37signals lists web designer directory Sortfolio on Flippa (opens in new tab)

(thenextweb.com)

16 pointsFlippa_com13y ago20 comments

20 comments

This is one of the worst listings on Flippa. There's no information at all. No breakdown of traffic over time or by source. Nothing about how the transition to a new owner will be handled. No information about how billing is done and what information, if any, will be transferred to the new owner -- if everyone had to re-subscribe under new ownership most of that revenue is going to disappear. No information about the site architecture and what kind of resources are required to run it. No information about the customer service load generated.

It's like listing a house for sale with no photos, no description, and a fence around the property so you can't go check it out in person either. Just a lot number and a price tag. And we really are talking about the price of a house here...

moe13y ago

But... it's from 37Signals!!

How can you possibly need any more information than that?

DavidAbrams13y ago

So this headline says that something undefined is "listed" on something else undefined.

Talk about lazy and useless.

DodgyEggplant13y ago

Sortfolio without the 37signals brand is not the same asset.

neovive13y ago

That would be my concern as well. Without their brand and following behind the service, it would be hard to sustain it at that level.

ssharp13y ago

Has 37s indicated how the billings will transfer? If by default, after the sale, users have to opt-in and provide their billing information again, there will be a substantial loss of customers, well beyond typical churn.

Additionally, if I were interested in purchasing Sortfolio, I'd want a clear picture of their customer acquisition practices. If most customers are being acquired through the 37s website and/or branding, you cannot count on continued revenue streams. If customers are being acquired by channels that don't rely on 37s, I'd be much more comfortable with it.

jcc8013y ago

I must be missing something because I don't understand why they are so desperate to get rid of it. If it's really making $200,000+ per year just hire someone for 1/4 to 1/3 that to handle it.

bennylope13y ago

It's not a core service for them. It might be running on its own now but at some point it's going to need some attention which means distraction.

moe13y ago

It seems you missed the part where he said "hire someone to handle it".

That someone doesn't need to be in the same office.

I personally would happily take that role - I'm on a different continent and won't ask for their phone number.

1 more reply

mipapage13y ago

Yeah, or let someone in-house make it their pet project. Tied with the 37s name/links etc and that revenue, what a great side project for someone to run...

tocomment13y ago

I don't have 500K, are there any other good deals on Flippa? I'd love to buy an autopilot business for that rate of return.

Any advice? Has anyone bought a site on Flippa?

amoore13y ago

flippa is a cesspool of worthless sites, scams, and con-men.

But, there are some occasional transactions that are worth looking at, if only to get ideas of things to build.

Here's a recent sale of thecupcakeblog.com: https://flippa.com/2736282-over-1000-ad-rev-199k-visits-475k...

Those come along about once or twice a month.

Flippa_comOP13y ago

I'm obviously biased but this sold list shows that we regularly sell awesome websites: http://bit.ly/JDV1hg

Try out our advanced search and you can very easily drill into sites that meet your quality definition: https://flippa.com/search

pavs13y ago

I sold a silly blog for $15,000 just before they changed their name to flippa.

drsintoma13y ago

could you give us the URL?

lost-theory13y ago

There's an article on the 37signals blog as well:

http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3172-sortfolio-going-once-goi...

drumdance13y ago

A friend of mine with lots of experience angel investing and running profitable B2B companies told me he looked at Sortfolio last Fall and passed. He didn't go into detail, but he said they're asking too much.

ricardobeat13y ago

I'd lease it. 50% split until the 480k is paid off, or the site dies.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

20 comments

dangrossman13y ago

moe13y ago

But... it's from 37Signals!!

How can you possibly need any more information than that?

DavidAbrams13y ago

So this headline says that something undefined is "listed" on something else undefined.

Talk about lazy and useless.

DodgyEggplant13y ago

Sortfolio without the 37signals brand is not the same asset.

neovive13y ago

That would be my concern as well. Without their brand and following behind the service, it would be hard to sustain it at that level.

ssharp13y ago

jcc8013y ago

I must be missing something because I don't understand why they are so desperate to get rid of it. If it's really making $200,000+ per year just hire someone for 1/4 to 1/3 that to handle it.

bennylope13y ago

It's not a core service for them. It might be running on its own now but at some point it's going to need some attention which means distraction.

moe13y ago

It seems you missed the part where he said "hire someone to handle it".

That someone doesn't need to be in the same office.

I personally would happily take that role - I'm on a different continent and won't ask for their phone number.

1 more reply

mipapage13y ago

Yeah, or let someone in-house make it their pet project. Tied with the 37s name/links etc and that revenue, what a great side project for someone to run...

tocomment13y ago

I don't have 500K, are there any other good deals on Flippa? I'd love to buy an autopilot business for that rate of return.

Any advice? Has anyone bought a site on Flippa?

amoore13y ago

flippa is a cesspool of worthless sites, scams, and con-men.

But, there are some occasional transactions that are worth looking at, if only to get ideas of things to build.

Here's a recent sale of thecupcakeblog.com: https://flippa.com/2736282-over-1000-ad-rev-199k-visits-475k...

Those come along about once or twice a month.

Flippa_comOP13y ago

I'm obviously biased but this sold list shows that we regularly sell awesome websites: http://bit.ly/JDV1hg

Try out our advanced search and you can very easily drill into sites that meet your quality definition: https://flippa.com/search

pavs13y ago

I sold a silly blog for $15,000 just before they changed their name to flippa.

drsintoma13y ago

could you give us the URL?

lost-theory13y ago

There's an article on the 37signals blog as well:

http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3172-sortfolio-going-once-goi...

drumdance13y ago

ricardobeat13y ago

I'd lease it. 50% split until the 480k is paid off, or the site dies.

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse