Life and Death of Microstock Companies

Jacob GreenhowDecember 26, 2023

Large Sites Are Difficult to Compete Against

Many users of micro-stock sites are after something particular and want to get it as quickly and easily as possible. The largest of sites will have millions of images and videos to choose from, which increases the likelihood of offering customers something they want. This means the smaller companies need to compete in different ways as they will struggle to compete in quantity, typically they will have their own niche to compete.

Bought Out by Competitors

As with any competitive industry, acquisitions are one way to get ahead of the competition. There have been multiple accusations throughout the micro-stock industry. Companies have dealt with these acquisitions in a couple of different ways.

The new owner maintains the original website and content and benefits from being able to generate income through this website or through directly more traffic to their other sites.
The parent companies acquire and integrate the new site with their offering. This allows the library size of the parent company to increase and takes out one of their competitors. They can also set up a redirect to direct any traffic to the old site to theirs.

Unprofitable Businesses

For those who cannot find a buyer, they must shut their doors. Some decide to move their content to certain sites and make it freely accessible so at least people can continue to benefit from their content. StockUnlimited moved their content to the 123RF FREE collection after their closure.

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