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Sites listed on Flippa get duped

by retsek
10 replies
This is the third time this has happened. Three sites I sold on Flippa with earnings ranging from $200 to $800 per month in Adsense have all been copied in one or way another.

While I have no problem with folks using flippa to get niche ideas, this last one really ticked me off. After the auction ended, the winner did the transfer himself. I sent him zipped copies of everything including the awesome one of a kind custom theme that I spent many hours creating just for this site.

After some time, the buyer sends me an angry email and shows me an exact replica of site that has started to move up in the serps. The copycat got a copy of theme and copied all the images and content word for word. There were over 70 posts and 30 unique images.

The copycat was able to get the theme because the buyer left the zipped theme in the themes folder. And he had to have manually copied all the posts and images.

It looks like he's now building the same backlinks and more.

I am f@#king pissed. these copycats always seem to come from a certain part of the world.:rolleyes:

Both me and buyer will file complaints with google, their host, etc. This post is just venting I guess.
#duped #flippa #listed #sites
  • Profile picture of the author clature
    Wow .... never knew something like this could happen. Recently purchased a few websites from Flippa. It was smooth sailing.... Guess I got lucky. Hmmm
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  • Profile picture of the author cashcow
    That stinks!

    I had a similar thing happen to me a few years ago when I sold a site that had all unique articles that I had written for the site. It was new, not even indexed yet, and I listed it on Flippa and it sold pretty quick.

    The next day, the new buyer emails me all mad because he found the articles somewhere else on the web.

    Yep, someone had seen the flippa listing and must have copied the articles from the site to use for their own evil purposes probably trying to get their copy indexed first.

    I had to write new articles for the guy because I felt so bad about it even though it wasnt my fault, but it wasnt the buyers fault either.

    Lee
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    Gone Fishing
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  • Profile picture of the author RevSEO
    This should be simple with a C&D letter to the domain registrar and hosting company.

    If the images and content are stolen it won't be very long before the hosting shuts the site down or the domain registrar intervenes.
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    • Profile picture of the author retsek
      Originally Posted by RevSEO View Post

      This should be simple with a C&D letter to the domain registrar and hosting company.

      If the images and content are stolen it won't be very long before the hosting shuts the site down or the domain registrar intervenes.
      I want them punished by Google. So I'm complaining to Adsense first. Maybe if they lose their adsense account, they'll straighten up and fly right.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Originally Posted by retsek View Post

    This is the third time this has happened. Three sites I sold on Flippa with earnings ranging from $200 to $800 per month in Adsense have all been copied in one or way another.

    While I have no problem with folks using flippa to get niche ideas, this last one really ticked me off. After the auction ended, the winner did the transfer himself. I sent him zipped copies of everything including the awesome one of a kind custom theme that I spent many hours creating just for this site.

    After some time, the buyer sends me an angry email and shows me an exact replica of site that has started to move up in the serps. The copycat got a copy of theme and copied all the images and content word for word. There were over 70 posts and 30 unique images.

    The copycat was able to get the theme because the buyer left the zipped theme in the themes folder. And he had to have manually copied all the posts and images.

    It looks like he's now building the same backlinks and more.

    I am f@#king pissed. these copycats always seem to come from a certain part of the world.:rolleyes:

    Both me and buyer will file complaints with google, their host, etc. This post is just venting I guess.

    This is actually good news. If they copied your graphics and your copy verbatim, it's an easy take down if the host is in the US.

    Here's the instructions for a DMCA
    http://domainingdiva.com/legal-issue...ipoff-artists/

    There's a sample DMCA there also. If the host is in another country and won't honor the DMCA, file it with Google.
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    • Profile picture of the author Hamida Harland
      Originally Posted by sbucciarel View Post

      This is actually good news. If they copied your graphics and your copy verbatim, it's an easy take down if the host is in the US.

      Here's the instructions for a DMCA
      Domaining Diva » Blog Archive » What You Can Do About "Paypal Dispute Ripoff Artists"

      There's a sample DMCA there also. If the host is in another country and won't honor the DMCA, file it with Google.
      ^^
      This was exactly what I used (thanks Suzanne), and it worked perfectly.

      I sold a site on Flippa for over $3000, and within a week a scammer had registered a domain almost exactly the same as mine, used the same wordpress theme, copied all my content and stole my graphics.

      The new buyer didn't know what to do, so I used the above DMCA info, and got the offending site taken down. It was alot easier than I had anticipated.
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      • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
        Banned
        Originally Posted by Hamida Harland View Post

        ^^
        This was exactly what I used (thanks Suzanne), and it worked perfectly.
        Thanks. A lot of people think it's too much hassle or won't work, but that's not the case. It does work and doesn't take a lot of time to do it with the template provided. Even gives you the instructions on how to find out who is hosting it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Tony Dean
    I am hoping that my sites I am going to put on Flippa don't get copied too. But they are already indexed by Google, so I am the first. Anything later is a copycat.
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  • Profile picture of the author wrongnumber
    Originally Posted by retsek View Post

    This is the third time this has happened. Three sites I sold on Flippa with earnings ranging from $200 to $800 per month in Adsense have all been copied in one or way another.

    While I have no problem with folks using flippa to get niche ideas, this last one really ticked me off. After the auction ended, the winner did the transfer himself. I sent him zipped copies of everything including the awesome one of a kind custom theme that I spent many hours creating just for this site.

    After some time, the buyer sends me an angry email and shows me an exact replica of site that has started to move up in the serps. The copycat got a copy of theme and copied all the images and content word for word. There were over 70 posts and 30 unique images.

    The copycat was able to get the theme because the buyer left the zipped theme in the themes folder. And he had to have manually copied all the posts and images.

    It looks like he's now building the same backlinks and more.

    I am f@#king pissed. these copycats always seem to come from a certain part of the world.:rolleyes:

    Both me and buyer will file complaints with google, their host, etc. This post is just venting I guess.
    why would programmers like me or greater than me... even bother copying images and posts by hand, when using a simple script i can copy your entire source code... wanna try me?... why not sue the website?... there is some procedure... if you have a copy right of the content... else.... let it be the way it is...
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    Buyers Wanted Urgent!...

    ~ Made 4 Sales with this site (~$105)
    ~ No Promotion done at all, just 5 hours of work I did
    ~ No Time To Work On This Anymore
    ~ Giving away for cheap! Need Money!
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    • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
      Banned
      Originally Posted by wrongnumber View Post

      why would programmers like me or greater than me... even bother copying images and posts by hand, when using a simple script i can copy your entire source code... wanna try me?... why not sue the website?... there is some procedure... if you have a copy right of the content... else.... let it be the way it is...
      wanna try me? You bragging? A DMCA will take it down so go ahead and copy. There's no need to go to the expense of a lawsuit when a simple DMCA will take it down.
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