Did anyone else notice that they have 3 credit files at VectorStock? I logged in today and noticed I had a 3 credit sales. Did this just happen?

There are certainly many ways to look at labor in factoring how much "profit" you've made to date. 

The dingo has pointed out to me in a prior thread that my hourly microstock wage is less than that of a McDonald's employee.  If I add up my sales to date, subtract my cost of hardware and software, and divide that amount by the total number of hours I have put into microstock from day 1 to today, he's right... I could have earned the same money at Mickey D's for the past ten months or so.  No argument there.

But what he fails to consider is that if I stopped today, all the pics I've generated will continue to earn money for me well into the future, effectively increasing my hourly rate for the past ten months significantly as time goes on, without me putting another minute into it.  My hamster wheel will keep spinning ON ITS OWN while I lie back and watch.

I definitely agree. There a lot of upfront labor costs that I probably won't recoup for a long time. Some of my illustrations will probably never be profitable. But when I look at what I earn versus the time I put in each month now, it is definitely worth it. This may be what holds a lot of people back. The first hump is hard to get over. Dingo is probably right that a large percentage (I'm not sure if it's 99%) won't make much money. It is not a get rich quick scheme. You have to work hard, invest time and want to do it.

People often talk like the market is saturated, but yet absolutely everyone I talk to has NO idea what stock photography is, let alone microstock.  I still think there are customers out there that could make use of microstock and don't know about it.

I think this is true for both buyers and contributors. There are a lot more people that microstock could bring in. Microstock isn't in its infancy anymore, but it may just be a toddler.

Which is exactly what stock photography/illustration is.

I think the difference is that they were discussing having to modify the logo files for the buyers. I'm not sure what they will eventually decide on, but the beauty of stock is that you don't have to make changes or deal with clients.

Isn't this discussion a lot like micros vs macros?

I don't see that. To me, it is more like "spec" work.

I'm a stats junky, so I'd love more statistic. It would be nice to get anonymous site stats from users. Maybe an average site earnings or something like that. I don't know if it would work, but it's just an idea.

Right now, my biggest complaint would be that my sales fell off a cliff in July and haven't seemed to recover. I'm not sure what the reason is. Hopefully, they recover because Dreamstime used to be my solid number 3 earner, but last month they were 4th. This month they may even end up fifth.

Alright, I was going to just ignore this, but I'm jumping in. It's filled my head with extreme silliness that can only be let out in one way... the crazy man on the street rant!

Are you serious with all this expenses talk?

Yes, I have to pay for power when I'm inside my house, although I'm working on a giant hamster wheel powered by the neighborhood children to eliminate that. Now, how to lure them into it (insert maniacal laughter here).

Yes, I had to buy computer equipment and software, but that doesn't really take very long to recoup the expense. I didn't even have to stop eating for a month or sell my kidneys to afford it. I did just upgrade to CS4, so I may want to look up the Kelley Blue Book value on my kidneys again though.

Yes, I have a facility to house all my equipment. It is called my house. I even have my own office, but my name isn't on the door. I guess I need to talk to the boss about that.

Yes, I have the internet. I was working on some kind of device that does the same thing, but I can't find one of those sarcastic Flintstones' dinosaurs that says, "It's a living."

No, I don't do microstock full time. I happen to run a very well respected and extremely unprofitable freelance business full time, so there. The microstock started off as a little extra money each month to pad the freelance, but it is creeping closer and closer to the freelance income each month. If it keeps going, it will eventually pass it and I will freelance part time. Or, I could go back to work and make some real money, but I like working in my pj's.

So there you have it. A modest success story from an illustrator/microstocker who overcame the adversity of mediocre talent and extreme laziness to make it to the big time of paying for his mortgage, utilities and some other stuff. Dare to dream people. Dare to dream.

It's always nice to get paid large royalties, but I think in the micros there is definitely a "sweet spot". That place where the price is good for the contributors and the buyers.

In 2007 to early 2008, I think iStock raised their prices for vectors at least twice. The first raise was great. Income instantly went up in a dramatic way. The second raise was a little more nebulous. Prices went up, but downloads went down. It seemed like it was a break even raise. Many people were asking if they could lower prices on some of their old files because they felt they sold better at the old price.

My point is, it is hard to know what the result will be of a price increase at some of the micro sites.

I can see Achilles point. Pimping threads and complaint threads can become tiresome real quick. Personally, I like to read the illustration forums at most sites because they seem to be a little more laid back and isolated from some of the normal gripes.

On the other hand, the complaint and pimping threads also seem to be the most popular and posted in. So maybe that is what the people want. I don't know if the solution is to isolate those topics to a separate forum topic area and move threads to that location instead of deleting them.

Just an idea.

I just wanted to add that despite my bitter and frustrated response on here (and laughing at the clip), I try to always be polite to potential clients. Even if their offer is totally ridiculous or they try to insult me. I just think it is not professional and a complete waste of time to argue with potential clients. I just try to answer all their questions in a cordial way, even if I don't think I'm going to end up doing the job. Hey, you never know, so you might as well be nice.

Cool! And the sales at Veer seem to be just a bit less than at StockXpert
If I had a Big 6, Veer would be 6th. And Veer site has just launched, I have high expectations for the future...

Are we talking about the same site? Congrats to you. They are way down on my list in the wait and see category. Regardless, it is nice to see they are implementing contributors suggestions. It is a really positive sign.

Adobe currently has a deal for $100 off CS4 upgrades until the end of the month. I bought mine the other day, so it should arrive today. It's not super cheap, but every little bit helps.

I was a little ticked that I had to buy a more expensive upgrade to upgrade from CS2 though.