Corbis sees a future in digital reproductions for computer screens, not just paper posters for walls, says David Rheins, VP of consumer operations at Corbis Productions, the company's consumer products division. Rheins further envisions an e-card, for example, that could be sent from a travel Web page, alerting family and friends to an upcoming adventure using a Corbis photo of the destination. The tangible goods model is a traditional retail model of buying wholesale, selling retail and pocketing the difference. That's not for us. The poster market is primarily office or dorm-room walls and first apartments, he says, and competition will increase as offline sellers like museum stores and framers move to the Net.
Art is the ultimate discretionary purchase.
Such dire predictions don't deter Wilbur Pierce. But we expect to break even within two or three months. And for Pierce, a small profit like that could be the beginning of the very big deal. Privacy Policy Stock data provided by Stockpoint and its data suppliers.