In a previous article titled Flipping Out At Flippa.com I wrote about the move of the SitePoint marketplace to Flippa.com, and how users were responding to the change. Well it’s near on six months since then so what better time than now for me to visit the guys at Flippa.com to have a chat.

Dave Slutzkin General Manager Flippa.com & Luke Moulton Marketing Manager Flippa.com

It was great meeting the guys in person and we managed to discuss a lot of topics but there was one thing in particular I really wanted to put to rest and here was my chance to hear it straight from the source, in person!

So what was the one thing I was most keen to get answered?

My question was whether or not Flippa were actively trying to move the low end of the market out of their business. The short answer is no.

Do they want to do away with sites that are poor quality? The short answer is yes.

What becomes problematic for Flippa is determining what is or isn’t poor quality. What I believe is valuable might not be to the next person. You know that old saying, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, so it’s a delicate balance for Flippa to be impartial to a degree, on what they encourage to appear on their listings page.

The perception was that the low end of the market was being forced out due to the high cost of doing business with Flippa. That might be true in a couple of cases such as:

1. You want to offer poor quality sites that sell for $50 so therefore it’s not worth your trouble due to the fees.

(If higher fees results in the number of poor quality listings being reduced, then that’s a positive thing.)

Or

2. You are new to the game and everything takes so long to learn,  it’s very difficult to produce sites fast, they don’t sell quickly because your trust rating isn’t established; the whole exercise becomes one that returns a very low hourly rate at the outset.

You perhaps can relate to this second point and yes it can be like that, but everyone has to start somewhere. So why would you start out selling websites at Flippa.com if it’s going to mean your costs are high, compared to starting out on a free or very low cost marketplace? Alternative marketplaces are a dime a dozen, each of them with their own set of pros and cons. I’ve had great success with the Flippa marketplace and although I can be vocal about their policies, does not mean I suggest not listing there. Flippa are the industry leader and their impressive results speak for themselves.

Flippa Stats As At Dec 4 2009:

* 1,117 Listings Open Now
* 1,137 Bids Last 7 Days
* $186,770 Sales Last 7 Days
* 40% Listings Sold Last 3 Months
* $28,643,898 Sales Overall

As I’ve mentioned above, I have at times been vocal about Flippa’s policies and in no way consider the marketplace perfect, but along with the cons of Flippa there are a great deal of pros. Let’s get the cons out of the way first.

• The marketplace in its Flippa incarnation is young and with that comes teething problems.
• In an attempt to quickly improve things decisions are made perhaps without enough forethought, and at the end of the day don’t really hit the mark.
• The business is still finding its feet in terms of how to please a very broad customer base, which in the cold light of day translates to upsetting at least one segment of their user base when they implement certain changes.
• The constant changes, although often for the better, can be confusing and or difficult to keep up with.
• The fees eat away a not so tiny percentage of the net profit of a successful listing, in particular when selling at the lower end of the market.

Those points are how I see things and I’m sure there are different pros and cons for different users, I’m sharing the way I see it from direct experience.

The Pros

• In the last seven days there were 1,195 bids and sales to the value of $178,682. Over the last three months 39% of listings sold and right now there are 1,063 listings open. The overall reported salesvolume is $28,828,896. Those are no small figures and if you ever needed social proof that this is one marketplace worthy of transacting in then there it is.
• A higher fee structure sees less junk being listed, this in turn gives the marketplace a better name and the probability of a more genuine user base and of course a thriving marketplace.
• Although it’s not fool proof, and probably never will be, Flippa are going to great lengths to find ways of making your transactions as safe as possible.
• Flippa have proven many times over that they are willing to listen to their customers, they are a young and vibrant business who have proven that they are not only flexible but nimble in their attempts to improve things based on customer feedback.
• And last but not least, you know who you are dealing with. Flippa is a sister company to SitePoint and 99 Designs, two businesses that are far from small.

The last bullet point needs your full attention. Why? Because when you’re considering selling web property you are more likely to focus on the costs of a marketplace rather than who is behind it. But you really need to know whether you’re dealing with a solid business or a fly by night set up, or a marketplace where it’s pretty much a free for all! I haven’t used any other marketplace so I cannot confidently give you a run down of the pros and cons of the myriad of sites out there, just be sure you do a lot of research before jumping in to anything.

Browse The Marketplace

If you’re serious about buying and selling websites I highly recommend you get familiar with Flippa.com, check out the listings, see what’s selling, see what trends you can find in the marketplace, and get to know the business a little. When you jump in I’m sure you’ll love it but remember, not every site sells first time every time so don’t let a few of your unsold auctions scare you away.

To learn more about site flipping, grab your free copy of QuikCash Convertor here.