It's probably too new to take seriously. I'm not sure I'm even a believer at this point. It's definitely interesting to watch, so I'm sure somebody is at least paying attention.

Hi All,
  A lot of Tornado's blowing around this post and probably some feelings getting hurt. I think this post alone shows and shares the frustration that many are feeling about Microstock. Try to remember that it is the industry you are frustrated with not each other.

Cheers,
Jonathan

I disagree. I'm frustrated with the people too. Kidding. Happy Friday.

If you are running a Mac, you can probably find an Automator script.

Vectors

Thank you cthoman for bringing this up. Vectors are working on Pixmac and I'm now in ping-pong game with developers to make it even better at Pond5. I've seen many systems - so I'll try to make Pond5 the best one. As for specification, it should take either EPS+JPG or ZIP with EPS+JPG+AI or whatever rich data you'll pack into the ZIP (SVG & PDF for example). We would stick to EPS v10 as the industry standard that gives artists enough creative options (transparency for example).

As for the timeline, right now the developers are actively working on it. Using the specification we finalized about 2 weeks ago. Hopefully we'll make you happy in reasonable timeframe.

Thanks for the info.

"For the first time, they can request exactly what they want..."
They can request what they want but this task shows that they don't have to necessarily get it.
It looks like 75% of Scoopshot contributors a) don't read briefs b) cannot read at all

Send us a picture where and how ( paper or digital ) you read our Tagesspiegel
https://www.scoopshot.com/v2/task/ktfthscdbfnfl

I wonder if they ban you if you post too many unrelated photos in projects?

Quote from: stockmarketer on July 17, 2013, 10:35

Quote from: Tinny on July 17, 2013, 10:29

I am getting sales, not every day but enough to give me the enthusiasm to keep uploading - which I had just about stopped doing elsewhere

That's good to hear.

I want to jump on board, but for me to invest the time, I'll need to hear (and believe) that multiple people are having several sales every day... not a fluke sale now and again, but regular sales at a predictable level.

Name the agencies that give you no zero sales days. I can only name 2 - SS and FT. But thats me. Its not realistic to expect no zero sales days selling direct on a new project.

I don't think I've ever had a month with a sale every single day. I've had months with over 30 sales, so I guess that sort of counts. 

I'm going to pose this question again, because it's been largely ignored every time I raise it...

Who is actually selling through their Symbiostock sites?

I've seen a bunch of "Got my first sale" posts.  But if this is a valid business model, shouldn't we start seeing evidence of it really working by now?  Not a bunch of single sales, but multiple sales every single day?

Surely someone out of the 55(? Is that the current number) of Symbiostock sites surely must have had more than a handful of sales by now, right? 

I don't want to be seen as a hater, just a realist.  I'd love to see Symbiostock succeed, and I'll gladly eat my words and jump on board, but all evidence so far suggests that people disillusioned by the agencies are jumping on board believing it's their salvation, denying the reality that the sales just aren't there.

Will we still see endless threads about this a year from now if things don't pick up?

I answered this question on page 3. I think it got buried though.

It seems like it should be hugely successful (if you can get people to contribute). P.T. Barnum would be proud.

Is that about them charging more, or are they charging the same and paying higher commissions? I guess Stocksy would be the prime example of pricing high, excluding people and giving good commissions but I've yet to see any sign that it is delivering livable returns (and Sean sounded less than excited last time I saw a comment from him about how things are going).

It's a little of both. It's really about getting in a certain RPD range for me (Obviously sales too). Like Xanox said, I'm not really interested in the difference between $2 and $.50. I'm more interested in the $5-$15 range. It's just hard to find anybody offering that even though it has proven to be hugely profitable for me. If I had two more sites like this, I'd seriously consider packing it up with the traditional micros.

Quote from: cthoman on July 16, 2013, 14:03

Quote from: BaldricksTrousers on July 16, 2013, 13:41

If all the microstock agencies in the world got together tonight and created an entry barrier and push up prices, then tomorrow there would be 20 new agencies pop up to grab all the material that was being pushed away and sell it cheaply. That was what created iStock and the moment it showed there was a niche DT, Canstock and SS sprang into being to grab a slice of the action.

There are 20 new agencies popping up already that nobody cares about. What boggles my mind is that nobody is really trying it. You have Stocksy, SS's new project and some illustration sites, but not a whole lot beyond that. If contributors want it, why isn't somebody building it?

Because there isn't an available niche for them to slide into. But  Xanox wants to create that niche by raising prices and excluding photographers from selling - basically taking us right back to 2004.

I actually do pretty well with that philosophy, so I'm not sure about the niche not being available. It's just not being filled at all. I only have 3 sites that I've found and one of them I had to build. They are all still within the micro pricing model, but they just don't have all the garbage at the bottom (subs, images for a buck, poor royalty rates, etc.). I wish I had 2 more sites like these, but they don't exist.

I've had a very similar experience to Amanda. It's not going to work that way for everyone, but it's been a very positive experience for some of us.

Xanox, your problem was you trad guys had had it too easy.

I like your post, but I was thinking the same could probably said for micro. We all had it pretty easy in the beginning days. You could make money off any crappy image.

Now, it is a little tougher. My problem has been that I don't think the model has evolved properly to accommodate contributors needs and wants. I still  have some faith that it might, but it doesn't seem to be happening.

ja, its all nice and easy. And you can sit where you use to and have strange habits.

But are there sales?
Can symbiostock challenge the agencies?
Which is what it is about in my understanding.

I don't think it is a fair short term assessment to compare the earnings of a handful of contributors to the earnings of an agency with tens of thousands of contributors. When you are opening your own personal website you can really only compare your earnings to your earnings at other sites.

Sure, if you start networking sites it can become more of an agency, but it is still on a much smaller scale. I see it more of an alternative than a head to head competitor. I'm not looking to crush the agencies with my personal site. I'm just looking for a more promising opportunity for myself.