Reading this forums there is alot of information about different micro stock sites. I was wondering which sites are the best selling for you and how this translates into number of sales per month ? Currently I use Fotolia and my sales are ticking over, nothing great and I would like some viable alternatives. Also their forum rules are a bit annoying, can't seem to discuss anything related to sales figures etc.

In the following order so far this month:

SS = 37% of my earnings (33% last month)
IS = 34% with half the images available (36% last month)
DT =12% (10%)
SXP = 8% (12%)
BSP = 6% (5%)
Fotolia = 3% (4%)

As you can see, SS and IS are the clear winners and compete against each other. DT and SXP are the next top two earners, and BSP and Fotolia round out the bottom two. However, after 1 1/2 years with Fotolia, they are becoming increasingly irrelevant to my monthly sales goals while BSP continues to go up.

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Photography by Karin Lau | SmugMug Pro Account | Shutterstock | Mostphotos | StockXPert | Dreamstime | iStock | 123RF | BigStock

Thanks for that, very informative. I was also wondering how many images you have on each of those MS sites?

Pretty much the same for me as Karimala, except I also do quite well on 123RF.

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Richard

hi, my sales are still quite low as I still very learning what is good stock but this what I have. I uploaded 150 this week so shutterstock is seeing a hit, whilst they are still in the que at dreamstime

name - num images - % of $
Shutter - 530 - 58%
IS - 91 - 11.3% (on par with ss for $/image but only 91 uploaded so far)
DT - 358 - 10.65%
LO - 648 - 7.82% (an EL sale made this go up - 7 sales total)
SXP - 472 -4.7%
FT - 432 - 2.4% (+180 approved but waiting on them to fix watermarks)
Feature - 596 - 2.06% (need to relook at pricing)
123rf - 545 - 1.9%
BSP - 543 - 0.95%
RSI - 400 - 0% (nothing yet, and not looking good)

of course what sells on one site doesn't on another. and none of my top 20 on shutterstock have been approved on every site.

Phil

Just broke the 1000 image barrier today. Woohoo!

I also submit to a few other sites, but the sales aren't strong enough to factor into my monthly earnings percentages. I only count sites were I receive at least one payout per month or two, because I earn my living from microstock. 123RF might make that list soon while Fotolia is trying really hard to get dropped...we'll see how the next few months go.

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Photography by Karin Lau | SmugMug Pro Account | Shutterstock | Mostphotos | StockXPert | Dreamstime | iStock | 123RF | BigStock

Wow, just submitted 10 images each to both Shutterstock and 123rf and I'm impressed by how simple the process is on both those sites in comparison to Fotalia, ie no stupid categories, smart key word editing, ability to edit 10/5 images in one go, both are considerably faster (this is a major pain for me with Fotolia). Thanks for the advice!

"The Ease of Uploading Awards" go to SS, SXP, 123RF and LO. DT is pretty easy, too, if you have a bunch of photos in a series. BSP is old school but manageable, and no comment on Fotolia (they are probably going to remove my portfolio one of these days with all the public complaining I do about them). IS...most folks hate their lengthy uploading process and upload limits, but I think it's great despite the time involved.

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Photography by Karin Lau | SmugMug Pro Account | Shutterstock | Mostphotos | StockXPert | Dreamstime | iStock | 123RF | BigStock

Best selling sites - Fotolia and Shutterstock with others some way behind.

Karen, I doubt FT will kick you off for the type of posts you post here as they do not affect their sales and we can all grumble about upload problems. At least they are trying to fix it but are not too good on communicating what is going on with submitters :-)

The FT forums have a few rules that people do not like such as no outside links or sales/earnings posts, like other sites they don't like competitiors being mentioned but unlike some they don't prevent discussion about why images have been refused and mostly posts are edited rather than being completely deleted as happens on IS and DT! (Says she, still sulking about the lack of discussion on my last deleted thread on DT where I posted giving my last few sales which showed that the majority were maximum size at 25cents) Should I mention here that I moderate in the FT UK/US forums :-)

Christine

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FT|SS|DT|Fotolia |Kerioak

I'd recommend you try iStock, they are hard to get into and limit your uploads, you can't talk freely or criticise them in any way on the forum, but at the end of the day they are very good for sales.

Worth a try anyway.

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Richard