Author Topic: BigStockPhoto going into oblivion (Read 5901 times)

kacper · « **on:** August 09, 2006, 04:59 »

First we had the renegade admin, then the RIDICULOUS long queue (now averaging more than two weeks) only exceeded by CanStock, now we have idea thrown around of subscription model paying out 20 cents...

To top it off sales are SLACK. Totally slack. I have the largest portfolio on BigStock and now sell more on 123RF (with a third size portfolio), 5 times more on Fotolia (with half size portfolio), 10 times more on Shutterstock (with equal size portfolio), iStock (with half size portfolio) and Dreamstime (with 2/3 size portfolio).

Into the Abyss with BigStock

I think after a couple of years the strata are clarifying:

1st division: iStock, Dreamstime, Shutterstock
2nd division: Fotolia (with a possibility of an upgrade), StockXpert
3rd division: 123RF, CanStock (with a possibility of a downgrade), BigStock (under review for a downgrade)
the rest...

leaf · « **Reply #1 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:21 »

well i think your division classifications are about correct.

Bigstock doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast.. just sort of stagnant.

It doesn't seem any microstock company has bit the dust (any one of significant size anyhow). It will be interesting to see which is the first. Perhaps they will just sell out to someone else instead of going under.

kacper · « **Reply #2 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:24 »

Quote from: leaf on August 09, 2006, 05:21

well i think your division classifications are about correct.

Bigstock doesn't seem to be going anywhere fast.. just sort of stagnant.

It doesn't seem any microstock company has bit the dust (any one of significant size anyhow). It will be interesting to see which is the first. Perhaps they will just sell out to someone else instead of going under.

I was thinking about exactly the same idea for these two:

BigStockPhoto + 123RoyaltyFree (allowing us to merge accounts): big portfolios + decent subscription sales

grp_photo · « **Reply #3 on:** August 09, 2006, 05:58 »

The old Big Five don't exist anymore.
I think you can forget about BigStock and CanStockPhoto they are so long in the game and never really made it i will leave my portfolio there but don't but more effort in it except i have a lot of sparetime.
StockXpert is my biggest hope i really love them and they got all the traffic from sxc.hu so i will support sxc.hu with some free pics.
Dreamstime is good but they are so long in the game and the gap between them and IS is still huge i don't think they will ever be number one.
Fotolia has to compete with IS on the Northamerican Market its not enough to aim the european market also they have enough contributors but too less buyers they really must do some agressive Marketing in the states otherwise they will also never be number one.
Featurpics: i love model and i will support it forever because uploading is so easy but they will remain one of the smaller ones.
I'm not a fan of luckyoliver but i think they can make it to the top based in the US they will compete with IS and you can feel that they are hungry and really wanna succeed and they are willing to learn. Still to early but i think they will make it to the top five.
123rf is better then most people think but compared that they are owned by own of the biggest stockagencies i'm still dissapointed.
Shutterstock is already loosen its strength the model (subscription) seems to not the right for longterm-success (at least contributor-wise)

phildate · « **Reply #4 on:** August 09, 2006, 08:28 »

I am still getting pretty good downloads from BigStock, better than StockXpert this month that's for sure. CanStockPhoto is only just ticking along, as it always has been. If your expectations at CanStockPhoto are low then it's ok.

GeoPappas · « **Reply #5 on:** August 09, 2006, 12:01 »

I think the biggest problem with BigStock is that the interface for buyers is a pain. The syntax for searching is VERY different from most sites.

If you type in "holy spirit bible" you get 6264 images.

If you type in "+holy +spirit +bible" you get 68 images.

Many buyers don't know the difference and therefore get fed up with all of the "extra" images that they are not searching for.

Without buyers, you don't get many sales...