After being with them since the beginning have decided not to supply them any more images. No point. Income steadily dropped over the years. Adobe stock is now king.

Since January 1st, I've only sold a few photos, for about $100. Given that my core business is videos and that I earn between $600 and $1,000 a month, I've been wondering why my videos aren't downloading anymore.
The answer I've come up with is that SS sets the Unlimited videos option by default, so those who aren't part of that program don't appear in user searches.

I've obviously contacted SS, but the replies are incompetent people who are stalling for who knows what.

Has anyone encountered and verified the above?

Hi, and good luck to everyone.

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Dal 1 gennaio ho venduto solo qualche foto, per un corrispettivo di circa 100 dollari. Considerato che il mio core business sono i video e che mensilmente ricevo dagli 600 ai 1000 dollari, mi sono fatto qualche domanda sul perché non ci sono più download dei miei video.
La risposta che mi sono dato che SS mette di default la spunta per i video Illimitati, cosicché chi non fa parte di tale programma non compare nelle ricerche da parte degli utenti.

Ho chiaramente scritto a SS, ma rispondono persone incompetenti che stalli non so a fare cosa.

Qualcuno ha riscontrato e verificato quanto sopra descritto?
Ciao e buon lavoro a tutti

Quote from: Luigiroma on February 05, 2026, 13:27SS sets the Unlimited videos option by default

Do they still do that?  I just did a test search and don't see any option to include or omit unlimited files.  But perhaps they moved or hid it and I'm not seeing it.

Tried it now with Mac using Chrome, it is still active... this is a big scam for those who are not part of the Unlimited

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Provato adesso con Mac usando Crome, si è ancora attiva... questa è una grossa fregatura per chi non fa parte degli Illimitati

It looks like the larger image sales have almost completely disappeared on SS. I used to regularly get sales ranging from $10 up to $100, but since January 1 I've had only one for $70 and a few around $10. It's nothing compared to last year. It almost feels as if a switch was flipped on January 1 and those higher-value sales simply vanished.

I'm currently Level 4 for images and will probably reach Level 5 by the end of this week. The download volume is a bit lower, but not nearly as dramatic as the drop in larger sales.

Since the beginning of the month, I've made less than $5!!!!.
So YES, Shutterstock is a big embarrassment!

For the first time, I'm making zero sales today.
I'm checking if my images are visible on the site, and I can't see any of them.
I see that by default the search engine is set to "unlimited images only".

what is this ?

I understand better now why sales are so poor on Shutterstock... 

Quote from: Thomas-Luc on February 12, 2026, 18:23
For the first time, I'm making zero sales today.
I'm checking if my images are visible on the site, and I can't see any of them.
I see that by default the search engine is set to "unlimited images only".

what is this ?

I understand better now why sales are so poor on Shutterstock... 

Let's call this what it is: structural favoritism.

If search results default to "Unlimited only", then contributors who are not part of that program are effectively excluded from visibility unless buyers manually change the filter. The vast majority of users will never do that.

This is not competition. This is controlled exposure.

Unlimited contributors receive traffic by default. Traffic generates downloads. Downloads generate internal ranking signals. Ranking signals further increase visibility. Meanwhile, everyone outside the program is pushed down due to the very lack of traffic the system itself created.

That is not a neutral marketplace. That is a two-tier system.

As per my front page:

"Complete your tax form to continue uploading
Beginning March 2026, any contributors who do not complete their tax forms will be restricted from uploading any more content."

My tax form is already submitted for > 4 months with 4 reminder emails, no-one checks or approves it 

What a mess 

Quote from: PeteStock on February 14, 2026, 08:25
As per my front page:

"Complete your tax form to continue uploading
Beginning March 2026, any contributors who do not complete their tax forms will be restricted from uploading any more content."

My tax form is already submitted for > 4 months with 4 reminder emails, no-one checks or approves it 

What a mess 

Is it the online one for individuals, or a company one that you need to send in? The online one should get approved instantly and, if that hasn't happened, something is wrong and you should submit it again.

Are this company's days numbered? I've never had such poor sales. It's the middle of the month and I've only made $5 in sales. Seriously?
I don't know, but something isn't going right anymore...

Quote from: Micha91 on February 14, 2026, 07:28

Quote from: Thomas-Luc on February 12, 2026, 18:23
For the first time, I'm making zero sales today.
I'm checking if my images are visible on the site, and I can't see any of them.
I see that by default the search engine is set to "unlimited images only".

what is this ?

I understand better now why sales are so poor on Shutterstock... 

Let's call this what it is: structural favoritism.

If search results default to "Unlimited only", then contributors who are not part of that program are effectively excluded from visibility unless buyers manually change the filter. The vast majority of users will never do that.

This is not competition. This is controlled exposure.

Unlimited contributors receive traffic by default. Traffic generates downloads. Downloads generate internal ranking signals. Ranking signals further increase visibility. Meanwhile, everyone outside the program is pushed down due to the very lack of traffic the system itself created.

That is not a neutral marketplace. That is a two-tier system.

Aren't we more profitable for them with sales that aren't in the "unlimited" program?

Quote from: kuriouskat on February 14, 2026, 08:45

Quote from: PeteStock on February 14, 2026, 08:25
As per my front page:

"Complete your tax form to continue uploading
Beginning March 2026, any contributors who do not complete their tax forms will be restricted from uploading any more content."

My tax form is already submitted for > 4 months with 4 reminder emails, no-one checks or approves it 

What a mess 

Company, which needs to be send via email unfortunately

Is it the online one for individuals, or a company one that you need to send in? The online one should get approved instantly and, if that hasn't happened, something is wrong and you should submit it again.

The one for business, which needs to be send via email it looks like, maybe I need to convert back to individual 

I have editorial images pending for 1,5 week now. Never had to wait that long before, and i've been with SS since 2009. The commercial images do go through normally though. Strange.

Quote from: John W. on February 15, 2026, 21:30
I have editorial images pending for 1,5 week now. Never had to wait that long before, and i've been with SS since 2009. The commercial images do go through normally though. Strange.

Im at 2-3 weeks for some images now.

Previously all editorial got done as a batch, all RF as a different batch.

Now there seems to be some pre-selection and splitting going on with certain categories/attributes going through, others getting delayed, for both RF and Edi.

Quote from: PeteStock on February 15, 2026, 20:49

Quote from: kuriouskat on February 14, 2026, 08:45

Quote from: PeteStock on February 14, 2026, 08:25
As per my front page:

"Complete your tax form to continue uploading
Beginning March 2026, any contributors who do not complete their tax forms will be restricted from uploading any more content."

My tax form is already submitted for > 4 months with 4 reminder emails, no-one checks or approves it 

What a mess 

Company, which needs to be send via email unfortunately

Is it the online one for individuals, or a company one that you need to send in? The online one should get approved instantly and, if that hasn't happened, something is wrong and you should submit it again.

The one for business, which needs to be send via email it looks like, maybe I need to convert back to individual 

Maybe the email has been lost somewhere? 4 months delay is crazy, and not helpful to anyone.

From my own experience and clients' accounts, the Unlimited selection feels random. Long‑time contributors with solid portfolios can be ignored, while others get in. It seems Shutterstock prioritizes volume and constant activity over experience. People in Unlimited often get more downloads, but payouts are tiny. Outside the program, visibility drops. Compared to that, Adobe Stock feels more stable: fewer sales, but better value per download. Do you see Unlimited as a real income boost, or just fake activity?

Quote from: videostock.system on February 16, 2026, 12:11
From my own experience and clients' accounts, the Unlimited selection feels random. Long‑time contributors with solid portfolios can be ignored, while others get in. It seems Shutterstock prioritizes volume and constant activity over experience. People in Unlimited often get more downloads, but payouts are tiny. Outside the program, visibility drops. Compared to that, Adobe Stock feels more stable: fewer sales, but better value per download. Do you see Unlimited as a real income boost, or just fake activity?

You always sound like a robot. Do you always use ai to write your posts or just every time?

It's unbelievable. But editorial photos aren't being reviewed. I submitted photos from a sailing race on January 31st. Dreamstime immediately paid an extra $5. Some of those photos were sold, but they're still pending review on Shutterstock.

They're not among those rejected and added to the catalog. They're just waiting. The next race is coming up. I'll be shooting it this weekend. What are they waiting for?

(By the way, I have a lot of sailing photos and they sell a lot.)

I wait 15 days for my editorial pictures in january...

It seems Shutterstock is completely dead, both in terms of revenue and the adoption of new visuals. I hope things will turn around, but I highly doubt it.

Have they removed the keywording tool? I can't find it any more.

Quote from: synthetick on February 17, 2026, 08:51
Have they removed the keywording tool? I can't find it any more.

Yip, it's gone An exciting new tool is coming for 2026

Waiting times are well out of hand at the moment. 3-4 weeks for a batch of editorial photos and counting, just as slow as Pond5 now!

All the big sales are gone from SS. I don't see anything higher than $3 anymore, which is crazy for Shutterstock. I'm Level 5 for images, and I used to have sales like that on a daily basis. Not anymore this year, they clearly changed something.

Quote from: click.baty on February 17, 2026, 10:31

Quote from: synthetick on February 17, 2026, 08:51
Have they removed the keywording tool? I can't find it any more.

Yip, it's gone An exciting new tool is coming for 2026

Sad, I loved that keywording tool.