August 1 - 6, 2023: $289.34
August 1 - 6, 2024: $21.77

My August, 2024 is bad, but my August, 2023 was horrible.

August 1 - 6, 2023: $22.42
August 1 - 6, 2024: $177.84

Starting August 8, 2023, the month picked up tremendously, so I am still holding out hope for this August.

Quote from: odesigns on August 07, 2024, 18:30

Quote from: Pacesetter on August 07, 2024, 17:56

August 1 - 6, 2023: $289.34
August 1 - 6, 2024: $21.77

My August, 2024 is bad, but my August, 2023 was horrible.

August 1 - 6, 2023: $22.42
August 1 - 6, 2024: $177.84

Starting August 8, 2023, the month picked up tremendously, so I am still holding out hope for this August.

again, given the wide variability month to month,  single month comparisons aren't as useful as 3 or 4 month running averages

this is comparing a single week of a single month

I've found hourly and even minutely comparisons to be statistically reliable and informative.

Month by month, it�s getting worse, at least for me. Last month was very weak, and August seems like it won�t even reach half of last month. I earned more when I had just a few hundred works back in 2015. New items aren�t selling, which is strange because on Adobe Stock, new items are moving, so that�s probably not the issue. Maybe I have a shadow ban because how else can I explain it? After reaching level 5, I noticed quite intense drops in sales.

Does anyone else have a similar experience? It breaks my heart to see how my once-favorite stock photo site is hitting rock bottom.

I've found hourly and even minutely comparisons to be statistically reliable and informative.

Remember the software that would ping the sites, every minute, to check if we had a new download? The agencies had to block that. But 14 years ago, minute by minute was a real thing.

And then the people who watched so close that if there was a drop, in a particular time period, they imagined that they were being blacked out by zones. Now instead of hours, it's black out days.

Speaking of the best SS Subject, which is so true, I've noticed that most of my sales, those wonderful dimes, are not subscriptions anymore. Almost all are Single or OD. Talk about an embarrassment. What used to be no sale Saturday has become, no sale weekends.

I have cameras, lenses, lighting, all kinds of expensive equipment to make better images, and what do I get?

Quote from: stockman11 on June 23, 2023, 16:26

My SS earnings used to be 15x higher than now, and they just keep nosediving from month to month. Once a good earner, now abomination. Seems like it will join mid-tier agencies soon. Inexcusable.

During this same time, my Adobe Stock earnings has been growing, and Istock has been consistent.

I'm considering to start treating SS like the other mid-tier agencies and completely stop uploading there.

I stopped uploading to shutterstock in 2020. Was all in but 10 cents is not worth the trouble. Im not very succesful at all in these stock companies but adobe stock is doing better for me than shutter ever did. Shutter was great with video sales.

I feel your pain! when shutter used to pay 40 bucks a video I whent out and got a gymbal, professional studio lighting and started leveling up my skills and quality on videos. Was all n and really motivated in 2019 but then in 2020 the great news came and I still feel like what?

Quote from: Micha91 on August 19, 2024, 08:54

Does anyone else have a similar experience? It breaks my heart to see how my once-favorite stock photo site is hitting rock bottom.

My August is surprisingly bad.  I may not hit $1K.  And this at an agency where it wasn't uncommon for me to hit $5K - $7K per month just a few years ago!  Guess everyone who wanted my clips got them.

I can only imagine what your production costs must be if you're making what you claim to make in the microstock business!

Quote from: Asthebelltolls on August 21, 2024, 09:11

I can only imagine what your production costs must be if you're making what you claim to make in the microstock business!

Production costs? For me, basically zero. It�s me in a spare room in my free time churning out video clips when the inspiration hits.

Curious what your port numbers are, do you have both stills and video? 

Quote from: Pacesetter on August 21, 2024, 16:58

Curious what your port numbers are, do you have both stills and video?

Mostly video. Over 10.000 clips at multiple agencies.  And a handful of stills.

Really well done and great results (from reading your post on the other thread) even with over 10,000 clips. 

A $76.31 video sale on SS today. It�s picking up at about the same time as it did on August 23. I�m hoping the summer slump is over now.

Quote from: Camillo on August 20, 2024, 18:02

....

I stopped uploading to shutterstock in 2020. Was all in but 10 cents is not worth the trouble. Im not very succesful at all in these stock companies but adobe stock is doing better for me than shutter ever did. Shutter was great with video sales.

your choice, but the 10c cheapest sale isn't a true measure - i can't remember anyone here reporting their RPD was < $.20 /image --  mine varies from$.50-.75 /image - only slightly less than AS but with higher actual income/mo (which is what really matters)

I quit SS when my RPD went to <20c for several months in a row, that and their ethics made me pull the pin.

...
Does anyone else have a similar experience? It breaks my heart to see how my once-favorite stock photo site is hitting rock bottom.

Same here.
My earnings on Depositphotos is twice that of Shutterstock this month. And it's not because Depositphotos is better than normal.

Shutterstock used to be at least 10 times better than Depositphotos.