Compared to July 2012, my Aug 2012 was: down 5%
Compared to Aug 2011, my Aug 2012 was: up 12%

So I'm happy year over year, but very concerned about the current trend.  August should have been up over July by a good amount, rather than down. 

Very, very worried about Sept.  Bad things going on behind the scenes that may not deliver the typical Sept boost that I would normally expect. 

Feels like I've hit "the wall," but it's an artificial one the big micros have put before me.  I've diversified my subject matter and styles, and implemented workflow improvements that increased my output.  I'm doing everything right.  It's not me, it's them.

SS, FT and DT all changed their best match, severely cutting my downloads.  IS lets in so few of my shots that I decided to stop uploading there.  And DT implemented its ridiculous similars policy that cut my uploads there by 95%.  Had the big 4 kept doing what they've done the past several years, I'm convinced my growth would be continuing at the same rate as prior years. 

Fortunately I've found a new endeavor to devote my energies toward... I'm just as excited about that as I was about microstock several years ago... that's where my passion will be moving forward.  I think my microstock efforts now will be just "going through the motions" to keep momentum going while my heart is somewhere else.  You probably won't see me posting here much anymore... I'll be frequenting a forum focused on the other endeavor.

Two in the last 10 days. I'm happy 

Same here, including one today.

I think it's a sign the summer slump is letting up.

I've been wondering the same thing lately.

Here are a few examples that I've looked into...

BigStock allows it under normal license:
"e. Use Images in eBooks, including multi seat license electronic textbooks."

And this from CanStock...
"Yes! Our Standard License Agreement permits all of our images to be used on book covers, and inside books for illustration. If you think you will eventually sell over 500,000 copies of your book, you will need to purchase a Unlimited Reproductions Enhanced License."

I haven't looked into all the agencies yet, but I think this is the norm.  Very, very few ebooks will ever sell 500,000 copies... and those will probably have the words "Harry Potter", "50 Shades" or "Hunger" on the cover... which means RF images will probably not be involved.

Someone might have already mentioned this, but I believe the boost that large ports seem to receive is due to the buyer saying "Well I like that picture, I wonder if he/she has more I wold like."  The larger your port, the more likely you'll get these additional sales.  I see sales in clusters of similar themes all the time, which suggests I'm regularly selling multiple pics to a single buyer.

I hope so, but I'm not.  In a forum post from June Peter stated that Stockfresh sales have risen by 300%.  He does say something along the lines of "it's a small overall number", to be fair. 

Now, mathematically it's all relative:

$100 a month to $300 a month = 300%
$1,000 a month to $3,000 a month = 300%
$10,000 a month to $30,000 a  month = 300%
$100,000 a month to $300,000 a month = 300%

If sales have risen 300%, or risen "by" 300%, then wouldn't the numbers be $400... $4,000... etc.

Think about if they raised 100%... they would go from $100 to $200... or $1,000 to $2,000... just saying.

But to the original question, I've been seeing $30 to $45 a month since April.   A lot better than last year, so I do think Stockfresh is heading in the right direction.

There's life, but it's very weak.  Still way down from July, when every previous year I've been in ms, August is ALWAYS a sizable bump up from July.  This is very strange and discouraging.

Well, it's the morning after the Olympics ended.  Sales-wise, this Monday is starting out like a Saturday.  Maybe buyers are having an Olympics hangover and they're slow to start downloading again?

I think we're all jumping the gun here before seeing any financial details.

If the terms turn out to be terrible, Google and Getty must know that every contributor with at least one brain cell would yank their images.

Maybe microstock as it stands is flawed, but people will always need good images.  The world is a visual one, and demand for images will continue to rise.  Yes, people will always look for the cheapest way to get them, but I think we've just about hit the bottom.  If payment to artists gets any lower, artists won't create, and the business would have to adjust to attract them back.  Sure, there will always be rock-bottom folks and hobbyists who get excited to see one of their pictures somewhere even if they get no money from it, but these people alone can't support the needs of the world.  No, a sustainable model would have to emerge from the ashes of microstock, and I don't see how it could look much different from microstock.  

And about Google... if they want to play in this space, they will win.  Imagine every search showing images from its own stock catalog way above all the established agencies.  It will be lights-out for many mid and lower tier agencies almost immediately.   Sure, they'll hang on to their established customer base for a while, but unable to attract new business they will begin a slide into the abyss.

Just did another search on microstock secrets on Amazon and came across this book... someone is selling a collection of Wikipedia articles on microstock.  Does Wikipedia allow this kind of thing?

http://www.amazon.com/Stock-Microstock-Photography-Characteristics-Companies/dp/1240961677/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344545242&sr=8-1&keywords=microstock+characteristics

I'm getting very nervous now. 0 on Sat; 0 on Sun, 1 yesterday, 0 today.
I'm trying to believe it's the Olympics, but I was out and about today and it seems to be 'business as usual'.
It's much worse than previous Augusts, so I don't think it's just that a lot of countries have their holidays now.
 

OK, I'm done chilling.

We're on day 7, and my comments from the first post on this thread are holding true.  The trend is continuing.  This is my first month of running behind year-ago levels.  Maybe it's just me, and I've finally hit the wall.  But I don't think so.  I shouldn't have hit the wall on all the agencies at once, by such a wide and sudden margin.  This July was up over last July by a healthy margin.  But this August is down on last August by a significant amount.

Hopefully it's just the Olympics.  Plus DT and FT were firing on all cylinders for me last year, and both made changes this past year that put me into the toilet.  I think these are the two reasons.  We'll find out soon. 

A bit early, don't you think ?
Patience and optimism are good qualities

I hope you're right, that I'm too quickly concluding that the sky is falling.  But I've seen chunks of sky falling on my lawn for four days straight.  At what number of days is it "real"?

One day of curious data can be an anomaly.

Then one or two more days of similar data can be a coincidence.

But a fourth day of similar data suggests there is an actual trend under way. 

I'm seeing a definite trend, particularly when this period is compared to the same period a year ago (first Wed, Thur, Fri and Sat of Aug.)

Quote from: stockmarketer on August 01, 2012, 09:26

I think that if people want to share their "secrets" they want to see a financial return on that, like books by Rob Sylvan and Ellen Boughn.  Anyone read any of those and get anything out of them?  I've been thinking about getting them on my Kindle.

I believe the reaction here to both of these books was positive.
Be aware that one of these authors has all but severed connections with the agency he worked for and which represented him at the time he wrote the book, to the extent that he has not uploaded there since May 2010 and is no longer exclusive.
This must say something significant, but it's up to you to interpret what the significance is.

Even beyond Ellen and Rob there are newer books out there that seemingly offer new takes that appear to be more specific... a search on Amazon turns up more than 30 books including one on selling footage and one on flickr ()...