Micro-Macro-Whatever-Stock

[Sally]

There cannot now be any distinction between any of the stock websites. Despite trying to avoid as many of the very low value sales by opting out of everything apart from direct sales, the average license fee has plummeted this year. Today I got 4 licenses only one of which was above $1.50 and that was just over $3.00. Four images sold for my gain for less than it would cost to buy a coffee. I’m relatively new to stock compared to many here on the forum but there has been a significant recent downward trend. 
OK, just a general moan.

[Avpics]

Quote

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There's no doubt at all that Alamy regard themselves as being in competition with microstock sites for the volume sales, but thankfully are still also capable of attracting the two and three figure licences. I'm also relatively new to stock and such am unaware of which other agencies can match those larger values.

[John Mitchell]

I'd say that the biggest distinction now is among buyers. Fortunately, Alamy still has some old-fashioned editorial customers who are comfortable with traditional RM licensing and have the budget to pay decent prices. All the rest now have a "microstock mentality" and are used to paying peanuts for images. Apparently, there is a whole new generation of "boutique" commercial buyers shopping at Alamy. However, I've seen neither hide nor hair of them, probably for good reason since my images aren't exactly trend-setting. 😬

[Sultanpepa]

Unfortunately the number of images sold doesn't make up for the price drop. Hence why PA took more commission. I see further commission grab coming our way in the not too distant future as PA get even more greedy. 😒

[Steve F]

12 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

Apparently, there is a whole new generation of "boutique" commercial buyers shopping at Alamy. However, I've seen neither hide nor hair of them, probably for good reason since my images aren't exactly trend-setting. 😬

 

John, I think I'm attracting them all! My average license price is terrible compared to some of you guys....

[John Mitchell]

6 hours ago, Steve F said:

 

John, I think I'm attracting them all! My average license price is terrible compared to some of you guys....

 

I don't seem to be attracting much of anyone this month. Only one sale (at least it's $$$) and a PU refund to show so far.

[Brasilnut]

Here's my average historical license Return Per Download/image (net) at Alamy:

 

2017: $16.39

2018: $12.62

2019: $9.94

2020: $8.46

2021: $7.99

2022 (so far): $4.42

 

The above would be mitigated if only volumes had increased, but they have stagnated. 

[Bryan]

I have seen a steady increase in sales volume every year since 2018 and this year will be my best ever in that regard. Unfortunately the same is not true of gross income, which has fallen every year since 2017, factor in the further reduction in net income and I have seen a massive drop in my earnings from stock. At one time I could rely on this income stream to fund a foreign holiday and would happily splash cash on new photo gear, but those days have long gone. Stock is now a retirement pursuit that fills my time in an interesting way, but I would not recommend it as a source of  income for a young photographer, there are far easier ways to make money.

[Sally]

I should have a moan more often. Two $175 sales just dropped in this morning for U.K. TV use.

[Allan Bell]

24 minutes ago, Sally said:

I should have a moan more often. Two $175 sales just dropped in this morning for U.K. TV use.

 

That is a RESULT.

 

Can I join you?

 

MOAN, MOAN, MOAN.  Low earnings + high discounts and commissions do not help. Please Alamy get me at least one licence at $100 net please, please.  Pretty PLEASE.

 

Allan

 

[John Mitchell]

On 12/12/2022 at 01:34, Sally said:

I should have a moan more often. Two $175 sales just dropped in this morning for U.K. TV use.

 

Good for you. It seems to me that the only way to make decently priced sales these days is to upload more images that might appeal to these traditional types of buyers who still appreciate RM licensing and have a healthy budget. Images that are likely to end up on editorial websites or digital anything are likely to license for peanuts because that's what these types of customers are used to paying elsewhere. My single $$$ sale so far this month is museum display, which remains a good market. Mind you. I wouldn't have thought that the subject would appeal to a museum. Therein lies the rub...🙄

[Jansos]

On 07/12/2022 at 22:08, Avpics said:

There's no doubt at all that Alamy regard themselves as being in competition with microstock sites for the volume sales, but thankfully are still also capable of attracting the two and three figure licences. I'm also relatively new to stock and such am unaware of which other agencies can match those larger values.

Two, three and four figure licences are still possible, thankfully, but becoming less of the daily norm. I very much doubt if other microstock sites, not that I use them, would ever be able to offer $$$ and $$$$ sales. My only worry is that who will willingly pay $$$ when they know they can get the same thing elsewhere for cents? IMO, those photographers that use microstock sites to sell their pics are as guilty as the sites that sell them.

Edited December 16, 2022 by Jansos

[Allan Bell]

WELL! My little (quite big actually) moan on Monday has worked.

 

NO! I did not get a $100 net sale but THREE smaller ones dropped in today.

 

Thank you Alamy, and Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to all at Alamy.

 

Allan

 

[Dave Nelson]

MOAN !!!

So far a zero month here.  Plenty of views and zooms, but...

Patiently waiting for a Christmas present...

[Broad Norfolk]

10 minutes ago, Dave Nelson said:

MOAN !!!

So far a zero month here.  Plenty of views and zooms, but...

Patiently waiting for a Christmas present...

 

I must add myself to the MOAN section. No sales so far this month and if it carries on like this it will be my first zero month since October 2017!! Views and zooms are not consistent and very roller coaster-like. My sales have risen steadily upwards each year for a number of years and I need two this month to overtake last years record number. I may just 'die in the hole'!!

Jim 😐   

[Bryan]

9 hours ago, Broad Norfolk said:

 

I must add myself to the MOAN section. No sales so far this month and if it carries on like this it will be my first zero month since October 2017!! Views and zooms are not consistent and very roller coaster-like. My sales have risen steadily upwards each year for a number of years and I need two this month to overtake last years record number. I may just 'die in the hole'!!

Jim 😐   

It's been a quiet month for me too, and, as we approach the holiday season I guess things won't improve. I've had a few low value sales dribble in, but compared to recent times a poor show. Likewise my POD efforts have been unrewarded recently, not sure if I will continue with that venture. Thinking positively, the weather is supposed to warm up on Monday, something to look forward to.

[John Mitchell]

1 hour ago, Bryan said:

It's been a quiet month for me too, and, as we approach the holiday season I guess things won't improve. I've had a few low value sales dribble in, but compared to recent times a poor show. Likewise my POD efforts have been unrewarded recently, not sure if I will continue with that venture. Thinking positively, the weather is supposed to warm up on Monday, something to look forward to.

 

Quite a good month for me so far. I'm now only one sale away from last year's total. Gross revenue up about 10%, so at least I'm treading water (sort of). 🏊‍♂️

 

I've made very few POD sales this year as well despite adding quite a few images to a new site. That particular market is supersaturated now, it appears.

[Bryan]

5 hours ago, John Mitchell said:

 

Quite a good month for me so far. I'm now only one sale away from last year's total. Gross revenue up about 10%, so at least I'm treading water (sort of). 🏊‍♂️

 

I've made very few POD sales this year as well despite adding quite a few images to a new site. That particular market is supersaturated now, it appears.

Good to see that all is not lost John. 

 

Likewise a $75 sale popped in late last night, so things could be worse, although my gross revenue continues to fall year on year.

 

[Dave Nelson]

On 16/12/2022 at 10:45, Dave Nelson said:

MOAN !!!

So far a zero month here.  Plenty of views and zooms, but...

Patiently waiting for a Christmas present...

 

It worked!  Direct $225 (gross) sale popped up this morning!

[Betty LaRue]

My sales for ‘22 are the best ever in number, and my income gross is best ever. I need to check net.

[John Mitchell]

9 hours ago, Bryan said:

Good to see that all is not lost John. 

 

Likewise a $75 sale popped in late last night, so things could be worse, although my gross revenue continues to fall year on year.

 

 

Sorry to hear that. UK contributors seem to be more vulnerable to lower prices, due to newspaper sales no doubt. I was making considerably more ten years ago than I am now. However, things have been holding more or less steady for the past few years, except for net income of course. Most of my images were exclusive, so I was getting 50% on direct sales.

[StokeCreative]

On 16/12/2022 at 15:45, Dave Nelson said:

MOAN !!!

So far a zero month here.  Plenty of views and zooms, but...

Patiently waiting for a Christmas present...

Zilch, nada, nut'n for me so far this month, quite unusual

[Betty LaRue]

3 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

My sales for ‘22 are the best ever in number, and my income gross is best ever. I need to check net.

I reran the figures. I was wrong. I’ve sold more images by far this year, but revenue is down. I’m not good at running the charts.

[Allan Bell]

13 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

I reran the figures. I was wrong. I’ve sold more images by far this year, but revenue is down. I’m not good at running the charts.

 

My sales this year are the highest I have ever had but gross income is a bit over half of my best sales figure which was last years.

 

Allan

 

[Cal]

On 16/12/2022 at 11:00, Jansos said:

Two, three and four figure licences are still possible, thankfully, but becoming less of the daily norm. I very much doubt if other microstock sites, not that I use them, would ever be able to offer $$$ and $$$$ sales. My only worry is that who will willingly pay $$$ when they know they can get the same thing elsewhere for cents? IMO, those photographers that use microstock sites to sell their pics are as guilty as the sites that sell them.

 

I know this is a bit of a contentious issue on here, but I'd say don't hate the player, hate the game.

 

I have a small port (around 1/20th of what I have on Alamy) on some "other" sites. There is some overlap to Alamy but there are also some unique items that I think would be better suited to MS. While it was never intended to be an experiment, it is clear to me that for a lot of what I shoot, some of the MS sites are actually more lucrative. I have photos that never sell on Alamy (and never did, long before I started MS) that fly off the MS shelf almost daily. Yes, per sale the amounts are tiny, but despite the size of my port "over there", in terms of volume it is a very, very successful one. I ran the numbers to work out what the revenue from microstock could amount to if I was to extrapolate the size of my port over there to what it is here. The results surprised me. Basically, I'd be significantly more well off. As a result, I've started to adjust, and aside from certain subjects that I know are particularly well suited to Alamy, much more of my content will be going "over there". If one can earn more overall from the lifetime of an image, regardless of how the dynamics of the sales work, that's a win. I will continue to run what has become an "experiment" and assuming it is indeed more lucrative to focus more heavily on MS, I will continue to. I see no point in dying on this hill of principle while clearly depriving myself of earnings.