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Author Topic: Anyone doubting the power of SS?  (Read 18783 times)

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RacePhoto

« Reply #50 on: December 12, 2011, 00:29 »
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Yep, I doubt SS! I have 35,000+ downloads on iStock and have generated more than $250,000 in revenue. Thought I would try SS in January so I submitted 10 accepted and very sell-able images from my iStock portfolio. They were all rejected. I have no further interest in SS. To be successful with a new agency you need to upload 1,000+ images as fast as possible. SS has become so selective that it doesn't seem like an achievable goal therefore I give up.

I suppose it would be interesting to know why they were refused. What were the reasons from the reviewer?

There's an obvious difference of opinion between your opinion of very sell-able and theirs? Or was it something other than LCV?

I really would rather see them accept more so called, LCV images and less, series of 30 similar shots, with the model moving an inch, or slight variations in the shot, when  a few good shots would do it. I'll email example of the inch by inch, but it seems that once I pointed to them and some people were offended. Something like a girl on a vintage bike in the field and there are 40 shots? Or girl sitting in a car and there are 30 shots, from every angle.

Keep this in mind, they took me, so someone who actually has talent should be able to get in.  ;)


lagereek

« Reply #51 on: December 12, 2011, 03:14 »
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There is a tendancy that contributors with large ports, etc, will take it as a breeze, marching into SS, DT or FT, this is far from the case. The SS, reviewing, DT and FT, as well is today, far tougher then the IS reviewing and has been for a couple of years now.

A massive successful port at IS, is great, got one myself but its no guarantee at all for some sort of automatic acceptance at other top sites.

grp_photo

« Reply #52 on: December 12, 2011, 04:34 »
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I doubt it!

lagereek

« Reply #53 on: December 12, 2011, 06:57 »
0

« Reply #54 on: December 12, 2011, 11:59 »
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I doubt their power to fix bugs, and also, many contributors said that their earnings from new images are not good as it used to be.

Anyway, they are still best microstock site to me.

« Reply #55 on: December 12, 2011, 12:13 »
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Well, SS just sold my first video! 12 days after having my first video online. Not bad.

lagereek

« Reply #56 on: December 12, 2011, 12:49 »
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Well, SS just sold my first video! 12 days after having my first video online. Not bad.

There you go!  congrats!  hope you sell many more! you deserve it. :)

« Reply #57 on: December 12, 2011, 12:57 »
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Thank you!
I enjoy the 22 Dollars but as a passionate istocker I am also sad that this is a file that is still in the istock queue, uploaded long before I uploaded it to SS. Because it is a holiday video, it wont reach istock customers before early next year. So obviously the decision to quit exclusivity for video has already paid for itself.
Also love the map that shows you were your file was downloaded.

My little video agency battle is currently istock/SS  1:1

Yes, 2012 will be very interesting indeed!  :)
« Last Edit: December 12, 2011, 13:08 by cobalt »

« Reply #58 on: December 12, 2011, 13:18 »
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Thank you!
I enjoy the 22 Dollars but as a passionate istocker I am also sad that this is a file that is still in the istock queue, uploaded long before I uploaded it to SS. Because it is a holiday video, it wont reach istock customers before early next year. So obviously the decision to quit exclusivity for video has already paid for itself.
Also love the map that shows you were your file was downloaded.

My little video agency battle is currently istock/SS  1:1

Yes, 2012 will be very interesting indeed!  :)

Excellent and congratulations! You will become a passionate Shutterstocker soon too. They've got a website that actually works, no dodgy refunds (ever), no commission cuts or moving targets like the RC system and they know how to shift stock content in high volume. Keep us updated on the 'video agency battle'.

« Reply #59 on: December 12, 2011, 13:25 »
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Keep us updated on the 'video agency battle'.

I will, I promise.

I do miss views and having lots of private lightboxes to link files. There are also less statistics than on istock.

But if they know how to sell...well...off to make more videos...

rubyroo

« Reply #60 on: December 12, 2011, 13:27 »
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Congrats Cobalt!  :)

That is great news.  I'm sure you'll come to love SS as much as many of us do.  For me they're the constant that just keeps delivering without cutting commissions.  I pray it stays that way.  I think of them as my safe harbour when all else is turmoil.

« Reply #61 on: December 12, 2011, 14:12 »
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I doubt it!


Dont!

You make a great advocate for SS, but not everyone has such positive experiences at SS. Maybe they should give you a signing bonus. For a bit of objectivity, if you do not already have a large established port on SS the odds that your new uploads will have good sales are limited by technical issues and the probability that you will have good sales with a new membership are dimming every day that SS does not fix its serious technical bugs.

What would you say to those who are experience significant issues with newly uploaded images. As someone else mentioned in one the our threads one of the top 10 microstockers has stated that he will no longer upload images to SS until they get a handle on the problem. http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=114196
« Last Edit: December 12, 2011, 14:36 by gbalex »

ShadySue

  • There is a crack in everything
« Reply #62 on: December 12, 2011, 14:22 »
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I doubt it!


Dont!

You make a great advocate for SS, however not everyone has such positive experiences at SS. Maybe they should give you a signing bonus. For a bit of objectivity, if you do not already have a large established port on SS the odds that your new uploads will have good sales are limited by technical issues and the probability that you will have good sales with a new membership are dimming every day that SS does not fix its serious technical bugs.

What would you say to those who are experience significant issues with newly uploaded images. As someone else mentioned in one the our threads one of the top 10 microstockers has stated that he will no longer upload images to SS until they get a handle on the problem. http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=114196


How come have I never read about this on here? From all I read, SS is perfect in every possible way and only iStock and some very insignificant/new sites have any technical problems. I guess it must have been mentioned, but very much en passant.

lagereek

« Reply #63 on: December 12, 2011, 14:36 »
0
Thank you!
I enjoy the 22 Dollars but as a passionate istocker I am also sad that this is a file that is still in the istock queue, uploaded long before I uploaded it to SS. Because it is a holiday video, it wont reach istock customers before early next year. So obviously the decision to quit exclusivity for video has already paid for itself.
Also love the map that shows you were your file was downloaded.

My little video agency battle is currently istock/SS  1:1

Yes, 2012 will be very interesting indeed!  :)

To be honest I havent got a clue about videos, etc, BUT, since you are a very nice person, I hope you sell WELL!

« Reply #64 on: December 12, 2011, 14:43 »
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I am a video newbie and still have to figure out the basics of my camera and software. I can handle a tripod, focus and pressing a button. No fancy after effects or video editing or complex overlays with animations...But Ill learn... ;)

It is also much, much more work than I thought, kudos to all you video pros...but great fun!

 

« Reply #65 on: December 12, 2011, 14:49 »
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You make a great advocate for SS, but not everyone has such positive experiences at SS. Maybe they should give you a signing bonus. For a bit of objectivity, if you do not already have a large established port on SS the odds that your new uploads will have good sales are limited by technical issues and the probability that you will have good sales with a new membership are dimming every day that SS does not fix its serious technical bugs.

What would you say to those who are experience significant issues with newly uploaded images. As someone else mentioned in one the our threads one of the top 10 microstockers has stated that he will no longer upload images to SS until they get a handle on the problem. http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=114196


I've heard about some of the bugs with new files on SS's forum. It seems like it hasn't been discussed much here though. I can't claim any personal experience though because I haven't uploaded anything new there for a year.

« Reply #66 on: December 12, 2011, 15:33 »
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My newest uploads to SS don't seem to be selling, so I presume that is because of the search engine bug. Of course, that would be very offputting for an exclusive thinking of dumping the crown because if he got all his files on SS in a lump they might get stuck in a black hole.

Another factor is that it has been suspected for years that exclusives (or maybe certain select exclusives) get more lenient inspections than independents on iStock. It's actually possible to do very well with a portfolio of technically sub-par images if you have good subjects and are blessed with a good search position. However, Shutterstock's inspection criteria are now tighter than iStock's so older material or anything that got through on the old chums' network is unlikely to pass muster.

It may be far, far harder for many well-placed exclusives to jump ship if the going gets too tough than they have imagined.


« Reply #67 on: December 12, 2011, 15:36 »
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I doubt it!


Dont!

You make a great advocate for SS, however not everyone has such positive experiences at SS. Maybe they should give you a signing bonus. For a bit of objectivity, if you do not already have a large established port on SS the odds that your new uploads will have good sales are limited by technical issues and the probability that you will have good sales with a new membership are dimming every day that SS does not fix its serious technical bugs.

What would you say to those who are experience significant issues with newly uploaded images. As someone else mentioned in one the our threads one of the top 10 microstockers has stated that he will no longer upload images to SS until they get a handle on the problem. http://submit.shutterstock.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=114196


How come have I never read about this on here? From all I read, SS is perfect in every possible way and only iStock and some very insignificant/new sites have any technical problems. I guess it must have been mentioned, but very much en passant.


Short sited as it may be: my guess would be that many who participate here have large established ports with older files.  Thus they may have good sales if some of the nastier bugs are not impacting their own ports too much. Not everyone at the SS site has been hit by the bugs, so why upset the cart and risk the ire of the site itself if the bugs plaguing others could also be a benefit to overall sales.

« Reply #68 on: December 12, 2011, 15:54 »
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Short sited as it may be: my guess would be that many who participate here have large established ports with older files.  Thus they may have good sales if some of the nastier bugs are not impacting their own ports too much. Not everyone at the SS site has been hit by the bugs, so why upset the cart and risk the ire of the site itself if the bugs plaguing others could also be a benefit to overall sales.

Exactly. It doesn't really worry me at all because I have far more 'older' images than new uploads. It only makes a few days difference anyway. All of my recent uploads are showing up in searches (the important bit) although not in my portfolio at the moment. The SS forums are full of newbies who scream blue murder over the most minor, often imaginary issues.

It is getting tougher to get new images to 'take off' though __ but that's the same everywhere. Buyers can afford to be selective because there's so many images to choose from.

« Reply #69 on: December 12, 2011, 15:55 »
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The recent complaints in this thread -- about recent pictures not showing up -- made me double check my port, and I don't seem to have been affected by it.  I have never noticed recent additions to my port not showing up.  What I have noticed is that starting several months ago, my recent pics didn't dominate my downloads like recent pics used to do... I'm sure that's been commented on here... must have been a default results switch some time ago.  Even that change didn't really affect my sales... they have been steady.  

And as for rejections, I have no complaints there either.  I think I see one or two rejections a year out of around 1000+ submissions.

« Reply #70 on: December 12, 2011, 16:51 »
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I just checked and my new images are in the search - but the way the search works has completely changed now and unless users select "new" (or random) they are going to get results that favour files that have already sold. I guess that's the reason for the change - and it isn't going to favour new contributors who dump large portfolios there.
As I've been submitting files every month for seven years the net effect for me has just been to reinforce sales of older stuff. Rather than suffering from the search, my sales have gone up. It may be a different picture for people who have only been submitting for months or a year or two.

« Reply #71 on: December 12, 2011, 17:32 »
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I just checked and my new images are in the search - but the way the search works has completely changed now and unless users select "new" (or random) they are going to get results that favour files that have already sold. I guess that's the reason for the change - and it isn't going to favour new contributors who dump large portfolios there.
As I've been submitting files every month for seven years the net effect for me has just been to reinforce sales of older stuff. Rather than suffering from the search, my sales have gone up. It may be a different picture for people who have only been submitting for months or a year or two.

In general I think that other than the "New" search SS has always favored files that sold. I think a year or more ago they lowered the boost that recent images that sold got. This tends to make the "most popular" search closer to all time sales rather than just sales/time. I am not sure what goes into the "relevant" search - perhaps a heavier weighting to the title? This also might have been around the time they went from indexing new images a few times a day to almost continuous indexing for the new search but then they would take a while to show up in the general search.

I think the problem more recently with new files is when the "new" search doesn't show them they get permanently buried with almost no chance of a later sale unless the search is very specific or the sale comes from a portfolio search. I have had a few files that seemed DOA but then a bit later started to collect a few sales, so maybe there is hope for new files with no sales (or maybe they are just obscure enough to show up in searches with only 1 or 2 pages of results).

My sales have continued to climb this year, but I have a lot of older files and semi-obscure ones that are keeping me at the level I am accustumed to (low but continuous sales). I am a bit worried that most of my new images for this year will be essentially wasted on SS.

« Reply #72 on: December 12, 2011, 20:59 »
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New files that are accepted has disappeared and are not found in any search for keywords that are in them. New files accepted show and go away after a few days in portfolios. Sale from the US are down. Sales for new files are gone. They said they fix this in Oct but it's still broken. SS has a bad problem. Many submitting will not upload more until its fixed. But SS still beats IS.

« Reply #73 on: December 12, 2011, 21:16 »
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...I submitted 10 accepted and very sell-able images from my iStock portfolio. They were all rejected.

The real problem isn't that these agencies are changing their ideas of what they want and will accept... it's their lack of ability to communicate their new requirements.  Or maybe it's just a lack of interest - and they're now so intoxicated with "crowdsourcing" that they believe that no matter how inconsistent or incomprehensible their rejections, or how low the returns, there's still an endless supply of new material.   

« Reply #74 on: December 13, 2011, 04:01 »
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Hi All,

As a DT exclusive for the last 6 months I just wanted to let you know how this thread has changed my opinion on things. I was just accepted into Shutterstock today (on the first go round) 9 out of 10 approved. I've spent the evening here uploading files to the site. I hope good things come out of Shutterstock for me... I've been purchasing there for the last couple of weeks and they seem pretty 'With It'... Anyway, thanks for the post, it's really opened things up for me.


 

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