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.