Update: Imagekind has confirmed the purchase.
Imagekind, an online marketplace for original and reprinted artwork, has been bought by online t-shirt and gift seller CafePress, a reliable source tells us, with rival Zazzle losing out on the deal. We hear the acquisition price may have been between $15 million and $20 million, although we’re still looking for confirmation on the amount.
While these days there are seemingly countless sites that let you design and sell your own t-shirts online, CafePress and Zazzle both raised venture rounds years ago and seem to have gained market leadership. Both have also gone beyond t-shirts, looking to get their respective users doing things like buying and selling gifts. Meanwhile, other companies, specifically handmade-goods site Etsy, have also been growing and raising venture funding.
So, the purchase of art-focused Imagekind (sample photo, above) is a classy way for San Mateo, Calif.-based CafePress to further distance itself from just being a t-shirts site (sample t-shirt, below) — and put itself more directly in competition for artists who want to sell their works and buyers who like nice stuff.
The purchase also suggests that it may be too late in the game for new startups to try to create their own t-shirt, art, and gift-selling online marketplaces.
Seattle-based Imagekind, which raised $2.6 million in February of 2007 from German publisher Holtzbrinck, venture firm Crosslink Capital, the Samwer brothers (who now invest via their own firm, European Founders Fund), and a number of angel investors, has in the past rejected a purchase offer from Amazon.com. It competes directly with Art.com, another art marketplace that has also been rumored to be trying to buy the company. During Imagekind’s last funding round, its rumored valuation was up to $7 million — so maybe the company is seeing solid growth and revenue, and maybe also the bidding war got particularly fierce.
[Photo by Imagekind artist James Howe, T-shirt by Flippin' Sweet]
5:38 am
Cafepress Acquires Imagekind.com for an Estimated $15-20 Million. said:
[...] more information on the deal check out Venture Beat or an older article with a few facts about Imagekind at the Seattle [...]
7:36 am
Cafepress Buys Imagekind | The T-Shirt Review said:
[...] I came across this on T-Shirt Talk and you can find more info on Venture Beat. [...]
8:28 am
» CafePress Acquires Imagekind T-Shirt Blog - CafePress Blog - Zazzle Blog - Spreadshirt Blog - T-Shirt News - T-ShirtChat Blog Archive said:
[...] VentureBeat and WebProNews report that CafePress, my favourite print on demand company, have bought Imagekind. Supposedly Imagekind were bought out for a whopping 15 million, with Zazzle competing for acquision also. [...]
10:00 am
Imagekind bought out by cafepress? | 1stAngel & Friends said:
[...] VentureBeat and WebProNews report that CafePress, the print on demand company, have bought Imagekind.! Supposedly Imagekind were bought out for a meagre 15 million, with Zazzle competing for acquision also. [...]
1:10 pm
Imagekind Acquired By CafePress For $15-20 Million said:
[...] Imagekind, the art site that describes itself as “a hybrid art gallery, photo-sharing service and a print-on-demand service” has been acquired by CafePress for $15-$20 million in cash and stock, according to VentureBeat. [...]
1:27 pm
Unfortune said:
[...] Imagekind, the art site that describes itself as “a hybrid art gallery, photo-sharing service and a print-on-demand service” has been acquired by CafePress for $15-$20 million in cash and stock, according to VentureBeat. [...]
1:36 pm
CafePress Acquires Imagekind »TechAddress said:
[...] Eldon over at VentureBeat is reporting that CafePress has acquired Imagekind. CafePress allows you to create custom printed items like [...]
2:00 pm
Imagekind sold to CafePress | Curious Office said:
[...] [...]
2:03 pm
The weblog of Kelly Smith - web slave since 1994 said:
[...] [...]
7:30 pm
TechCrunch Japanese アーカイブ » Imagekind、CafePressに$15～20Mで買収される said:
[...] Imagekindは、自らを「アートギャラリーと写真共有とオンデマンド印刷のハイブリッドサービス」と称するアートサイトだが、このほどCafePressに$15-$20M（1500～2000万ドル）の現金および株式で買収されたことをVentureBeatが伝えた。 [...]
8:56 pm
www.ubraniaroxy.pl » Blog Archive » Imagekind Acquired By CafePress For $15-20 Million said:
[...] Imagekind, the art site that describes itself as “a hybrid art gallery, photo-sharing service and a print-on-demand service” has been acquired by CafePress for $15-$20 million in cash and stock, according to VentureBeat. [...]
8:59 pm
TechCrunch en français » [fr] Brèves US: Twitter devrait racheter Summize, JS-Kit acquiert Haloscan, Getty Images passe un accord avec Flickr, CafePress rachète ImageKind et FlixWagon sort de beta privé said:
[...] ImageKind, le site à mi-chemin entre une galerie d’art, une plateforme de partage de photos et un service d’impression à la demande vient d’être racheté par CafePress pour $15-$20 millions en cash et actions selon VenturBeat. [...]
11:17 pm
Business News Research » Imagekind Acquired By CafePress For $15-20 Million said:
[...] Imagekind, the art site that describes itself as “a hybrid art gallery, photo-sharing service and a print-on-demand service” has been acquired by CafePress for $15-$20 million in cash and stock, according to VentureBeat. [...]
12:01 am
Simply Gadgets » Blog Archive » Imagekind Acquired By CafePress For $15-20 Million said:
[...] Imagekind, the art site that describes itself as “a hybrid art gallery, photo-sharing service and a print-on-demand service” has been acquired by CafePress for $15-$20 million in cash and stock, according to VentureBeat. [...]
12:36 am
Startup Meme » Blog Archive » CafePress grabs Imagekind; costs $15-$20 million said:
[...] partners including leading brands like Walgreen, Snapfish, Flickr, HP and Costco.com; according to VentureBeat, it has been acquired by CafePress for $15 to $20 million in cash and [...]
1:10 am
Imagekind Acquired By CafePress For $15-20 Million | Tipstech.info said:
[...] Imagekind, the art site that describes itself as “a hybrid art gallery, photo-sharing service and a print-on-demand service” has been acquired by CafePress for $15-$20 million in cash and stock, according to VentureBeat. [...]
10:03 am
July 9, 2008 | next media update said:
[...] T-shirt Site CafePress Buys Art Marketplace Imagekind VENTUREBEAT Imagekind, an online marketplace for original and reprinted artwork, has been bought by online t-shirt and gift seller CafePress, with rival Zazzle losing out on the deal. The acquisition price is reported to have been between $15 million and $20 million. Source> [...]
1:46 pm
Imagekind Acquired By CafePress For $15-20 Million | t7000 said:
[...] Imagekind, the art site that describes itself as “a hybrid art gallery, photo-sharing service and a print-on-demand service” has been acquired by CafePress for $15-$20 million in cash and stock, according to VentureBeat. [...]
8:25 am
Blick über den Tellerand: Twitter, Viadeo, Imagekind, Seesmic :: deutsche-startups.de said:
[...] CafePress übernimmt den Kunstwerke-Marktplatz Imagekind (www.imagekind.com). Der Kaufpreis soll bei 15 bis 20 Millionen Dollar liegen. Verkäufer sind unter anderem die Samwer-Brüder mit ihrem [...]
2:18 pm
Imagekind founder raises $1.7M for another marketplace » VentureBeat said:
[...] Imagekind, an online marketplace for buying and selling original and reprinted artwork, then selling it to CafePress, founder Kelly Smith is back at the drawing board. The latest project is called PressPlane, and [...]