Author Topic: After 3 years in stock I feel scammed (Read 5969 times)

bpawesome · « **on:** June 21, 2024, 01:50 »

I have over 4k images on sale (3D + AI + some videos)

Adobe used to make $250 a week at ~2k images, I'm down to $40 a week now, with 4k+ images

I have to feed the beast daily because I'm sure that last upload date is part of the search algorithm, but even that doesn't help anymore...

It's not just adobe, sales down x5 on all sites I contribute to, this is a horrible waste of time

stockman11 · « **Reply #1 on:** June 21, 2024, 02:10 »

This kind of fall (in percentages) seems like Shutterstock and Canva to me.

Adobe Stock on the other hand is pretty much stable for me no matter if I upload or not.

I agree this more and more seems like a waste of time. Time to try something else.

bpawesome · « **Reply #2 on:** June 21, 2024, 02:59 »

Quote from: stockman11 on June 21, 2024, 02:10

Adobe Stock on the other hand is pretty much stable for me no matter if I upload or not.

It was the same for me, It's only a matter of time, unfortunately

sgoodwin4813 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 21, 2024, 06:36 »

It hasn't been worth it since SS changed their terms in 2020.

All agencies have dropped off a cliff except for Adobestock, which is hanging in there, but not enough to make it worthwhile economicqlly relative to almost any other use of your time. With AI and cell phones we are obsolete and no longer needed. Now it is just for fun - I still take a camera with me and will upload travel pics and maybe some of my cats but only for my own personal enjoyment, I no longer think of microstock as a way to make money. It was fun while it lasted.

Injustice for all · « **Reply #4 on:** June 21, 2024, 07:38 »

If you ask me if I think I should sell more,I would answer yes,like most contributors.

I'm not saying I should sell 5 times more or more,but I think 2-3 times more would be more fair for the amount and types of content I have in my port.

In the big picture I can't complain,on Adobe this month I'm average,and I'll probably end the month with a profit compared to June 2023,and also in the other few agencies where I still have an active port,it's not going so bad,on SS this is already the third best month of the last 15 months.

so,at least for the moment,everything seems normal,not great but OK.

blvdone · « **Reply #5 on:** June 21, 2024, 10:48 »

Downfall must be due to video sales falling because they started the cheap video subs. I don't see such a fall in photo sales. I'm making more money from photos ever on Adobe Stock due to adding thousands of AI generated photos. So, thanks Adobe Stock for accepting AI photos.

bpawesome · « **Reply #6 on:** June 21, 2024, 11:54 »

Quote from: blvdone on June 21, 2024, 10:48

Downfall must be due to video sales falling because they started the cheap video subs. I don't see such a fall in photo sales. I'm making more money from photos ever on Adobe Stock due to adding thousands of AI generated photos. So, thanks Adobe Stock for accepting AI photos.

No, 95% of portfolio is images, 80% are AI,

my downloads are down from 250+ to ~70 within few months

cascoly · « **Reply #7 on:** June 21, 2024, 16:12 »

Quote from: bpawesome on June 21, 2024, 01:50

I have over 4k images on sale (3D + AI + some videos)

Adobe used to make $250 a week at ~2k images, I'm down to $40 a week now, with 4k+ images

I have to feed the beast daily because I'm sure that last upload date is part of the search algorithm, but even that doesn't help anymore...

It's not just adobe, sales down x5 on all sites I contribute to, this is a horrible waste of time

where was the scam - did you not read the ToS before submitting? did you not do your research on this forum & others to see if this was a good fit?

it really matters what your portfolio contains - i continue to get decent sales from 10+ years ago.

my portfolio is weighted towards non-time sensitive images -- medieval castles & ancient ruins don't change much over time, nor do traditional markets, nature, etc. i also sell many editorial images on sites that accept them - my drop in sales over the last 5 years, compared to 2018 sales

2023   -2.78%
2022   -24.90%
2021   -3.82%
2020   -4.50%
2019   -11.80%

of course a 3% / yr average increase in inflation over that time period makes those numbers worse, since earning would have increased by about 20% by 2023 to maintain pace w inflation - but still a drop but not a disaster

i've always seen microstock as a supplement to my other retirement income, so my situation isn't comparable to those needing more income for time invested

blvdone · « **Reply #8 on:** June 21, 2024, 18:03 »

Quote from: bpawesome on June 21, 2024, 11:54

Quote from: blvdone on June 21, 2024, 10:48
Downfall must be due to video sales falling because they started the cheap video subs. I don't see such a fall in photo sales. I'm making more money from photos ever on Adobe Stock due to adding thousands of AI generated photos. So, thanks Adobe Stock for accepting AI photos.

No, 95% of portfolio is images, 80% are AI,

my downloads are down from 250+ to ~70 within few months

Wow, that's strange. My sales are consistent. Maybe you were scammed for some reason, but I'm not scammed.

blvdone · « **Reply #9 on:** June 21, 2024, 18:07 »

Quote from: bpawesome on June 21, 2024, 01:50

I have over 4k images on sale (3D + AI + some videos)

Adobe used to make $250 a week at ~2k images, I'm down to $40 a week now, with 4k+ images

I have to feed the beast daily because I'm sure that last upload date is part of the search algorithm, but even that doesn't help anymore...

It's not just adobe, sales down x5 on all sites I contribute to, this is a horrible waste of time

$250/week with just 2,000 images is awesome. I can't understand why you fell like that extreme way. Very unusual.

bpawesome · « **Reply #10 on:** June 21, 2024, 23:23 »

I'm glad you don't have the same issue (yet)

But, I won't be the only one, and here are some facts:

This is within 1 year (while adding new images daily)

cobalt · « **Reply #11 on:** June 22, 2024, 03:01 »

1000 dollars a month with 2000 files from just one agency is amazing.

Have your niches perhaps gotten a huge amount of fresh competition, perhaps from ai mass content?

My sales keep going up, inspite of seasonal slowdowns. And I only started again in sept 22 after a 10 year break.

I sincerly doubt Adobe is out to get you personally.

Something has changed, you will need to analyse what the customers prefer to buy now.

Could also be related to a certain style, that is not as popular now.

bpawesome · « **Reply #12 on:** June 22, 2024, 04:07 »

Quote from: cobalt on June 22, 2024, 03:01

1000 dollars a month with 2000 files from just one agency is amazing.

Have your niches perhaps gotten a huge amount of fresh competition, perhaps from ai mass content?

My sales keep going up, inspite of seasonal slowdowns. And I only started again in sept 22 after a 10 year break.

I sincerly doubt Adobe is out to get you personally.

Something has changed, you will need to analyse what the customers prefer to buy now.

Could also be related to a certain style, that is not as popular now.

I never said it was personal..

Style and themes are very generic, a lot of transport and industry related content, nothing special or too stylish
I'm sure my content is good, it was very popular and sold well, it just stopped showing up in searches (not just adobe)

What I mean by "scammed" is getting me to produce more content with lots of sales as incentive, and just drop my portfolio out of sight after a while
I don't just make assumptions, I'm an experienced developer (20+ years) and had clients (diff industries) requesting this type of process on user generated content sites

As you can see on my stats, sales went x2 down, hold steady (like you say yours portfolio is) for 6 months, and drop x2 more

cobalt · « **Reply #13 on:** June 22, 2024, 05:31 »

You know you are working in an industry with probably over 200k reliable suppliers (and millions registered). Agencies are not interested in tricking people, they want reliable producers and the newbies don't produce the best content. It takes many years of experience to understand a genre well.

So why would any agency want to drive away experienced sellers? It makes no sense. Especially on Adobe where the royalty paid is the same.

Plus, not everybody is experiencing what is happening to you.

So there must be a reason, that is specific to your genre or content.

Do you know anyone else who has a similar themed port? Did this also happen to them?

Now that you have shared your genre, perhaps other people can pitch in with their experience.

Algorythm changes happen all the time. I have had many reliable bestsellers that abruptly stopped selling. In one case I discovered, somebody had uploaded my own bestseller as their own and was apparently getting all "my" sales.

When Adobe removed that file, my sales started to pick up again, but not like before.

But the file is over 10 years old, so not everything can be blamed on the fraud.

From what I am reading here and also in the various groups I am in, the most stable ports seemed to be mostly timeless people ports.

You could add other unrelated genres for more balance. Even having 2000 food images might help, at least in my port they sell for years if they take off.

But if you look at the search results, are the files coming out on top better than yours?

If the quality is the same, then all you can do is what you are doing - keep feeding the beast and hope the algos swing in your favor again.

But for true balance you need diversity. There really is no way around that.

Best of luck. If you made it over 1000 dollars just from Adobe once, I am sure you will figure out how to do that again.

blvdone · « **Reply #14 on:** June 22, 2024, 07:08 »

Quote from: bpawesome on June 21, 2024, 23:23

I'm glad you don't have the same issue (yet)

But, I won't be the only one, and here are some facts:

This is within 1 year (while adding new images daily)

If you can post a link to your portfolio, we may have better idea why your sales tanked.
My portfolio is https://stock.adobe.com/search?creator_id=203855208

Big Money · « **Reply #15 on:** June 22, 2024, 07:33 »

Quote from: bpawesome on June 21, 2024, 01:50

I have over 4k images on sale (3D + AI + some videos)

Adobe used to make $250 a week at ~2k images, I'm down to $40 a week now, with 4k+ images

I have to feed the beast daily because I'm sure that last upload date is part of the search algorithm, but even that doesn't help anymore...

It's not just adobe, sales down x5 on all sites I contribute to, this is a horrible waste of time

Welcome to the club! Sadly, this is the norm now. I joined the business in 2009 and after 2017 it's been on a downside no matter what I did. At this point I don't even go to my studio anymore instead I go fishing or gardening while drinking a few beers in the evening. Don't even bother checking my sales or should I say lack of sales. We all theories on what happen but the fact is that it is over at least for me. Gotta run now ---off to fishing now...

Mifornia · « **Reply #16 on:** June 24, 2024, 22:37 »

It might be because now it’s easy to produce 3D images with AI?

tupungato · « **Reply #17 on:** July 15, 2024, 09:39 »

I started uploading microstock in 2005/2006 (18-19 years ago). After initial growth and relative stability of a few years, I feel scammed every year since around 2012, so welcome to the club

Everything changes, always for worse.

Shuttershock · « **Reply #18 on:** July 15, 2024, 09:49 »

$250/ week is alot for only 2000 images at one agency ( I get about $250 / month for 8000 images - no AI), I find Adobe good for sales but review time is ridiculously long and their pay out time is ridiculously long.

Uncle Pete · « **Reply #19 on:** July 15, 2024, 12:53 »

Quote from: bpawesome on June 21, 2024, 01:50

I have to feed the beast daily because I'm sure that last upload date is part of the search algorithm, but even that doesn't help anymore...

I don't know what last upload date would have to do with anything, except you think they reward people for being active and punish people for not uploading often enough? Seems counter productive to providing the best images to buyers.

I read that as New Images have a boost in the search, which has been true from the start, and nothing to do with anything individual or personal?

Quote from: tupungato on July 15, 2024, 09:39

I started uploading microstock in 2005/2006 (18-19 years ago). After initial growth and relative stability of a few years, I feel scammed every year since around 2012, so welcome to the club Everything changes, always for worse.

I can see that too.

kuriouskat · « **Reply #20 on:** July 16, 2024, 03:28 »

Quote from: Uncle Pete on July 15, 2024, 12:53

Quote from: bpawesome on June 21, 2024, 01:50

I have to feed the beast daily because I'm sure that last upload date is part of the search algorithm, but even that doesn't help anymore...

I don't know what last upload date would have to do with anything, except you think they reward people for being active and punish people for not uploading often enough? Seems counter productive to providing the best images to buyers.

I read that as New Images have a boost in the search, which has been true from the start, and nothing to do with anything individual or personal?

I'm really not sure that new images get any kind of boost these days?

We've been through times when the search defaulted to 'new', and everyone was tripping over themselves to feed the beast, but as 'NEW' is now longer an option in the customer search filter, then it's not surprising that new content hardly ever gains any traction.

zeljkok · « **Reply #21 on:** July 16, 2024, 15:57 »

"Feed the Beast" race is at least partially responsible for overall microstock slump

wds · « **Reply #22 on:** July 16, 2024, 21:14 »

Quote from: bpawesome on June 21, 2024, 11:54

Quote from: blvdone on June 21, 2024, 10:48
Downfall must be due to video sales falling because they started the cheap video subs. I don't see such a fall in photo sales. I'm making more money from photos ever on Adobe Stock due to adding thousands of AI generated photos. So, thanks Adobe Stock for accepting AI photos.

No, 95% of portfolio is images, 80% are AI,

my downloads are down from 250+ to ~70 within few months

This is a total guess. 80% of your images are AI. Were you an early AI "adopter" and did you produce a large number of images early on? Maybe you got a lot of sales initially, but when the "masses" started contributing AI images and given that many times the AI image generators tend to produce similar results your portfolio got overwhelmed with competition?

bpawesome · « **Reply #23 on:** July 17, 2024, 01:32 »

Tested the last upload theory by uploading a batch and stopping again, with instant results:

cobalt · « **Reply #24 on:** July 17, 2024, 04:47 »

Quote from: kuriouskat on July 16, 2024, 03:28

Quote from: Uncle Pete on July 15, 2024, 12:53
Quote from: bpawesome on June 21, 2024, 01:50

I have to feed the beast daily because I'm sure that last upload date is part of the search algorithm, but even that doesn't help anymore...

I don't know what last upload date would have to do with anything, except you think they reward people for being active and punish people for not uploading often enough? Seems counter productive to providing the best images to buyers.

I read that as New Images have a boost in the search, which has been true from the start, and nothing to do with anything individual or personal?

I'm really not sure that new images get any kind of boost these days?

We've been through times when the search defaulted to 'new', and everyone was tripping over themselves to feed the beast, but as 'NEW' is now longer an option in the customer search filter, then it's not surprising that new content hardly ever gains any traction.

New is still an option in the search filter. I also still get near instant sales if the content arrives with the right timing and is needed.

The standard search is set to relevancy which has a good mix of old and new files.

The feeding the beast factor, that is probably valid

MicrostockGroup Sponsors

Author Topic: After 3 years in stock I feel scammed (Read 5969 times)

bpawesome

stockman11

bpawesome

sgoodwin4813

Injustice for all

blvdone

bpawesome

cascoly

blvdone

blvdone

bpawesome

cobalt

bpawesome

cobalt

blvdone

Big Money

Mifornia

tupungato

Shuttershock

Uncle Pete

kuriouskat

zeljkok

wds

bpawesome

cobalt

Related Topics

Sponsors

Microstock Poll Results

Sponsors