ClusterShot - The End Of An Era

Just received this news by email and you can also find this at ClusterShot Blog.

A little over two years ago we launched ClusterShot. We very openly called it an experiment. It was not only a technical experiment but an experiment for our company's cultural and economic models.
The experiment is coming to an end.
We, silverorange, have decided to shut ClusterShot down. This may not be a surprise to some of you; as you may have noticed, our zeal for the site quickly disappeared this summer. There are many reasons for this but the overarching theme is simply: it wasn't quite successful enough.
Right now our plan is:

• We are immediately going to be suspending pro-account sign ups, photo uploading (of all sorts), and new account creation.
• We are going to refund your money. What money will you get back? If you've signed up for a pro account within the last 2 months, you'll get it all back. If you signed up more than 2 months ago, we are going to pro-rate your account and give you back what you haven't used (i.e. If you bought a pro account for $20 USD and used it for six months you'll get $10.00 USD back).
• There is a 0% commission on all photos sold until we shut the site off. Go nuts.
• On February 21st, 2011 the remaining site functions will be turned off, and no more sales will be possible.

I hate this! I want to save ClusterShot!

Well, you are in luck. If you really, really want to save ClusterShot then please make us an offer. We are open to selling the entire site, brand, and system to someone who wants to take it to the next level¹. No reasonable offer by a reasonable party will be refused.
There is a lot of technical investment in ClusterShot by one of the better web development firms out there. We have spent over two years working on ClusterShot and have done what we think are some pretty cool things with it.

Why would I buy ClusterShot?

Currently ClusterShot almost sells enough pro-accounts to cover hosting and technical fees. Over the past 6 months this has happened with virtually no input or energy from us. We strongly believe that with some effort and some smart marketing (things we just don't have the time to do), ClusterShot could be a great little business. The interest is there (we have new pro accounts being bought every day) and we believe it will just take a few driven people to take it to the next level.
If you are interested in buying ClusterShot please email slice@silverorange.com.

Thank You & We're Sorry

As this experiment comes to an end, we want to extend our thanks to everyone who played a role in shaping it. It's been a fun project and we are sad to see it go. To all of those who have come to rely on ClusterShot and whom this will inconvenience, we are very sorry.
Respectfully Yours,