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Messages - Asthebelltolls
Pages: [1] 2 3 4 5 6 ... 14
1
« on: March 31, 2025, 19:07 »
Those figures are what I got paid.
10 years ago the slogan of the day was: "The more you submit, the more you'll make" They feed off of eager and naive videographers and/or photographers. The only goal, while anyone submits to agencies, is to cover your equipment and travel costs. If you're good and want to make fair earnings, start your own website. If you can cover the costs of equipment and travel expenses and make a good income, you're very good but you're not going to achieve success submitting to on-line agencies unless, out-of-the-blue, you get very, very lucky.
3
« on: January 02, 2025, 22:34 »
This is a smallish video port of around 2,000 clips.
Is your video port comprised of HD, 4K or a combination of both?
Probably 80% 4k, the rest HD with a handful 720p. That said, when stats where available and where they still are elsewher, 95% sales are HD resolution.
Thanks for your response. And, do you feel the upgrade was worth the investment in new equipment? When you find a scene that you think is worth shooting do you shoot both 4K and HD and submit both formats? It sounds like your only real success is HD with only 5% sales in 4K. I'm still struggling with buying new equipment, especially now that agencies have made it a " penny hobby".
4
« on: January 02, 2025, 12:28 »
This is a smallish video port of around 2,000 clips.
Is your video port comprised of HD, 4K or a combination of both?
5
« on: November 01, 2024, 10:57 »
For me SS has outperformed AS several months this year, incl. October despite FireFly bonus and Extended License on AS.
Dismissing SS is premature IMHO. But to each their own.
i'm seeing this too. for months (maybe a year) adobe was about 5x shutterstock but starting around may ss starting catching up. oct is the first month where ss beat as (by about 50%). i, like many others, was prepared to dismiss them after months of minuscule sales but now that they are competitive i think you're right.
10 years ago the SS paid a minimum $35us per HD sale. I guess today's generation of contributors are far more happy with sales versus income. 
6
« on: October 18, 2024, 14:28 »
Another topic on this forum that's going to go nowhere..... 
7
« on: October 02, 2024, 09:44 »
Here's a link to a presentation that you might find interesting: "The Economics of Stock Photos". Much of the commentary is from Yuri Arcurs, the Godfather of stock photography and an inspiration for many of us who started submitting in early 2000. In my case, I began submitting in 2009. https://youtu.be/SYvcRahmLZM?si=2r5D3TYWxW80ckDa
8
« on: August 21, 2024, 09:11 »
Does anyone else have a similar experience? It breaks my heart to see how my once-favorite stock photo site is hitting rock bottom.
My August is surprisingly bad. I may not hit $1K. And this at an agency where it wasn't uncommon for me to hit $5K - $7K per month just a few years ago! Guess everyone who wanted my clips got them.
I can only imagine what your production costs must be if you're making what you claim to make in the microstock business!
9
« on: July 21, 2024, 12:16 »
Thank-you Miro! Beautifully presented and much appreciated!
10
« on: July 12, 2024, 06:49 »
These last four days is what Shutterstock should look like... and reflects the sales activity as it was last year until December when there was a drop that never really recovered for the first half of 2024.
Anyone else seeing a lift in higher paying sales?
You sound like a troll working for the SS. What part of monthly earnings with the SS are a fraction of what they were more than a decade ago for contributors? Are you contributing to the SS hoping that the majority of your sales with the SS will drop from $0.35us to $0.10us and then perhaps to $0.05us but you can still look forward to an occasional lift in higher paying sales?
11
« on: July 09, 2024, 13:30 »
Thanks for sharing, Ambu. And everyone has to ask themselves...You put ALL that time, energy and money to submit your clips to the SS. Was it worth upgrading to 4K and simply have the SS throw a few pennies at you? Ambu has the resounding response. NO!
12
« on: July 08, 2024, 10:42 »
June 2024 was my worst month on SS since August 2009, a few months after I started. Of course I stopped submitting there when they changed the system in 2020 so that doesn't help. Every time I think I should just go ahead and submit my already processed and key worded images to them it just isn't worth the bother for 10 cents a pop.
You and I share similar experiences and game plan. I'll keep my hard earned images with the SS and collect my pennies but they're not going to get another submission until they return to the original minimum compensation of $0.35 I "enjoyed" in 2009 when I first started submitting to them. If everyone adopts the same strategy it'll force their hand. The SS and other agencies will have to listen to all of those who have worked so hard building their portfolios.
13
« on: April 21, 2024, 14:59 »
The last two comments from Wilm and F8 describe an experience similar to mine. I started 14 years ago, enjoyed some success before the SS and the rest of the industry clawed back commissions. Agencies that lured me into the game promising "the more you contribute, the more you'll earn". I was naive. This wasn't a partnership with companies, as some of them suggested when I first signed up. It was a dictatorship. They were and will always be in complete control from the moment you submit your first image. If you're ok with that then carry on. If not and you're a skilled photographer/videographer, then find other ways of achieving success and gratification with your skills.
14
« on: March 07, 2024, 11:54 »
And this where the Microstock Forum has lost a lot of its usefulness. There was a time when top tier earnings ratings were legitimate. You can't tell me Stocksy or Self-Hosted are in the top four category. Where does Dreamstime actually rate? They were always in the top six when I first visited this site 10 years ago. If Dreamstime is actually sinking in ratings, there would be time for concern. Personally, Dreamstime and DepositPhotos are my top earners. Regardless, I agree with everyone else. Dreamstime has got to lower their minimum payout level if they don't want to deter contributors from staying on board or joining the agency.
15
« on: February 23, 2024, 11:20 »
Anyone was able to get payment sucessfully by now?
I received my payment today. Slower than usual but Depositphotos has never been a serious problem. I've been with them since 2012 and now receive 3-4 payments a year.
16
« on: February 20, 2024, 09:20 »
I can only recommend, stay away from all the sites that sell your content for pennies, or were custommers can even steal your content for free. Which pretty well eliminates every stock site, doesn't it?
17
« on: February 13, 2024, 12:09 »
" Businessman" wearing nail polish and jeans? 
18
« on: February 05, 2024, 11:20 »
The change I noticed is that they absolutely will not accept AI images, and will close your account if you sneak any in.
The clause that Me thinks is about using our images for AI training looks more like protecting themselves. If someone thinks their Depositphotos images have been used that way, they can't sue Depositphotos. I don't think they intend to do it themselves, but are concerned by some of the lawsuits they have seen lately.
They also lowered the payout from $50 to $25 or was that just a special bonus for me? 
19
« on: February 03, 2024, 11:23 »
It would really help if those small fish agencies would lower their payout threshold. It's 100$ at Dreamstime, it's 50$ for 123RF and DepositPhoto's. I totally agree but in my particular case, DP reaches payout now before the SS. They are also a great starting point when submitting to multiple agencies.
20
« on: December 31, 2023, 14:21 »
To everyone in this forum regardless of how we're labelled: "Russians", "Ukrainians", "American", "Germans", "Israeli", etc. we are all human beings. And we all, collectively, document this era during a very critical time. A group of human beings who describe and document this era with photographs and clips. You are all very special human beings, IMO.
21
« on: December 26, 2023, 17:46 »
If anyone is interested in reading a more pragmatic look at the facts surrounding JC there is a full edition in National Geographic entitled The Story of JC. The edition bases its findings on archaeological artifacts and written documentation from that era.
IMO, everyone in this forum are special people who document, in one form or another, the important era we live in when our little blue planet is in decline. Peace.
22
« on: December 10, 2023, 16:50 »
I'm still waiting for answers despite getting a PP email that I received payment that never arrived....Still showing $0.
Does it appear as On Hold? If so, the PP app has instructions to follow to release the money
No. It doesn't appear at all - anywhere despite notifying me that I had received payment when they emailed me.
23
« on: December 09, 2023, 08:48 »
Got an e-mail notification from PayPal that they received payment from Adobe.
Good to hear, Dragonblade! I hope that will be the last time you have to deal with PP problems! Meanwhile, I'm still waiting for answers despite getting a PP email that I received payment that never arrived....Still showing $0.
24
« on: December 07, 2023, 11:22 »
And I'm waiting for a Shutterstock payment that should have arrived last week. I've contacted PP's "help" center with no results. Keep us updated if it continues and I'll do the same! Very frustrating with Christmas just around the corner!
25
« on: October 24, 2023, 11:11 »
or whether it would just be a time consuming task for a few dollars, etc...
DP would never be a time consuming task, as they are the agency with the easiest submitting process. Just hit upload and click submit. No stupid keyword sorting or highlighting, not even categories to select. Takes literally one second for a whole batch of content.
I couldn't agree more. DP is the easiest starting point for submitting to online agencies. Copy and paste your description and keywords when you're submitting to other agencies and streamline the ridiculous submission process. Personally, I've also found that DP sales increase when you're approaching pay-out.
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