Harry Lee Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Hi everybody. I was looking at the handy sales graph that Alamy have introduced on the new My Alamy page. I Joined Alamy in 2007 and as I added pictures I had a very steady increase in the number of sales peaking in 2012. Since then, while still adding pictures, I have had a just as steady decrease in sales. I have a little over 3000 images uploaded at present. I just wondered if anybody else had noticed a similar dicline in sales starting at around this time. Did Alamy introduce or change anything at that time or is this something I have caused myself? - or, is this pure luck of the draw? A puzzeled Harry Lee Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I joined Nov 2008 but did not make my first sale to 2011. Made a few since then. My thoughts on declining sales for individual photographers on Alamy is the rapid increase in numbers of images added to the library in recent years. Thus giving the single image less chance of being selected. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pearl Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I am also experiencing a decline in sales but it has only kicked in recently having been steadily increasing since I joined in 2003. I am still adding new images at the same rate but the volume on Alamy is increasing much faster. The introduction of the Creative button is also partly to blame in my opinion as it favours the agencies. Pearl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panthera tigris Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 2011 was my peak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morrison Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 2011 was my peak I peaked early. 1967 was a great year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Betty LaRue Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Harry, my experience is like yours. You have a few more images, but my sales have done exactly what yours have. I hear it is important to upload something every week, even if it is only 5 images. It keeps your images closer to the front of the search. Notice I didn't say "at the front", but closer than if you haven't uploaded for a month or two. Of course, the sin bin doesn't help that endeavor! Betty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Oh no! Betty you are not in there are you? No wonder you are having a bad day. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Ventura Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Been a member since 2005. Both sales and revenue peaked, for me, in 2011. I have added a significant number of photos since then, only to see sales and revenue decline. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My best year was 2013. This year, so far, I've fallen off a cliff. And QC seems to have reserved a room for me in the sin bin. I expect to get an email any day now asking me to sign a lease. In my first six years with Alamy I did not have a single failed image. Well, I'm making up for that this past year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CMEckert Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Like most contributors, my revenue has also decreased. I had a nice large corporate packaging sale come in this morning and it was heavily discounted. A large corporation with lots of revenue is going to purchase the image they feel is best suited for their packaging. I really doubt they care about whether it's discounted or not. I think Alamy is obsessed with discounting and thus our drop in earnings. Please lighten up on the discounting Alamy. We contributors are struggling to make ends meet. Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokie Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My sales peaked in 2012 (45), then dropped last year to 41, but so far this year I have sold 38 (1 today!), so I would expect to better 2013's volume. My income has risen each year for the 7 years I have been with Alamy - including this year which has already overtaken last year's total. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My best year was 2013. This year, so far, I've fallen off a cliff. And QC seems to have reserved a room for me in the sin bin. I expect to get an email any day now asking me to sign a lease. In my first six years with Alamy I did not have a single failed image. Well, I'm making up for that this past year. Ed, do you think your misfortune may be linked to changes of equipment recently and simply not getting to grips with it? Just a friendly thought. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bell Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My sales peaked in 2013 (45), then dropped last year to 41, but so far this year I have sold 38 (1 today!), so I would expect to better 2013's volume. My income has risen each year for the 7 years I have been with Alamy - including this year which has already overtaken last year's total. John. Good on you John. At least someone is bucking the trend. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokie Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My sales peaked in 2012 (45), then dropped last year to 41, but so far this year I have sold 38 (1 today!), so I would expect to better 2013's volume. My income has risen each year for the 7 years I have been with Alamy - including this year which has already overtaken last year's total. John. Good on you John. At least someone is bucking the trend. Allan Double post............ John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokie Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My sales peaked in 2012 (45), then dropped last year to 41, but so far this year I have sold 38 (1 today!), so I would expect to better 2013's volume. My income has risen each year for the 7 years I have been with Alamy - including this year which has already overtaken last year's total. John. Good on you John. At least someone is bucking the trend. Allan Allan, I just thought people might like to hear a good news story! I hadn't realised that my income had gone up this year until the shiny new all singing and dancing graphs appeared on the new dashboard. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ollie Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I joined Alamy in 2006. My peak number of sales was 2012, with 93, something less than two a week. 2013 was similar, with 90. So far in 2014 I have only 34 sales, so it seems unlikely I'll equal previous years. More importantly, my peak income (my share received) from Alamy was in 2011--$5124 from 72 sales. This has gone steadily downwards, to $3744 from the 90 sales in 2013. All the time the number of my images on Alamy has steadily increased to the point where I now have just over 12,000. With proceeds per sale continuing their decline the question now is how much longer will I be able to justify giving my best stock images to Alamy? The price obtained from licensing an image seems to bear no relationship to the cost of obtaining the image. It costs me a lot more to go to Senegal than to drive to Baltimore for the day, but the same price calculator is used for all images. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Rooney Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 My best year was 2013. This year, so far, I've fallen off a cliff. And QC seems to have reserved a room for me in the sin bin. I expect to get an email any day now asking me to sign a lease. In my first six years with Alamy I did not have a single failed image. Well, I'm making up for that this past year. Ed, do you think your misfortune may be linked to changes of equipment recently and simply not getting to grips with it? Just a friendly thought. Allan New equipment is surely a part of my problem, Allan. But my view of things to come in the stock world continues to darken. Do I still believe? No, I do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alex Todd Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 2011 was my peak I peaked early. You can get tablets for that John My CTR graph looks quite healthy but sales are flatlining still. I know the theory about uploading frequently but my time in the sin bin has put me off. On a brighter O/T note, I attended a networking event last night for small businesses. Everyone had to stand up and speak for a few minutes about their business. I made the point about images on the internet not being free and lots of web designers had caused problems for their clients by using copyrighted images who then found themselves with a larger bill or involved in a court case. "Much better to support local photographers and have bespoke images done for your own business brochures, etc" I said. I was approached afterwards by two of the attendees interested in having photography done for them so hopefully that will be a good revenue stream for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I started uploading in 2007, and my sales peaked in 2012 with 109 sales during that year. Numbers have been declining since then even though I continue to add new images. My five-year graphs look like isosceles triangles. This year has been pretty good so far with 50 sales. However, things seem to have tanked this month as I've only had one sale so far. Oddly enough, June is shaping up to be a really good month for new zooms and my CTR is flying high, which is encouraging. Regarding the sin bin, QC is definitely more stringent than it used to be. I had a hard time adjusting to this new reality during the past year and was spending as much time in the doghouse as out of it. I seem to have cleaned up my act now, and submissions are once again sailing through with no problems (touch wood). I trust that ultimate QC redemption is still possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 . I trust that ultimate QC redemption is still possible. Hopefully so, I had 3 fails out of 7 trying to get a tricky image through, then 3 passes, and now the sinbin. There's evidently a percentage 'pass rate' though of course I don't know when the clock is reset. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 Lower volume,lower prices here while I've managed to keep my own pricing high and still make sales. A few days ago I had 3 of these pop up;most likely same client. $10 gross. Lowest amount I've ever grossed on a sale. My fee would have been $300 a year. Not like they'd be flying off the shelf,but I still make sales to the higher end companies.I don't chase bottom feeding websites or do bulk sales for more than a 10% discount. Country: WorldwideUsage: EditorialMedia: Editorial websitePlacement: Single PlacementImage Size: up to full areaStart: 01 May 2014End: 01 May 2017Editorial web use, multiple placement; rights granted in line with customer agreement which may vary from invoice details above $10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lastrega Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 A few days ago I had 3 of these pop up;most likely same client. $10 gross. Lowest amount I've ever grossed on a sale. My fee would have been $300 a year. Not like they'd be flying off the shelf,but I still make sales to the higher end companies.I don't chase bottom feeding websites or do bulk sales for more than a 10% discount. I suppose the upside is that they ARE paying and not just stealing your image. Still seems like robbery though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DavidLyons Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 A few days ago I had 3 of these pop up;most likely same client. $10 gross. Lowest amount I've ever grossed on a sale. My fee would have been $300 a year. Not like they'd be flying off the shelf,but I still make sales to the higher end companies.I don't chase bottom feeding websites or do bulk sales for more than a 10% discount. I suppose the upside is that they ARE paying and not just stealing your image. Still seems like robbery though. For professional photographers I think stealing is more understandable and more acceptable than our representatives selling our images at $10 gross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Linda Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I shot those 3 photos all at the same location. $4000 in camera gear too,LOL! L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Mitchell Posted June 17, 2014 Share Posted June 17, 2014 I shot those 3 photos all at the same location. $4000 in camera gear too,LOL! L Ironic, but no laughing matter really. With sales this low, it's tough to justify spending -- and getting into debt -- over new camera gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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