Yeah I'm convinced, no more uploads for me either till some downloads start.
The only reason I was still uploading is that I hate to get out of sync between portfolios on different sites.

So excited - just had to report my first sale at PS - a whopping .28 commission earned on a .70 sale for an XL image.
Not sure how long I can stomach this.

Congratulations...I think

70 cents for XL is just nuts. Even if they say they're trying to match other sites, SS pays $2.85 for XL sizes on demand. Who are they matching for 70 cents for XL?

Good question.
They now have a subscription plan -even though their Royalties and Payment page clearly states: "We don�t currently offer a subscription model."
http://www.pocketstock.com/textual/royalties
And there is nothing I can find detailing how much we will get paid for subs - other than the % they promised you when you signed up - for me that's 40%.
But 70 cents for an XL image seems too low, considering where they were at in the beginning.

But that is what we get from Thinkstock. (not to defend the either of them) 

Edit to add link

...And there is nothing I can find detailing how much we will get paid for subs - other than the % they promised you when you signed up - for me that's 40%.
But 70 cents for an XL image seems too low, considering where they were at in the beginning.

But that is what we get from Thinkstock. (not to defend the either of them) ...

Their "packages" - subs like entities - don't have anything that comes out to 70 cents for an image - it's one size fits all (even vectors) and 63 cents, $1.30 or $2.50 each are the per image prices. The "list" prices are from $2 to $22, so that doesn't fit either.

I'm not a fan of subscriptions, but when the volume is high enough - like SS and possibly soon the IS parter program (my October royalties from that broke the $200 mark for the month for the first time) - I can live with the deal. At the end of the month the numbers look good and I think that people download more than they actually use because they know they can. The feeling that it's already paid for liberates people in a way that paying $34 for it (IS Photo+) doesn't.

I don't see any other payment options at Pocketstock, so perhaps they've done a distribution deal at those prices? Might be worth asking them. I would, but my balance is still $0 which makes the issue moot

Quote from: jsnover on November 14, 2012, 17:23

Congratulations...I think

70 cents for XL is just nuts. Even if they say they're trying to match other sites, SS pays $2.85 for XL sizes on demand. Who are they matching for 70 cents for XL?

Good question.
They now have a subscription plan -even though their Royalties and Payment page clearly states: "We don�t currently offer a subscription model."
http://www.pocketstock.com/textual/royalties
And there is nothing I can find detailing how much we will get paid for subs - other than the % they promised you when you signed up - for me that's 40%.
But 70 cents for an XL image seems too low, considering where they were at in the beginning.

But that is what we get from Thinkstock. (not to defend the either of them) 

Edit to add link

Quoting myself to add that today they have removed the line bolded in the above post.

Oh so they are reading here then, just not keeping anyone informed

Actually I did tell them it was there in a email

I got an email invitation, and I though maybe I was special - * obviously not.... oh well felt good for a little while - anyway I know I am special hahahhahhahhahhha crazy special......       dont know if I have time, wedding season has started for me as summer is coming to the southern hemisphere, so I will think about it all next winter

Me got invitation to, me special to, now everybody special = nobody special.
Ah, another Southern Hemispherer - We have a little heatwave 38-40 degrees Celsius yesterday. Winter will make now difference to me, end December is going to be my agency dead wood cutout period. Will rather not replace a dead tree with a stump. 

I've checked my sales and I've had a few vector sales for �0.20! I've emailed them to find out what is going on, they got my work by promising they wouldn't be joining the race to the bottom!!

I've checked my sales and I've had a few vector sales for �0.20! I've emailed them to find out what is going on, they got my work by promising they wouldn't be joining the race to the bottom!!

This is really the problem with microstock nowadays....a race to see who can offer the lowest pricing and consequently lowest commissions.  The real challenge for me (and I suspect most others in ms who are independent) is once you are rooted in the big four and a scattering of other sites like DP, PD, etc, where do you go from here in terms of growing your microstock income? Pocketstock is turning out to not add a lot of value, and so is stockfresh.  Most of the newer sites seem to just get cheaper, sleazier and don't offer a real differentiator that is attractive to buyers and contributors.  Now picture engine is different but time will tell.  Microstock sites have to offer customer value in order to attract them.  When is the last time we've seen a survey of what buyers want in a stock site? What I see is new sites using old business models.

I am at a crossroads as to where to take my 3000 images next.

As rookie ( when I did not know where is the best to upload) I have heard several times:
STICK WITH TOP AND MIDDLE TIER and You will have a sweet, calm sleep.

Old people in my part of world says: Donkey goes only once on ice.