Yes, Yuri is quite a phenomenon.  I would not judge istock's best match performance by Yuri though.  He is the exception to the rule. 

Why not?  He is subject to the same treatment as everyone else.  Because people may hunt him out does not affect his Best Match behavior.

Glad to see the OP has kept us up to date on whether or not all the help posted in this thread has helped.

Here's where it gets tricky.  You might think, I bought $2100 lens this year, while I made $2100, so you expect that you netted $0.  No you didn't.  You need to depreciate your equipment.  Photography equipment depreciates over 7 years, so that's a $2100/7 or $300 a year you can deduct as a loss.  So you really made $2100 - $300 or $1800 a year.

There are also options to depreciate all in one year, but I'm not sure how that goes.  It's a bad idea if you're making a profit every year, so I don't generally do that.

I write off all my purchases each year under that part of the code.   I don't know why you'd want to worry about tracking those things over time.

disregard...

It's funny you complain about subscription payouts but your willing to accept IStock's 20% with no complaints.

Actually, that movement seems to have gone all quiet.  Too bad.  I was hoping it would have some effect.

So, your "heart" told you to go off and start reviewing my images?  Interesting.

Gotcha.  Thanks!

It appears sjlocke just likes to take a negative attitude toward people who just want to help others.

'

Maybe with the 18 hours a day you spend working on things, you shouldn't take the time to go hunting back five months for a post to come up with a snappy comeback to.

Yes, I unfortunately had to make changes to our workflow 2 months ago in response to diminishing returns on our contract work. We now outsource all our digital imaging to the same great people on a freelance basis. Business sometimes requires tough decisions that aren't fun for anyone. I'm really proud of everyone, and let me know if anyone needs freelance work- I'll pass along the names of some awesome folks!

One thing I've wondered, and the same with Yuri, is how you can find people who shoot and process to work for you, when they could just be submitting on their own and having their own success.  Do you end up having to pay them more than as staff because of the uncertainty of their position and loss of any benefits?  I guess this is more of a staffing type question.  Perhaps you can give some info in that regard.

Along the same lines and in light of your success, what tips can you give everyone else here to compete with someone who is shooting the same stuff they are, but in bigger volume with a freelanced staff?

I am really glad MSG has created an open forum where people do not treat others as the competition but rather as a common community or a guild.

You do realize others are the competition, right?

No, I agree, I definitely see the potential.  I just don't think with the padded store bought costume that it is as effective as I'd like it.

I'm sure Marvel would have a few issues that aren't explained away by labeling it RM.

How do you feel about iStock ratings?  I've never seen it done, but I know you can actually give someone a "1" rating.  I never really liked the idea, but I think iStock does it about as well as anyone.  I've given you a few "5's" before.  Was tempted to give you a "1" for that picture of 3 Sean's putting up a Christmas tree, because 1 Sean is really enough...   

Ha!  I think the consensus is that they should go away with a feel good thumbs up the only option available.  I give 5's, I like getting 5's.  I used to give out other ratings with a short critique until I learned nobody really wanted to hear they had bad images.