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Messages - Mantis
Pages: 1 ... 5 6 7 8 9 [10] 11 12 13 14 15 ... 219
226
« on: August 21, 2021, 07:58 »
From $400 last period to $280 this period. Fluctuates a lot from month to month.
right that's why it's silly to extrapolate from 12 or2 months for most of us - it's a Poisson distribution and a running average (3-6 mo_) is a better indicator. individual months typically graph as a sawtooth range, not a smooth curve
with a small portfolio, the effects are magnified
Indeed. It's sawtooth (poisson) all the time. There is, for me, typically a $50 to $150 delta from month to month. Looking at CY 2020, sales were lower but to your point: Average: $242 Median: $238 Range: $170-$329 (Here's my $150 delta)
227
« on: August 20, 2021, 16:52 »
From $400 last period to $280 this period. Fluctuates a lot from month to month.
228
« on: August 19, 2021, 10:10 »
Thanks Motionjunky
Ideally, there would be something to do maybe with Stock Coalition, making a deal with dedicated attorneys that could sue and make a permanent work of watching thieves around platforms/world, but would be lots of energy, time and mostly $$
Does the Stock Coalition even exist any more? There's no activity on the website. The last news update is over a year old.
I left the Facebook group about six months ago. There wasn't really much they were doing with respect to the original formation. Good that they tried but there just wasn't any meat to the actions. Not their fault. Only so much contributors can do without universally pulling all content and we know how that goes.
229
« on: August 16, 2021, 15:58 »
Upgrade if it's something you want and can afford. But if you are using MS for the decision diamond then only you can make that call. None of us knows how much you make from MS, but my guess is that there are very few who make enough money to use MS as the decision diamond for new gear purchases. I have a day job. I buy gear when I want it. If it's expensive, then I budget for it, setting a little aside each paycheck. I really never buy anything specifically for MS anymore aside from perhaps some cheap props. My income in MS has gone from about $4k a month to $1k a month and keeps going down. How could I justify buying new gear for MS with that kind of trend? So from my lens, if I was basing a purchase decision on MS alone, new gear would get nixed. Your mileage may vary.
$1k a month, woow, that's a lot of money, i make barely almost $50 a month i'm very screwed in microstock, but thanks to God, my main income is not microstock.
a vast majority of us make money outside of the MS business for sure. Just a few years ago some folks thought about quitting their day job to do MS full time--- we all know that they are still working their day jobs...
I agree. that is my MS income. I just did a commissioned shoot for a church. Pretty easy $500 job. Had a recent magazine cover and that was another $500 or thereabouts. But in the end, when it comes to MS alone, it's a deal killer for new gear. I know people who quit their day jobs and went MS full time. Two that I know of both had to get new jobs. And one is a very accomplished photographer. The last time I spoke with them they went into wedding photography and that, too, fizzled.
230
« on: August 16, 2021, 07:55 »
Upgrade if it's something you want and can afford. But if you are using MS for the decision diamond then only you can make that call. None of us knows how much you make from MS, but my guess is that there are very few who make enough money to use MS as the decision diamond for new gear purchases. I have a day job. I buy gear when I want it. If it's expensive, then I budget for it, setting a little aside each paycheck. I really never buy anything specifically for MS anymore aside from perhaps some cheap props. My income in MS has gone from about $4k a month to $1k a month and keeps going down. How could I justify buying new gear for MS with that kind of trend? So from my lens, if I was basing a purchase decision on MS alone, new gear would get nixed. Your mileage may vary.
231
« on: August 03, 2021, 08:42 »
232
« on: August 03, 2021, 08:41 »
And after weeks of patience this is the answer oh these *insult removed* :
...
If you misrepresent that material is infringing, Shutterstock may terminate your Shutterstock account, or you may face other legal consequences.
...
Why don't they* do that to actual infringers also? And publicise that they're doing it?
*And all the other agencies/distributors.
...
Imagine the other way... I file a complaint, the account is shut down, while it's investigated. Would you like that? Guilty and convicted without any sort of fairness and trial? So the problem is, SS must have too many complaints stacked up and they are slow to complete the due diligence, before they can terminate someones source of income.
What's obvious for us, on the surface, has more complicated, legal implications. And they can't just close an account because of an accusation.
That's not what I meant.
They're saying they may take legal action over false accusations, to discourage people from making them.
Why don't they also take legal action over proven image theft? (to discourage people from doing it)
I found on of my BSs on iS on Flickr with some bloke claiming copyright. When I filled in the form to make a complaint, it said they would send the accusee my email address, which I thought was bizarre (but I sent a potentially throwaway addy). No word back, but there's a blank where the photo was and a note that it's under investigation for copyright infringement. (Maybe linking to my image on Getty scared them, or maybe it's automatic, but was blanked within 24 hrs.) This guy's whole port appears to be 'lifted', some with accreditation, most (that I checked) not.
And now more exciting news, guess what?:
1. They haven't suspended the thief's portfolio, they just deleted the images I listed to them and let the portfolio online, but better than that,
2. They have deleted my original images!!! and the duplicate online. They deserve a premium gold award for this, I can't believe it ! :-(
Any action with lawyer will take years, money, energy, and even if I delete my account, the duplicate portfolio will continue having a good time. Shutterstock is thievesland, a true paradise!
Reel Anger.... >{
This is why I believe that SS is trying to milk what they can. If they could act to remove your images from the thief's port, then they could have just as easily removed the port. That conscious decision tells me volumes about what SS is now all about.
233
« on: July 28, 2021, 08:40 »
I am planing to upload 10k photos and 20k videos to Dreamstime
Is it worth doing it?
Simple answer. No.
Basically, what she said. I do not have videos on DT but I have about 3500 images. I make about $300 a year. I used to make almost that a month. Other people with better ports might make more but here's a starting point for you. So, from my own personal experience I would not spend the time uploading there, especially video as DT is not known as a go-to for video.
234
« on: July 23, 2021, 07:50 »
She made a post on her Facebook page on July 3, so she is probably okay. I know she was getting heavily involved with the Stock Coalition, but I've since left that group and have not been following new posts. SC was really of no benefit to me.
235
« on: July 20, 2021, 15:16 »
From CANSTOCK
We have some exciting updates we wanted to let you know about.
Exclusive License Purchases
Weve launched the ability for you to sell exclusive rights to your content, with the ability to set prices in advance or allow customers to inquire about a price. The entire process takes place directly through our site, with us collecting the payment up-front in escrow and crediting your account once the agreement is signed.
The next time you log in, youll be asked if youd like to offer exclusive license purchases. Click yes and all your images will have the ability for customers to request a price to purchase the exclusive rights from you. Optionally, you can also pre-set the selling price for the exclusive rights for each of your images.
Hire an Expert
A common question we get from customers is how they can hire an artist for custom work or for altering existing images. There is a considerable demand for hiring artists for custom work, and until now we didnt have a good way to facilitate these requests. That all changes today!
Were now launching a new interface that allows you to work directly with customers to provide alterations to your existing content, and create new custom content on request. The entire process takes place directly through the site, with us collecting the payment up-front from the customer and holding it in escrow until the work is completed. You control what you charge, what services you provide, and have the ability to opt-out or decline requests.
The next time you log in, youll be asked if youd like to offer alteration requests. Click yes and all your images will give customers the ability to request a quote for custom alterations. Youll also be invited to create packaged services that you provide (e.g. business cards, custom characters, product photos, etc.), which will be specially featured for customers looking for those types of services.
Notifications by Text/SMS
For both exclusive license requests and custom work requests, youll want to be notified as soon as a customer contacts you. To help enable this, you can now get text/SMS notifications as soon as you receive a message. To add your number, go to My Account -> Contributor Preferences.
Video Purchase Options
Over the coming months we will be launching additional options for customers to purchase footage files. By offering more options for videos to be purchased, we expect to increase video sales volume and ultimately increase commissions paid to videographers. To facilitate this, as of August 1st we will be switching from the existing rigid fixed dollar commission to a percentage of what the customer paid. This will allow us to test different pricing options to maximize your earnings. See below for details.
Payout Schedule Changes
For exclusive licenses and custom work, the commission is unchanged from our present Custom Licenses (e.g. exclusive rights, logos, etc.) category of 50%. But for clarity, the commission category will be renamed to Exclusive Licenses, Custom Licenses, and Custom Work. Also, we are removing the previous upsampled TIFF download size and replacing it with an equivalent dimension XXL JPG.
236
« on: July 10, 2021, 18:23 »
There just seems to be something missing here. P5 doesn't just "lose an account" then say, oh well, sorry. If accounts mysteriously disappear like you say P5 claims, they would be all over it to resolve why. You think they'd be concerned about other accounts mysteriously disappearing and that is a major concern as a stock agency. I am not saying you're wrong, but I just don't think we're hearing the whole story.
237
« on: July 10, 2021, 07:29 »
I am at 50% of where I usually am. In fact, every site is way down mid year compared to same period last year. With the world economy opening back up I am surprised that I'm not at least even with last year.
238
« on: June 30, 2021, 18:00 »
Wow u found one. Give me 20 minutes and I can find at least 10!
What a stupid reply. He's just trying to be helpful.
239
« on: June 25, 2021, 13:15 »
240
« on: June 12, 2021, 08:52 »
I exited from there. No sales and too many technical glitches. Upload is not friendly. Not worth the time.
Yeah, it is a bit difficult to submit tbh. I was just curious if it still is worth it, you say not 
Yes, 2-4 sales a year is all I got.
241
« on: June 12, 2021, 08:51 »
I've been there since 2012 and while I still sell a few, it's never turned into much. The site is now flooded with images from big sellers like Getty and Conde Nast and the search is a hopeless mess. They've also earned an F rating from the BBB.
actually the Search functions are horrible in pretty much all the major PODs.
no surprise for their bad BBB rating, it was a fly by night company from the beginning and not much has changed.
Agree. They had a chance to become a great POD site.
242
« on: June 12, 2021, 08:49 »
My exclusive account has been a disappointment. Even though I give my best clips to it, there have been few sales.
That's because they do not give you search position advantages and that is also why I did not seek any exclusivity.
243
« on: June 10, 2021, 11:30 »
I exited from there. No sales and too many technical glitches. Upload is not friendly. Not worth the time.
244
« on: June 06, 2021, 20:35 »
How can I cancel my subscription so it doesn't renew after a year? When I paid my first annual subscription it said in the terms and conditions that you can cancel your yearly membership fee at any time, but now I can't find where to do that. Do I have to close my credit card because of this? I hate these kinds of fees, which are secretly renewed after a year.
https://fineartamerica.com/controlpanel/premiumfeatures.html
Remove your CC number, they won't renew.
Ha Ha, reply from FAA support? It's like spotting Bigfoot. People have reported that, but mostly unconfirmed.
Once you have a valid credit card in FAA you cannot remove it. You are handcuffed. Since emailing support is useless, you need to call your credit card company to stop the charges. They really are a scumbag company to set up their payment that way. Why not just have a toggle to turn on and off your renewal? They do not give you that choice, rather they force you to jump through hoops to avoid or reverse a payment if you choose to skip the Premium membership. By the way, Premium membership does not get you any kind of placement consideration. It merely lets you upload as many pics as you want, along with some other useless features they Market as "PREMIUM".
245
« on: May 18, 2021, 07:41 »
I was banned for 6-months, and here I am 13 years later still banned. Could care less.
246
« on: May 13, 2021, 17:16 »
Just had 0$ sale on the sidebar, in sales it's 0.10, I get what?
.03 cents. These are their distributor sales that you have to opt out of, but you can only opt out in April of each year.
247
« on: May 12, 2021, 06:29 »
Yep, 2 sales at 10c, no commission to me.
Great.
And Contributor support seems to have been replaced with a bot sending a standard email to whatever question you might ask....
Wonderful.
You do have a commission (royalty) of .03 cents. 30%. Now see if that even buys you a single peanut.
248
« on: April 29, 2021, 10:06 »
The revenue share model will be the new normal in microstock. Another agency jumping on the subscription bandwagon and untransparent revenue models.
At least there is an opt-out for the contributors. But I think it won't be long before this program is going to be implemented agency-wide for all contributors (with no opt-out, except delete your portfolio).
I am in the revenue share with Envanto, Elements, and that particular revenue share model is healthy. The difference is they are VERY picky about what gets selected, unlike DP who is using "unsold" or "low sell" images.
How is it healthy exactly? It's just a way to devalue content. In Envato's case, the high-quality images will be selected, which seems to me is detrimental for credit sales and higher commissions that quality content deserves.
And because it's all thrown into some revenue pool (of unknown size) which makes it all very untransparent.
It's healthy for me because I went from $50 a month with PD to ~6.5X a month with a fraction of the images. They reduced my port from 3k images to about 500, yet my monthly income has increased significantly.
249
« on: April 29, 2021, 10:04 »
The revenue share model will be the new normal in microstock. Another agency jumping on the subscription bandwagon and untransparent revenue models.
At least there is an opt-out for the contributors. But I think it won't be long before this program is going to be implemented agency-wide for all contributors (with no opt-out, except delete your portfolio).
I am in the revenue share with Envanto, Elements, and that particular revenue share model is healthy. The difference is they are VERY picky about what gets selected, unlike DP who is using "unsold" or "low sell" images. I think that they need to provide some deeper insights in the coming day or two regarding the "share" or I am going to opt out. I think with DP we're looking at pennies per image sold as opposed to a bigger slice than their current 32 cents, or whatever.
So how does it work? Do you only find out what was sold at the end of the month, iStock style, or less often?
THAT'S the question for which I'd like an answer. Envato has a contributor dash but you can't see items that sell in real time, only later after they calculate. So squishy details.
250
« on: April 29, 2021, 09:38 »
The revenue share model will be the new normal in microstock. Another agency jumping on the subscription bandwagon and untransparent revenue models.
At least there is an opt-out for the contributors. But I think it won't be long before this program is going to be implemented agency-wide for all contributors (with no opt-out, except delete your portfolio).
I am in the revenue share with Envanto, Elements, and that particular revenue share model is healthy. The difference is they are VERY picky about what gets selected, unlike DP who is using "unsold" or "low sell" images. I think that they need to provide some deeper insights in the coming day or two regarding the "share" or I am going to opt out. I think with DP we're looking at pennies per image sold as opposed to a bigger slice than their current 32 cents, or whatever.
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