As of recently everyone at SS is questioning the sales of old sales skyrocketing and new sales being invisible.

Most of everyone seems to think it is a bug that needs fix and a few small others think that the new VP of content may have changed the search algorithm.

So the days of feeding the beast will be long gone if the search has been changed because there will be no need to rush and get new images in for sales because of older files selling.

So what do you think about it?

Here is what i wrote on the forum at SS.


If you look at it from a business standpoint.

You have a site with almost 18,000,000 images and with the old search and newest always selling the buyers were probably looking at the first 2,000,000 images leaving SS holding almost 16,000,000 images sitting in the dark available but unseen to the buyers because they are only looking at the newest in the search and probably only the first few pages.

So now perhaps SS has decided it is time to put those other 16,000,000 images out there in a search instead of leaving them unseen and buried from the buyers by changing the search somehow.

Just a thought.

I mean if you had a business and had merchandise not selling wouldn't you find a way to move it?

I continue to upload heavily, and earn about 1/3 from new images.  That's surprisingly consistent; according to Shutterstock, over 3 months, 6 months, a year or two years, somewhere around 1/3 of my earnings came from uploads during that same period.  I'd say that's a pretty nice ratio, and one that encourages me to keep doing what I'm doing.

I used to always get downloads from new uploads, now hardly at all and it's been like that for quite a few months, if not a year already. My new stuff is at least as good as my old stuff but they just don't sell. I have no complaints though, because my earnings on ss have increased a lot since whatever they did with the search, so if ss prefer that buyers look at older images that's fine with me, not so good for people starting now I guess.

They did have a bug for quite a while (not sure if it still exists), where new files would disappear from ports of contributors for a while. I think often the images disappeared only from ports but were still visible in search, although many say they went missing from search too. The bug was/is a serious one as it was around for quite a while, and you can imagine how many emails ss would be getting on a daily basis from contributors about this. Maybe the search (whatever they did with it) was partly changed to favour older images because of the bug as only new images were disappearing for ports (AFAIK).

If your images are good enough then they will sell. If they're not then they won't. No point in concocting elaborate conspiracy theories to explain a lack of sales because that is unlikely to be the issue.

+1

I'd say there was definitely a shift that did away with newest images being heavily favored, but that has not killed my sales of new images.  I'd say now my new images sell at the same rate as my older images, which is as it should be.

Perhaps Shutterstock's plan was to discourage uploads from contributors who could only sell based on the bump that new images used to receive.  If that's the only way someone can sell, that's a sign the contributor is only uploading "me too" stuff... subjects and styles that have been done to death... and Shutterstock surely knows it doesn't need any more of that.

For anyone to succeed now at SS, or anywhere for that matter, you'd better be watching the market closely.  Figure out what's been done to death and what subjects are undercovered.  Build a unique style.  It's tough to do, don't get me wrong.  But taking the easy path of seeing what sells well today and copying will no longer earn you quick cash.  I, for one, am glad the new image bump is gone.  If it makes the copycats find something else to do, then SS, and microstock in general, is stronger for it.

I must have missed something.  I didn't see any whining about loss of sales.  I thought the OP was asking if others had noticed that the 'feed the beast' philosophy had changed.  I think it has.  What do you think?

Quote from: WarrenPrice on January 23, 2012, 13:24

I must have missed something.  I didn't see any whining about loss of sales.  I thought the OP was asking if others had noticed that the 'feed the beast' philosophy had changed.  I think it has.  What do you think?

As I mentioned in my post, I agree the philosophy is changing, and that's a great thing:  "But taking the easy path of seeing what sells well today and copying will no longer earn you quick cash.  I, for one, am glad the new image bump is gone.  If it makes the copycats find something else to do, then SS, and microstock in general, is stronger for it."

No argument from me.  You Da Man.   

Got my lights set up and drawing a complete blank.  Any suggestions on something to copy?

 

Quote from: WarrenPrice on January 23, 2012, 17:51

Got my lights set up and drawing a complete blank.  Any suggestions on something to copy?

 

Hit the veggie stand and do an apple, green pepper, strawberry, and tomato each over white, and in various combinations. 

Great idea ... except for that white background.   

Got my lights set up and drawing a complete blank.  Any suggestions on something to copy?

 

Yes open your desk drawers and look in the back. Or whatever drawer you just toss things like letter openers, bits and pieces, "stuff and things". There's got to be something in your favorite junk drawer, worth photographing? Tool box? Parts bin? 

Quote from: WarrenPrice on January 23, 2012, 18:17

Quote from: lisafx on January 23, 2012, 18:14

Quote from: WarrenPrice on January 23, 2012, 17:51

Got my lights set up and drawing a complete blank.  Any suggestions on something to copy?

 

Hit the veggie stand and do an apple, green pepper, strawberry, and tomato each over white, and in various combinations.  

Great idea ... except for that white background.  

Convince some dumb blond (well that won't take a lot of convincing:) to pose for you in a bikini. Eating a banana. Or something equally as cheap, trying to be sexy

I searched your suggestion and came up with a troubling result. The same image on DP with one persons name and a different person on SS?

cheptene

WELLENROCK

OK well someone could have two different names?

But three?

cheptene
George Dolgikh

I thought lets try one more...

Zoom Team
cheptene

Odd how all these people are stealing from Cheptene's DP account? Or maybe... SOmeone is taking crops of other people images and posting them on DP.

See if your pictures are here and file a complaint.

http://depositphotos.com/portfolio-1053794.html

Hey was this one there too?

Quote from: wut on January 24, 2012, 14:30

Quote from: WarrenPrice on January 23, 2012, 18:17

Quote from: lisafx on January 23, 2012, 18:14

Quote from: WarrenPrice on January 23, 2012, 17:51

Got my lights set up and drawing a complete blank.  Any suggestions on something to copy?

 

Hit the veggie stand and do an apple, green pepper, strawberry, and tomato each over white, and in various combinations.  

Great idea ... except for that white background.  

Convince some dumb blond (well that won't take a lot of convincing:) to pose for you in a bikini. Eating a banana. Or something equally as cheap, trying to be sexy

I searched your suggestion and came up with a troubling result. The same image on DP with one persons name and a different person on SS?

cheptene

WELLENROCK

OK well someone could have two different names?

But three?

cheptene
George Dolgikh

I thought lets try one more...

Zoom Team
cheptene

Odd how all these people are stealing from Cheptene's DP account? Or maybe... SOmeone is taking crops of other people images and posting them on DP.

See if your pictures are here and file a complaint.

http://depositphotos.com/portfolio-1053794.html

Hey was this one there too?

Yes this is true.

There is a thread on SS about this person on DP stealing other peoples work and claiming it to be theirs.

So for those at SS i would take a look at the persons port on DP and see if they have some of your images!

I think both SS and DPs,  searches are very good indeed. I uploaded 3 days ago and already both these agencies are selling my new stuff, as well as old stuff. Cant be much better then that, can it? SS, popular search is great.
What I cant figure out is, how come DP, can get their best match, to work so well and how come a whacking great company like IS, manage to screw it up completely?

Hey everyone,

Thanks a lot for pointing that out and being so attentive!
We have seen your posts here and banned this user from our site!

Thank you very much for your help!

Marius
Depositphotos

Thanks for caring enough to pull the plug on the thief. Too bad they can just do it again on multiple sites, with different IDs and never get any prosecution to stop them.