Niche Stock Image Library
Digital productsThis library licenses about 100,000 images in niches like dinosaurs, astronomy and medical art, supplied by 150 photographers and artists who earn royalties only when work sells.
Ask $350K · Profit $66.3K · 5.3x · SellerForce
Oct 30
- Ask
- $350K
- Revenue
- $119K
- Profit
- $66.3K
- Margin
- 56%
- Multiple
- 5.3x
- Age
- ~21 yrs (2005)
- Label
- Small Growth Play
- Reason
- Small and profitable after 21 years, with room to sell beyond search and partners, but 5.3x is steep with no trend figures and AI image tools rising.
Why it's interesting
- Three sales channels: licensing through 50 media partners, print-on-demand products and direct website sales, with organic search bringing most customers.
- Contributors are non-exclusive and paid 20-50% royalties on sales, so content costs rise and fall with revenue; the company wholly owns its medical illustration collection and domains.
- Seller financing with a reasonable down payment, transferable contributor and partner agreements, and one owner staying on for the transition.
- Hosting costs about $20K a year, a line a buyer may be able to reduce.
What to watch
- Only one year of figures is given, with no period stated and no trend, so it is unclear whether sales are growing, flat or shrinking.
- AI image generators can now produce sci-fi, dinosaur and astronomy art on demand, likely the categories most exposed.
- At 5.3x for about $66K of profit, a buyer waits over five years to recover the price even if profit holds.
- Curation, licensing and partner relationships are handled in-house, likely by the owners, whose hours are not stated; sales peak in Q4.
Who it fits
A buyer with image licensing or print-on-demand know-how who can take over curation and partner management, using seller financing toward the $350K.
Ask the seller
- What were sales and profit in each of the last three years, and which categories have grown or shrunk?
- How much revenue comes from the largest media partners and print-on-demand platforms?
- How many hours a week do the owners work, and which tasks would the buyer inherit?
Growth plays
- License the wholly owned medical illustration collection directly to medical publishers and patient-education firms.
- Pitch the dinosaur, astronomy and ocean life collections to museum gift shops and science education publishers as print-on-demand product lines.
Oct 30Added to Acumen Wire