When selling websites online, this is a question that you should be answering. My problem is not with the question itself, but rather the way most sellers chose to answer it.
Have a look through the listings on flippa.com and you will see a number of sellers answering this question in their sales letter. It does tend to happen more often in the lower end of flippa town.
If you haven’t already, I suggest you do read some of these listings, as the answers to “Why am I selling?” are often hysterical. People selling sites that they threw together yesterday, onto a cookie cutter site built on PLR, tend to give the best answers.
My all time favourite goes something like this;
“This (that I made 2 hours ago) site has the POTENTIAL (no chance in hell) to earn you $1000′s a month”
Then followed with;
“We (we always makes you sound like you’re a big business) research and then make these sites so you can make money fast”
then the kicker;
“I am (ooops we are) selling this site to fund my other big projects that make me money”
Yes, I am taking the piss here, but people write this stuff.
It’s ok to sell a website for money, in fact it’s encouraged.
My take on it all, is that I think people understand why you are selling a website. The problem might be when people sell a site too cheaply.
You will see this tine and time again on flippa, where a seller claims a site is making X amount a month and then only asks for the equivalent of one month’s income for the site.
This raises eyebrows, rings alarm bells and casts a cloud over the listing.
I like the selling websites / real estate analogy.
If you were selling a rental property for the equivelant of one month’s rent, I’d like to buy it, but it would raise questions as to why so cheap?
If you are selling websites that are earning an income, at the very least, you want one years income for it.
Just like a property, a good earning website is an appreciating asset that is worth more than just the “rent” it generates.
Things like domain age, number and quality of links, traffic, content, PR, ranking etc… all combined with income, contribute to valuing the asset that is your site.
If you can show a potential buyer why your site is worth the asking price, you’ll never have to answer
“Why am I selling?” again……
Selling Websites and Gorilla Poo
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Good post. More honesty needed in those sites set up yesterday I think because just a little due diligence weeds out the lies
Pretty much bang on the head of the nail right there. I do have to say that some of the reasons that I read are just plain hillarious though, the 2 day old site that will earn thousands is well overused, still they tend to sell for some reason.
The key is simple, as you have said. If the site is good value, you don’t need to give an explanation.
For example… when you buy a bottle of milk, do you ask the girl at the checkout why she is selling it? :p
wait.. I might have to try that some day for lulz…
Just getting started on Flippa and have enjoyed reading your blog. This question perplexes me. You don’t walk into a book shop and ask why they sell books. Unless a seller replies with some sort of confession, I don’t think the asker is going to get much useful information.
Hi Jerry,
Thanks for stopping by.
I don’t have an issue with the question itself, as it’s good sales technique to explain why you are selling and how the buyer will benefit with purchasing your site. It’s just that a lot of sellers get this one horribly wrong.