Erst vor knapp zwei Wochen hatte ich über die Schließung der Microstock-Agentur LuckyOliver berichtet, wie viele andere auch. Weit weniger Beachtung fanden aber zwei weitere Agenturen, die zum 1.3.2008 bzw. 1.4.2008 ihre Pforten haben schließen müssen: Image-Depot.de und NaturalLifeStock.
Da letztere Seite schon nicht mehr erreichbar ist, hier ein Auszug des Abschiedsbriefs:
„We are sorry to report that NaturalLifeStock is closing its doors today. April 1, 2008 was our one-year anniversary, and at the end of this period we have simply not had the returns we expected. The market is saturated with large and small stock agencies, and the competition is overwhelming.
We have found that image buyers are deluged with requests to „come see my stock site“ and have little interest in startup stock companies. If we had millions to spend for marketing we might be able to make a dent, but as a Mom & Pop stock site our chances for success are very slim. Even the big guys, like Getty Images®, are having a rough time in this economy.“
