Sitepoint Marketplace Relocated To Flippa.com
Buy And Sell Websites At Flippa
The Sitepoint Marketplace is all grown up and is leaving home to reside at flippa. Sitepoint's decision for the marketplace to have its own identity prompted the move. Reading between the lines, what does this mean? Is this a rebranding exercise to remove all links to everything that is bad about the Sitepoint Marketplace? Technologically, I'm sure they could introduce all of Flippa's new functionality to the existing Sitepoint framework. So what's so bad about the Sitepoint Marketplace that they (might) want to sever ties?
What's Wrong With Sitepoint Marketplace
At the moment there is far too much trash being listed in the Sitepoint Marketplace. There's dodgy misrepresentation of site related information in most auctions, but I doubt that the new Flippa functionality will banish that. I doubt, also, that that's the motivator for the move. Is it the case that the overactive and over optimistic siteflipu cadets have flooded the marketplace with so much junk that Sitepoint is now associated with .... selling junk? Even if Sitepoint could somehow raise their standards and stem the flow of worthless websites for sale, the association with junk will still be there in the minds of website sellers. Maybe Sitepoint want to break this association and start afresh.
The new pricing structure at Flippa does seem to hit the startups the hardest. There is a flat fee of $19 for all listings, regardless of whether the site is regarded as premium, established or a startup. There is also a sneaky success fee of a minimum of $10, payable if the auction is won. This makes the minimum cost of listing a successful auction $29. Compare that with the $10 you currently have to pay for listing a startup and you can draw your own conclusion about who Sitepoint are trying to edge out.
I think it's a good move.
Sitepoint completed a successful relocation and rebranding exercise when they moved their design contests to 99designs, so I see no reason why Flippa won't be a similar success.
Preparing For Flippa
Does anyone else get the same image of an inane bottle nosed dolphin squeaking in glee as it hatches a clever plot to get rid of all the rubbish? Just me then.
The wheels have been set in motion as the next Sitepoint Success Juggernaut lumbers forwards:
Wordpress blog. Check.
Twitter account. Check.
Blogosphere buzz. Err... working on it captain. It's the dilithium crystals, you see. And it's still early days yet.
I notice that they are using a blog hosted on Wordpress by the name of flippadotcom. The current owner of flippa.wordpress must be rubbing their hands together in anticipation.
sp-gazette... Wait A Minute!
I suppose you're wondering what impact this move has on this site - spgazette? Well, I've coverd all bases by registering flippagazette.com! I just need to decide which domain I'm going to host my content on when the transition to Flippa has actualy takes place, but at least I've avoided potential cybersquatting issues.
I have read your review on sitepoints’ reason for moving to the new flippa.
As a buyer and seller on Sitepoints Marketplace, I agree there was a lot of rubbish sites for sale. Many of sellers were reporting other sellers stealing graphics, and content which is sometimes copyright infringement, and no actions were being taken by Sitepoint.
But on the other hand lets look at it as a business point of view for a min.
With each listing at the Marketplace was costing the seller $10 USD to list what ever they wanted. Why turn away money, the company is making it and is doing nothing to provide any service to protect the other sellers or buyers whom are being scammed by these hoax sites.
With the new Flippa marketplace the prices have now doubled to $19 USD to the buyer to list their products. There are now more fees just as eBay has a final value fee for a completed auction. And still there is no more support for the theft of copyrighted items.
Think Quality over Quanity. That is what Sitepoint started off as, and now its turning for the worse. With other sites offering the same services or even more services for a cheaper price, Flippa will be affected.
Thanks for all your positive feedback guys. We appreciate it. One thing to keep in mind…
Our buyers aren’t going anywhere. They are savvy business people. They don’t care about the design of the site or the fact the logo sucks (the current logo is a placeholder BTW), they simply get on with the business of buying, and we’ve made it a lot easier for them to do that on flippa.com.
Meanwhile while you all whine and complain about the fees, the design, etc. the smart sellers are listing their sites on flippa.com and they are attracting the majority of the buyer interest. They will also get the added benefit of the PR we’re about to roll out.
So, it’s totally up to you! If you want to come across to flippa and sell your site in the professional marketplace we’re creating for serious buyers, we welcome you with open arms. If not, please do go to digitalpoint. List your site for free and see if the old adage of “you get what you pay for” applies.”
I have a proposed logo for Flippa on my site … basically, it’s the Twitter Fail Whale. I don’t particularly care for having a site owner insult me and call me names as a paying customer while trying to extract even more money from my pockets. Less usability, cheesy Web 2.0 design and insults all combine to make Flippa a Floppa in my book.
The same Sitepoint scammers are still posting projects, while many of the paying customers are moving to sitedeal dot org and other new emerging listing services that don’t insult paying customers.
Careful sbucciarel, if SP find your comment they’ll simply add it their collection of “overwhelmingly positive feedback”.
Good luck with sitedeal! I’m sure now is a good time to tempt away all SPs disgruntled customers.