forum > General discussion
iStock continued rejections getting ridiculous
domencolja:
Hi to everybody (first of all)...
I thought of opening up a thread regarding the submission criteria on iStock. It could be me (I don't disqualify that option at all), but am I the only one that has a catastrophic acceptance ratio on that site?
I usually float around the 90% acceptance ratio on every other microstock site (SS, DT, LO, F, BSP, SX...), on some of them even more (and they get to 100% after I get rid of stupid minor faults of mine), but iStock is steadily on 35 to 40%. I usually get the overfiltered reasons (and some "too feathered/rough edges") and NONE of my PSed images get through at all. I mean it: NONE. On Shutterstock, for example, I started 4 weeks ago and I already constantly get from 40 to 50 DLs per day, on iStock almost three months have yielded a whopping 11 downloads. The portfolio on SS is reaching 300 pieces, on iStock around 60 (and they are probably my worst images - they seem to accept only those, don't know why).
Why am I writing this? I know for a fact that Shutterstock and iStock are the microstock market leaders out there and they seem to have (from what I've read) the most strict submission rules there are. But I find that they're not comparable at all: again - my 90% on SS and 40% on iS speaks for itself. And it does tell one exact thing: they don't accept my type of imagery.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not dissing iStock for their choice of criteria. I'm just asking if this acceptance scheme has been detected from someone else. Or am I the only one with such differences between iStock and other sites?
p.s.: My SS portfolio: http://www.shutterstock.com/gallery.mhtml?id=135580
p.p.s.: My best selling image up there on Shutterstock that was on number 27 of the weekly Top 50, but rejected with a "no resubmit" sticker all over it on iStock:
http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-7703776-simple-beautiful-nature-background-with-green-grass-and-blue-vivid-sky-with-clouds.html
I'm posting the link and the image just to give you a "material" insight in the type of imagery I make (it does have a retouched feeling to it, I honestly admit it) and to hear from you if the same is happening to you when you submit creations like these to iStock.
p.s.: Ok, I am a bit personally hurt from all those rejections on iStock, that's true. It's a big letdown and I'm seriously thinking of dropping my account there. The uploading is way too slow compared to other sites (the new keywording system, oh my God, not to mention no model releases compository, no FTP, bad category selection, strange behaviour with Opera, etc, etc, etc) and I might be getting to emotional about the bad experience, but that's just how things are for me. And since I know that there are a lot of people out there that reckon iStock is the best microstock site out there, this feels even more depressing;)
Thanks for the replies, guys! And btw: happy holidays! (especially to you, Sybille - thanks for the invite and the wishes!;))
DNF-Style:
Welcome and don't be hurt by these rejections. You are not alone even when you seem to get many.
Istock is very sweet to it's exclusives and very nasty to its regulars. That is simply breaking down all you said and what it comes to in the end.
We were very surprised to find ourselves in their hotspots mail two weeks ago and that kind of goes against I just said. But I still believe when you would have been exclusive at IS you would have much higher ratio's.
Just do not get angry at something you cannot change, leave it and move one since we believe it won't change.
Frenk and Danielle
Elnur:
--- Цитата: DNF-Style от Декабря 26, 2007, 01:15:14 pm ---Welcome and don't be hurt by these rejections. You are not alone even when you seem to get many.
Istock is very sweet to it's exclusives and very nasty to its regulars.
--- Конец цитаты ---
I think the main problem is the conflict of interest - inspectors shouldn't be submitters !!! I have received so many "overfiltered" rejections for images where there is little photoshop if any - I shoot isolated images mainly, there is not much you can "overfilter" there.... whatever... I promised to myself when I started shooting stock, to never complain about specific rejections... and I never did 8)
domencolja:
Thanks for the answers, Frenk/Danielle (btw, good luck with the sales, guys, I saw the thread with your stats and I was blown off - judging by the quality of your work I'd say that you are the top (and I mean TOP) portrait sellers there is) and Elnur.
I too was wondering if there was a certain rationale under the rejections I get on iStock. Well, this sounded like a book fantasia, but I even opted in the conspiracy option (because of some of my really, really unlucky posts in their forums: once I even attacked the whole site and its submitters and mainly inspectors/admins/staff for being part of an image-dumping industry). A few months have passed and I'm thinking this is not the case (even if it could well be it - my first submissions at iStock were all accepted (when I didn't even know was stock was, I admit), then the forum issue came and "bam", the rejections started coming. But I'm dropping this excuse and trying to focus ahead. I still will never believe "overfiltered" has anything to do with my works (judging by the approval ratios on other sites), but that's just how it is.
Someday the "virtual grudge" might wear off;)
p.s.: I'm totally realistic about my potentials. They're not extraordinary whatsoever, but I can critically say there's so much "bad" work left through (at least worse than mine) that gets sold that I'm at least frustrated and annoyed. Ehh...
fred:
I'm at about 44% at IS but I have only been doing this for a year and at IS since May. I'd like to have your acceptance rates elsewhere though. I am about 60% across all five sites I submit to. From 70% at SS and BSP to 50% at DT and FT. I need to work harder I think!
c h e e r s
fred
Навигация
Перейти к полной версии