https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea39dHj01yc&t=68s

Has there ever been a stranger time to be alive?

As early as 2011 I realized for certain where things were going with Microstock. Today, August 5th, I have decided to stop uploading and pursue a new industry. I'll let my work fall below a certain point in income then I will shut down all of my agency connections. Customers will only find me on my website.

I should praise microstock for bringing me from a sign shop to being a programmer, 3d artist, web designer, etc, besides the many customers who searched me out because they found me on an agency. Microstock has been full of good times. These things would not have been possible without this industry. There was a genuine turning point when I saw Istock giving away my images, and the obvious crash was silent, but it has happened. Much like the 2008 housing crisis, people only realize what a huge fall that had occurred in retrospect.

With these online superstores there comes a point when you are gaming or getting gamed, or maybe a little of both. Obviously when it comes to shear profit and opportunity, you know who is making bank. I don't think the owners of the agencies are motivated by canister achievements and cute pixel badges. Random rewards are good for rats, but not for me. If I tweet "I got a sale on Dreamstime!" I'm not sure how this is helping me... but this is the proverbial "Skinner Box" where contributors are led on by less than logical motivations. Some recognize this, some don't. Its not a common subject.

On this island I walked into a photographer's shop (undersea photography). He had to sell enough of his work to pay rent in the Queen's Shops at least. He was roughly my age, give or take a few years. I said "Your work is phenomenal! I'm curious - have you ever sold through a microstock agency?"

He stated quite matter-of-factly that he would be throwing away his work and dooming his career if he did this. This was not a surprise to me - I've asked quite a few photographers around here about that and they responded similarly. I understand though there are different ways to approach a market or markets, so this is not to say they were "right" but rather decided what they thought, with obvious results, what sustainability meant. Its the difference between a gormet chocolatier (we have one on this island here too!) and someone who runs a general candy shop (in hilo! awesome shop!).

I'm not badmouthing Microstock. I did well up till 2013. It had its place. In my teens I could have easily been convinced that investing in Beanie Babies would put my unborn kids through college, and silly me, a few years later I would have a room stuffed with useless sock animals. But I'm 37 tomorrow, and I've decided to make a career change. I look at the ploys and obviously less-than-logical motivations this industry uses to lead people on, and I've put it behind me and below me. I recognized the methodologies as early as 2008 when I saw Istock "Steel Cages" but hey I was making money so I could overlook it. Besides, that little double-blue-flame was a fun thing to see at the time even if it inspired people to copy me. I could tolerate the "community" power plays and hierarchies because the money was good.

I was telling my wife, as I woke up with an epiphany, that I used to count my sales in $3-$7 increments multiple times a day on the same image, and multiple images would sell this way. Profits were astronomical across the board. While diversifying among agencies has slowed the decline, the dynamics and numbers are different now. Its enough to say "Ok, I'm out". The epiphany was that my first 100 images in the first months outperformed my 4000 images in these months. My production is higher in quality and some months quantity, but the return is fractional compared to before.

That is not to say, of course, that there not will be many newcomers who might actually come into this business and rock the house. But I haven't numbered myself among those obviously more qualified producers.

Since many of us have shared successes together, as well as declines, perhaps we might share the enlightenment too. As for anyone who can stick it out longer - no shame on you! You are probably the right animal for this savana. But I believe, like many here, this industry has polished us up for the next venture. Onward and upward!

If you've come to the same conclusion I have, feel free to speak up with the good bad and ugly times, and if you are happy to share your new direction please do. I hope for the success of everyone I had known in Microstock.

Leo

For selling digital stock... which we are.

Looks very nice. 

Its common on agencies to have sales reversed for fraud.

I think I'm on 5 years of selling direct now, and I *think* I've only seen one fraud occur from the buyer (I use paypal exclusively).

Has anyone experienced any sort of customer fraud on their sell-direct site?

Saw this tumbling through facebook activity:



Absolutely amazing. 

This post is addressed to the initial users of the old system we had created to network sites and sell direct.

Soon I will be putting out a beta for it's replacement, 6 months in the making. While there were many users, this call goes out to those I had been more closely associated within it's development, its testing, etc. The announcement also extends to those who grew "attached" to it, have been enjoying sales through it, etc. This does not apply to those who have very understandably moved on, or to those using the hybridized version which was repurposed for other agendas (not my product).

https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=571289063020724&id=100004189069423

I will not putting out the initial release here in MSG, though I would have liked to do so, but rather I will be dealing personally with those who maintain interest and have found the concept useful.

It is prudent not to go into great detail at this time, but here are some things you can expect:

• No more wordpress dependency.
• No more complex website administration.
• Cleaner, faster, simpler.
• Future-oriented.

I could expound, but I think these four things really emphasize what I have striven for.

Unlike my previous endeavour which was indiscriminately crowd-sourced, this will start mostly as a private endeavour between myself and those mentioned above.

You may contact me via my website (http://www.clipartillustration.com/contact-clipartillustrations-com/) or via facebook.