prices.

---

On the other hand though, speaking from a buyer's perspective, I need footage sometimes to make simple music videos. I would never ever pay $99 for a single clip as an independent, no chance. I think that's the market Envato is good for - the independent YouTube market who would never even dream of paying $1,000 for a collection of clips.

Interesting thought under the line... Making a music video would cost more thousands of dollars, at least (professionals would charge more than ten thousands). If clips are $99 on stock sites, it would actually be cheaper to make it from stock footage. If we are talking about hobby music videos, sure it's expensive... event $6 would be too much. Just my thought, because I work in both part of video production industry.

Sstr · « **Reply #20 on:** September 13, 2016, 17:09 »

I Price my 4k footage 200-250$ and HD -50% of that and I get regular sales with them.
My videos are nothing special. Couple days ago i sold a clip of me driving on a winter day.
A video that anyone could have made for 250$.

Rise your prices and enjoy the money.
I´m so tired of people selling nice footage for crazy low prices like 10-50$, when they could get lots more.

Graphs80 · « **Reply #21 on:** September 14, 2016, 02:57 »

Quote from: Sstr on September 13, 2016, 17:09

I Price my 4k footage 200-250$ and HD -50% of that and I get regular sales with them.
My videos are nothing special. Couple days ago i sold a clip of me driving on a winter day.
A video that anyone could have made for 250$.

Rise your prices and enjoy the money.
I´m so tired of people selling nice footage for crazy low prices like 10-50$, when they could get lots more.

You are completely right! P5 is a rare microstock site where contributors can chose their prices. And yet people put the prices very low. I raised my prices and I hope I can see some good results soon (it can't be worst than last month).

pkphotos · « **Reply #22 on:** September 14, 2016, 05:21 »

Price minimum $79 for HD and double that for 4K. Anything less signals desperation for sales and amateur status

SpaceStockFootage · « **Reply #23 on:** September 14, 2016, 06:17 »

No it doesn't. Curiosity about the correct price point for your work signals nothing more than being sensible. Is $79 the holy grail of pricing? Does it automatically result in optimal sales numbers? What data do you have to support this? Have you priced all your clips at Pond at $10 increments from $10 to $1000 over extended periods to see exactly what the most profitable approach is?

No, I'm guessing not. Your professional opinion on the optimal minimum pricing, just happens to coincide with 'what Shutterstock charge'.

And as a result, anyone who uploads to iStock or Video blocks is a desperate amateur? If I charge less, will there be a higher sales volume, and will that volume offset the reduction in price? If I charge more, there might be a lower sales volume, but will the increase in price offset that? I don't think those are desperate or amateur questions... they're just common sense things that people should consider when they're selling products. Products that have a lot of competition across a lot of marketplaces.

alno · « **Reply #24 on:** September 14, 2016, 12:55 »

Quote from: pkphotos on September 14, 2016, 05:21

Price minimum $79 for HD and double that for 4K. Anything less signals desperation for sales and amateur status

Sounds quite arrogant. This one is supposed to be amateur https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/48668303/new-york-city-aerial.html
and this is surely pro https://www.pond5.com/stock-footage/64569373/cafe-area-and-big-wheel-great-yorkshire-show.html
$79 for HD was OK several million stock clips ago. Incredible $399 for single UHD was a standard too.

MicrostockGroup Sponsors

Author Topic: Pricing on Pond5 (Read 33023 times)

SpaceStockFootage

alno

JoeClemson

Tror

cobalt

Eco

sharpshot

increasingdifficulty

KB

increasingdifficulty

SpaceStockFootage

increasingdifficulty

alno

pkphotos

increasingdifficulty

alno

SpaceStockFootage

increasingdifficulty

Daniel Dash

Video-StockOrg

Sstr

Graphs80

pkphotos

SpaceStockFootage

alno

Related Topics

Sponsors

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors