April Sales Updates:

Annabel Croft -sold at Alamy

A steady month in April with a couple of highlights in getting my first ever sale at Alamy and another new sale at Picfair.

First place, of course, to Shutterstock with a strong performance for On Demand sales which made up nearly 50% of my monthly income here.

Istock once again came in second place with 32 downloads. As last month there was a spread of payment amounts from very low to well above the old fixed $0.28 for subscription sales. So far, it is looking like the new percentage system is generating higher income overall (though it is still early days).

Third place went to Picfair with a sale of a Jack In The Green festival image. This is my second sale in recent months and it looks like things are starting to happen here with an email newsletter mentioning sales to publishers like The Guardian and Time Inc. They have also just introduced a new (optional) advertising license which pays out at ten times your basic set price. Check the site and opt in to these if you want the chance of making the higher sales.In another move buyers now see the total price of an image. Previously they just saw the price the contributor had set and then had Picfairs percentage and the sale processing charge added on at checkout. It's a good way to be more transparent with buyers.

Fourth place was taken by Redbubble with 3 product sales. T shirts seem to be especially popular on this site.

In fifth place Alamy make their first appearance in my sales updates with first a download of the late actress

Pat Hayes - briefly my first ever sale at Alamy 

Pat Hayes followed closely by another of former tennis player Annabel Croft. Sadly the Pat Hayes sale got refunded a few days later. I don't yet know how common refunds are on Alamy but it was certainly disappointing to see my very first sale taken away! By comparison, I have only ever had a handful of refunds across all my other microstock sites. Certainly Alamy operate in a much more traditional way and with more flexibility to buyers so maybe more refunds are to be expected here.

Sixth place went to steady Bigstock with 10 downloads. They tick over month after month with never any great excitement (such as an extended license). Still, as I am lucky enough to be on the discontinued (for new contributors) Bridge to Bigstock scheme there is no work involved at all for me - Shutterstock acceptances just get mirrored on Bigstock.

123rf managed seventh place with 6 downloads -virtually all subscriptions.

Jack In The Green festival -second recent sale at Picfair

Eighth place was the hugely disappointing Dreamstime with just one single sale all month. I should be grateful that at least it was a (modest) credit sale not a $0.35 sub. I'm at a complete loss to understand what has happened to Dreamstime. With over two thousand images there I really shouldn't be seeing this sort of result. So far, May doesn't look like any improvement with just 2 sub sales to date. A late turnaround is really needed here.

Ninth place went to Fotolia with also one download but as I have frequently mentioned I have less than two hundred images there so do not expect much. For many they are in their top two sites each month. I still hope that eventually they will accept editorial images and I can dramatically increase my portfolio and sales there.

Tenth place went to Canstock with 1 download. Again, another agency where I would benefit if they accepted editorial.

Uploading in April again concentrated on getting my portfolio onto Alamy - a policy which I hope to see pay off in coming months. Shooting this month was centred round my second trip to the vibrant Greek capital of Athens. Lots of images of the massive Zea Marina and a day trip to the little island of Aegina where a prehistoric archeological site proved interesting. They'll be edited and uploaded in due course.
Regards, David.