Why Flippa is not Ebay

Posted by Danny in Flippa, Selling Websites

Flippa is not Ebay

For most of us, our previous online auction experience prior to flippa has been on ebay. There’s been a lot of discussion and confusion around that fact that flippa is a little different to buying and selling on ebay..

Ebay is the reference and we all measure by it.

The main difference between ebay and flippa is that on ebay, sellers and in particular, buyers know what things are worth.

As a buyer you know what something is worth and you log on to ebay and start the bidding process with the aim to win the auction at a price you know is going to be less than retail, or if it’s a collectable item, a price that you know is fairly accurate.

The whole buying and selling websites market is so new that buyers and in particular new buyers have very little understanding as to what a website is worth and how to work out a buying price.

A number of common practices seen in ebay listings just don’t quite work on flippa.

Let’s say as an example you’re selling later blow up dolls on ebay. Both buyer and seller have a fair understanding at what the doll is worth. A seller will set a start price, often a reserve and let buyers fight it out in the auction process.

On the other hand if the seller is selling latexrubbergirls dot com on flippa, most buyers have no idea of how to value the site, so look to sellers for guidance.

I’m talking primarily of lower to mid range sites, as high end sites usually attract buyers that understand the market and what a site is worth.

I hear sellers complain all the time about potential buyers asking for the reserve price or a “buy it now” price if there isn’t one. The frustration stems from the ebay way of doing things, where potential buyers have a fair idea of what the product is worth.

On flippa, potential buyers of low to mid range sites need to know what the seller wants for the site and then the auction “war” is about who can win at below the BIN price.

I’ve tested a number of sites in no reserve no BIN auctions and buyers have not known what they should be paying and most of the time, the site sells for less than I anticipated.

The best results I’ve had have been with auctions that have a bin price and no reserve. Removing no reserve and giving the auction a ceiling price give buyers the confidence that they can pick up a bargain, as there is no reserve, but at the same time they can jump in and win the auction at the bin price if the auction gets a little hot for them.

Having a bin price on the lower to mid priced sites also helps deal with the frustration some buyers experience at flippas policy of extending auction if bids paced in the last hour.

Flippa has the policy in place to allow sellers time to approve bids and protect against false bidding.

Selling Websites? Then learn your parts

No Related Posts

Tags: Buying Websites, Flippa, Selling Websites, trading websites

11 Comments

David Jenyns

05. May, 2010

Hmmm… Solid advice. Looks like I might have to do a little more testing with BIN. We’ve done a little testing but think it’s worth the revisit.

Keep up the good work and would like to connect via skype if you’re keen.

Cheers
Dave

[Reply]

Danny

05. May, 2010

I find people get lost without a BIN.
Just added you on skype

cheers
Danny

[Reply]

Dejan

05. May, 2010

I think that a lot of buyers on Flippa are the so called biz-op seekers that in no way are capable of assessing a websites value because they’re complete beginners.

I’ve sold three websites that already were receiving a decent amount of traffic and already made me some cash.

Unfortunately all of them sold for less than $170…I was using the $1 no reserve, no BIN approach. As you said Danny that was probably a bad idea since a lot of people get lost without a BIN price.

Oh well, at least I learned something from this

[Reply]

Danny

05. May, 2010

Dejan,

Don’t forget that $150-$170 for a website that cost you a little of your time and around $50 all up, is a pretty good return!

Try some with a BIN and let me know how you go

cheers
Danny

[Reply]

Chris

06. May, 2010

Yes right now pricing a website is not a easy thing to do, But I think running a ebay business wood be a great help starting a business on Flippa.

[Reply]

Robert Somerville

06. May, 2010

As I monitor the sites sold section of Flippa I see a lot of sites for which there was bidding activity up to within 30-40% of the BIN price and then somebody just pays the by it now price.

I conclude from this that offering a BIN price is a solid strategy as long as you will be happy if the site sells for that price.

[Reply]

Danny Reply:
May 6th, 2010 at 8:04 am

Rob, I’ve had that happen a lot. An auction will just bubble along at up to about 40% then a new bidder will appear and jump straight to the BIN price.

The sales letter in your listing is crucial here. If you can offer enough incentive for buyers to buy at the BIN, it really helps.

Remeber most buyers at the mid to lower price auctions have no idea of how to move or even run the site, so it’s a huge selling point if you offer to do that for them as part of the BIN.

I’ve had so many buyers who bought at below the bin pay the difference later just to get some help with the site.

[Reply]