Way to go!

...
So maybe they increase the size 4X to a maximum of 36 MP.

Yes, that's what they do - I thought everyone already knew this.

I discovered this almost immediately after joining, so I began downsizing to 4MP in order to take advantage of it. I started a thread about it, but most people saw no advantage, and thought my sales were being hindered because of it.

Arrived at the 3:00 wedding shoot 1 hour early, but the wedding was at 2:00.

Oops.

Geez, where's your sense of humour?
You must be a riot at parties.

I think getting ELs is mostly about how high your sales rate is: if you sell a lot you'll get ELs regularly. After a while you can almost smell one coming. I haven't counted, but offhand I'd say I get 1 EL for every 1000 or so sales, though sometimes it spikes, and I'll get a handful in a week or - even better - a day. It sure is nice when that happens!

Don't get too excited about the weather sealing: the lens opening does not have a seal. I can't speak for the 5 series, but on 1 series cameras the only things sealed are the CF/SD card bay, battery bay, and peripheral connection ports. If you want to seal the lens opening you'll have to upgrade to a pro series lens, which has a weather seal.

Okay, maybe I'm wrong. If I am, StockXpert's cut is much smaller than I think it is, and they're not making much money from subscribers.

That's the way I always assumed it worked. I guess I'm in the minority. Man, I can see how everyone's gonna jump all over this!

The only thing that bothers me about StockXpert's subscription implementation is that they haven't been as up front about things as they could/should be. Here's how I see things:

What we are told: Subscribers can download up to 25 images per day. Sellers are paid a 30c commission for each subscription sale. On the surface this seems to split things something like this: 530 images downloaded per month per subscription (25 images/day * 21.25 days/month), $160 paid in commissions, $40 gross profit for StockXpert.

What really happens: Subscribers can only download 25 images/day if they select XS size, which (almost) nobody does. Given the current credit system, subscribers download their maximum per day, but in combinations of image sizes so that the credit total is 25 (e.g. 1*XXL + 1*XL, 2*XL + 1*L, ...).  My recent sales indicate that most subscriber sales are L size, and that XL, M and S sales are about equal in volume. This could mean that a typical subscriber downloads 5 images per day (1*XL + 2*L + 1*M + 1*S), and that StockXpert sells 106 images per month per subscriber, paying $32 in commissions while earning $168 in profit. Sure, it's a little more lop-sided than it first appears, but they're taking the business risk, not us.

I wonder how many buyers renew their subscriptions at StockXpert once they discover they can download more files for the same price elsewhere?

Seems okay to me. My DLs are off by 20%+, but that's normal. Things will be better tomorrow.

Regarding Scout: you should avoid using it. If the image is approved it will be added to the library with the upload date - not the approval date - being referenced. This means that it won't show up anywhere near the top of the heap when sorted by "Age" or "Best Match".

... Your words ring hallow here keyboard warrior.

I know it's a typo, but I got a big kick out of hallow.

Quote from: sharply_done on March 17, 2008, 17:52

the six batches of one I upload to IS daily. It's something I do with my morning uploads

Try DeepMeta.
I hate to advertise it. I know the guy since he lives close. But it's good.

That won't help at all.

I keyword specifically for IS after uploading, and the way their system grabs keywords from uploads works a bit differently than if keywords are entered after uploading is complete. In order to maximize income from IS it is necessary to use their CV to its fullest, which automation does not do.

The bottom line: By using the same keywords in IS as for other sites - using the CV merely as a translator - you are handicapping your sales there.

Well say everybody, but let them live in their own country like they want. I think that they all know what most of the population think about them, if not they will know it a day for sure. ...

I used to live in the USA - now I live in Canada, and am glad I moved. Although it's not a perfect place by any measure, I'm much happier to be here than I was to be there.

...They need to be able to read IPTC data.
...
And seriously, they make you wait 45 DAYS to get paid?

You may be a bit misinformed about SnapVillage.

They read IPTC data and model releases are attached in the conventional fashion. Because they don't support FTP, uploading is done in batches of five. Yes, it's a hassle, but doable if you schedule in 20 uploads a day into your routine. They'll accept anything and everything you throw at them.

Payment is more like 30 days - I received my January earnings on March 3, I'll get my February payment at the beginning of April, March in May, etc. The minimum payout is $10, which is absurdly easy to reach. My earnings there are less than BigStock, but more than Crestock.

My biggest issue with them has to do with keywords: they typically (though not always) rework keywords, removing "good" ones and adding "bad" ones.