MicrostockGroup
Agency Based Discussion => Sites that no longer exist => LuckyOliver.com => Topic started by: News Feed on April 15, 2008, 18:45
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Closing the Doors
It's with great disappointment that we have decided to shut down LuckyOliver on May 15th. All Olivers who purchased tokens must use them to license images before May 15th, 2008. Please note that the user agreement will continue to be valid. Any Carny images that are waiting in the queue for Bouncers will not be reviewed. Carnies who have reached the minimum payout must request payout by May 15th. Carnies who have not reached the minimum payout can convert their earnings to tokens by contacting support.
Working with the creative minds that make up LuckyOliver has been a rewarding experience- two years went by fast. I want to thank our talented staff for working through long nights, our investors for giving us a shot at growing a business, our legal and business advisers for lending an ear, our customers for their positive encouragement, and our contributors who provided us with a wealth of knowledge and tough criticisms. We really appreciate all the hard work Carnies put into making LuckyOliver a special place for people to find great imagery. On a personal note, I would also like to thank my family for letting me pursue a passion that often went beyond reason.
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. After reviewing the options, the investment team decided that it was in the best interest of all stakeholders to shut the company down.
Please email me if you have any comments (..and give me some time to respond). Thanks again for giving LuckyOliver a shot.
http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/luckyoliver/~3/271049567/Closing+the+Doors
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UUUUHHHHHHH?????? :o :o
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there goes the neighbourhood :'(
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when I close my account there a month ago they asked me why? Stupid me for a moment I believed in their sincerity. No anymore :)
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Very sorry! I liked Lucky Oliver it's a pity :'(
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Oh boy, loongirl must be out of her mind. Whew. I just cashed out there this month and have $2.70 in the piggy bank. Would that push anyone into $25 if I convert to a couple credits?
I have to say, although I'm very dissapointed, it is admirable that they didn't just pull the plug and leave us in the dark.
Karin, Sy - hope you get your last cheques!
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when I close my account there a month ago they asked me why? Stupid me for a moment I believed in their sincerity. No anymore :)
They announce the shutdown in advance and give everyone teh chance to cash-out how much more sincerity can one ask?
I hate your comment!
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Classy guys, but seriously people - look - just take a look when someone says "NEW STOCK PHOTO SITE"
If guys with class and what seemed to be a good idea couldn't make it work for most, why would you submit to a site just pops up saying "we're awesome, we pay you 70% of Zero"
Wake-up call for those who are always positive about rando-startups.
I feel sorry for Bryan, he did a good job of communicating with us and put together what seems to be a good site.
I have 108 credits if anyone is close. If someone wants to "buy" an extended license of my pics, I'll be pretty happy too :)
Thanks Bryan for all your efforts. Good luck in the future --hopefully you read this
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I am very sad to see LO go. Even though they didn't produce much in the way of profits, they had a very nice site and had a great staff.
I just wish that someone would buy out their technology (such as SnapVillage) and put it to good use.
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I just wish that someone would buy out their technology (such as SnapVillage) and put it to good use.
Now thats a good idea!
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Wow! If I weren't exclusive, I would have submitted there. Love the design and layout. Too bad.
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edited:
I didn't realize the minimum payout was $25 not $50 like it was before. Nevermind.
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"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."
Why didn't you spend the last year marketing and finding buyers for our images. We were there to sell photographs, not give venture capitalists something to do.
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Wow... :-\ And I just submitted some photos to them...
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Another note in the UFB category, "Carnies who have not reached the minimum payout can convert their earnings to tokens by contacting support."
What . good are tokens on a sinking ship. I have 412 tokens I can't use. Just tried to buy an image and kept getting booted back to the home page.
I remember when we got all those worthless tokens, Bryan promising they would be worth something.
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Another note in the UFB category, "Carnies who have not reached the minimum payout can convert their earnings to tokens by contacting support."
I think in this case they are tokens you can use to buy images. Like "converting earnings to credits" in more common lingo. :)
Regards,
Adelaide
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edited:
I didn't realize the minimum payout was $25 not $50 like it was before. Nevermind.
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thats unfortunate about them shutting down I was making money from them
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I have over 400 credits but the system won't let me spend them.
I wonder how many people with less than $25 each Bryan will keep or trade for 'credits'
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Another note in the UFB category, "Carnies who have not reached the minimum payout can convert their earnings to tokens by contacting support."
I think in this case they are tokens you can use to buy images. Like "converting earnings to credits" in more common lingo. :)
Regards,
Adelaide
But I already have 400 tokens and I can't spend them. Just tried to spend them on someone's port and it kicks me back to the home page.
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do a swap, find someone who will buy your images if you buy theirs at least then you get a third back (at least those who have more than 75 tokens).
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I am glad that I didn't waste my time with them. I wonder who's next.
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I am sorry to hear that although I didn't upload there (I chose to wait until they succeeded in business,but unfortunately they didn't.what a shame!)
they had a great design and friendly staff.I wish that was enough to reach buyers.
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I am thinking it might be better to delete my potfolio from the site rather than just let it fade to who knows where....but I can't seem to figure out how to do that. Anyone know? Been there for 2 1/2 months but haven't had a single sale.
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A shame. I had hopes there too, but I cannot say I am surprised based on the performance.
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Anyone want to just hang out with people you've met at LO? I've just set up a luckyOlivers group at yahoo!
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/luckyOlivers/join -- make sure you let me know your LO screen name so I can figure out who you are - i set it up as 'restricted' meaning all memberships have to be approved.
it is just gonna be a chat group with no real purpose other than keeping in touch.
Mitch "yes i'm the moderator of that group too" Jesterboy
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I'm really sorry Mitch. I know you were fighting the good fight, and putting a lot of yourself into making LO a success. I feel bad for Bryan, but I feel worse for the community which remained loyal.
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Sorry to see them go, is there another agency that will follow suit?
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I'm really sorry Mitch. I know you were fighting the good fight, and putting a lot of yourself into making LO a success. I feel bad for Bryan, but I feel worse for the community which remained loyal.
Thanks Dan! I enjoyed myself at LO because everyone was so darn friendly. I was so hoping that things would improve there and I know Bryan busted his tail to make it grow (probably at the expense of his family too). I was able to get a little bit of cash out of LO, but mostly it was the feel of the site and the people who made it worth while.
I doubt we'll see the likes of LO any time soon in the business and we sure won't get the kind of feedback from any other site's reviewers that we got from LO.
LO will be sadly missed by many!
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Not a surprise but still sad. Best wishes Bryan and Maunger.
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Sorry to see them go, is there another agency that will follow suit?
I'm pretty sure, yes! Which one would be ???
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Though I'm sad to see them go, I can't say that I'm surprised. It seemed like a very nice company, with its heart in the right place.
Best of luck in the future, Bryan and company!
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when I close my account there a month ago they asked me why? Stupid me for a moment I believed in their sincerity. No anymore :)
They announce the shutdown in advance and give everyone teh chance to cash-out how much more sincerity can one ask?
I hate your comment!
I admit that my remark was as appropriate as a joke at someones funeral. Using the word "hate" anonymously is not very proper either.
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Will there be a viewing? To pay our respects?
I'd like to attend the funeral.
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Yawn.... next please...
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Glad I skipped it.
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Though I'm sad to see them go, I can't say that I'm surprised. It seemed like a very nice company, with its heart in the right place.
Best of luck in the future, Bryan and company!
with sharp...i jumped ship a long time ago as (i felt) this was a sinking ship, but, Bryan and crew were always responsive to the contributors and clients alike. best of luck to the survivors :-[
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I never submitted to LO because I didn't believe in it. But I still feel sorry for all the guys who worked hard and tried to make it successful.
I wish you all more luck and success in your future career.
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Another one bites the dust.
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What . good are tokens on a sinking ship. I have 412 tokens I can't use. Just tried to buy an image and kept getting booted back to the home page.
I remember when we got all those worthless tokens, Bryan promising they would be worth something.
maybe you cannot buy photos with tokens that were received by uploading images, i.e. tokens that you did not pay for. What were the tokens worth... they were perhaps going to be 'tickets' to get pictures into the 'sideshow'
Or perhaps they have turned off buying alltogether. That would be nice to know though. If there for sure won't be any sales then I may as well cash out now. But if a few buyers are going to use up their credits then I will leave my account until May
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Or perhaps they have turned off buying alltogether. That would be nice to know though. If there for sure won't be any sales then I may as well cash out now. But if a few buyers are going to use up their credits then I will leave my account until May
Good point. I'll wait till May as well.
It was a nice and friendly site, at least from a photographer's point of view. Sad to see them leave.
PTLee
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Sad to see
Best of luck Bryan and all those at LO.
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yeah, a shame it is closing... but i suppose not surprising given the amount of sales they had.
And agreed with what was also said before that it is very nice they give us a warning. Proof they were actually a decent business.
and about those tokens.
it says all PURCHASED tokens must be used before may 15.. so that is no doubt why we can used our 'earned' tokens. And that also means buyers can still buy photos.... so don't cash out quite yet.
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So sad ..... I tried to get tokens but it does not work!!
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I really liked LuckyOliver and the people - staff and contributors, and am sad it didn't make it. So many ready with support, specific feedback...
Each contributor at any photography agency is involved in the business (yes, I know it's a business) for own reason, and there's a wide range of technical and creative abilities (and size) in portfolios, but, personally, I appreciated interaction with friendly, helpful people who shared passion for photography at LuckyOliver. sad smiles - Ann
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It was a nice and friendly site, at least from a photographer's point of view. Sad to see them leave.
Although I wasn't a contributor I'm sad to see them go, too, especially since they seemed to be one of the more upbeat and friendly sites.
But didn't someone once say 'nice guys come last'?
I suspect this may be the first of several.
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Oh boy, loongirl must be out of her mind. Whew. I just cashed out there this month and have $2.70 in the piggy bank. Would that push anyone into $25 if I convert to a couple credits?
I have to say, although I'm very dissapointed, it is admirable that they didn't just pull the plug and leave us in the dark.
Karin, Sy - hope you get your last cheques!
That would help me, I am $2.80 below the $25 payout but I tried to buy a photo and was sent back to the homepage. I hope they fix that soon.
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Too bad I have only 6$ at the moment in piggy bank (not likely to pass 25$ barrier before 15th of may). So no more paychecks for me and I can not delete my portfolio there either, that is too bad. I also have almost 500 tokens but can not use them. I will gladly buy images for real uses, but buying is disapled as mentioned earlier. I was saving the tokens for side sales, but newer reached that point.
Site was nice but I did see this coming in last few weeks (no blog post in a month, no twitter messages, very slow review times lately etc).
br, MJP
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Yes, really sad ... First NaturalLifeStock and now LO. This should be a warning to all the new startup sites: it will not be easy for late arrivals to make it in the Microstock world.
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I've never been at LO.
Sad to see anyone fold, up but it looks like from here on it will be tough for any new startups.
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As some of you may know I stopped reviewing (bouncing) there many months ago when they made what I said at the time was a fatal mistake.
I've also commented on the Yaymicro thread here about another reason that I think contributed to LO's downfall.
But the main reason that LO has failed is because they failed to do the most basic things that any business needs to survive, MARKETING, I liked Bryan he is a decent guy but unfortunately I think his ego took the better of him, it was clear a long long time ago that his marketing strategy of not advertising wasn't going to work, many people told him this and yet he continued along the same line.
Let this be a lesson to any new site that tries to enter this market, if you want to sell something you need to tell potential buyers that you have something to sell.
I've never seen a site get so many accolades from it's users and yet they have failed, if somebody with good marketing experience took over LO they could easily make it a huge success.
I wish Bryan and all involved at LO all the best for the future.
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I just read the statement more closely. Am I reading this right that if you aren't currently above $25 you essentially lose that money, or only convert it to buy photos? If so, looks like the Valentines Day $1 cash-out was their way of providing a last chance to cash out.
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I just read the statement more closely. Am I reading this right that if you aren't currently above $25 you essentially lose that money, or only convert it to buy photos? If so, looks like the Valentines Day $1 cash-out was their way of providing a last chance to cash out.
yes that is how i understood it as well
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Doesn't it seem like there should be some option to delete your portfolio available so that for the next month buyers can't buy your photos with no chance of a contributor ever getting paid because they are nowhere near the cash out point?
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You can delete them individually but that looks like about the only option.
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I'm struggling to contain my disappointment at NOT having spent 2 years uploading and investing time there...
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You can delete them individually but that looks like about the only option.
It might not work but I'd suggest people do what I've done on my profile page, then hopefully some potential buyers might go somewhere else, of course most potential buyers go somewhere else anyway because they've never heard of LuckyOliver, but then thats what advertising does for you. ;)
My LO profile page (http://www.luckyoliver.com/profile/RTimages)
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I'm struggling to contain my disappointment at NOT having spent 2 years uploading and investing time there...
That's exactly why I'm no longer jumping aboard new sites until after I see some sign of stability and growth. LO was very easy to upload to but it still took time which could have been used more productively elsewhere.
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I'm struggling to contain my disappointment at NOT having spent 2 years uploading and investing time there...
well, in my case, it was worth the time (at least i think so - i got several payouts) - altho not as much as some other places but more than one or two other sites i'm on that are more well known. And, I met a lot of great people in the forums :)
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LO definately had a great community and friendly supportive staff. Maybe it should have been somehow transitioned into making money from it's strength as a social community.
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I like the fact that the site doesn't even have the common courtesy to tell it's contributors BEFORE it gets posted all over the message boards. Jeez, what a way to find out!
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I like the fact that the site doesn't even have the common courtesy to tell it's contributors BEFORE it gets posted all over the message boards. Jeez, what a way to find out!
It was posted first on the LO blog and on every page of the LO site - before it was posted "all over the message boards" - you just happened to log in elsewhere first.
At least they gave 1 month's notice - many other sites have just disappeared from the face of the earth with no notice and no chance for the customers to use their credits and for the contributors to possibly get their money.
Mitch
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I don't regret uploading there. I had a few payouts and some of the ideas Bryan came up with have made me money on other sites.
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It was posted first on the LO blog and on every page of the LO site - before it was posted "all over the message boards" - you just happened to log in elsewhere first.
No, not everyone looks at the sites each day. For instance at the moment I am without my laptop so I just flicked onto this site at work.
An email should have been sent to ALL contributors at the same time as the blog being posted.
Also, ALL contributors should get their payouts. Not just if they've made over X amount. You cannot keep money that doesn't belong to you.
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You can delete them individually but that looks like about the only option.
It might not work but I'd suggest people do what I've done on my profile page, then hopefully some potential buyers might go somewhere else, of course most potential buyers go somewhere else anyway because they've never heard of LuckyOliver, but then thats what advertising does for you. ;)
My LO profile page ([url]http://www.luckyoliver.com/profile/RTimages[/url])
I can't see that working as the buyers will have credits to use up and they will lose money if they go elsewhere.
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In a months time the buyers will have to go elsewhere. I think it is sensible to try and let them know where they can buy your images when LO has gone.
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Ditto on the "no marketing--no survival" comment earlier.
I suppose now we can look on the list to the right and write off all those we never see do any mainstream advertising.
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So what happens to the image library?
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i've been deleting mine through out the day
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i've been deleting mine through out the day
I would... but their site doesn't work with my work computer running internet expolorer!
Oh well, I'll try and find a customer services email or something and send them one. Last thing I want to do is sell a picture and not get paid for it.
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So, what's a guy to do?
Open up each photo one at a time and delete it. (Do I have time for this?)
Or hope that PT Barnum sweeps in and buys the carnival at a discount rate and lets the fat lady eat a few more twinkies?
I'm just surprized they didn't go straight out of business. Normally a company goes into Chapter 11 - forgive me if that is not the correct U.S. term - and then into bankruptcy. I'm just shocked that an Internet business is "winding down" instead of just dying. They must have made at least something.
Remember all that talk about a photographer's collective? Too bad we didn't have our poop together and we could have pounced on this.
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I just deleted 4 images and that was painful enough. :'(
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I am deleting the best sellers - just in case
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It is sad seeing them to turn out the lights. I enjoyed LO. I wish all the members of the LO team good luck for there future!
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No, not everyone looks at the sites each day. For instance at the moment I am without my laptop so I just flicked onto this site at work.
An email should have been sent to ALL contributors at the same time as the blog being posted.
Also, ALL contributors should get their payouts. Not just if they've made over X amount. You cannot keep money that doesn't belong to you.
Well - i've had photos on 2 other sites that went under and cash in my account - all the "notice" i got was that the site wouldn't load one day - and poof - all my money was gone and who knows what the heck happened to the image library! How do you think that made me feel?
Some people are just never happy no matter what.
I am thankful that LO is giving their customers a month to use their purchased credits. I can understand why some photographers would want to remove their images so they aren't sold in the mean time. And, I've asked for some clarification on their plans for payouts (if they have any yet).
Many fine people are suddenly going to be looking for jobs and new opportunities. And I feel sorry for them. They have my thoughts today.
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I am deleting the best sellers - just in case
I thought of doing that, but... does it make any difference? If they intended to misuse what they have there, they would have already copied everything.
Am I missing something?
Regards,
Adelaide
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I am deleting the best sellers - just in case
I thought of doing that, but... does it make any difference? If they intended to misuse what they have there, they would have already copied everything.
Am I missing something?
Regards,
Adelaide
Oh, you're right of course Adelaide - they've got backups of backups of those images... if they were really wanting to do something inappropriate with our images, they could.
But michealo was talking about at least trying to prevent more sales of images that he possibly wouldn't get payment for when they do shut down.
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But michealo was talking about at least trying to prevent more sales of images that he possibly wouldn't get payment for when they do shut down.
I see. Thanks for the clarification.
If we ask, don't they delete the entire portfolio?
Regards,
Adelaide
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But michealo was talking about at least trying to prevent more sales of images that he possibly wouldn't get payment for when they do shut down.
I see. Thanks for the clarification.
If we ask, don't they delete the entire portfolio?
Regards,
Adelaide
I'm checking on that. Not sure how much staff is left at this point.
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I was wondering if Bryan tried to sell the whole site before taking this decision. The site could well be worth some decent money.
The announcement itself could be a call for buyers willing to enter stock market with a reduced investment and a base of content, traffic and users.
Who knows. Sure it's a pity, I like LO.
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I was wondering if Bryan tried to sell the whole site before taking this decision. The site could well be worth some decent money.
I have a bad experience with that. TotallyPhotos was sold and went totally out of business. Whether the selling was a lie (not to say they were going out-of-business for failure) or the buyer simply took possession of our images.
Regards,
Adelaide
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I'm really sorry Mitch. I know you were fighting the good fight, and putting a lot of yourself into making LO a success. I feel bad for Bryan, but I feel worse for the community which remained loyal.
My feelings also. I care about the submitters and only the submitters. What happens to the thousands of people that have money waiting that didn't reach payout! !!??????????? I Hate to say but I told ya all about this 6 months ago, Did ya listen? NO. Did you raise your voice? NO.Im pissed at the thousands and thousands of hours wasted by good people uploading for no reason . I've been around long enough to have seen at least 12 sites come and go. This is no different except more people fell for it. All That Carnie, Warm and Fuzzy BS. It's about sales people , Not just a fun place to park your images. Sorry, Thats the truth. But, tomorrow theres going to be another new kid on the block Im sure that will take everything you send them So, Cheer up. get on SS,ISTK,Fotolia,SXPRT,DT,BSTK,123RF and forget all the nonsence. Do the work and you will make money. It's that simple. Always has been and, it's not going to change. EVER!!!
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As some of you may know I stopped reviewing (bouncing) there many months ago when they made what I said at the time was a fatal mistake.
I've also commented on the Yaymicro thread here about another reason that I think contributed to LO's downfall.
But the main reason that LO has failed is because they failed to do the most basic things that any business needs to survive, MARKETING, I liked Bryan he is a decent guy but unfortunately I think his ego took the better of him, it was clear a long long time ago that his marketing strategy of not advertising wasn't going to work, many people told him this and yet he continued along the same line.
Let this be a lesson to any new site that tries to enter this market, if you want to sell something you need to tell potential buyers that you have something to sell.
I've never seen a site get so many accolades from it's users and yet they have failed, if somebody with good marketing experience took over LO they could easily make it a huge success.
I wish Bryan and all involved at LO all the best for the future.
I agree.
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I am glad I didnt upload anything there. It knew it was a waste of time.
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Well - i've had photos on 2 other sites that went under and cash in my account - all the "notice" i got was that the site wouldn't load one day - and poof - all my money was gone and who knows what the heck happened to the image library! How do you think that made me feel?
Some people are just never happy no matter what.
If a company in my "day job" business sector went "we're closing the doors in a month, all the cargo you have with us will remain our property" there would be small claims court cases (or even law suits).
Just because other sites just disappeared, doesn't mean that Lucky Oliver is awesomely amazing for posting a note on it's home page. They should do what is right, and what is right is paying contributors out their money.
They should have also alerted contributors to the fact that they are closing, other than the site. What is someone is away on a six week safari in Africa (I know at least one microstocker who does it regularly) and can't check their site, but gets emails sent to their mobile / blackberry (as they do)? They're going to potentially have alot of money sitting there that they don't even know they're not going to be paid.
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well when a company goes bankrupt people are not 'entitled' to the money they have invested. What the company has, is paid out, but otherwise you just have to suck it up. It doesn't sound like they are going backrupt, but perhaps not far from it.
When a company goes under I think we can consider ourselves lucky if we get anything at all.
I would rather they give us 1 month notice, than claiming bankruptcy and closing the doors yesterday
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I'm almost certain they aren't claiming bankcruptcy because that would effect any future dealings of the people behind LO.
I'd say the backers just decided it wasn't and isn't worth the money they've invested and decided to end it now rather than pay any more in, they'll write it off.
At the moment they're saying payout is at $25 but when it comes to the deadline who knows what they'll do, they've been pretty open and honest up until now so people might get their payouts whatever the amount.
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What ??? It's closing down and i just got an extended license sale of $25!!! What do we do? delete all the photos there? :-\
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What ??? It's closing down and i just got an extended license sale of $25!!! What do we do? delete all the photos there? :-\
That's what I did. I haven't had any sales there yet, so I just deleted everything. I don't want people to buy my pictures, and me not get paid for them.
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well if you got an extended license for $25 you can get paid for it since that is the minimum payout before may 15.
I am going to leave my images there - cash out in the beginning of may, and let them delete my pictures when they close shop.
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I just registered there and submitted first three images :(
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What ??? It's closing down and i just got an extended license sale of $25!!! What do we do? delete all the photos there? :-\
Peiling, you know that they claim you can still cash out before May 15th if you have reached the minimum payout of $25 right. That sale would put you there.
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Just got my first sale in 2 weeks at the big O. Not going to make payout so it doesn't do me any good. Anyone deleting their port? I've got too many there to do it one at a time. Not sure what to do.
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I ended up doing mine one at a time because there is no response from Bryan or anyone at support. I wasn't going to make payout because they didn't market the site and they haven't even notified all site users via email of the coming closure.
It took forever, but it seemed to be the only way to be sure I don't license more images for free.
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And I was wondering why my pics are waiting in the queue for over a month :) Too bad, it was a nice concept..
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Just got my first sale in 2 weeks at the big O. Not going to make payout so it doesn't do me any good. Anyone deleting their port? I've got too many there to do it one at a time. Not sure what to do.
Deleted mine idividually. Took a couple hours.
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Just got my first sale in 2 weeks at the big O. Not going to make payout so it doesn't do me any good. Anyone deleting their port? I've got too many there to do it one at a time. Not sure what to do.
I hear ya, DB. I started.... it takes for-freakin-ever!!! With over 400 there... it'd take me all week, and I don't have that much beer in the house.
The only problem I see is those that have no shot at payout, having more pix purchased and just that much more money they'll never see. As for me, they are holding $75. Hopefully with a click of the mouse, I'll get that. I'll probably hold out another week or so. I've had EL's there, who knows.... maybe on the outside chance....... nah, who am I kidding...
I never got the impression that Bryan's was a 'fly by night' outfit. He is a photog and artistic talent himself. I imagine he well appreciates intellectual property values and rights. I can't imagine that he will do anything beyond pushing the big delete button. I'm not particularly concerned that my portfolio would be abused (ha, there's plenty better than mine to take advantage of on that server...ha ha ha).
Besides, any that think by deleting on the site, that they are assured that the file is gone ....are probably sadly mistaken. As someone else pointed out... these sites are sure to have double or triple redundancy in place. That one you delete, surely isn't the only copy.
I don't think we need to worry about Bryan hijacking the server with all our pix on it. ...... unless of course, he just purchased oneway tickets to china..... LOL 8)=tom
p.s. I DO think that the minimum payout rule is bogus in this situation. It's not like the carneys are quiting LO... LO quit on the carneys. EVERYONE should get their money even if it's 30 cents. The agency got their share of that sale already. Give the owner his/her share.
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I don't think Bryan or anyone else there plans to do anything wrong with our pictures. I just don't want to license more that I'm not getting paid for. :)
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why is everyone concerned about deleting photos.
The worst case scenereo is that someone will buy a license or two, since there has been next to zero sales the last 4 weeks, I am guess that trend will continue.
so if someone gets a free license that means I am out $1.00 or maybe even $10.00... if I spend 4 hours, or 30 hours deleting my portfolio I am out a lot more than $10.00
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I would think that the biggest concern would be that they would sell the technology (and images) to another company for a profit without any consent.
Imagine a large ad agency makes them an offer of $50,000 for their site. I'm not sure how many images they have, but lets imagine that they have 500,000. That would mean that the agency would get all of the full-size images for $0.10 apiece. We would probably not get a dime of that.
I'm not saying that this would happen with Bryan, since he seems to be a reasonably nice guy, but you never know. Stranger things have happened.
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Oh boy, loongirl must be out of her mind. Whew. I just cashed out there this month and have $2.70 in the piggy bank. Would that push anyone into $25 if I convert to a couple credits?
I have to say, although I'm very dissapointed, it is admirable that they didn't just pull the plug and leave us in the dark.
Karin, Sy - hope you get your last cheques!
Awwww, thanks for the sentiment, but the loongirl is okay (I think).
I just cashed out since I had $84 in my piggy bank, and immediately rec'd a reply that as soon as I filled in the W-9 and turned it in before the end of April, they'd schedule me for a payout sometime after 5/30/2008. My piggy bank now shows empty, so I'm hoping for a PayPal payout sometime in June. (Keeping my fingers crossed)
I just hate that LO is closing - made a bunch of friends, and learned a whole lot from so many who were willing to share.
:) b
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I just registered there and submitted first three images :(
Ok, we found the culprit!!! ;D
Regards,
Adelaide
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Loongirl/Beth, are you going to give the other sites a try? I know you were disappointed at (was it DT?) They all have message boards too, but you won't find anyplace like LO for getting to know people. Maybe MostPhotos (but no sales - maybe too much similar).
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I agree with all who are saddened. The hopes of a lot of people go with a business failure like this.
I liked the way LO reviewers took the time to make positive comments about submissions. And the way they have handled this is classy, as other posters have noted. Nothing I know prevented LO from just turning off the servers and leaving people logging to get a site-not-found message.
I got my first and only payment of $50.50 from them on 4-10. Guess I had my timing right on that one.
RIP LO!
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I like the fact that the site doesn't even have the common courtesy to tell it's contributors BEFORE it gets posted all over the message boards. Jeez, what a way to find out!
It was posted first on the LO blog and on every page of the LO site - before it was posted "all over the message boards" - you just happened to log in elsewhere first.
At least they gave 1 month's notice - many other sites have just disappeared from the face of the earth with no notice and no chance for the customers to use their credits and for the contributors to possibly get their money.
Mitch
Were the photographers emailed about the closure BEFORE they posted it to other boards? I haven't received my Notice about this. I sure would like to get an official notice first delivered to me as an individual member rather than finding it on some board since my membership is a contract between me and LO. Bottomline, I didnt apply at LO by putting a post on their board.
Anyway, this is water under the bridge now... Good luck to Bryan and his team who sure made the stay @ LO worthwhile.
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C'mon, they're shutting down. They could've very easily disappeared, not said crap, and let everybody figure it out. Sounds like that's how most other sites handled it.
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Lucky Oliver was a GREAT place. Very positive atmosphere. I liked it very much. This industry is a tough one, and I appreciate the unique approaches they tried.
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The smart thing would be to sell the site with all it's back end contributor problems to someone who wants to invest in fixing the back end.
The Layout and Design was a true work of Art.
It is a shame that the Functionality and Critical Contributor end was never given a chance to be fixed.
Best of luck to the Z man on his next venture.
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The site was slow and bug ridden. I would rather build my own that try and fix that
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i did withdrawn of two small amounts of money on my moneybookers account, (first one on 16th april) and still nothing happened.
how about you others?
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It looks like they've closed the doors early. http://www.luckyoliver.com/home (http://www.luckyoliver.com/home)
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Looks like L.O. is gone
at least I cant get in to see what they are doing
can anyone else get in or not?
Hmmmmmmm I wonder how many of us Will be Paid after all????????
and what recourse do we have?
Anyone a Lawer out there who wants to do a Class Action Lawsuit?
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The smart thing would be to sell the site with all it's back end contributor problems to someone who wants to invest in fixing the back end.
The Layout and Design was a true work of Art.
It is a shame that the Functionality and Critical Contributor end was never given a chance to be fixed.
Best of luck to the Z man on his next venture.
LO's back-end was run predominantly on Javascript using the usual freebie software that anyone can pick up if you know where to look. I'm not going to post a link because not only is it grossly unreliable it would break your heart to look at the source code. I've seen less bugs in a 10 year old corpse. No on second thoughts, Slappervillage is just as full of maggots and quite possibly the most bug infested site known to man. ;D
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Same here:
Service Temporarily Unavailable
The server is temporarily unable to service your request due to maintenance downtime or capacity problems. Please try again later.
Apache/2.2.3 (Debian) DAV/2 proxy_html/2.5 mod_ssl/2.2.3 OpenSSL/0.9.8c Server at www.luckyoliver.com Port 80
Not good :(
Edit: it is online, again!
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well, it's not working now....
I hope I don't wind up eating my words..... I think as soon as I can get on again, I'm cashing out.... hope I haven't pushed it too far....
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The doors are open again.
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Hey, is anyone able to use their credits to buy pictures at LO?
My girlfriend tried to use some of hers this morning and it is telling her she doesnt have enough credits, although she has almost 300 of them......
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did she purchase those credits or were they from uploading photos?
If the credits are from uploading photos they won't work to buy images with.
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well that dont make sense, they worked before for images. and to think she wanted to do a nice thing and spread her tokens in hopes of helping others get a pay out
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Does anyone else think it odd that they offered that Valentines Day opportunity to cash out just a short time before they announced they were closing the doors? It seems like it wasn't just coincidence, but a planned move. They had to know they were facing a problem in February - it just feels rather devious to me. (I just realized others have mentioned this Vday payout - I'd read through another LO news thread previously and didn't read this entire one thinking I'd already gone through it)
I've read some comments saying it's silly to complain about a few dollars, but add a few dollars up among a lot of submitters and that could end up being quite a lot of money. If I'm not mistaken, they could easily claim bankruptcy and avoid paying their debts altogether.
It just was a thought that crossed my mind. I'm not usually the paranoid sort, but I find the way this LO closure is being handled to be very unprofessional and a good lesson to us all when placing our images and faith in a new start-up stock site.
That said, they still have a chance to close-up shop responsibly and I hope they will. Then there are those allusions to possibly staying open - I just can't see why anyone would continue to contribute based on recent events.
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If I'm not mistaken, they could easily claim bankruptcy and avoid paying their debts altogether.
ummm... do you know how bankruptcy works?
You can only claim bankruptcy if you have no way of paying all your debts.
Once you have claimed bankruptcy it is not like you walk away from your debts. There is a specified order in which your debts are paid (banks, loan people, investors etc are paid first) and they go down the list until the shirt is off your back. It is hardly a way to 'get out of' paying your bills.
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as I said "if I'm not mistaken"...so no, I don't know the ins and outs of bankruptcy. Apparently I was mistaken.
Frankly, I hope I never have to know much about how it works.
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actually depending upon how it is done and if it is a company or an individual, and deeper still the type of company, yes it is a way to dump all your debt. and without a care in the world.
LO could be an LLC or an Inc.
Chances are Bryan has it set up so that his company can get sued but he cant.....
Glad i cashed out many moons ago....
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if it was a planned move then lowering payout was an decent and honourable thing to do...they could have left it at $100 and a lot more people would be owed money...they could have just turned the servers off and walked away, at least this way the most any contributor will lose is $24.99... about 1/3rd of the polariser I just bought... not as much as it cost me to take my kids to mcdonalds....