I feel like I did a dumb thing uploading to PD just so they could contribute to price erosion and accelerate that "race to the bottom".

Um... yes, you did, but many others did as well, so don't feel too bad.

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I keep an open TextEdit file that contains the separated keywords for every picture I've done for the past several years.  When processing a new image, I go to the TextEdit file, do a search on the main term for the new image, and try to find something similar from my collection.  I copy and paste that similarly-themed set, but make a point to replace irrelevant ones and add new relevant terms for the new image. 

Do you use something like Lightroom or Aperture? I do the same thing but simply search in the database in Lightroom for a similar image (if I've taken one) and then sync the two images (old and new one) to update keywords, title and description.

Steve

I do it all in Photoshop.  The downside is I can't do the automatic sync which would save me a ton of work, but it forces me to enter unique titles and descriptions, in addition to the unique set of keywords I edited, which ultimately should distinguish my pics from each other and prevent cannibalism.

^^^Please, before you go on, wipe clean the brownish smears you have around your nose and mouth...thank you!

I knew it would come across that way when I was done typing it, but what can I say, it's all true... at least for me.

I'm probably being a bit more vocal in support than I would normally be... after all, 123RF is just about 6% of my overall earnings... but I think they've been slammed mercilessly here, and they've always done right by me and felt I had to stick up for them.

Bottom line... if anyone don't like the new rules, you don't have to play in their game.  No one would blame you for walking away.  But if you continue to play and think the rules are unfair, you are part of the problem.

Do you others agree on that? Some say you get punished in search results with 50 keywords...

Hogwash.  Where is the evidence of this?

For keywording, I keep an open TextEdit file that contains the separated keywords for every picture I've done for the past several years.  When processing a new image, I go to the TextEdit file, do a search on the main term for the new image, and try to find something similar from my collection.  I copy and paste that similarly-themed set, but make a point to replace irrelevant ones and add new relevant terms for the new image.  This way, I start with a base of core words but add enough unique (and this is important: accurate!) ones to make sure the new image hits all the main words but differs enough from others in my port so I'm not cannibalizing myself.

I hate to say it, but I am considering starting to upload again to iStock.  The recent fury over changes and declining sales had convinced me to stop a while back.

But since relatively few contributors of note have pulled their ports to cause iStock any real pain, and since I've seen a significant boost in earnings over the past few weeks, I think I may start sending them stuff again... that is, if I can bear the painful uploading process.

Anyone want to talk me out of it? 

To recap you will be expanding your operations department threefold "At Our Expense"!  Soon we will be seeing job postings bragging about stellar company benefit packages while we suffer the consequences.

I do not know about the rest of this bunch but I am sick to the bones at seeing others benefit at my expense. http://www.microstockgroup.com/shutterstock-com/day-in-the-life-jon-oringer-wsj-slideshow/

Our costs continue to rise, the companies are doing well, they are hiring and yet our standard of living continues to deteriorate.

Pathetic and dispicable!

So it has finally happened.  The "Occupy Wall Street" mentality has officially set up camp outside the walls of "Big Microstock."

123RF won't come out and say this, but their restructuring sends a clear message:

They want MORE pictures from contributors who will earn at least 5,000 "credits" this year.  If you're in this camp, you have the incentive to keep uploading to 123RF.

They want FEWER pictures from contributors who will earn fewer than 5,000 "credits" this year.  If you're in this camp, you've been discouraged from uploading.  (Even Alex must know that the "work harder" message is unrealistic for most in this group.)

The thing 123RF will lose are the niche contributors who specialize in under-covered topics that are nonetheless needed by a minority of buyers.  

But what 123RF will gain is a mix of pictures that tilts more toward the highly marketable side.  If buyers have a better experience at 123RF because the perception is that more of its images are winners, then that could give it a competitive boost.

Will the strategy work?  Time will tell, but as a business person, you have to see there is logic in it.




 

I hate to say it, but if I were running 123RF, I'd probably do the same thing.

Contributors stand in line to supply new sites like Photodune, happily accepting less than 123RF is paying.

WE'RE the ones putting downward pressure on prices and commissions.  WE make it possible for start-ups to enter the market and undercut the established players.

FT, IS and now 123RF responded to this cut-throat competition that we helped create in the only manner they could. 

If you were running a business and your suppliers did this to you, happily filling the shelves of your new competitor with the same products for a lower cost, you would take action.

I have a portfolio of over 1500 on Istock, and 500 on 123RF.   My revenue so far in February on 123RF is $34, beating my revenue from Istock, which is a miserable $33.   

Your mileage may vary.

I have many more images on 123 than I have at iStock.

So far in February I've earned four times as much at iStock vs 123, despite the port size being a small fraction of it.

Yesterday was a very good day at iStock... things have been steadily rising there, at least for me.  From where I sit, all this talk a few weeks ago about iStock being dead in the water seems to have been quite premature.

Sales pretty good for a Monday morning.  Some first time sellers moving out the door.

+1.  Looking good so far today.  Sean is exclusive, and I am not, so it seems to be good right now for both groups, at least from where we sit.

The red arrow is gone from SS, and it looks to be even from last month now.

Since it had only been down by 0.04 points, maybe my 10 helped after all?

It's not quantity that counts but quality. Quality trumps quantity every time. The contributors who will survive are the ones who produce the best images in their subject matter, not the most images.

I say neither quantity nor quality are ultimately that important.

Having a huge port isn't going to make buyers choose your stuff.  And being technically the best at what you do isn't going to cut it either.  Face it... there are thousands of contributors whose skills are just as good or better than yours.

Instead, there are two qualities that will sell your pics today, and they're of equal importance:

1. Images that buyers need.  You can have a giant port, but if today's customers don't need them, you don't see sales.  On the contrary, you can have a small port, and if those images are in great demand, you'll have sales through the roof.  

2. Images that stand out.  You can be an award-winning photographer or illustrator, but in a market where quality is in over-supply, all it does is get you in the door.  It won't make buyers click on your stuff.  You need images that are unlike anything else out there.  Quality won't be what gives you the edge.  A unique style or perspective on an in-demand subject is key.

What do I know?  Here's an anecdote.  I just checked in at a registration desk... I won't tell you where... but staring me in the face was a giant poster of one of my pics.  I don't have a huge port, so the size of my collection didn't sell that image.  And the pic itself isn't technically anything special.  It sold because it did an effective job of communicating the unique message this venue had to convey, and there are no other images like it available anywhere.  That image owns the market for its subject, and I'll be the first to say it's not very good.

If you keep blindly racing to upload more stuff than the next guy, or being anal about details with the goal of technical perfection, your sales will continue to plummet.  For success these days, you must be two things, and nothing else really matters: be in demand, and be different.