Midascode | Buy & Sell Websites

Website For Sale - Online shop for organic skin, body and hair care For Sale

A stylish online retailer for fabulously pure skin, body and hair care that is organic, cruelty free and kind to the environment.

Purely-Natural.net - Website For Sale

What’s It All About: Purely-Natural.net - Purely-Natural.net is an Online shop for organic skin, body and hair care. The site can be fully adapted to sell any kind of product. Categories can be named and assigned to suit, all done through the CMS.

How Long Established: Since September 2006.

Traffic: Monthly visitors over 2500

No Of Members: 300+ customer accounts

Current Revenue: £1200 to £1500

Expenses: Hosting £12.50 - Google AdWords £100

Price: In excess of £2500

Some further information:

The website and management system is run by osCommerce, an Open Source based e-commerce solution.

It features a rich set of online shopping cart functionality that allows store owners to setup, run, and maintain their online stores with minimum effort and with no costs, fees, or limitations involved. The shop can easily be adjusted through the CMS (content management system) to sell any kind of products.

CMS features:
- User-friendly stylish design
- Permission-based access system
- Easy to catalogue products/services
- HTML E-mail feature: Each message, order confirmation email, order status change notification, newsletter etc. is in HTML
- Gift Voucher/Discount Coupons feature
- Easy to manage page contents
- SaleMaker
- Multiple images per product
- Wish List
- Attribute management
- Download Controller
- Easy import/export feature
- Create new/edit orders feature
- Meta Tag Controller/Generator
- Print order/invoice branded with store logo
- Who’s Online feature
- WYSIWYG HTML Editor for product, category, and text editing
- FAQ Desk
- News Desk (for magazine part of the website)
- Banner-ad-in-a-box
- Shop by Price filter
- Links feature
- Accept offline payment processing (cheque, money orders, offline credit care processing, ..)
- Accept online payment processing (2CheckOut, PayPal, Authorize.net, iPayment, WorldPay etc.)
- Disable certain payment services based on a zone basis
- Weight, price, and destination based shipping modules
- Free shipping based on amount and destination
- Disable certain shipping services based on a zone basis
- SSL Certificate feature - gives a website the ability to communicate securely with its web customers
- Affiliate scheme/registration. Allows for managing affiliates in the Admin panel, and setting default commission % per affiliate. Allows for managing linking materials (banners) in the Admin panel. Runs a number of sales and turnover reports per affiliate account and supports multi-tier affiliate programme

Even if you are not interested, feel free to leave a comment - I am sure the owner would welcome Feedback either way

We have been contacted by the owner of a popular free bets site. (BetBonus.co.uk)

We are sure that not all of our readers will have an interest in gambling related sites, but for those of you who do, this may well be worth looking into.

Bet Bonus.co.uk

Domain: betbonus.co.uk

Google Pagerank: 5

Traffic:

Refferers

Keywords

The website appears #’1 on Yahoo for “free bets”.

Revenue Details
The website has not been touched since the summer but has still earned the following amounts over the last three months from bookmaker commissions:

December - £1,272.12

November - £1,187.99

October - £768.75

If you are interested in knowing more, contact us

Erotica Website For Sale

Midascode has been contacted recently by the owner of an independent video production company - a company that owns an erotica movie site which celebrates sexuality between couples.

Owner claims films are non-p0rny and artistic and promoted to couples.

Seller is looking to achieve something in excess of current Yearly income (Monthly income is in the region of $1000 - $1100)

Not the usual kind of site that Midascode would get involved in marketing - afterall with have a strict NO P0RN policy - but we did think perhaps some of our readership would be interested, so we are mentioning it here. (We have seen the site and can confirm it is not your usual P0RN site)

If you would like to know more Contact Us Here or email us at info@midascode.co.uk

Today we are lucky enough to speak to Adrian Cooke who in mid-2007 purchased the famous NetBusinessBlog.com blog. There has been a lot of talk about the sale, and it was one of the most high profile blog purchases of the year, so let’s speak to Adrian and hear his side of the events.

Adrian, thanks for taking the time to speak to me. How long have you had Net Business Blog.com for now?
since June 2007, that is roughly.

And what made you decide to purchase NetBusinessBlog?
I purchased NBB because I saw a possible great future brand (in the world of blogging) not for money at first.

Speaking of money… what has been your overall thoughts thus far in terms of traffic and revenue? (if you don’t mind me asking?)
To be honest, traffic has tailed off because of lack of posting in the last week, overall we hit 10k uniques per month, but revenue as of now is zero.
I was making $1300 p/m three months ago, but lack of marketing and a new structure idea for NBB has made me pull away from monetization this will all change next week though.

Excellent, I look forward to seeing that.

Yes, we have a new theme coming very soon.

Have you purchased other sites prior to NetBusinessBlog?
I have purchased a Facebook app and one other site that is yet to make any money because of lack of commitment, nothing prior to NBB though, all after. I was also part owner of a Digital Memory Store.

Ok, so that must have been quite a daunting first purchase then, considering the reputation of NBB and the cost involved.
It was actually thinking back, but I understood the value of the loyality and content, It was by pure luck I found the auction though.

Perhaps a little fate
yes

You mentioned loyalty there…..
Buying blogs has the risk of losing the core readers once you replace the blogger with some else… what was the reaction from the regular readers?
Some of them gave me a lot of grief I must admit, I have learn’t a lot, but I was a bit put off in the first month, so I decided to hire a blogger who could keep the momentum going daily
I think the audience was much younger than me, and that was something I needed to understand.

Very interesting. I have purchased a few blogs myself, but never one with a large existing reputation. Any regrets Adrian?

None now, I am very driven and need to reach a certain goal with NBB the goal I had in mind when I purchased it. It was well worth the money, the goal is basically to reach $5k p/m

Excellent. A lot has been said about the sale price, did you have a valuation calculation or due diligence blueprint when buying the site?

Although I have blogged about this myself - I did go in head first and only did basic calculations based on readership loyalty, revenue and longevity, I saw an oportunity that suited me at the time, and I needed something after I left my last company.

Excellent, so more of a gut instinct and common sense than a hard calculation in terms of valuation
Yes I think you could say that

Do you have any tips for people who may be looking to purchase or sell blogs in 2008 Adrian?

Difficult question I think as there is so much to evaluate
I would say… an absolute must is to know the market place, content etc… which I did. Also, try and ensure you have had some experience with the back end system which most use wordpress. Realise that blogging is hard work not an easy passive income… the most important thing I think is - understand how to market the blog/site you’re going to buy. There are so many things to consider really

Yes, some great points Adrian. Very useful, many thanks. Final question…

What does the future hold for Adrian Cooke in 2008?
the future… well I have a successful offline Web Development business going well now, I aim to make NBB the best business blog online offering even more targeted content for the readers. Possible forum launch to help other bloggers get started (hosting, content, marketing etc) I want more interaction on the blog and to build the brand name.

Excellent, it sounds like you are set for yet another successful and busy year….
I hope so

Thanks for taking the time to speak with me, and I am sure the readers will really benefit from your advice and experiences.
The new theme is going live later today I hope

Excellent. I will look out for that
Thank you very much Dean, very enjoyable interview

Welcome to the Website Purchase Review of Just-Pooh.com with Keith Mander.

The goal for this exclusive interview is to give you a deeper look into buying websites, we are using actual case studies as the basis of our interviews, and this will give you a real life insight into buying websites. The site in question is Just-Pooh.com. Keith’s personal blog is at KeithMander.com

Keith, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. How long have you owned this site now?, and if you don’t mind sharing the juicy details? How much did you pay for it?

I stumbled across the site several years ago, but only made first contact with the owner in September of last year. After some lengthy negotiations and analysis, the site was finally in my hands by mid-December. I’d prefer not to share further details of the transaction.

You mentioned due diligence there… what did this entail for you? Do you have a set checklist or procedure for this?

I was new to the process, but had a good intuition as to what I needed to check. I asked the owner for details of current traffic volume and verified this by analysing the site’s ranking for the most relevant keywords. Simple searches also helped me gauge the volume of advertising inventory on the topic, indicating how well the traffic could be monetised.

Very interesting. I am sure there is a lot of info there for readers who may be looking to purchase a website….. Also, I noticed that you used rankings and traffic tools to not only confirm the site’s existing traffic, but also to view future growth potential. That is a great idea!

Yes, Google Trends is also an excellent way to get a snapshot of the industry growth for the site. I could see that Pooh’s popularity was starting to plateau, but picked up whenever a new movie was released. It’s important to use common sense in additional to the data tools might provide.

Excellent advice. So to confirm, this was a private deal, and not done via any marketplace? Have you had any experience of a market place like Sitepoint.com?

Yes, the deal was conducted privately. I tend to avoid marketplaces such as SitePoint and eBay. Sellers using one of these platforms tend to have a better understanding of their site’s value, and therefore have higher expectations. My approach would be to directly contact site owners who are unaware of their site’s value and who’ve never experimented with online advertising. They’re usually surprised when you contact them with an offer and this eases the negotiation process. The potential with this approach is far greater.

Yes, that would be an ideal scenario…. how do you go about finding such sites though?

Using information on popular search keywords is a good starting point. I think it’s wise to concentrate on topics that are not immediately commercial in nature as you’re more likely to discover a site created out of passion, rather than for profit.

Superb advice, and I am sure an eye-opener for many readers. I suppose fan sites and hobby based sites spring to mind.

Absolutely. I’d suggest these sites represent the best opportunity. Don’t forget that you’ll need to find a site where you’re comfortable in adding further content to.

I agree. My girlfriend actually purchased a fan forum earlier this year, and I will throw out a quick warning to the readers: monetizing these sites can be very tricky. Even with high traffic, so some creativity and knowledge in this area is going to be required. It is certainly worth the effort though, and the rewards can be huge

Yes, forums are notorious for being difficult to monetise. But if you can nail it, there are high rewards to be made without much effort.

Yes, personally I feel the key is to use the forum as a feeder site, both to feed traffic into a site that will make sales, or to use that base to launch new, related sites and create a network.
Anyway, back to your site - Have you made many changes to the site since you purchased it? And have there been any unexpected obstacles?

Yes, just this month I outsourced the complete redesign and restructuring of the site. The aim was to create a more structured and more appealing site. The results are impressive; average page views are up 25%, the average time users spend on the site increased 35% and bounce rate dropped 20%. I’m now using analytic tools to make further improvements to the site’s navigation and content. The largest obstacle I’ve faced is finding a balance between user needs (pictures and games) and what will generate traffic (quality content).

Excellent. What does the future hold for you in terms of purchasing or selling more sites? Is this something you would like to do again?

Absolutely, I’d love to build a small portfolio of sites that bring in a stable secondary income. For the moment, I’ve decided to concentrate on maximising the potential of Just pooh before moving on. Cash flow and time management are significant hurdles to expanding.

Very true. Ok, one final question…. any regrets Keith?

Not starting sooner!

Better late than never I suppose. Keith, thank you so much for your time….. this has far exceeded my expectations, and there are some real gems of information here. Best of luck with Just-pooh in 2008, and we wish you continued success.

Have you ever bought a website?

If you have, I would be keen to interview you. We are doing interviews with people who have purchased website(s).

It would be good publicity for your site.

Contact us if you are interested.

Best wishes to all over the Christmas period.

Is Digg.com for sale? Rumours suggest that the social media giant may be hitting the market very soon. If so, what will it sell for? Who will buy it? What is it really worth?

This is not the first time that rumours of Digg being sold have surfaced, but VentureBeat recently claimed that Digg is getting serious about a possible sale, and what’s more, they have hired Allen & Company to sell the site for $300 million.

The curious thing about this company is that it doesn’t seem to like publicity, so much so that it doesn’t even have a websites. Weird!

Anyway, the million dollar question is: what will Digg sell for?

According to industry gossip, this is in fact a $300 million dollar question. Yes, you heard correctly, Digg is being valued by some at $300 million. Not a bad chunk of change.

We expect to hear a lot more about this over the coming weeks and months.

MidasCode

It is often difficult to be creative with gifts at Christmas. Often we just buy gifts and hope for the best, knowing that a few weeks later these gifts will be put in a cupboard and left to gather dust.

But what if there was a gift that was not only fun, and uber-cool, but was also a gift that could be used for many years, and could generate tens of thousands of dollars?

Today we are going to look at buying websites, and our 5 reasons that they make a killer gift for a family member or loved one.

1 - It is what they love - does your son love Football? Is your brother passionate about street cars? There are websites on almost every subject on the planet. If your father likes antiques, perhaps buy him an antiques and collectibles blog.

2 - They rise in value - ipods, cars, toys, computers, video games, mobile phones… they all have one thing in common: they drop in value very quickly. Websites can grow in value, and with a little love and care they can become very valuable very quickly.

3 - Longevity - Even the latest mobile phone will be worthless in 18 months. But websites generally become more valuable with age. How many other gifts could provide entertainment and value for decades?

4 - Give them a business - Once a website starts making money it is technically a business. You can buy web businesses for as little as $20 and this gives people invaluable real world experience, business lessons and a look into a possible new career option.

5 - Meet new people - There is no better way to meet huge amounts of like minded people in a short period of time than owning a blog or website. I have met hundreds of inspirational people and contacts from owning websites.

Ok, so now you want to buy a website, but where do you get them from?

Sitepoint.com is a popular choice.

Alternatively, contact us and let us know your budget and let us know your areas of interest, and we will keep an eye out for a site that matches your criteria.

Remember, a website is for life, not just for Christmas.

Looking for domains and websites on ebay is like looking for money in the streets: there is lots of it out there, but it takes too much time and effort to find it.

But today I stumbled across a 3 letter domain name that is currently for sale at Ebay.com

8UI.com

Not a bad domain name, and the ease at which you can type it is certainly a plus factor. So let’s see what the seller has to say about this domain name:

There are only 17,576 (26 x 26 x 26) 3-letter .com domain names. All of them are already registered. The last one was registered sometime in the beginning of 2000.

For those who are curious, all 3-letter .net names were registered by 2001. The last 3-letter .org name was registered in 2003.

The prices have been rising ever since, with 3-letter .com names selling for about 10 to 15 times the selling price of an equivalent .net domain.

The average annual return of a 3-letter .com domain has been ever 30%, with some names providing 100% gain per year! More recently, 3-letter .com domains have been appreciating at a rate of 5% to 7% per month.

Here are some recent sales figures for 3 letter .com domains from domain name industry journal Dnjournal . com:

NHS $151,300
GLU $75,000
OLT $93,000
GED $150,000
VIP $600,000 cash & $800,000 in stock ($1.2 million!)
UJC $17,400
SCW $60,000
ASB $50,000

Here is some examples of what you can use it for:

1- You can invest in it and resell it within a year (or 2) for 30% to 60% of the price you will pay now.
2- You can resell it immediately to any of the following ui abbreviations:
* User Interface (advanced programming language)
* University of Indonesia (sell to students)
* University of Idaho (sell to students)
* University of Illinois (sell to students)
* University of Iowa (sell to students)
* Universal Indicator (???0
* Unit Intervals (Serial Data Communication)
* Unemployment Insurance (sell to ferms)
* Ui is also a surname
The possibilities are endless (search Google ui= 120000000 results and 8ui= 104000 results)
3- very easy to remember (look at your keyboard now) all three keys next to each other.
4- forward domain to your existing site whether business or personal (name don’t matter if it’s not related to your site, after all what was the meaning of Google or xanga)
5- start a whole new brand to do business with.
6- You will profit from it.
7- UI is also a music band name.

Winning bid: The domain 8ui.com will be yours and it’s valid till 07/2008 and you can renew for $8.95 a year after.

Upon your request I will provide you with info on how to get a real good traffic and hosting plan to host your new site (Hosting plan not included with this sale and this is only a one email sent for ideas, no further info will be sent) last but not least if you (the buyer) like I can give you some business ideas (Also a one time email deal with ideas and no further support will be provided without a fee).

note: Midascode are not recommending that you purchase this domain, and we certainly feel the $9,000 BIN price is too much, but you can see the listing for yourself here: ebay domain names

This is one weird scam. Someone registered the domain Faebook.com (Facebook without a C) and redirected it, using an iframe, to Amazon - of course, with his/her own Amazon referrals. It’s the good old tactics of using misspelled domain names for profit, but it’s uncommon to see such an obvious misspelling of a site as big as Faebook used like this.

Some have suggested this may be Amazon’s doing, but you can clearly see the difference in registration details here:

Domain Name: FAEBOOK.COM
Registrant [1003228]:
Moniker Privacy Services
20 SW 27th Ave.
Suite 201
Pompano Beach
FL
33069
US

Amazon’s own records look different:

Registrant:
Amazon.com, Inc
Legal Dept, P.O. Box 81226
Seattle, WA 98108-1226
US
Domain Name: AMAZON.COM

It will be interesting to see how this one pans out over the coming months.

PS: I wonder if anyone has registered Midacode.co.uk yet?