Well, looks like I'm a bit desorientated on SSs payout politics but....the lowest price for subs isn't my point of view. I'm looking for the average price i earn for a download, what is, in my case, 2,86$ at the moment at FT.
As I understood SS constributors will always get the same price for each download. What means less than 10% of my average earnings. Even behind the 500$ mark its roundabout 12%.

If i'm wrong please tell me.

@Milinz: i earned more than 500$ in my third month at FT with roundabout 100 pictures.
@helix7: if a trade is a trade depends on the point of view. You might be right but i think my thoughts go some steps further.

Greets from bertold

I've thougth also about this point some month ago. I do nearly all of my earnings at Fotolia but they changed their mind and way of doing business that often in the last months i decided for my own not to trust in one agency. Even if it takes longer und means to accept lower profits.

A second reason for delivering different agencys is my ego. I can't accept pictures of me are being refused by selectors i didn't know and what gives me meaningless rejecting reasons. So every rejected picture is marching from one to the next agency until it is on the market :-) (roundabout 850 pictures done, only 1 of them wasn't placed unil now). But as i told, it's just an ego-thing, it takes time and don't deliver much profit (at least in $ i mean).

Canada sounds cool, I like that. Sitting in a blockhouse and doing illustrations, going for a walk with the dog while the pCs are working....well, sounds good. But, i'm worried about how canadian authorities will react if i declare my business as a microstock illustrator :-).

I don't think that a waitress in china have enough experience and the skills to do 300 illustrations what sells extremly good at microstock market. Before i started my microstock engagement i had thought about this point. How possible is it that people from china, russia and the thrird world discover this market. After some month, after a lot of time invested and after a lot of illustrations what can be done only with a lot of computerpower i'm shure they will come, but not that fast und not tomorrow.
To have the ability to do a more or less good artwork is not the only condition for success in microstock business. Same in fotography. You have to know what sells and where and why.
With 600 online, 6 not, and roundabout 1000$ a month after 9 month i think i'm not at the poor side.
Don't forget how many time it takes to do an artwork what sells. I had the time because of sickness, but i would never started in this business if i wasn't. Because at my normal hourly rate i had gained thousands of dollars more in the same time. And i already had the skills and the experience and good equipment.
To do 300 and earn 1000$ a month is - in my opinion - possible for someones who don't need the 1000$ a month because they are good enough to get them daily by illustrating for clients.

But on the other hand, i'm also thinking about how and where to live when i reach the 4000$-goal a month in some years.

And, if microstock business establish, we will also see entrepreneurs who work with teams of illustrators out of low-wage countrys doing illustrations by direction - thats what i estimate.

but maybe it was just a traffic problem...had much more views in the last days than long time ago.

Succsessfull selfemployed business is always: talking as much as you can, thinking about what was talked about and doing what resolved on this thoughts.
It works also in turnaround: do something, ask others why it won't be functioning...
In any case, if you don't communicate you are in he wrong business i presume...

But, isn't that an interesting point? Alamy lives, until now, by selling at much higher prices. They have problems indeed and i on myself haven't sold anything there, but... after having some bad experiences with FT in the last month I'm looking for alternatives. Looking for agencys who treat artists with the minimum respect someone can estimate. As human contractor. Alamy behave like this, maybe owed on their problems in the market, but i'm more than willing to support this attitude.
During the last weeks i started to build up my portfolio on alamy with some of my best  new images, just to support them or let me say: to give them a chance.
I like the way they communicate and behave with their distributors and like the prices also. Why don't support them? If all distributors support agencys what only dump prices in a nearly quaterly time...no one should complain about prices going under the basement.

But by the way...i only sale much (nearly 1000 USD a month) at FT, and they behave real bad with distributors. Maybee my engagement wouldn't be that high if i hadn't my startup, experiences and success only at FT. I tried to make me a home there and they gave me a kick in the ass. crap happens, hard reallity here i will come.

Greets from Bertold