Flipping Out At Flippa.com

Flipping Out At Flippa.com

Posted on 22. Jun, 2009 by Michelle in Site Flipping

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One of the ways I earn money working from home is by selling virtual real estate, better known as Site Flipping. Selling web property has been a very rewarding experience both financially and in terms of enjoying the actual work.

If you’re at all familiar with this market you probably know that the SitePoint Marketplace is the number one location when it comes to buying and selling websites, however there is change afoot and many sellers are flipping out over it.

SitePoint have announced that their marketplace has finally been moved to the new flippa.com domain as of today. Like many, you’ve probably just seen a picture of a dolphin in your mind’s eye, it’s hard not to. All jokes aside, many people simply hate the new name not to mention the new interface and increased fees.

So why did SitePoint move their marketplace? Well for the full story you can visit the flippa.com blog. For the ‘in a nutshell’ version, the SitePoint Marketplace has outgrown its home at the marketplace.sitepoint.com domain and warrants its own identity and dedicated service to its buyers and sellers.

SitePoint have received a tremendous amount of negative feedback during the beta phase of the flippa.com launch, mostly around the new fee structure but also about the name and the design. There was positive feedback given also although, as the SitePoint representatives pointed out, the positive feedback was delivered privately.

Going out on a limb and showing support for a decision that a large number of people are up in arms about is not easy to do. I have some very positive views on what SitePoint have done and those views come from a very business focused mindset, an appreciation if you like, for what it means to run a business profitably and taking the hard decisions to change even in the face of overwhelming negative feedback. Of course it’s very important to listen to your customers’ feedback and be not only willing to change but also have the business structure and know-how to be able to change as the business needs arise.

Those that are flipping out over the changes seem to be most concerned about the new fee structure having a greater negative impact on the profit on sites that sell for between $50 and $200. The listing fee is almost doubling from $10 to $19 and the newly added ’success fee’ is set at 5% of your final selling price capped at $499.

Flippa.com have defended the increases in all manner of ways, referring to improved security procedures, better service in resolving transactions that go awry and generally offering a better place to buy and sell; the response has been mostly one of distrust that flippa.com won’t deliver improvements to the tune of the sizable fee increases.

If you’ve used the previous marketplace before you would be very aware that it was far from perfect although not everyone sees it that way, many believe it was working perfectly just as it was. Many also believe that flippa.com is doomed and they could very well be right, only time will tell. I for one won’t be walking away from the new look SitePoint.

Michelle Adams

Carpe diem!

13 Responses to “Flipping Out At Flippa.com”

  1. MarikaNo Gravatar (1 comments)

    22. Jun, 2009

    Well Michelle, indeed, Flippa.com just went live today. I, for one, am not very pleased with the higher fees, the new added fees and the Twitter-like new layout. Maybe I’m just a creature of habit but I find it more awkward to go through sites ‘to buy’.
    Could well be that eventually the ‘up to $200′ sites will not be listed there anymore, and slowly slowly it will become something of an exclusive club for higher earning sites. Which leaves us (yes, I’m also in that smaller category) like fish without water. Unless we up our prices to cover the fees…I guess only time will tell…

    MichelleNo Gravatar (309 comments) Reply:
    June 22nd, 2009 at 11:37 am

    Marika using the search filter at Flippa.com is like second nature to me as it’s very similar to Ebay which I frequent a lot. Once you get used to it I think you’ll like the control it gives you over what you see.

    To be honest, I’ve found that there is so much profit in a site that can sell for $200, that a $9 increase and the 5% success fee makes flipping at the lower end still viable. The option to keep the unsuccessful listings up in the private area for six months at no extra charge is really positive too or using the half price re-list, both much better options than we had yesterday.

    Like Justin Brooke says, many people forget about good old fashioned workmanship. That’s what needs to go into sites we own and sites we flip. Do that and you’ll be fine. Of course not every listing will be a winner but guarantees are hard to find anywhere.

    Marika one thing I suggest you do is set up a form on your blog or on another domain to allow potential buyers to subscribe for early notification of your sites for sale. I’ve made private sales from my list and also received custom orders of which I charge a much higher price. The auction format is great but you know that the money is in the list right? :) Thanks for stopping by, it’s great to hear your views.

  2. Mark E. MasonNo Gravatar (1 comments)

    22. Jun, 2009

    I love your positive attitude about change, and I hope things work out for Flippa (and for people like me that use them).

    I have to admit that really high up front fees don’t make much sense to me. It seems to me that Flippa would want the lowest possible barrier to entry, making money only (or mostly) when they help other people make money.

    An up-front fee of $20 says to me that their focus is making sure that they get paid. The best business models focus on making sure that the customer is successful.

    It is not all clear to me why a company like eBay can be successful with small upfront fees but Flippa cannot.

    Having said all that, I would contend that this is not a big issue. Starting up a site like Flippa is pretty easy. If they miss the market by charging too much, competition will appear directly and crush them.

    Regards,
    Mark

    MichelleNo Gravatar (309 comments) Reply:
    June 22nd, 2009 at 3:05 pm

    Thanks for your comments Mark.

    There is some thought, even from those most upset over the changes, that the previous low barrier to entry was partly the cause of the mountains of junk listings that clogged up the marketplace, most significantly the start up listings. Whether this increase is enough to clean up the marketplace is yet to be seen of course.

    It’s difficult for any business to be everything to everybody and perhaps this is SitePoint’s effort at breaking away completely into the higher end of this market, leaving the low end to Ebay, DigitalPoint etc.

    You’re right, anyone pretty much could start up in competition and I’ll be one of the first to try it out, competition will ensure that we as users of these marketplaces get the best return on our investment too. Do you have a domain name in mind? :)

    Thanks again for your views.

  3. Matt MickiewiczNo Gravatar (1 comments)

    22. Jun, 2009

    Thanks for the write-up & feedback.

    From a buyers perspective, sorting through all the listings and finding quality sites to buy has always been the most often heard complaint. I think Flippa goes a long way towards addressing that, with custom filters, and automatic email notifications.

    This is just the beginning of the improvements that we have in store, and now that we’ve ramped up the size of our team, you can expect much more frequent feature roll outs. One of the things closest to the top of the list is verified stats via the Google Analytics API which I think will go a long way towards increasing trust.

  4. MichelleNo Gravatar (309 comments)

    23. Jun, 2009

    Matt thanks for stopping by, I appreciate you taking the time to do that.

    As a seller the most important thing to me is that buyers trust the marketplace and find it easy to navigate so it’s great to hear your focus is in those areas.

    I’m looking forward to the new features that roll out over time.

    Congratulations on the move, a change of this magnitude would not be a walk in the park.

  5. Web Career GirlNo Gravatar (11 comments)

    24. Jun, 2009

    I have never sold my sites before, but I am interested in the changes as it’s something I expect to do relatively soon. It does seem expensive, but if I put enough effort into my sites I’d like to think I should be able to sell them for a good price.

  6. MichelleNo Gravatar (309 comments)

    24. Jun, 2009

    Hi Web Career Girl, it’s great to read your comment particularly where you mentioned “…if I put enough effort into my sites…” You already realise things take effort and from the sounds of it are willing to put the effort in so you’re 90% of the way there. :)

    Start navigating your way around the marketplace so when you do list a site it’s not so daunting. I’d be more than happy to give you a helping hand too.

    Oh and I suggest you keep up with Flippa’s blog, they are making improvements every day and by the sounds of Matt’s comments above and elsewhere, they have a lot more in store for Flippa.com.

    Thanks for stopping by. :)

  7. simply stephenNo Gravatar (18 comments)

    29. Jun, 2009

    Michelle…I always find your views positive and constructive. A good mix of traits.

    Your success in this area has piqued my interest as a long-term area for monetizing a site. While you share so many insights on your site, will you be coming out with an eBook to manage the process? Or can I pester you with questions.

    I believe in the spirit of competition, so offering something for nothing is not a viable platform for Sitepoint to take. Instead the fee based structure with a commission is a fair remuneration. Those that want free should look elsewhere…besides Sitepoint is the cream of the crop.

    MichelleNo Gravatar (309 comments) Reply:
    June 30th, 2009 at 12:10 am

    Stephen I will try to cover site flipping in a bit more detail in future posts but maybe a free report on how to get started would be something you and others could use. I’ll work on that over the coming days. :) Feel free to ask questions, if they require long answers I’ll be sure to include them in the freeby. :)

  8. Donnie @ Chattanooga Search MarketingNo Gravatar (6 comments)

    06. Jul, 2009

    I’ve never used any incarnation of the site, because I never knew about it. Maybe I’ve never put enough effort into “flipping” sites. I will tell you that learning about this from you and learning some of your ideals has opened my eyes quite a bit. Thanks.

  9. Vic - BusinessAccentNo Gravatar (2 comments)

    14. Jul, 2009

    Hi Michelle,
    I never did a selling websites online. I have only sold pure domains. With the influence of your articles, then I might be trying and doing it. Thanks.

    Vic

  10. MichaelNo Gravatar (1 comments)

    05. Nov, 2009

    I like the idea of Flippa offering buyers a chance to seem what’s really behind a website by proving third party resources. This added data allows you to verify the seller’s claims. Resources such as WHOIS data, Copyscape, Alexa ranking are all important factors when considering the purchase of an income producing website.