News
LuckyOliver to close its doors
The San Francisco-based low-priced (micro) stock photo company, LuckyOliver (LO,) has announced it will close its doors. In a post on LO’s blog site on April 15, the company’s founder, Bryan Zmijewski, said the web-site will close as of May 15, 2008. He cited a lack of financial resources to fund growth as the principal reason for the decision to cease operating the business.
“As a leader and entrepreneur, it’s tough to see something you have put so much time into not materialize into a successful business. We spent the last year looking for the funds to grow LuckyOliver because, without the addition of significant capital, the return on investment for LuckyOliver and its contributors would not be satisfactory,” Zmijewski wrote. He added, “After reviewing the options, the investment team decided that it was in the best interest of all stakeholders to shut the company down.”
Though often referred to as a micro-stock company, Zmijewski preferred the term “mid-stock” for LuckyOliver. Rather than the $2 to $5 price-range first offered by micro-stock companies. LO’s prices could go as high as $50 per licensed image. (Most micro-stock companies have since added higher prices as well.) The company also offered copyright buy-out options for up to $2,000 per image.
The news follows other interesting and possibly connected recent occurrences in the image licensing business; the closing of the industry blog, StockAsylum and the sale by auction of two RF production companies, RedChopsticks and 40260.com.
Web-site: LuckyOliver.com
Posted in: Micropayment Stock Photography, News
