Formula for selling a site?

[Electra]

What is the accepted formula for selling a website? Is it 6 months revenue..a years revenue?...can't remember what the generally criteria is.

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by Electra

What is the accepted formula for selling a website? Is it 6 months revenue..a years revenue?...can't remember what the generally criteria is.

I dont know that any of it is applicable anymore.

Without discussing the specifics I know of a negotiation going on now.
Seller wants a years worth of revenue and touts things that can be done with it going forward.

Books show a decline in revenue since last year and the actual content for sale could be reproduced for a fraction of last years revenue.

Id say dont try to sell what could be or what used to be. Try and sell what you have now for a fair price.

[MRock]

In the end it will be whatever someone will pay for it.

I would ask for 1 years income for it. Of course, negotiations will follow and you accept what you are willing to let it go for ...

Document sales for the life of the site and maybe show improvements that can be made by the new owner, to help pitch it ...

I have wondered myself how to get a minimumn pricing on my own sites. One way I have devised is to base it on the traffic value only, discounting memberships or affiliate sales. That, imo, would be where your pricing bottom starts.

[Electra]

Used to be you could consider page rank or Alexa ratings but they just turned out to be a bunch of crap. I was offered two years revenus on one site...but I think that was generous
and not something that can be expected for every site.

What do you guys think of Alexa ratings nowadays? I still think you can't judge anything by them, but I know some people still do.

[Toby]

Alexa rankings are a pretty poor indicator of actual traffic, and an even poorer indicator of income. It's useful for trends and general comparisons, but that's about it.

For example I use bevyofbabes.com to host all the galleries I build, in addition to the babe/pornstar TGP. Looking at the Alexa rank of 63K one could easily assume it has more traffic and more income than babes-in-boots.com at 136K when the latter actually gets more than double the traffic and earns 5 to 6 times the income.

[RawAlex]

Part of the question too comes with what they are actually buying or why they are buying it. It is similar to real estate: Are they buying the house, or the land it sits on? Under the right circumstances, the land is worth more than house that is sitting on it. In our world, it's like a great four letter domain with a parking page on it. The parking page ain't worth crap, but the domain is worth a bunch.

1 year of income isn't bad, but it begs the question: If you hired someone outside to maintain it, could you make half of that money in a year and still hold the property next year? Since onlne stuff (especially adult) is such a crapshoot these days, it is often better to just take the money and run.

[Hell Puppy]

As a buyer, it better be one hell of a domain or have a lot of good clean 2257 friendly exclusive content if I am going to pay over 3 months revenue. EVERYTHING is at risk right now in adult and past performance is NO guarantee of future returns....assume everything is declining, as it generally is.

[Electra]

Originally Posted by Hell Puppy

As a buyer, it better be one hell of a domain or have a lot of good clean 2257 friendly exclusive content if I am going to pay over 3 months revenue. EVERYTHING is at risk right now in adult and past performance is NO guarantee of future returns....assume everything is declining, as it generally is.

If you're a buyer though obviously YOU see potential in the sites you buy..else you wouldn't bother..so they must still have that potential whoever owns them..no? People
want to sell for all sorts of reasons but if someone offers to buy something I would probably
think they are seeing a way to capitalize on it that I haven't seen and I would have a really good look at what else could be done with that site.

[Hell Puppy]

Originally Posted by Electra

If you're a buyer though obviously YOU see potential in the sites you buy..else you wouldn't bother..so they must still have that potential whoever owns them..no? People
want to sell for all sorts of reasons but if someone offers to buy something I would probably
think they are seeing a way to capitalize on it that I haven't seen and I would have a really good look at what else could be done with that site.

i've looked at quite a few deals and only bitten on a couple. rght now here's what i'll buy given state of the industry...i'm after something someone is wanting to exit, that is broken and declining and they lack the time, inclination or resources to fix it.

what i'm looking at it is first off do i think i can rehab it to turn it around or at least stabilize it or otherwise reap something from it i can use with my other sites? and second thing is whether the price is reasonable.

i wont say i will only bite on a fire sale. but the guys who are overvaluing their stuff like it's still 1999 can keep stepping. come back at me in 3 months, and it'll likely be worth A LOT less, and I may have already filled whatever gap i was planning on using their stuff for.

bottom line it's a buyers market. there's a ton more sellers than buyers right now.

[Electra]

But you dont think the industry is declining to the point where you have personally given up on it. By buying up sites you are expanding what you have...right? Its really a question of those who can keep going and those who can't, or don't choose to. I suppose internet real estate..which is what websites are really...is like any other real estate in that do you fear that things will only get worse and try and get what you can for your property now, or do you wait and take the risk that things will get better and your property won't decline as much as you are being told it will.

I was talking to someone the other day who said that he is just going to put his sites in moth balls for a while and see where the industry goes rather than sell them for a price he knows isn't their value. According to him if he sold off his assets separately piece by piece..the domain, the content etc etc..he could get a lot more for it than if he just sold his site as a whole. I'm glad I don't have tons and tons of sites and have to make those kinds of decisions.

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by Electra

But you dont think the industry is declining to the point where you have personally given up on it. By buying up sites you are expanding what you have...right? Its really a question of those who can keep going and those who can't, or don't choose to. I suppose internet real estate..which is what websites are really...is like any other real estate in that do you fear that things will only get worse and try and get what you can for your property now, or do you wait and take the risk that things will get better and your property won't decline as much as you are being told it will.

I was talking to someone the other day who said that he is just going to put his sites in moth balls for a while and see where the industry goes rather than sell them for a price he knows isn't their value. According to him if he sold off his assets separately piece by piece..the domain, the content etc etc..he could get a lot more for it than if he just sold his site as a whole. I'm glad I don't have tons and tons of sites and have to make those kinds of decisions.

Im finding a lot of these older sties are like a hollywood set. A great front to draw in lookers and jack shit in the members area.

[Electra]

Originally Posted by gonzo

Im finding a lot of these older sties are like a hollywood set. A great front to draw in lookers and jack shit in the members area.

Why do you think that is? People must know they have to have a decent members area..are they just not bothering...don't care...trying to rip people off...what?

[softball]

Originally Posted by gonzo

Im finding a lot of these older sties are like a hollywood set. A great front to draw in lookers and jack shit in the members area.

There is a look that some sites have that just scream rip off. Even though they may be as honest as the day is long. And they are from a few years ago....an era. Sites are like shop windows. They need to be updated and current or they look neglected and they are like any style from tattoos to blue jeans. If you are looking for the next or current generation, and don't forget, we are about a generation old now, then your site better reflect their taste and expectations.
Then there is the other theory, like Tabasco sauce, there is comfort in stability.
We tend to the latter, but still change regularly to make sure that customers know that the product is fresh and, of course, anything we can to encourage sales.