I've purchased subscriptions in bygone years.

1.  No matter how hard you try you never download your full allotment.  Even when you make it a point to try.

2  You download images you "might need some day" because you have downloads still available and you figure "use them or lose them".  So a lot of images that get downloaded never actually get used.

3.  You'll see larger downloads for the same reason.  So instead of a .19 XS, you'll get a .38 S or better.

I think this has real potential.

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Not a silly question at all.

Go to My Credits> My Conversions> Convertible Credits

I found Istock in 2004 through a Google search and started buying because the prices were right and they had subject content you couldn't get elsewhere.

After they instituted the best match a couple years ago, I started buying from Dreamtime when I couldn't find what I wanted from Istock fast enough.  I have accounts at Istock and Dreamstime.  If the file I want is available at both sites, I'll download it at the cheaper one. 

I had a situation a few months back where the subject matter I needed was only at Bigstock.  I forwarded that information over to the client for future reference since they decided to hold off on the project for a while.

Long term, I think it's the missing content rather than the prices that will lose more business for Istock.  Their upload limits restrict the professionals not the casual contributor.

As for quality, I'm firmly convinced that any of the major sites would refund your money if you found the quality lacking and complained. 

Now that I shoot with a DSLR and have gotten better at Lightroom, I have a fairly consistent overall 80+ acceptance rate.  SS hates noise.  IS hates artifacts.  DM sites composition or too many.  Almost always what was rejected at one is accepted at the other two.  I think their reviewers do a pretty good job and I like that if I really disagree with a rejection I can send it to Scout at IS.

I just recently started uploading to 123 and StockXpert so it's too soon to tell.  I'm mostly uploading files which are already accepted elsewhere so I'm running in the high 90's.

Fotolio, on the other hand, I'm running a consistent 50%.  As was mentioned if you upload a series they seem to reject a big chunk of it for being "the same." even if it's not.  They also routinely reject files accepted at other sites.  Their reviewers are very fast but I'm not impressed.

Sales at Fotolio for me are so low I've considered cancelling my portfolio there.  In addition to rather frustrating rejections, files that sell elsewhere seem to lanquish there.  It showed such promise prior to the "big change."

I went back the other day to review my keywords to see if I could do anything to improve the situation and you can't change them.  I know it's my fault but I actually have a picture of an autumn leaf with no seasonal references.  Oops.  I'm sure this is just one among many.  Because of the wait time to get things approved at other sites, I often uploaded pictures and figured I'd refine the keywords after they were were accepted.

So what do I do now?  Pull them down and resubmit them?  Leaving them there may not hurt but it's a waste of space since they'll never be found.

Has Fotolio indicated that any more pending changes regarding keywords? 

To be exclusivef at IS you don't need to cancel your accounts elsewhere, you just can't sell any pictures elsewhere. 

I just came from the DT forums and yes it seems as if threads about their Subscription model are locked rather quickly.  Personally, I really like the suggestion about limiting the size and/or charging multiple units for downloads of higher size/higher level images.  Or if they don't do that, introducing an opt out would be great, particularly for exclusive images.

My experience is that Fotolio rejects twice as much as SS, IS and DT.  As a result, it's my lowest earner and I've been seriously considering dropping them.  It's not the camera; they reject newer files shot with the Rebel as quickly as the older files.  I've been thinking it might be a European vs American market thing because files they say won't sell do quite nicely elsewhere.  Aggravating but their loss, move on.

It was also a fair response by the admin.  They are separate legal entities whose business decisions are made independent of one another.  Getty owns Istock.  "It" flows downhill. 

Forums at individual sites are more like standing in the middle of a businesses' retail store.  This is more like a discussion in someone's living room.  Different rules apply.

At least Seren you have your free speech here!

As in the past, every time iStock makes a new policy change it's controversial or pain in the rear.   I noticed on their forums that one poster wanted to know when Getty was going to be culling their car and cruise ship images and was told by an admin that--"They have their own way of doing things which really is none of our business."  In other words they didn't even want to address the issue.  It's a fair question to ask.  Just go to Getty and do a search for cruise ships, stretch limos and John Deere tractors--lots of that subject matter but iStock is now not allowed to have such.

Makes me wonder what this will do to sales for contributors and iStock in general.  They are certainly sending a lot of business elsewhere. 

I'd like to hear more about the beta when it's ready.  Your research makes a lot of common sense. (Which is 95% of marketing  )

Also, how does it relate to a site like IS with the CV?  Does missing a major keyword affect results as much when all those keywords would map to the same CV? 

I've noticed an increase in sales of "print" sizes over at DT since the increase at IS so I think the market is more price sensitive than frequently thought.

- It will be interesting to see what happens when the changes go into effect.  I personally feel the scales are too complicated with price changes for about 5 sizes and 4 levels. 

- I'm very much against the subscription download feature.  I have several photos which are exclusive to DT because of their higher payout.  The subscription feature defeats that purpose.

- Deleting files after a year is rather ironic when you consider that DT locks up your photos for six months (they wanted a year), because it can take that long for designers to get around to downloading it.