Flippa.com Is Live!

[Richard N Adams]

For any site flippers who haven't noticed yet, I just thought I'd let you know that Flippa.com (Sitepoint's new site selling area) is now live. Take a look. I think it's *horrible*, but what are your opinions?

-> Flippa: The #1 Marketplace for Buying and Selling Web Sites

All the best,
Richard

[Shakul]

Just noticed this too..

My old listing is now imported in Flippa.

Shakul

[NewbiesDiary]

wow that page looks like a cheap freebie template!

[MrsAuspicious]

What's up with the aqua colors for templates lately? I can't believe some of those sites are even on there. I guess we will see how it does now. I've heard so many talkin about it.

[patricialin]

As much as I like the layout of the new site, the policies of the site could do with some tweaking. My listings got imported and one had a BIN bid just before they closed for the transfer. but it wasn't reflected in the new system. I had to close the auction early instead. Thank goodness, the buyer had already contacted me by then.

[tessmac9708]

I was just about to post this. I was a very frequent visitor to Sitepoint...I think that will change now. They have completely ruined it...looks horrible!

Graham

[AdInventive]

For being from a site that's all about web development and design...they really need to hire a UI / user experience designer. Ugh.

[Desmond Ong]

Hey folks,

I am thinking to lodge a complain email to SitePoint about this because obviously, SitePoint Marketplace has the best user experience and obviously, Flippa sucks.

What do you guys think?

[BODH]

I am smelling a new marketplace in somewhere..Certainly its not Flippa.
something new apart from sitepoint's hands

[kislany]

Flippa's design sux, and the higher and additional 'success' fees really ruin it for all sellers. I think affected will be particularly those of us who sell startup sites to say up to $200. What margin have we got left once all the flippa fees + paypal fees are paid???

[Desmond Ong]

Originally Posted by kislany

Flippa's design sux, and the higher and additional 'success' fees really ruin it for all sellers. I think affected will be particularly those of us who sell startup sites to say up to $200. What margin have we got left once all the flippa fees + paypal fees are paid???

True. It will be some time for some developers to develop a new marketplace that is way better than Flippa.

In the SitePoint blog, it seems that Flippa is catered to the buyers. This is not a win-win situation between buyers, sellers and Flippa.

This is a WIN situation for Flippa only.

[absolutelee]

I've got to disagree with you guys. I'm not too sure I like Flippa's layout, but I do like the success fee. Anything that raises the bar somewhat might help keep out a lot of a junk that's been flooding the market. I'm willing to at least be open minded and see what actually happens.

[cashcow]

I have to say I thought the design of sitepoint was a lot crisper, but I guess I can get used to Flippa. I like it better for research because you can easily see the bids and ending prices.

I'm not too happy about the massive increase in fees. I haven't sold sites in a while but was thinking about getting back into it but the fees are a real deterrent for selling startup sites. On the other hand, it might knock out a lot of the competition so maybe I will sell more sites and makeup for it that way in the end. I guess only time will tell.

Lee

[Swastik]

Wow, this ain't user friendly at all. The simpler marketplace was (10^∞)x better.

I'm still exploring it... but this IS going to change site flipping a lot. Not for those who have a buyers' pool though.

[BTW, I wanted to ask - No categorizing established, startup, premium sites? What about domain names, templates, WTB ads? ]

[John Hixson]

Originally Posted by absolutelee

I've got to disagree with you guys. I'm not too sure I like Flippa's layout, but I do like the success fee. Anything that raises the bar somewhat might help keep out a lot of a junk that's been flooding the market. I'm willing to at least be open minded and see what actually happens.

i thought the categorizing between startups, established and premium already allowed a lot of the junk to be filtered out. the start ups had the 'new sites' that attracted a lot of the junk sites - and i dont see a problem with that.

[patricialin]

It's my first day using flippa and i'm really not happy about it. there are still a lot of bugs lying around the site. plus, the success fee is really going to eat into my earnings. gosh, what a bummer.

[Ant West]

Anyone intrested in a partnership in setting a competitor site up?

[Desmond Ong]

Originally Posted by Ant West

Anyone intrested in a partnership in setting a competitor site up?

I've got a couple of people already asked me to set up a competitor site up. Hehe...

Maybe we should all team up.

[cashcow]

....the success fee is really going to eat into my earnings. gosh, what a bummer.

I just noticed that this fee has a $10 minimum so if you are selling sites for under $200 (which i usually do) you are getting the short end of the stick. SO, it's going to cost a minimum of $29 for a listing, plus any extras, plus domain name registration, plus paypal fees....

One good thing is that if you have to relist then you can do so for 1/2 the fees.

I think it's kind of weird that the startup and established sites now cost the same.

This is kind of like the ebay thing though - sitepoint is where they buyers are so any other auctions site, while attractive to sellers, is going to have to do a hell of a lot of work to bring the buyers.

When ebay started to get fee happy many years back, there was a lot of talk about starting other auction sites but none could get off the ground because ebay had the brand and name recognition.

[The Expert]

You're right about Ebay. Not cool either. Amazon if really their only major competitor right now...and they're not even an auction site.

Everyone was hoping that Google would have launched an online auction service. Thought that their "Google Checkout" competitor to PayPal was a herald of things to come.

Alas, it was not to be. Google and eBay are actually enamored of each other and have no intention of competing.

Maybe it's the same for Sitepoint. From a business perspective, I guess I might do the same thing if I were them.

I mean...if that's your business model, how do you increase your profits? Every company wants to INCREASE profits...not just remain the same as before.

The fastest and easiest way to do that is to raise prices. Sure, you'll lose customers...but as long as your bottom line is increased when all is said and done...well...that's what's business is really about in the end. Anyone who says different is both idealistic and wrong.

[Diana Lane]

I like how you can hover over the graph symbol thingy to get the stats for each site without opening the listing, and it's a lot more evident what's selling now, or even just what's attracting interest. The whole thing is more open, and having seen the ludicrous BINs and start prices that some people are hoping to get for sites with no traffic, no income, and no history, I think a more revealing listings page might actually save some sellers money by presenting them with a more realistic picture of what's likely and either dissuade them from listing until their site has more substance or persuade them to bring the price down a bit.

Yes, it does seem more open. I like that. I knew I could find something favourable to say about it. Eventually.

I'm not too bothered (for myself, at least) that virgin turnkey sites probably won't do well there, because I've moved towards selling more established sites anyway. I'm glad I did that before flippa went live though, as I'd hate it to be seen as evidence that flippa is already eliminating the turnkey sites that they clearly don't want to see there. That said, if flippa survives then I don't think it will be down to those who created it, it will be down to the sellers and their adaptability in making the best of a bad job. Whether they think it's worth the effort remains to be seen.

I still dislike the increase in fees - I've yet to see anything I think justifies that.

I still dislike the design, especially the massive, pointlessly huge header that takes up almost the entire screen on the front page.

Most of all, I still really dislike that name. It's going to end up having worse bargain basement connotations than eBay.

Some of it is a step in the right direction. Most of it is a step in something a bit smellier

[newton]

For people selling new sites, it really sucks. Costs $9 extra to list and you have to pay 5% of the final sales price (assuming you pay it and not the buyer).

For people selling established sites it costs $1 less to list the site but still the extra 5% on top. So that sucks too.

The site design sucks. You have to click way more links to find out what is happening with your auctions.

The site has many bugs. So that sucks.

Oh, maybe I'm not being clear here - I think it sucks!

Tony

[sbucciarel]

I hate it. The queasy, cheesy Web 2.0 Twittery design does not POP at all. There's very little contrast between the listings, even the highlighted ones since everything is now blue. Obviously a developer's idea of graphic design rather than a designer's idea of graphic design. Make everything blue, make everything big, build in functions to slow the site down and provide less actual usability.

The seller's name is now NOT shown until you actually open the auction, which is a time consuming mess. There's a ton of scammers that I never even bother to open their auctions and now I have to look to see. By the same token, there are some of my favorite sellers that I may miss because I didn't open the auction to see it.

The site is not user friendly. The fee increases are outrageous. Of course, Flippa has now given us, the sellers, the option of being the bad guy and making our buyers pay it.

"Better for Buyers" ... lol

It's not better for buyers with so many unhappy sellers. How happy are buyers with nothing to buy?

None of my saved pms migrated along with the site so my contact list is gone. Would have to go into all my sold auctions to find the buyers to get contact info. Real pain.

The domain name is so unbelievably cheesy I can't imagine that they thought it was a great idea.

And what additional services are we getting for the price increase? Haven't found them yet.

I'm waiting for the smart entrepreneur to come along and sweep all us unhappy sellers away.

Did I mention that I hate it?

[John Hixson]

You say that it might take time to get traffic of buyers and sellers - maybe the WF owners (just started here so dont know who is who) might consider setting it up like the old sitepoint? It has the traffic of people who buy and sell, the know how and the good will of many influential marketers.

Seems to me there could be good money in it for the forum owners

[emakina]

its alright.

[Audrey Harvey]

I had a listing migrated over from Sitepoint to Flippa. The listing has been migrated incorrectly - it now says non unique design and non unique content, whereas both are unique. I logged in to Flippa yesterday and correctd that, and now I find that today they're both back to being listed as non unique.

If you've had a listing moved over from Sitepoint, check it carefully.

[Biggy Fat]

I have mixed feelings about it. I absolutely hate how they raised the fees THEN turn around and take a percentage out during a successful sale. Then there isn't a place to classify startups, established sites, and premiums on the front page (there is a spot for it in the filter section though). With those flaws, everyone is gonna say that it is "established" when they really aren't, just like with eBay (which is 90% garbage anyway). BTW, WHERE IN THE HELL IS MY TRUSTY ADVANCED SEARCH FEATURE FROM SITEPOINT?!

The name fits with me simply because it is Web 2.0 and it's an Ebonics sounding name (replacing the "er" with an "a"). I guess the design is okay, and the eBay like interface is nice, but as Suzanne says, the buyer's name isn't visible until you click on an auction. Which means unless you're signed up to your favorite buyer's list, you won't be able to know that it is from him/her.

But hey, I'm thinking that since the site is still new it probably isn't awfully saturated ATM, so people can jump on this. I could be wrong, though. I think that it will hurt sales thanks to the new layout, however.

[newton]

Originally Posted by Audrey Harvey

I had a listing migrated over from Sitepoint to Flippa. The listing has been migrated incorrectly - it now says non unique design and non unique content, whereas both are unique. I logged in to Flippa yesterday and correctd that, and now I find that today they're both back to being listed as non unique.

If you've had a listing moved over from Sitepoint, check it carefully.

Yeah me too.

Site was unique in the Sitepoint listing but when moved it's now suddenly not unique.

Tony

[steve m]

Not a very good idea if you ask me, I hate it already. Why fix what aint broke?

[kanus]

Originally Posted by Ant West

Anyone intrested in a partnership in setting a competitor site up?

YES, but only if it offers some kind of buyer protection. I cant tell you how much money I've lost in buying sites. 1 out of 10 actually did what the seller was claiming, of course when I ask for a refund... I don't get it, and the payment processors are no help. I say long term escrow, we will attract only serious sellers, not the scam sellers that take advantage of paypal privacy and no help with digital purchase BS. Sorry if this sounds bitter, its because I am! I wouldn't even mind if the sites I bought did half of what they were supposed to do.

[Scott Murdaugh]

I think it's terrible.

I really liked how everything was integrated and easy to search on Sitepoint... Shop for a website, see a good deal on a designer or a script, hire a whatever.

It was a one stop webmaster shop... Now it's a pain to find anything.

The old marketplace was great, they should just leave it as is.

-Scott

[ryansjones]

Sounds like an interesting website. I have one website up for renewal next month, but will not renew it due to lack of conversions on it (plus I made a better version of it on another domain name, and so I might sell the one that needs to be renewed).

[Stefan Vee]

I miss the old format as well ........... BUT............

That's because I got so used to it. I was an expert in finding great stuff on sitepoint...

I am not anymore (at this time) ...

That will change, I am confident about that.

And the format of flippa will become more user friendly than ever.

Just give these guys some time.

They are marketers as well, remember? Most probably "excellent" marketers!

[Habitat]

Are they serious? Their old marketplace was ten times better.

[SeanSupplee]

I do not buy and sell domains but if I did and ran into this site just by the looks of it I would think its a total rip off lol.

[remodeler]

Flippa flat out SUCKS! I can only hope that someone takes advantage of this situation and starts a new service. On top of that they completely screwed up a listing I currently had on SP when they migrated. Been trying to get it corrected all day with no luck.

[sbucciarel]

It appears to me that they went out of their way to build in inconvenience. I am not even looking at the new auctions since I can't see the seller without opening the auction. I seriously doubt that my listings will sell at all in this format. Before I could upgrade to category featured listing for $10 to get noticed but that's gone too. Don't have pending bids clearly visible in the account overview. Have to go to the auction, click on bid management ... 3 steps for everything that used to take one click.

It's the worst.

[LegitIncomes]

It also looks like you can't use $ in the titles.

So if you want to advertise a site making $4000 per month,
it will look like this "4000 per month".....not quite as effective if
you ask me.

I also hate the listing format, you must use the filters to see categories, etc....just dumb if you ask me....but we shall see how it goes.

[Stefan Vee]

I think they should add thumbnail previews to their listings, not just to each individual ad. That would make a big difference

[Desmond Ong]

I wonder if anyone from SitePoint is actually reading this thread.

Hope they realized their mistake. They probably invested some money into Flippa but it's gonna be a failure anyway.

[Akky]

Damn Flippa.com is terrible n' horrible. The design itself is like a $30 design bought from DigitalPoint. The design is not compatible with my monitor's resolution which is 1920X1200 . the way the listing is seen suks. People won't notice the listings. It's being placed in such a way . Some competitor should be there and we should no longer be dependent on Flippa

-Akky

[ThalesMM]

I've thought it would make things easier, but dude, what the heck?
I agree with the ones who said the former marketplace was better, even thus I like changes, this one was really a bad move..

[stayfocused]

What I don't agree with is that they are charging a success fee on listings that got transferred over. I don't mind them charging a success fee. They can charge all they want because it is there business.

I just think it would of been a nice gesture to waive the success fee on those sites that where listed on sitepoint.com and transferred over. When I listed my site I didn't agree to any success fee.

We shall see how it goes........

[Diana Lane]

Originally Posted by stayfocused

What I don't agree with is that they are charging a success fee on listings that got transferred over. I don't mind them charging a success fee. They can charge all they want because it is there business.

I just think it would of been a nice gesture to waive the success fee on those sites that where listed on sitepoint.com and transferred over. When I listed my site I didn't agree to any success fee.

We shall see how it goes........

I had no listings live when they were transferred over, but I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that the success fee wouldn't apply to those.

[Diana Lane]

Originally Posted by FuffyFoo

If one posts at Flippa does the thread show up in SitePoint and viceversa ?

The old SitePoint category URLs are redirected to their flippa equivalents now. There are no websites for sale on SitePoint, just services.

[Kate Anderson]

Originally Posted by Desmond Ong

I've got a couple of people already asked me to set up a competitor site up. Hehe...

Maybe we should all team up.

I'm on board, already =)

[sbucciarel]

I was just going to post that I got this email from Kate Anderson about development of a new site, plus another Warrior is also developing a site, so go on over to Kate's new site and get on that email list to be notified plus go here and subscribe to this thread
If you plan on selling a site, or already are please read... and leave a comment so you get on his list also to be notified. Flippa will find that there are "Plenty of Fish" when it comes to our options. I personally am not spending any more money on Flippa.

[cashcow]

I'm on board, already =)

Marketplace: Income Board

Just signed up!

I noticed that there are only 4 listings today on Flippa under the startup category - I have to admit I haven't checked in there in quite a while, but surely this is way less than normal?

Lee

[sbucciarel]

Yeah ... I'm keeping track of the Flippa stats to see how they compare in a month from now.

Flippa Stats
June 22 498 sites listed
June 23 499 sites listed


June 23
24,442,321 Total Sales
34% Sold
41,415 Total Listings
36,613 Total Members

[ideasuniversity]

Originally Posted by Desmond Ong

I've got a couple of people already asked me to set up a competitor site up. Hehe...

Maybe we should all team up.

I am interested.