Wowza!  I guess all these months I thought the ThinkStock earnings were reflected in the partner program earnings at iStock and we took payouts there.  So I haven't even been checking my StockXpert earnings page until today.  I feel pretty dumb, but also like I found a pile of cash on the floor.  I'm going with the elated feeling.

What's the consensus on how much these are inflated due to the glitch?  My balance is $2,892 with apparently $2,517 of that showing up today.... and yes, I'm seeing duplication on some, but not all of those downloads.  Very weird.  Anyway, I requested a payout of $2,892, so we'll see what happens.  I'll probably end up with several hundred bucks I guess, which is several hundred richer than I felt earlier today.

BME here as well.  About a 17% increase over Oct, which had been basically flat to Sept (probably due to 10 weekend days in Oct).

So I'm about three years in and haven't hit the wall yet.  My trend line has been pretty straight since the beginning. What I'm wondering is... where is the wall?  Those of you in gostwyck's shoes, lamenting big decreases over the past year despite big increases in port size, how long have you been at this?  

As you post your November results, please include how long you've been at microstock -- maybe even port size as well.  It does seem to be a trend that the longer you've been at it, and the larger your port is, the more disappointed you're likely to be with your current numbers.  I don't mean for this to turn into philosophizing as to why it happens -- we know all about the increasing competition, and the phenomenon of cannibalizing our own sales when we run out of uncovered topics... I'm just curious if we can document roughly when the wall is likely to come down, separating the newbies on the rise, from the vets on the decline.

As long as you focus on quality, you won't see as big a decline in your sales.

You almost got it.  But it's "As long as you focus on MARKETABILITY and UNIQUENESS you won't see a big decline in your sales."

I started out with a projection similar to what the OP described, and I'm well into my third year right along the very same trend line as my first few months.  I don't lose sleep wondering how to increase the quality of my uploads, but rather dreaming up topics that may have high demand but aren't being copied to death every day. That's the marketability aspect.  Before you say, "but if those images sell well, then they'll be copied," that's when the second key point comes in: uniqueness.  Create your shots in a manner and style that's difficult to duplicate, and conveys the core message of the image better than anyone else.  Focus on those two missions, and do them well, and you'll not only maintain that trend line, but perhaps even lift it.  That's been my experience anyway.

How about this for motivation...

Start a spreadsheet.  In one row put your current portfolio size, the average daily earnings (just a rough estimate  -- not your best day or your worst day, but somewhere in between), and a cell that divides earnings by portfolio size.  This is the row representing TODAY.

On the next line, add two images to the portfolio size, multiply it by the earnings/port size number and see how much those two images add to your daily take.  This is the row that represents TOMORROW.

Now add a row for a week from now, then a month, then 3 months, then 6 months, then a year, 2 years, 3 years, etc.  Hopefully you see the growth that is possible by just keeping the nose to the grindstone and adding new images to your portfolio everyday.  It's a great exercise, particularly when it feels like your daily work isn't moving the needle.  

Of course, as time goes by you'll need to go in and adjust your daily average number to keep the sheet realistic.  And many will tell you that we don't know what the future will bring for microstock.  Could be a bigger market, could crash and burn, or the agencies could cut our commissions down to 1 cent/download.   All you can do in predicting the future is use the facts you know.

You could go further and use that projection as a trend line on a chart of your real numbers.  This is the type of spreadsheet I keep, and it's a great help in keeping me focused on my goals.

Let�s be honest.  You're either doing microstock for enjoyment or profit. 

To anyone now yelling, �No, I do this because it�s personally rewarding��  Really?  You find joy hunched over the computer for hours... retouching, keywording and uploading photos that you fear won�t sell?  You would rather do that than spend time with loved ones or on a favorite pastime?  Let's not kid ourselves.  We all have dollar signs in your eyes, or we wouldn't be so obsessed with microstock.

Don�t get me wrong.  You can learn to enjoy putting profit first.  Aim to find subjects that buyers actually want and put your creativity to work in adding a fresh spin on those topics.  You�ll find this is rewarding both financially and creatively.

On the flipside, you will not succeed financially if you place top priority on what you enjoy creating and assume that people will eventually find your works of art and buy them on their artistic merits.  Not going to happen, unless some marketable concepts slipped in by accident.

Don�t trust anyone who suggests that following your heart will lead you to a pot of gold.  Check out their stats to see if it�s working for them, then come back to reality and focus on creating marketable images in a manner you find creatively fulfilling.

This forum, once a place for optimism and learning from each other, has degenerated into a place for demanding unionization, government regulation, and a general tearing down of the very people who created microstock.

Those people put their blood sweat and tears into creating new businesses that were long shots.  They invested significant sums of their own money or worked hard to secure financing.  They hired staffs, secured help from accountants and lawyers, spent significant sums on advertising, set up infrastructures (software, servers, etc.)  In every case, these business owners took a big gamble.  Some succeeded and some didn't. 

That's called capitalism.

You too are a capitalist.  You are creating a product, sending it out into a marketplace, and expecting to profit from it.  You control your destiny.  You are your own boss.  You are a grown-up.  You entered into agreements with those other capitalists, the microstock agencies, to sell your work.  They are providing a service to you, and taking between 65 and 85% of the sale price, in exchange for the marketplace they created and all the associated costs of putting your product in front of buyers, facilitating sales, and putting the money into your pocket. 

You are free to believe those services ARE or ARE NOT worth 65 to 85% of the sale prices, and have those agencies work on your behalf.  And you're just as free to say that you're better off finding another solution, maybe starting your own agency, perhaps setting up your own website to sell your own work.

You are free to raise the funds needed to start your own venture, to hire a staff, pay for lawyers, accountants, advertising, servers, programmers, etc.  Make no mistake, it's a lot of work, and it takes a lot of money to do it right.    You either have the stomach and the pockets to do what the agencies are doing, or you don't and you agree to their terms in exchange for their services.  Or you do neither and find another income stream/field of work that you believe will treat you more fairly. 

The point is: you're FREE TO MAKE YOUR OWN CHOICE.  Don't feel stuck in one or the other scenario and complain about it endlessly.  Make a decision you feel is best for you and focus all your energies into making it the most rewarding arrangement for all involved.  Do you really feel it's right to enter into an arrangement with a business with the idea that you will both benefit, then trash that partner at every opportunity?  Please, just walk away.  Or at least stop crying about how you're being taken taken advantage of.  Are you a slave?  Just walk away.

When I set up accounts at these agencies, I knew what I would be selling was a COMMODITY.  I accepted that it wasn't much different from producing a product and getting it into WalMart and having to agree to their terms to get onto their shelves.  As long as my margins were good enough I could meet my own revenue goals, and I would feel fairly rewarded.  I've gone into this with a capitalist mentality, and perhaps that attitude has helped me do well.  Ultimately, I recognize that the microstocks have made it possible for me to make a living at this, and I think it's about time I stepped up and spoke out in their defense since no one else is.

Thank you for hearing me out.  Now you can get back to calling for a microstocker's union to protect you from the greedy pigs stealing your money.  Or get back to uploading your next batch.  Or, most likely, both.