Flippa.com - New SitePoint Marketplace

[dvduval]

Looks like sitepoint is rolling out a revamp of their Marketplace
Flippa - Buy and Sell Web Sites and Domains
The design looks pretty sleek. What do you think?
(note: it is still in beta)

[dvduval]

Oh, and here is their blog about the features:
Flippa

[AwesomeContent]

Interesting website!

If they are actually going to take these ads out of SP marketplace, then I think it will work great for them. Leaving both methods of advertising up would cause them some problems as people figure out where to post ads. Additionally, I wonder what the transition plan will be, and if they'll just magically shut off the marketplace one day, or have some overlap for currently running ads.

As a side note, the site has a very "Twitter-y" feel to it. I especially like the line at the top about "all auctions being fake". The language of that make me laugh a bit!

[bbrian017]

I think it's an awesome looking website!

[Diana Lane]

There's already a thread here, too.

Site Flippers... check out what Sitepoint just sent to me!

I'm still amazed by the name - I think it instantly devalues anything that's listed there. That said, I always thought the 'PayPal' name a bit... cheesy, for want of a better word, and they don't seem to be doing too badly

[Kenneth Fox]

Originally Posted by Diana Lane

I'm still amazed by the name - I think it instantly devalues anything that's listed there.

Well they were going to use flipper.com but found there's not to much of a market for buying and selling dolphins. Just messing with ya Diana ;-)

[sbucciarel]

I hate the new interface but more than that, they've jacked up the price of listing to $19 instead of $16 and then tacked on a 5% success fee if you sell the site. The Orange row Upgrade has gone from $5 to $19. Don't see myself using upgrades anymore and I'll be keeping my eyes open for other sites to sell that want to capitalize on the customers who don't like the new pricing structure.

[LMC]

Personally I think its rather pointless...

There MarketPlace thrives on the content of Sitepoint's website, blogs, articles, and forums...

People come from those entry points to enter their marketplace.

Sellers do better because of content that they add throughout the rest of the site, and build reputations up just like we do here in this community.

Think about it this way...

If there was a site called wsos.com and we had to go there do you think views and sales would be as good?

I don't... usually I travel to OUR marketplace when I read some good information from a poster and there WSO is in their sig link.

[dvduval]

Originally Posted by sbucciarel

I hate the new interface but more than that, they've jacked up the price of listing to $19 instead of $16 and then tacked on a 5% success fee if you sell the site. The Orange row Upgrade has gone from $5 to $19. Don't see myself using upgrades anymore and I'll be keeping my eyes open for other sites to sell that want to capitalize on the customers who don't like the new pricing structure.

I can only assume they are doing this because they feel the market will bear this increase. They must be doing really well to go investing in a completely new site.

[Joseph Then]

Hey, I saw my website icon in the homepage!

Anyway, it seems to me that they are jumping on the bandwagon of people who wants to make money flipping websites.

Isn't it?

Nice layout. Very Web2.0 feel.

And hey, check out:
http://flippa.com/buy-websites

Google.com and test.com is for sale!

[sbucciarel]

Originally Posted by dvduval

I can only assume they are doing this because they feel the market will bear this increase. They must be doing really well to go investing in a completely new site.

Time will tell ... A lot of people used the Orange Highlighting upgrade but I seriously doubt that many will at the whopping price of $19 from $5. I wouldn't complain about the increase in the listing fee if it weren't combined with the 5% success fee. I think they will be making less money from me in the long run because of these changes and I spend a lot of money with them currently.

[Josh Gould]

I dislike the design and the 5% success fee... from a business perspective the fee was a pretty brilliant (yet simple) idea though.

First the contest section was separated from Sitepoint, now the marketplace. Maybe they're looking to sell or hoping for buyouts (in the future) without losing the Sitepoint brand?

[LegitIncomes]

I posted this in the other flippa thread, but since we have two going, I'll post it here too.

Regarding Flippa.com

I don't like it at all.

1. Stupid name.

2. The listing fees are okay...but 5% of the sales price??
That's going to cost me several hundred dollars a month.

3. I like the design, and the "just sold" and "ending soon" tabs....but those tabs alone are not worth the price increase. You can already see ending soon and those that have sold in the current marketplace.

4. Private sales as an alternative - who cares, you could already do this if the winning bidder chose to remain nameless....so nothing to see here.

5. Site & Phone verification - did this already, and you can already weed out bidders who don't verify their phone...so again, nothing to see here.

6. View counters on listings - who cares

[ezimedia]

HI

Interesting site.. will have to keep an eye on it and see how it works out.

Tom

[Noah Fleming]

Not a fan of the new look at all.
The 5% success thing is OK. At least it's capped.

I still would like to see site selling more secured. Maybe make escrow required. Is flippa going to get involved in disputes after the success fee is paid?

[Kezz]

Flippa has outright stated they have nothing to do with conduct from either buyers or sellers. Basically, they're asking for more cash but have said if you get scammed, tough, you're on your own.

Poor, poor form.

[scole954387]

I haven't tried Flippa myself, but I haven't seen many people have much good to say about it.

[sbucciarel]

Here's an accurate view of what people think of it

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-new-post.html

[Didier Faucher]

Originally Posted by Diana Lane

I'm still amazed by the name (...)

Dolphins are mammals, not fishes.
(reference to the other thread)


Didier

[sbucciarel]

Originally Posted by Didier Faucher

Dolphins are mammals, not fishes.
(reference to the other thread)


Didier

That is true ... but they smell like a fish, and swim like a fish.

Here's some more uproar over Flippa ... this is the thread where the now infamous quote was made by co-founder of Sitepoint:

The problem: many SitePoint users are not only miffed about the new fee structure and the lack of a head's up, they are unhappy with the Flippa site itself.

The response from SitePoint's co-founder:

Thanks for all your positive feedback guys. We appreciate it. One thing to keep in mind...
Our buyers aren't going anywhere. They are savvy business people. They don't care about the design of the site or the fact the logo sucks (the current logo is a placeholder BTW), they simply get on with the business of buying, and we've made it a lot easier for them to do that on flippa.com.

Meanwhile while you all whine and complain about the fees, the design, etc. the smart sellers are listing their sites on flippa.com and they are attracting the majority of the buyer interest. They will also get the added benefit of the PR we're about to roll out.

So, it's totally up to you! If you want to come across to flippa and sell your site in the professional marketplace we're creating for serious buyers, we welcome you with open arms. If not, please do go to digitalpoint. List your site for free and see if the old adage of "you get what you pay for" applies.