The BIG Price?

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  • Zorg
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2001
    • 236

    The BIG Price?

    Over the last couple of months I have been sent a few emails from companies that would like to buy my forum.

    My questions is, how much is my forum worth?

    Members: 4,500+
    Threads: 14,000+
    Posts: 180,000 +

    Subject: Australian Broadband
    Domain: www.ausforum.com

    A couple of people already said sell it for $1 per user ($4,500.00 Australian / $2,250.00 USD)

    Any other suggestions?
  • George L
    Former vBulletin Support
    • May 2000
    • 32996
    • 3.8.x

    #2
    don't sell!

    it's got more potential in the future if you keep at it!

    i was offered US$390k (cash/stock) for all my sites last year when i only had 1/2 the domains i have now and 1/8th the traffic i had now but that was just before the dotcom bubble completely burst

    then again i don't sell my babies i like to watch them grow up
    :: Always Back Up Forum Database + Attachments BEFORE upgrading !
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    Comment

    • Valkyre
      Senior Member
      • Jun 2001
      • 619

      #3
      390K? Screw "my babies", I'd sell them in a heartbeat
      Need a job done? Get in contact with me and we'll see what we can work out.

      Comment

      • nuno
        Senior Member
        • Apr 2001
        • 4346
        • 3.8.x

        #4
        no way dont sell
        US$390k ouch
        hey Valkyre, have you checked eva's sig btw?
        its like the server bible
        no money can buy that IMO
        You're my Prince of Peace
        And I will live my life for You

        Comment

        • wanders
          Member
          • Apr 2000
          • 58

          #5
          lol yeah we were offered about 600k for atwebsites (can you believe it? crazy dot com companies *shakes head*) that was definetly before the bubble burst. Anyways, things might get better in the future, but the truth is that I don't think advertising revenue will ever recover, and as companies wise up to that they will want a forum that is convertable into income, so unless you can figure out a way to make your forum very profitable, now might not be a bad time to sell. But, don't listen to just me, because I'm certainly no expert

          Comment

          • chrispadfield
            Senior Member
            • Aug 2000
            • 5366

            #6
            Re: The BIG Price?

            Originally posted by Zorg
            Over the last couple of months I have been sent a few emails from companies that would like to buy my forum.

            My questions is, how much is my forum worth?

            Members: 4,500+
            Threads: 14,000+
            Posts: 180,000 +

            Subject: Australian Broadband
            Domain: www.ausforum.com

            A couple of people already said sell it for $1 per user ($4,500.00 Australian / $2,250.00 USD)

            Any other suggestions?
            Your capital (if you own any servers/software etf) + somewhere between 5 - 10 times your profit is probably a realistic valuation I always recon for a community but sell it for whatever you think you can get for it! An broadband forum might be far more valuable to a broadband company or an internet magainze for example than to you in which case you need to work out the value it is to them and sell it at that.
            Christopher Padfield
            Web Based Helpdesk
            DeskPRO v3.0.3 Released - Download Demo Now!

            Comment

            • Wayne Luke
              vBulletin Technical Support Lead
              • Aug 2000
              • 73981

              #7
              Actually if you want a realistic valuation of your business do this...

              Take your average monthly profit and multiply it by 18. Then add in the deprecated* (not replacement value) of any hardware and software that would be included...

              *In the United States, the government lets you deprecate equipment purchases over three years. Basically this means you get to deduct 1/3 of the cost from the equipment for 3 years. After that time your equipment as a total cost of zero dollars as far as value goes. This might vary or be non-existant in your country though.
              Translations provided by Google.

              Wayne Luke
              The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
              vBulletin 5 API

              Comment

              • chrispadfield
                Senior Member
                • Aug 2000
                • 5366

                #8
                You really recon that is true? a firm only worth 1/1/2 its annual profit? Think sitepoint for example is only worth 1 and a half times its profit from last year?
                Christopher Padfield
                Web Based Helpdesk
                DeskPRO v3.0.3 Released - Download Demo Now!

                Comment

                • Wayne Luke
                  vBulletin Technical Support Lead
                  • Aug 2000
                  • 73981

                  #9
                  For a firm with out market capitalization (i.e. stock offerings), this is the most common method of valuation. If you think your company is worth more than that you won't really be looking to sell would you?

                  Of course there are things that can be added in here to raise the price. I didn't include them because they weren't really relevant to this valuation. You could also include real estate, patents, a valuation for products such as software, books and such as well as residual lifetime income that may not be reflected in average monthly profits (i.e. DVD sales from movies released in the future) and the intellectual worth of your employees.

                  Now this site in question doesn't seem to have any of the above items which would increase its equity. SitePoint on the other hand is much more than its collection of 9 websites as will become more and more apparent as this year moves on. Therefore I think that it is worth more than 18 months of profit but unable to give a firm estimate at this time.
                  Translations provided by Google.

                  Wayne Luke
                  The Rabid Badger - a vBulletin Cloud demonstration site.
                  vBulletin 5 API

                  Comment

                  • Zorg
                    Senior Member
                    • Jan 2001
                    • 236

                    #10
                    Does anyone know of a place where I can get an appraisal?

                    George, I know it's worth a lot because some of the big DSL companies what it for advertising but I have other projects which I want to work on.

                    Anyone though me a ball park figure, even if it's a personal choice.

                    Comment

                    • George L
                      Former vBulletin Support
                      • May 2000
                      • 32996
                      • 3.8.x

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Zorg
                      Does anyone know of a place where I can get an appraisal?

                      George, I know it's worth a lot because some of the big DSL companies what it for advertising but I have other projects which I want to work on.

                      Anyone though me a ball park figure, even if it's a personal choice.
                      hmm i have alot of digital tv related domains wonder if any dsl or IT related companies would want them hehe

                      i'd hate to see ausforums become ad banners galore after a company takes it over especially if it's an Aussie company but that's my opinion

                      and no one can give you a ball park figure without some traffic and demographic stats either
                      :: Always Back Up Forum Database + Attachments BEFORE upgrading !
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                      :: vBulletin hacked forums: Clean Up Guide for VPS/Dedicated hosting users [ vbulletin.com blog summary ]

                      Comment

                      • jam583
                        Senior Member
                        • Jul 2001
                        • 556
                        • 4.0.0

                        #12
                        If someone offered $390k for one of my sites, I would give it up.
                        Jason Miller
                        http://www.GMPerformanceTuning.com
                        http://projecthillside.com
                        http://weekendoasis.net
                        http://jamz.net

                        Comment

                        • Stallion
                          Senior Member
                          • Apr 2000
                          • 704

                          #13
                          The $390 was cash/stock though. I'd bet that a good $385 was stock, with maybe $5 in cash. EFront stock is now worth nothing, so taking it up could've backfired bigtime.

                          Comment

                          • Skeptical
                            Senior Member
                            • Oct 2000
                            • 2007

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Stallion
                            The $390 was cash/stock though. I'd bet that a good $385 was stock, with maybe $5 in cash. EFront stock is now worth nothing, so taking it up could've backfired bigtime.
                            Not to mention the loss to your reputation as a result of your buyer going bankrupt.
                            Well, there it is.
                            - Keeper of the Grove

                            Comment

                            • ethank
                              Senior Member
                              • Apr 2001
                              • 603

                              #15
                              I was offered money for my site a bit ago, but passed on the offer because

                              1) It wasn't enough (and no sane person would pay me what I want) and

                              2) I'd be sued into sky blue heaven. Shiny happy lawyers holding hands.



                              Also that company that tried to buy me went BK not too long after, so in the end I ended up in the positive.

                              Putting value on a board is kind of difficult. You should think, beyond just the amoutn of users, how much work you put into it, and then quantify that as man hours. How much work are you saving the company trying to buy you out by selling them an existing site rather than them having to develope the site and traffic and userbase by themselves?

                              Comment

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