Flipping websites is quickly becoming one of the top business models in the Internet Marketing community. The idea is simple and comparable to the off line business of Real Estate Flipping. You buy a piece of property, in this case virtual property, you add some value to it, and you resell it for a profit. And whether you build and sell these websites or buy them for their income potential, it still all comes down to one thing - money.
If you've looked into site flipping at all, I'm sure you've heard of a place called Flippa. They are an online auction service, trying to pattern themselves after eBay, that specializes in online properties like blogs, websites, domain names, eBooks, you name it. If it's virtual property, you can sell it there.
Comparing their auction system to eBay's is like comparing charcoal to diamonds. They do charge you a listing fee, a pretty hefty listing fee I might add, and they do let you set your own time limit on your auctions. They also allow you to set minimum bid amounts and reserve limits. But that's as far as the similarities go.
For one thing, Flippa has what they refer to as a verification process in place that my dog could pass. when you register with them, their method of determining that you are who you say you are is to send a code number to your telephone. You then enter that code number into their system and they say, Hey, yeah, it really IS Mickey Mouse. Go ahead, give him an account. Puh-leeze! The only other verification they do during the entire transaction process, is to have you place a file onto the root of the site you're selling so they know you have access to the database. Now this doesn't seem all that secure to me, but, hey, I'm not a programmer, so I'll let this one slide.
After that, buying and selling sites on this auction site pretty much just becomes a Free-For-All. Scumbags will tell you there site has had thousands of dollars in sales over the last 3 months and a simple search of the domain name shows you they just bought it yesterday. Unimaginative copy-cats throw up a PLR website and copy and paste a listing and tell you it's a UNIQUE, ONE OF A KIND, blog. Unscrupulous buyers will outbid everyone else for your site, then, either never pay for it or file a dispute with PayPal, AFTER THEY INSTALL IT, and you have to give their money back to protect your reputation.
Flippa's non-management of comments and feedback leave the sellers totally at the mercy of the buyers - with their neck's exposed! Comments are not monitored at all and ruthless scammers like to dive bomb listings in an attempt to keep the bids down so they can swoop in at the last minute and get those sites for themselves. Deleting negative and spammy comments, though, only makes the seller look like they have something to hide. And feedback? That's a joke. Sellers are motivated to leave feedback in the hopes that the buyers will actually PAY for the site and maybe leave them a kind word in return. What motivates the buyer to leave feedback? Nothing. You're lucky if they actually PAY you.
Have you ever actually bid on a site at Flippa? Have you noticed that the auction never seems to end? There never seems to be a winning bidder. If an interested bidder plops down an offer within the last hour of the auction, they automatically adds 4 hours to the length of the auction. In the meantime, buyers and sellers alike are left wondering what just happened? Is it over or not?
According to the stats that they list on site, they processed sales in excess of $110,000 within the last week. For a site that does that much business, you'd think they would have better control over the final transaction, the part where money and property exchange hands. But they are not concerned if either party in the transaction is ever satisfied. They got their money from you when you listed the site. In the end, it's up to the buyer and the seller to work out the details and transfer the funds and the property. Filing a dispute with Flippa if one of those parties does not comply often results in a vague answer, IF you get an answer at all.
In my own, humble opinion, especially with the growing interest in site flipping, there should be a better, more controlled way of handling these virtual real estate transactions. They offer little to no protection for buyers or sellers. There are other auction sites out there, but, believe it or not, they are the best there is to offer at this point. But I've been watching the listings lately and I've noticed something interesting. There are sites on there for days and weeks at a time now with no bids. None. Are the buyers getting smarter and learning to recognize the garbage that people are trying to pass off on Flippa? Maybe. But I think the sellers are the ones getting smarter. The QUALITY sellers. I think they're finding alternative ways to conduct their legitimate business and they're pulling the quality buyers along with them. I think that site flipping is about to become a whole new ballgame!
If you've looked into site flipping at all, I'm sure you've heard of a place called Flippa. They are an online auction service, trying to pattern themselves after eBay, that specializes in online properties like blogs, websites, domain names, eBooks, you name it. If it's virtual property, you can sell it there.
Comparing their auction system to eBay's is like comparing charcoal to diamonds. They do charge you a listing fee, a pretty hefty listing fee I might add, and they do let you set your own time limit on your auctions. They also allow you to set minimum bid amounts and reserve limits. But that's as far as the similarities go.
For one thing, Flippa has what they refer to as a verification process in place that my dog could pass. when you register with them, their method of determining that you are who you say you are is to send a code number to your telephone. You then enter that code number into their system and they say, Hey, yeah, it really IS Mickey Mouse. Go ahead, give him an account. Puh-leeze! The only other verification they do during the entire transaction process, is to have you place a file onto the root of the site you're selling so they know you have access to the database. Now this doesn't seem all that secure to me, but, hey, I'm not a programmer, so I'll let this one slide.
After that, buying and selling sites on this auction site pretty much just becomes a Free-For-All. Scumbags will tell you there site has had thousands of dollars in sales over the last 3 months and a simple search of the domain name shows you they just bought it yesterday. Unimaginative copy-cats throw up a PLR website and copy and paste a listing and tell you it's a UNIQUE, ONE OF A KIND, blog. Unscrupulous buyers will outbid everyone else for your site, then, either never pay for it or file a dispute with PayPal, AFTER THEY INSTALL IT, and you have to give their money back to protect your reputation.
Flippa's non-management of comments and feedback leave the sellers totally at the mercy of the buyers - with their neck's exposed! Comments are not monitored at all and ruthless scammers like to dive bomb listings in an attempt to keep the bids down so they can swoop in at the last minute and get those sites for themselves. Deleting negative and spammy comments, though, only makes the seller look like they have something to hide. And feedback? That's a joke. Sellers are motivated to leave feedback in the hopes that the buyers will actually PAY for the site and maybe leave them a kind word in return. What motivates the buyer to leave feedback? Nothing. You're lucky if they actually PAY you.
Have you ever actually bid on a site at Flippa? Have you noticed that the auction never seems to end? There never seems to be a winning bidder. If an interested bidder plops down an offer within the last hour of the auction, they automatically adds 4 hours to the length of the auction. In the meantime, buyers and sellers alike are left wondering what just happened? Is it over or not?
According to the stats that they list on site, they processed sales in excess of $110,000 within the last week. For a site that does that much business, you'd think they would have better control over the final transaction, the part where money and property exchange hands. But they are not concerned if either party in the transaction is ever satisfied. They got their money from you when you listed the site. In the end, it's up to the buyer and the seller to work out the details and transfer the funds and the property. Filing a dispute with Flippa if one of those parties does not comply often results in a vague answer, IF you get an answer at all.
In my own, humble opinion, especially with the growing interest in site flipping, there should be a better, more controlled way of handling these virtual real estate transactions. They offer little to no protection for buyers or sellers. There are other auction sites out there, but, believe it or not, they are the best there is to offer at this point. But I've been watching the listings lately and I've noticed something interesting. There are sites on there for days and weeks at a time now with no bids. None. Are the buyers getting smarter and learning to recognize the garbage that people are trying to pass off on Flippa? Maybe. But I think the sellers are the ones getting smarter. The QUALITY sellers. I think they're finding alternative ways to conduct their legitimate business and they're pulling the quality buyers along with them. I think that site flipping is about to become a whole new ballgame!
About the Author:
Flip Diva and Deschain are fed up and they're not going to stand for it anymore! If you're also into site flipping, If you're a Flipping Fool, too, visit them at Sell It With A Blog, where they're taking Site Flipping to the next level! Visit the Uber Article Directory to get a totally unique version of this article for reprint.
