Newb friend got scammed

72 replies
He bought a site on Flippa with the Seller claiming $10k a month. This was on the 1st. It's now the 5th and not 1 sale yet. I'm also new to IM but with claims of $10k per mo and here we are 5 days into the month and not 1 sale. I think he got scammed. He says be more patient. Which of us is right?
#friend #newb #scammed
  • Profile picture of the author cookingdiva
    Fillpa has a good sales for experts who knows what they are doing. Has your friend looked at proof of income for past 3-6 months? Analytic? Where the backlinks coming from and not losing those links? Any special help from 10-30 days to get you settled?

    There are a few gems but not all is well what it claimed to be. I hope your friend's sake that this works out. Best wishes.
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  • Profile picture of the author Lazy
    How much did your friend purchase the site for? If it was less than 10,000, then yes, he probably got scammed.
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  • Profile picture of the author mattbaehr
    I would be very weary of claims that high. What was the purchase price if you don't mind us asking?
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  • Profile picture of the author WillR
    Can we call it a scam if your friend didn't do enough research before buying? As others have stated, if they bought the site for anything less than $10,000 then yes, they have probably been scammed.

    And if I were spending anything like that I would do some very thorough research and also have them sign some legal clause whereby if the site didn't earn even half what they claimed over the next few months, they would have to refund half or whole of the purchase price.

    It's your ass that will suffer so you have to cover it...
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  • Profile picture of the author druss3636
    I don't know how much he spent but I know it wasn't more than $1k.
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    • Profile picture of the author paulie888
      Originally Posted by druss3636 View Post

      I don't know how much he spent but I know it wasn't more than $1k.
      Ok, if the site went for less than $1k, I'm pretty sure there were no verifiable statistics to back it up, because there's absolutely no way a site with verifiable proof of $10k/month income would go for that little!

      Perhaps your friend was confused - did the seller say that the site could potentially earn $10k/month, or did he claim that it has actually generated $10k/month? There's a world of difference between these two claims.
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    • Profile picture of the author WillR
      Originally Posted by druss3636 View Post

      I don't know how much he spent but I know it wasn't more than $1k.
      Then yes, he has been 'scammed'... in fact I wouldn't really call it a scam.

      1. No one in their right mind is going to sell a site that is making them $10,000 per month for less than $1,000. Think about it.

      2. You would have to be fairly naive and gullible to believe a site you are paying less than $1,000 for is going to produce you even close to $10,000/month.

      3. And you should have already been taught this one but I'll give it to you again. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!
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      • Profile picture of the author druss3636
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        Then yes, he has been 'scammed'... in fact I wouldn't really call it a scam.

        1. No one in their right mind is going to sell a site that is making them $10,000 per month for less than $1,000. Think about it.

        2. You would have to be fairly naive and gullible to believe a site you are paying less than $1,000 for is going to produce you even close to $10,000/month.

        3. And you should have already been taught this one but I'll give it to you again. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!
        This is what I say to him.
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      • Profile picture of the author dave braithwaite
        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        Then yes, he has been 'scammed'... in fact I wouldn't really call it a scam.

        1. No one in their right mind is going to sell a site that is making them $10,000 per month for less than $1,000. Think about it.

        2. You would have to be fairly naive and gullible to believe a site you are paying less than $1,000 for is going to produce you even close to $10,000/month.

        3. And you should have already been taught this one but I'll give it to you again. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!
        I agree especially with point 3 . There are very few get rich quick schemes that actually make you rich, infact its the authors of the schemes that get rich !
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      • Profile picture of the author skibbz
        Thats so true :-) If my site was making $10,000 i would not sell it for less than $500,000.. I would have to charge according to potential earnings if i had kept the site running continuously for a couple more years

        Originally Posted by WillR View Post

        Then yes, he has been 'scammed'... in fact I wouldn't really call it a scam.

        1. No one in their right mind is going to sell a site that is making them $10,000 per month for less than $1,000. Think about it.

        2. You would have to be fairly naive and gullible to believe a site you are paying less than $1,000 for is going to produce you even close to $10,000/month.

        3. And you should have already been taught this one but I'll give it to you again. If it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!
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    • Profile picture of the author salegurus
      Originally Posted by druss3636 View Post

      I don't know how much he spent but I know it wasn't more than $1k.
      Use your common sense why would someone sell a site-making $10,000 pm for $1000???
      Yes your friend got scammed, but here is some advice: "If it looks to good to be true"... well you Know the rest.
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    • Profile picture of the author donhx
      Originally Posted by druss3636 View Post

      I don't know how much he spent but I know it wasn't more than $1k.

      There is an old saying, "If it seems to be too good to be true, it probably is."

      I don't think your friend got scammed in the traditional sense. I think he just failed to do due diligence on a business opportunity.
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  • Profile picture of the author paulie888
    Did your friend investigate the income claims, and was it supported by any verifiable statistics?

    Do you know what the source of traffic was that produced the claimed income? If the traffic came from a paid source, then it'd be obvious why your friend didn't get a single sale in 5 days.

    I just hope your friend scrutinized everything before pulling the trigger on this site. If the site was claiming $10k/month in income, the site must have sold for a lot - did you go through escrow.com and did the transaction come with some sort of money-back guarantee? It'd be best for your friend to start investigating what options he has for recourse, especially if a large sum of money exchanged hands and your friend is expecting this site to produce income consistently.
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    • Profile picture of the author druss3636
      Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

      Did your friend investigate the income claims, and was it supported by any verifiable statistics?

      Do you know what the source of traffic was that produced the claimed income? If the traffic came from a paid source, then it'd be obvious why your friend didn't get a single sale in 5 days.

      I just hope your friend scrutinized everything before pulling the trigger on this site. If the site was claiming $10k/month in income, the site must have sold for a lot - did you go through escrow.com and did the transaction come with some sort of money-back guarantee? It'd be best for your friend to start investigating what options he has for recourse, especially if a large sum of money exchanged hands and your friend is expecting this site to produce income consistently.
      This sounds very close to the story I heard. I'm a newb myself but I can't seem to shake my cold feet about auctions and bidding. I'll have to get more info from him but what you guys are saying sounds right about this. It is paid traffic too. Soon as my friend bought the site, traffic and sales stopped
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      • Profile picture of the author druss3636
        I'm lookin at IM as an alternative to Real Estate which I've been in for a while now (10 years) so I don't know too much about IM, hence my reluctance to get in. I have a question, can you make $$$ with paid traffic? How? Who are the best resources?
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      • Profile picture of the author paulie888
        Originally Posted by druss3636 View Post

        This sounds very close to the story I heard. I'm a newb myself but I can't seem to shake my cold feet about auctions and bidding. I'll have to get more info from him but what you guys are saying sounds right about this. It is paid traffic too. Soon as my friend bought the site, traffic and sales stopped
        Ok, so this is why the seller sold it for so little - he probably wasn't making much (or any) net profit after taking into account his paid advertising expenses, and he didn't see the point in hanging on to it any longer. I suspected all along that the claimed revenue was generated through paid advertising, or else it was just "potential" and not actual income.

        Find out more of the details from him and let us know. I don't think your friend was actually "scammed", he probably didn't understand all the details regarding this website and how the income was generated.
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  • Profile picture of the author Adam Roy
    When selling via Flippa, it's best to use Escrow.com option.

    Escrow allows there to be an 'inspection period' after purchase, which allows the buyer to make sure the site's legit. If you get at least a 7 day inspection period and you don't make any sales, you can send it back for a refund and claim that it doens't align with what's claimed for income in the listing.
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  • Profile picture of the author Jack Doug
    I would advise anyone who is a noob to visit this Warrior forum first for help...there are lotsa great people here who are always willing to lend a helping hand!
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  • Profile picture of the author Buildingfutures
    You know what I think? I think the site description said "10k per month POTENTIAL". Notice the special word there? I see that on a bunch of different flippa sites. There's potential it can be that great. Is it right now? Hell no, that's why he's selling the site. He doesn't feel like putting int he work that would make it a 10k a month site.

    It will take a lot of work. Sad to say.

    There's key words that I look for in every flippa listing I look at. Check the income, check the traffic, alexa rating, etc. Make sure its truth.

    -Sean
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    • Profile picture of the author paulie888
      Originally Posted by Buildingfutures View Post

      You know what I think? I think the site description said "10k per month POTENTIAL". Notice the special word there? I see that on a bunch of different flippa sites. There's potential it can be that great. Is it right now? Hell no, that's why he's selling the site. He doesn't feel like putting int he work that would make it a 10k a month site.

      It will take a lot of work. Sad to say.

      There's key words that I look for in every flippa listing I look at. Check the income, check the traffic, alexa rating, etc. Make sure its truth.

      -Sean
      Sean, unfortunately this is becoming a growing phenomenon on Flippa that is catching the newbies off-guard. There have been a rash of "potential" income sites that look really good to the untrained eye, and newbies are falling for them like lovestruck teenagers...lol!

      That one little word allows sellers to get away with murder, and while both you and I know that "potential" income can be anything the seller wishes it to be, the newbies don't. Perhaps Flippa could step in and make this fact clearer for newbies, as it certainly wouldn't be good business for these newbies to run around everywhere crying scam when they purchase one of these "potential" income sites.
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      • Profile picture of the author Buildingfutures
        Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

        Sean, unfortunately this is becoming a growing phenomenon on Flippa that is catching the newbies off-guard. There have been a rash of "potential" income sites that look really good to the untrained eye, and newbies are falling for them like lovestruck teenagers...lol!

        That one little word allows sellers to get away with murder, and while both you and I know that "potential" income can be anything the seller wishes it to be, the newbie's don't. Perhaps Flippa could step in and make this fact clearer for newbies, as it certainly wouldn't be good business for these newbies to run around crying scam when they purchase one of these "potential" income sites.

        That is true, but these flippa users selling the sites should know the pitfalls as well, and perhaps should make it clear in the listing itself that the income is NOT what is currently being made, but what CAN be made with the right amount of promotion.

        Suffice to say, most flippa sites you're not going to pay $1k-$10k for and not have something that can make you money if you promote it a bit. AT that point, if it isn't making you money after ample promotions, obviously this should be taken up with the vendor.

        But again, we're back on the newb subject, and even if they do buy a site with good earning potential, they may not, and most likely don't, know how to promote it and get the traffic they need or are looking for.
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        • Profile picture of the author druss3636
          [QUOTE=Buildingfutures;3129389]That is true, but these flippa users selling the sites should know the pitfalls as well, and perhaps should make it clear in the listing itself that the income is NOT what is currently being made, but what CAN be made with the right amount of promotion.

          Suffice to say, most flippa sites you're not going to pay $1k-$10k for and not have something that can make you money if you promote it a bit. AT that point, if it isn't making you money after ample promotions, obviously this should be taken up with the vendor.

          But again, we're back on the newb subject, and even if they do buy a site with good earning potential, they may not, and most likely don't, know how to promote it and get the traffic they need or are looking for.[/QUOTE] This describes my friend to a T.
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          • Profile picture of the author paulie888
            Originally Posted by druss3636 View Post

            This describes my friend to a T.
            This is the real issue here. Your friend bought the site thinking that it'd easily generate fast and effortless cash, and is now finding out firsthand for himself that he got tempted into something that was just too good to be true, upon closer examination.

            If he can request a refund from the seller, I'd suggest he do it right away. He probably does not have the expertise to run a proper paid advertising campaign anyway, and I'm afraid that he'll lose his shirt if he tries to do it.
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        • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
          Originally Posted by Buildingfutures View Post

          Simple Mission Statement "Under the Radar and Over the Top!"
          "Find something you know, you love, and you're good at. No one can compete with you then."
          That is the truest, most succinct way to explain the first step to long term success in general and that has nothing to do with money because money is always a result NOT a reason.

          If everyone understood why money is not even in the success equation, the World would be full of happy, peppy people that never stopped smiling with joy and overflowing with happiness. Even death by natural causes would be a time to smile because it happened, not cry because it's over.

          P.S. and everyone would be wealthy too!!
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          • Profile picture of the author Buildingfutures
            Originally Posted by thriftgirl62 View Post

            That is the truest, most succinct way to explain the first step to long term success in general and that has nothing to do with money because money is always a result NOT a reason.

            If everyone understood why money is not even in the success equation, the World would be full of happy, peppy people that never stopped smiling with joy and overflowing with happiness. Even death by natural causes would be a time to smile because it happened, not cry because it's over.

            P.S. and everyone would be wealthy too!!
            I'm good at what I do, and what I do is sit on my ass in front of my computer, working on websites, traffic, and just having a good time. The goal to my happiness is being able to have the freedom to walk away from 'work' if a friend needs me, or someone wants to hang out. Hell, if I feel like playing a video game or painting or drawing, I can go do it because I'm my own boss and that's an amazing feeling.

            I know what it takes to make myself happy, and I do it. I'm not a guy who loves to work from 8-8 every day at a plant (I did that for a while) and go home to sleep to wake up to do it again and never be able to have fun because I was too tired.

            To put it simply, The Chase is Better Than The Catch.

            The chase being working and being able to do what I want when I want, and the catch is the money I make. I enjoy being able to do what I want whenever I choose, and while I take pride in being able to make the money, it's all about doing what you enjoy to get to that end point.

            -Sean
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            • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
              Originally Posted by Buildingfutures View Post

              work 8-8 every day at a plant

              To put it simply, The Chase is Better Than The Catch.

              The chase being working and being able to do what I want when I want, and the catch is the money I make. I enjoy being able to do what I want whenever I choose, and while I take pride in being able to make the money, it's all about doing what you enjoy to get to that end point.
              -Sean
              You don't even know what time a plant opens - 8 am? Don't they open at 6 am? You are only good at what you do because you love doing it and that's why you do it.

              When money follows, then your pride kicks in because that confirms how good you are at your craft so you happily keep doing what you enjoy until you become an expert. Experts are the "best in the World" at their craft and getting money for doing what you love is the fuel that drives your passion.

              If someone tells you to find your passion first, keep your wallet closed until you do and see how far that theory goes. http://www.ez-1.net/passion

              Potential is more profitable when you recognize it in people. But that's a whole other subject. Knowing what you want and then finding people who want the same things will keep you safer than going it alone. Two or more people together rarely fall for stuff like that.
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              When you make at least $100+ per month, we split the profit 80/20 and YOU get the 80% Until then, you keep 100% and I'll help you drive traffic, get backlinks and put the domain in your name too!
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              • Profile picture of the author Kay King
                We've gotten off topic.

                Caleb -

                He bought it on Flippa? Dispute it as the guy is bullcrapping you.. At least, he'll have his account shut down.
                And then you mention $1000 - but-

                This may have been a $50 sale for all we know because the OP did not post a link to the Flippa page and did not give an exact figure. He said "no more than $1000".

                What the person should have done or could have done has no relevance - because what is done is done. People need to realize you can't always undo your own bad decisions.

                We don't know if this WAS a bad decision - the site may be a perfectly good site with potential. We are accepting the "claim" of income but we have not seen how that was worded.

                Passing judgment without facts is not a good practice anywhere - and especially not in business. The OP has not responded again - has given no hard facts and that says something.

                kay
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                • Profile picture of the author druss3636
                  Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

                  We've gotten off topic.

                  Caleb -



                  And then you mention $1000 - but-

                  This may have been a $50 sale for all we know because the OP did not post a link to the Flippa page and did not give an exact figure. He said "no more than $1000".

                  What the person should have done or could have done has no relevance - because what is done is done. People need to realize you can't always undo your own bad decisions.

                  We don't know if this WAS a bad decision - the site may be a perfectly good site with potential. We are accepting the "claim" of income but we have not seen how that was worded.

                  Passing judgment without facts is not a good practice anywhere - and especially not in business. The OP has not responded again - has given no hard facts and that says something.

                  kay
                  I had to take some time and speak to my friend who was the buyer on this site. This is what I know, he and I are both from the Real Estate industry 1st of all so we don't have anywhere near the knowledge of most of you in this field. What I think happened is that he let himself get scammed when common sense should've prevailed. He told me this morning that he went to Flippa again and saw the same seller selling another site which was coincidently one of the paid traffic sites he was sending him to buy traffic from. I think what he is more interested in now and I would be as well is what he should do now? Is there a way to turn this into a positive? How so? Maybe one of you guys might be able to suggest something for him. It sucks for him though. He is a guy with a heart of gold and was only looking for a decent site to own and he got taken. He's unfortunately a little too nice and unfortunately in this case it seems, far too trusting. If any of you guys want to take a look at the site, and maybe want to suggest a course for him, I'll p.m. you the URL. I know he would greatly appreciate it.
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                • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
                  Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

                  We've gotten off topic.

                  Caleb -



                  And then you mention $1000 - but-

                  This may have been a $50 sale for all we know because the OP did not post a link to the Flippa page and did not give an exact figure. He said "no more than $1000".

                  What the person should have done or could have done has no relevance - because what is done is done. People need to realize you can't always undo your own bad decisions.

                  We don't know if this WAS a bad decision - the site may be a perfectly good site with potential. We are accepting the "claim" of income but we have not seen how that was worded.

                  Passing judgment without facts is not a good practice anywhere - and especially not in business. The OP has not responded again - has given no hard facts and that says something.

                  kay
                  I am not passing judgement, at any price it's still kinda sounds iffy, he did say it was sub 1000 which makes it iffy.

                  I don't have any problem with the op. I've made HORRID buys, and lost lots of money on things, so I don't judge others.

                  Hope you didn't get the wrong opinion Kay You're one of my fave Warriors..

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              • Profile picture of the author Buildingfutures
                Originally Posted by thriftgirl62 View Post

                You don't even know what time a plant opens - 8 am? Don't they open at 6 am?
                Worked at a T-shirt printing plant. 12 hour shifts 8-8, 8-8. At least that's how it was in the down season, but we were still pretty busy and I still stunk like a skunk when I went home.

                I was every color of the rainbow the day the inks all fell on me.

                Full on human rainbow... All the way... What does it mean?
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      • Profile picture of the author druss3636
        Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

        Sean, unfortunately this is becoming a growing phenomenon on Flippa that is catching the newbies off-guard. There have been a rash of "potential" income sites that look really good to the untrained eye, and newbies are falling for them like lovestruck teenagers...lol!

        That one little word allows sellers to get away with murder, and while both you and I know that "potential" income can be anything the seller wishes it to be, the newbies don't. Perhaps Flippa could step in and make this fact clearer for newbies, as it certainly wouldn't be good business for these newbies to run around everywhere crying scam when they purchase one of these "potential" income sites.
        Is a good rule of thumb to use that whatever the monthly profit if any, that the site should cost at least that?
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        • Profile picture of the author Buildingfutures
          Originally Posted by druss3636 View Post

          Is a good rule of thumb to use that whatever the monthly profit if any, that the site should cost at least that?
          General rule of thumb is a site should be worth 5x what the monthly income is. That's why its an investment and requires due diligence and the ability to run the site yourself after the purchase.

          IF you can't run the site yourself, there's no need to buy it. Period. Especially just starting out.

          -Sean
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          • Profile picture of the author Kay King
            I don't know how much he spent but I know it wasn't more than $1k.
            So it might have been $100 or $350 or ??? We don't know. We also don't know exactly what the ad said because we haven't seen it. He says the word "potential" wasn't there - but it may be "could earn....".

            I'd say at this point it may be "lesson learned" for your friend. IF the site is well built, original content, and in a potentially profitable niche (we don't if it is or isn't) - your friend might be able to do something with it. We don't know the quality of the site. We don't know what stats or proof were provided on the flippa ad.

            My point is - anything we say here about the site or seller are nothing but guesses because there is not enough information to make an informed opinion.

            Is there a link to the site or it's sales page?

            kay
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        • Profile picture of the author paulie888
          Originally Posted by druss3636 View Post

          Is a good rule of thumb to use that whatever the monthly profit if any, that the site should cost at least that?
          No, I'd say that currently profitable sites sell for 5 to 10 times monthly profits on average. This is why I was initially asking if the sale was transacted through escrow.com, as most sellers and buyers would have wanted an intermediary to handle the transaction at this financial level.
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      • Profile picture of the author CMCarlin
        Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

        Sean, unfortunately this is becoming a growing phenomenon on Flippa that is catching the newbies off-guard. There have been a rash of "potential" income sites that look really good to the untrained eye, and newbies are falling for them like lovestruck teenagers...lol!

        That one little word allows sellers to get away with murder, and while both you and I know that "potential" income can be anything the seller wishes it to be, the newbies don't. Perhaps Flippa could step in and make this fact clearer for newbies, as it certainly wouldn't be good business for these newbies to run around everywhere crying scam when they purchase one of these "potential" income sites.

        The direct marketing industry and soft offer advertising relies off from this whole play on words. When a lot of people hear "risk free trial" they hear the words free trial. It's free of risk, but that doesn't mean it's free. (and that's what drives the high number of calls, compared to a hard offer where they disclose the price in the AD).
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    • Profile picture of the author druss3636
      Originally Posted by Buildingfutures View Post

      You know what I think? I think the site description said "10k per month POTENTIAL". Notice the special word there? I see that on a bunch of different flippa sites. There's potential it can be that great. Is it right now? Hell no, that's why he's selling the site. He doesn't feel like putting int he work that would make it a 10k a month site.

      It will take a lot of work. Sad to say.

      There's key words that I look for in every flippa listing I look at. Check the income, check the traffic, alexa rating, etc. Make sure its truth.

      -Sean
      I just spoke to him and he says the listing didn't say potential, that the $10k per month was an actual claim.
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  • Profile picture of the author tonydbaker
    I have a site that I made $25K profit off of in 2008. In 2009 I lost $50k on it. In 2010, I lost $10k on it. I'll sell it to you for $10K

    Even if the guy was completely legit... there are usually other circumstances involved that you're not going to hear about.

    For instance, when I made $25K profit off of a site, I was promoting it like crazy, spending thousands of dollars a month with local radio ads and seo. But suddenly local "alternative ad" dollars became scarce and I lost money on the local directory. I say "alternative ad" because during this time, small businesses sunk whatever money they could find into more traditional advertising like radio, tv, and newspapers because they are conditioned to think it's safer. But that's a whole other discussion right? Anyway... discretionary funds dried up with the economy and there went my business. So... I could tell you with a straight face right now, that this site has made me over $25k profit... but even if I sold it to you for $10k... you'd probably lose money on it.

    HOWEVER... don't just toss this out. Figure out how to make money with it. There is always a way if you have the will. I'd probably still be making good money on that local directory if I wasn't caught up in better opportunities.
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  • Profile picture of the author cghbrook
    I have to agree; most web sites for sale, with a past history of income, are for sale now because they are worn out. Not to say they can not be revived, but to purchase a 10K site for 1K and expect turnkey income is unrealistic. Time to roll up the sleeves and get to work...or sell it for 2K as-is? ;-)
    Good luck (really),
    Chris
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Dolan
    Some might say he has been educated - but you have to look carefully at how did the site deliver sales, where did the traffic come from, what is he doing differently to the previous owners, what is the missing piece. Maybe somewhere in there, is a source of traffic (lists, forums, promotions, adwords, etc) that is now lost. Switch it back on and perhaps the sales will come.
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    • Profile picture of the author thriftgirl62
      All you have to do is post a question on ASK -- take your pick -- and find out what others say. One brain may be all you were born with, but leveraging the power of many brains is the SMART thing to do.

      Yep, that what it's called. SMART and let me tell you just how smart the general population is - and I don't mean academically either. Just plain SMART but nobody really gives enough credit to themselves to start with. The few who do have an advantage over the self-doubters and the ironic thing is those few are not even the brightest bulbs in the room. Not all of them anyway.

      Your friend KNEW something wasn't right, red flags were waving so why didn't he stop and tell someone - double check things better? Do you know why? I bet you do, don't you? [THIS IS ASSUMING HE DIDN'T TELL ANYONE UNTIL AFTER THE FACT]

      He saw something he wanted to see and wanted to believe what he was being told and he knew others wouldn't see "hope" because that's not what friends or concerned people do. He decided to take a risk nobody would agree with so he didn't tell anyone. We have all done that and we'll do it again if we want too. And that's fine for those who can handle the consequences. In most cases, here's what really happens.

      When things nobody knows about go wrong, you wrongly think everyone including friends will think you're "stupid" and laugh at you for years. If that were true nobody would have time to do anything but laugh and point at each other all day long. Now it's a big scam - you pretend shock and can't believe it - why didn't you see it coming - the ones you really don't want to find out (like your mom or spouse) ask you what's wrong with you because they know you're not stupid. There goes your bedroom privileges and home cooked meals for awhile.

      So you shut them out and gravitate towards your concerned friends who think you just didn't want to bother them or you would have told them about it before it was too late. Those are your cool friends who believe in you. Do you really want family members wandering around thinking it's their fault you don't feel comfortable enough to discuss anything with them - especially poor MOM who will blame herself if you make her believe you didn't know any better.

      Your spouse, on the other hand, may not ever believe that lie because now you're asking too much. You want your spouse to believe you're not that bright after all and neither are they for marrying YOU. Yeah Charlie, tell me How did you fool me for so long? You're a fraud and this marriage isn't legal .l . . and the kids! What about the kids?

      Okay now it's blown w a y out of proportion and if that happens, you've got some steering to do. Just don't forget you're still dragging that "scam" boat behind you...or you'll end up like this!
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  • Profile picture of the author Buildingfutures
    I suppose I should say this. If you've ever bought something from ebay, that is the mindset you should have when going and buying from Flippa. Plain and simple.

    Make sure the product is exactly what you want. Look at the seller, does he have good ratings? Is he/she a reputable person? What's the average site that they sell? What do other members say about them? What is this product worth? Can you make the best use of that product? Do you even know? Can you answer any of those questions?

    These are the criteria I look at when I'm buying something on ebay for $20. It's much longer for when I'm buying a site for $200-$500.

    -Sean
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  • Profile picture of the author rosetrees
    Maybe you and your friend's goal now should be to build the site up so that it DOES earn at least $200 a month - then you should be able to resell it on Flippa and maybe even make a profit.

    Read around the forum to find loads of ways of promoting a site - including backlinking, article marketing and seo. Don't pay anyone to do them at this stage. Learn how to do them for yourselves.
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  • Profile picture of the author Culver
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    • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
      If it sounds to good to be true it probably is and if those opportunities were going on flippa, $10k a month potential income - Somewhere under a grand a pop. Well I'd being buying as many of them as I could on a daily basis. As we all would.

      I also wouldn't be sitting here working like stink, trying to make money online and build a business.

      If had a site that made 10k a month I either keep the 10k coming in or I sell it for several zeroes more than "not more than $1000".

      EDIT - LetsGoViral - Sorry chap, you got the "Too good to be true" quote in just before me.
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  • Profile picture of the author LetsGoViral
    A site that earns 10k a month wouldn't go for less than 40k on flippa, op. If it's too good to be true, it probably is. Why would someone sell a constant money maker? Because it doesn't make money.
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  • Profile picture of the author fitfun1
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    • Profile picture of the author Antonios
      Money is the name of the game.

      Marketers play with emotions (what really sells) and to do that use words with emotional or psychological power to convince and persuade, even to do things irrational.

      Potential is a heavily used word in IM.

      Potential means that it could possibly do what it claims, the only impossible is that most of the time the word following it is unattainable, but it is emotionally motivating.

      A $1K site to generate a potential of $10K!?

      Newbies fall every time for that: potential of 10K visitors, potential of $10K earnings or income!?

      Other similar words could used, but you to look closely.

      Disclaimers are a hint.

      And again, the seller could be getting those earnings, but will the buyer have the capacity, knowledge, skills, dedication, tools to keep it as ease or even grow it?

      Another thing: one thing is earnings or income and other very different thing is "profits".

      I knew of a business that had $70 millions dollars of income one year.

      It declared bankruptcy.

      It cost the business $72 millions dollars to produce those $70mm's. It had a $2mm's lose.

      If the site had a $10K monthly income, what was the investment to produce those $10k?

      I know of sites that have a $100k/mo. earnings/income, but investment over $60k/mo specially in ad campaigns, workforce, and other tools.
      Profit: $40K.

      Many people get into online marketing to have free time. As a successful and honest business owner if you want many K's after a dollar number, you won't have time, you can change working hours: you can be in your business at 3:00 am in the morning instead of at 8:00 am. But if you don't give it time you won't be successful.

      Unless you have plenty of cash to outsource several necessary tasks or have your family members and/or neighbors and/or friends help you out.

      Will are only guessing since we don't have the complete detail of the deal your friend made, but this could have not been a scam, probable what is needed more time to see results or to see what the seller was doing and what the buyer is doing or not doing.

      Sincerely,

      Antonios
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  • Profile picture of the author moneyhunter
    If you want to sell it to someone then make it a bit more realistic in your sales pitch else I guess you may have some tough luck ...
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    Hmmmm YES! So by your book it's not a scam if the person was naive? That's great...buyer beware at all costs....i see too much of this on the Net... "well if you didn't do your D.d. it's your own fault..etc.." No mention of the low life sucker who did the fraud.

    Can we call it a scam if your friend didn't do enough research before buying? As others have stated, if they bought the site for anything less than $10,000 then yes, they have probably been scammed.
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  • Profile picture of the author sloanjim
    I've looked long and hard at flippa sites... and i never seen one good offer. Too much "potential" one offs, or plain fraud. A business that made $10k+ a month auto pilot......is like gold dust. You wouldn't have to list it.
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    • Profile picture of the author pkmembers
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  • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
    He bought it on Flippa? Dispute it as the guy is bullcrapping you.. At least, he'll have his account shut down.

    Caleb
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    • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
      Originally Posted by Caleb Spilchen View Post

      He bought it on Flippa? Dispute it as the guy is bullcrapping you.. At least, he'll have his account shut down.

      Caleb
      I agree Caleb. However, I dare say if you went on Flippa and saw a site available for under $1000 generating $10,000 a month, you may just say "hmmm, these sums just don't add up" and then you'd check it out thoroughly before you bought it?

      If it's a scam, the OP's friend needs to realise, life's just not that easy as well.
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      • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
        Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

        I agree Caleb. However, I dare say if you went on Flippa and saw a site available for under $1000 generating $10,000 a month, you may just say "hmmm, these sums just don't add up" and then you'd check it out thoroughly before you bought it?

        If it's a scam, the OP's friend needs to realise, life's just not that easy as well.
        Would I Richard?

        No, I wouldn't, because that is INSANE.

        Caleb
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        • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
          Originally Posted by Caleb Spilchen View Post

          Would I Richard?

          No, I wouldn't, because that is INSANE.

          Caleb
          You've lost me chap? You wouldn't what? I'm just saying the OP should have realised this was unlikely to be a real opportunity.

          I wasn't being rude. You'd know if was
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          • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
            Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

            You've lost me chap? You wouldn't what? I'm just saying the OP should have realised this was unlikely to be a real opportunity.

            I wasn't being rude. You'd know if was
            No, I mean I think I would probably laugh my butt off, because whose making 10k a month, then selling for 1k.



            Caleb
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            • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
              Originally Posted by Caleb Spilchen View Post

              No, I mean I think I would probably laugh my butt off, because whose making 10k a month, then selling for 1k.



              Caleb
              Exactly chap!

              If it was true we'd both be sitting on Flippa buying as many as we could!
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              • Profile picture of the author Caleb Spilchen
                Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

                Exactly chap!

                If it was true we'd both be sitting on Flippa buying as many as we could!
                That would be the DEAL of the CENTURY.... Now, send your friend to my favorite blog post by Brad Gosse:

                How To Fake an Income Screenshot in Under 5 Mins | Brad Gosse

                Caleb
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                • Originally Posted by Caleb Spilchen View Post

                  That would be the DEAL of the CENTURY.... Now, send your friend to my favorite blog post by Brad Gosse:

                  How To Fake an Income Screenshot in Under 5 Mins | Brad Gosse

                  Caleb

                  Good post! Learned a lot from here. Now I can make my own screenshot and sell a 10-page ebook for $97 a pop! Haha.
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                • Profile picture of the author JuliannaW
                  Originally Posted by Caleb Spilchen View Post

                  That would be the DEAL of the CENTURY.... Now, send your friend to my favorite blog post by Brad Gosse:

                  How To Fake an Income Screenshot in Under 5 Mins | Brad Gosse

                  Caleb
                  That is just about as bad as the amount of money I make on Fiverr by providing people "fake" testimonial videos of their products. It is nuts.

                  And I said "fake," because sometimes the products are seriously good -- other times not so much, but I still get $5 for a few minutes behind the camera.
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                  • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
                    Originally Posted by JuliannaW View Post

                    That is just about as bad as the amount of money I make on Fiverr by providing people "fake" testimonial videos of their products. It is nuts.

                    And I said "fake," because sometimes the products are seriously good -- other times not so much, but I still get $5 for a few minutes behind the camera.
                    My love.

                    Why do you do that?

                    $5 measly bucks? Do you not think you're worth more?

                    There's a ton of cash here without degrading yourself for others. Come on, look lively
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                    • Profile picture of the author JuliannaW
                      "My love."

                      The $5 add up quickly when you have multiple orders a day.

                      Plus, it is simply side income that helps fund my larger projects. Or buy tattoos. Either, or.

                      Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

                      My love.

                      Why do you do that?

                      $5 measly bucks? Do you not think you're worth more?

                      There's a ton of cash here without degrading yourself for others. Come on, look lively
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                      • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
                        Originally Posted by JuliannaW View Post

                        "My love."

                        The $5 add up quickly when you have multiple orders a day.

                        Plus, it is simply side income that helps fund my larger projects. Or buy tattoos. Either, or.
                        Whatever.

                        I was actually trying to help you.... Doesn't matter.

                        Plus, it is simply side income that helps fund my larger projects. Or buy tattoos. Either, or.
                        So long as you're happy I don't care at all.

                        All the best to you.
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                        • Profile picture of the author JuliannaW
                          Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

                          Whatever.

                          I was actually trying to help you.... Doesn't matter.



                          So long as you're happy I don't care at all.

                          All the best to you.
                          Thanks and all.

                          But I have no need for a 'knight in shining armor' to come save me from 'degrading' myself.

                          No harm, no foul.
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                          • Profile picture of the author Buildingfutures
                            Originally Posted by JuliannaW View Post

                            Thanks and all.

                            But I have no need for a 'knight in shining armor' to come save me from 'degrading' myself.

                            No harm, no foul.
                            It's only 'degrading' if you have a bottom rung that you're forcing yourself to go under.

                            I personally had no shame in anything I ever did. Which is why there's a fine line of people who love me. Because the rest hate me.

                            Here's a quote I love to live by "If you can go to sleep knowing you did nothing wrong by you, then its all gravy."
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                        • Profile picture of the author JuliannaW
                          I just tried PM'ing you back. My blasted post count won't allow me to reply, though.

                          I'll just reply here:

                          It is all cool. Just lay off the "my love" stuff. That is more degrading to women than me providing videos on Fiverr.

                          Just sayin'.

                          Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

                          Whatever.

                          I was actually trying to help you.... Doesn't matter.



                          So long as you're happy I don't care at all.

                          All the best to you.
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                          • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
                            Originally Posted by JuliannaW View Post

                            I just tried PM'ing you back. My blasted post count won't allow me to reply, though.

                            I'll just reply here:

                            It is all cool. Just lay off the "my love" stuff. That is more degrading to women than me providing videos on Fiverr.

                            Just sayin'.
                            Julianna,

                            lets get a grip.

                            I live in England. We say things like "My love" It means nothing other than a friendly thing like "Hello mate".

                            Please don't think for a second I'm degrading you. If you ever come to my Island, you'll understand how normal it is, or you'll struggle and run back home.

                            Trust me, you have taken my words too far.

                            Where I am, my language isn't degrading, it's quite normal. My apologies something so simple offended you.
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                            • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
                              It is all cool. Just lay off the "my love" stuff. That is more degrading to women than me providing videos on Fiverr.
                              Ok, seeing as you chose this path.

                              I sent you a nice message that said this..

                              No offense in that thread, I mean't no malice at all.

                              I just think women are worth more than a body.
                              That's it.

                              That's a nice way of just showing, whatever I said, I'm just commenting, don't take it too far and so on..

                              You reply, in public...

                              I'll just reply here:

                              It is all cool. Just lay off the "my love" stuff. That is more degrading to women than me providing videos on Fiverr.

                              Just sayin'.
                              Where in the PM do I mention "my love"?

                              I was being nice. Either way, it doesn't matter, you see, "My love" was in no means a compliment, it's just how we talk where I am.

                              Charm here, is clearly offensive where ever you are.

                              I'm really sorry about that.
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              • Profile picture of the author paulie888
                Originally Posted by Richard Van View Post

                Exactly chap!

                If it was true we'd both be sitting on Flippa buying as many as we could!
                Richard, as the saying goes, a new fool is born every minute!

                In this case, I think even a fool would recognize that something was definitely wrong if a site claiming to make $10k a month was let go for approximately one-tenth its monthly revenue. I think this buyer probably had greed get the better of him...lol!
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                • Profile picture of the author Richard Van
                  Originally Posted by paulie888 View Post

                  Richard, as the saying goes, a new fool is born every minute!

                  In this case, I think even a fool would recognize that something was definitely wrong if a site claiming to make $10k a month was let go for approximately one-tenth its monthly revenue. I think this buyer probably had greed get the better of him...lol!
                  I think his greed got the better of him but I think his lack of common sense did too.

                  Sadly it also goes to show why some unscrupulous people rip some people off. I guess it's like the old saying "taking candy off a baby". If it's that easy, someone will do it.
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          • Profile picture of the author druss3636
            O.k. things aren't as bad as I thought. His investment was only $550.00. I let him know what a fool I thought he was for believing that you could pick up a business for $550.00 and see $10k for it. I guess the mindset he was using was that Real Estate mindset where it's common to find property gems for cheap, especially during a rough economy and thought it would be so easy in this field.
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            • Profile picture of the author druss3636
              Do any of you guys know anything about traffic reselling? The site sells traffic.
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        • Profile picture of the author payday911
          All i can say is research, research, research..before you buy anything from anybody...claiming anything
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  • Profile picture of the author cooler1
    I fell for one of those 'potential $6000/month' site's on Flippa a few months ago. It was for a Forex trading autoblog site.

    I actually won the bid for $175 but fortunatly the sale didn't go through because the seller insisted that i payed him by Western union money transfer instead of Paypal. I tried to pay him via Western union but it wouldn't accept my card for some reason.

    He filed a dispute with Flippa but i won the dispute because on the sales page it said he accepted Paypal. Ive wised up since then.
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