StockXpert adds subscription option
Leading microstock photo agency StockXpert has introduced a subscription option to allow customers to buy stock images via a monthly subscription. This is in addition to being able to buy images on a per download basis.
When the idea for including a subscription option was first announced, many members voiced their objections stating that earnings would fall since payouts are lower than per download. Members put their more exclusive or higher resolution images on StockXpert which are not available at other microstock agencies to earn higher commissions. A subscription model would benefit StockXpert more than contributors since it attracts more buyers but pays less to contributors.
Subscription Or Download
To their credit, StockXpert gave contributors the option to choose if they want to sell by subscription or download rather than impose an across the board ruling to change to subscription sales.
StockXpert is the only microstock agency to allow contributors to choose if they want to sell their images by subscription or by download. Shutterstock sells only by subscription at a minimum US$199 per month with up to 25 downloads per day. Contributors earn US$0.25 per image which increases to US$0.30 after the US$500 threshold is crossed.
Despite having the lowest payout per image, Shutterstock is often the highest earner for many microstock contributors since buyers tend to buy more for future use having already paid a flat sum for downloads.
Commission rates for download purchases at StockXpert remain at 50% with a minimum US$0.50 per image. Subscription downloads will earn a flat $0.30 per image.
Limit Subscription Buys To Small Images
Having the option for contributors to opt out may not be enough to ensure that non-subscription sales won’t be affected. Buyers might just not bother with non-subscription images since they cost more and confine their buys to subscription images.
A further step StockXpert can take to ensure that non-subscription sales are not cannibalized is to limit subscription buys to small images and keep higher resolution images at per download rates. This would be a fairer way to go for contributors who can benefit from increased potential buyers via subscription and yet be able to earn regular commissions for higher resolution images.
StockXpert has been one of my best earners so far and I’m not thrilled by this development even though I have the option to opt out. I will be monitoring my sales closely to see how this impacts my earnings.
Other microstock photo agencies to join:
Fotolia
Dreamstime
BigStockPhoto