Agency Based Discussion > Shutterstock.com

8.40$ for Enhanced License at shutterstock

(1/3) > >>

spc:
I got 8.40$ for an enhanced download a few days ago.

I just checked the enhanced packs and the cheapest option is 67.96 per image. Isn't my comission supposed to be calculated based on the price per image? I'm in level 5 and 8.40 is even less than 15%. Am I missing something?

Did anyone else get this amount for enhanced downloads?

whosvegas:
I have never a EL on SS

$8,40 seems a bit low, maybe a discount action?

marthamarks:

--- Quote from: spc on July 16, 2020, 05:31 ---I got 8.40$ for an enhanced download a few days ago.

--- End quote ---

I'm old enough — and have been around the stock photography world long enough — to remember when $28 was SS's royalty for an EL. And from my first days there in 2009, even with a much smaller portfolio I somehow managed to get a good many of them.

Then, a few years ago, SS dropped its EL royalty to $18, and with that drop came a decrease in the number of ELs showing up.

So now, based on your report, it seems to be down another ten bucks. Like everything else at SS, totally not worth the bother.

I left iStock in 2011 when they began playing these games. Sad to see SS going the same route, but it sure as heck does feel good to be outta there now.

Uncle Pete:

--- Quote from: spc on July 16, 2020, 05:31 ---I got 8.40$ for an enhanced download a few days ago.

I just checked the enhanced packs and the cheapest option is 67.96 per image. Isn't my comission supposed to be calculated based on the price per image? I'm in level 5 and 8.40 is even less than 15%. Am I missing something?

Did anyone else get this amount for enhanced downloads?

--- End quote ---

Without knowing the inside details, the math says: The buyer paid $24 for the EL, you got $8.40

You get your percentage from what the buyer actually pays, not the advertised starting price. Some buyers make deals and get a lower price, so we get a lower commission, ##% of a smaller starting number. This is where commissions based on percentages, instead of the former flat value figures, will change what we make.

What's been happening is, SS has offered us a flat pay for sales. Take a subscription and the artist gets 38 cents. At the same time, competition has driven down the prices and SS has dropped prices, so each time they made a sale, they made less. Part of subscriptions in the past was, buyers paying a fee and then not using all their subscriptions. The agency made 100% profit on that, because they did have to pay us anything, for unused downloads.

Also the market has changed and SS has moved over to more and more API partners and distributors. They get what they pay for, they don't pay for a subscription and leave downloads unused, that they paid for in advance. But they pay a lower subscription price.

By changing to percentage, we are only going to get a part of the ACTUAL price.

Level 1, <= 100 = 15%
Level 2, 101 - 250 = 20%
Level 3, 251 - 500 = 25%
Level 4, 501 - 2,500 = 30%
Level 5, 2,501 - 25,000 = 35%
Level 6, > 25,000 = 40%

Minimum is 10 cents, which means if some big buyer has a deal and pays, 25c an image, instead of us getting .075 we get 10c. No that's not anything to cheer about, but that also means SS is paying us more than our true commission when a buyer gets a extremely low price for images.

It's difficult for me to understand how some buyer would pay less than 25c a download or use, so that people on level 6 are still getting only 10c commission. But that's what the numbers say? I think there's some Facebook deal where they use images for advertising and pay on a contract,which could be lower than 25¢ a use, we'll all get 10c a use for those.

I just got an OD for less than I was getting before June. I also get those 10c subs like everyone else and yesterday I got a .50 sub and a .72 sub, both higher than the value I used to get. The problem is, not enough of these to make up for the 10-11-12¢ subs? So some are better and others are lower.

No I haven't had an EL in a long time.

Firn:
I had no enhanced licence sale since SS introduced the new payment structure, but before that I already had an EL for as low as 9,51$ in 2019, so at least that's nothing new.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page