Blind Luck

[Michelle]

http://flippa.com/auctions/82604/PR2...t-1-NO-RESERVE

Before I begin I would like to share the 'quote of the day' from the above listing:
"This might be blind luck but if it keeps up then the monthly Adsense earning potential of the site is $67."

The Following Just Reported to Flippa:

By his own admission he states he put AdSense ads up yesterday. He then purports that he's earning $15 a month from link sales. The two 'claims' don't add up to the claimed $30 revenue average.

Oh and is that an edited link in the AWstats?

I think it's time that the only revenue allowed to be claimed should be that where evidence is provided in the listing. Yes screen shots can be manipulated etc..but it's another 'extra' step, another lie that could unsettle the opportunistic scammers. The dyed in the wool scammers will do anything but we gotta try right and get some of this crap out of here don't we?

Would the term Digital Point be trademarked and does Flippa care if it is?
http://flippa.com/auctions/82572/522...-00-NO-RESERVE

What about Microsoft Word?
http://flippa.com/auctions/81895/TWO...ERVE-Monetized

What about IMAX?
http://flippa.com/auctions/82087/AUT...ed-URGENT-SALE

Bored now.

[3Six]

Even if it did add up you can hardly have gross revenue the same as net profit as he claims. No hosting costs? No management time?

But the big issue is the claimed revenue rather than revenue for which there is proof.

Digitalpoint may not bother with the use of their name, but I can't see MS etc taking it lying down. MS has a massive list of trademarks it owns but Word and Windows are major cash cows so if you want to mess with MS, those are the last ones to choose!

There are more examples of trademark infringements in Michelle's other thread.

[benitez17]

http://flippa.com/auctions/82604/PR2...t-1-NO-RESERVE

Before I begin I would like to share the 'quote of the day' from the above listing:
"This might be blind luck but if it keeps up then the monthly Adsense earning potential of the site is $67."

The Following Just Reported to Flippa:

By his own admission he states he put AdSense ads up yesterday. He then purports that he's earning $15 a month from link sales. The two 'claims' don't add up to the claimed $30 revenue average.

Oh and is that an edited link in the AWstats?

I think it's time that the only revenue allowed to be claimed should be that where evidence is provided in the listing. Yes screen shots can be manipulated etc..but it's another 'extra' step, another lie that could unsettle the opportunistic scammers. The dyed in the wool scammers will do anything but we gotta try right and get some of this crap out of here don't we?

Would the term Digital Point be trademarked and does Flippa care if it is?
http://flippa.com/auctions/82572/522...-00-NO-RESERVE

What about Microsoft Word?
http://flippa.com/auctions/81895/TWO...ERVE-Monetized

What about IMAX?
http://flippa.com/auctions/82087/AUT...ed-URGENT-SALE

Bored now.

I'm not sure why the seller's revenue claims don't add up, but I'd say that this seller is more honest than a lot of the sellers out there, because he states upfront that the Adsense revenue claimed for the site is based on a single day. Usually, you have to drag that information out of a seller, and they only admit it when they are caught in a lie. Also, $15 in link sales for a valid PR2 site sounds reasonable to me. He probably only has PayPal payments as proof, which are useless anyway.

If you spend much time going through Flippa listings, you'll see that almost every one has some statement that doesn't add up or is intentionally misleading, or the site has some potential legal issue. I used to take the time to report problems to Flippa, but I decided that it wasn't worth my time because of their lackadaisical response, plus I have better things to do than provide a service to Flippa for free that they should be performing themselves. I would suggest that you don't get caught up in reporting these listings because Flippa doesn't care enough to do anything about it, you have better things to do with your time, and posting a link to an auction here to see what others think of it is probably more beneficial.

Oh and is that an edited link in the AWstats?

What do you mean by this? What makes you think that the link is edited?

[Michelle]

I'm not sure why the seller's revenue claims don't add up,...

Probably for the same reason his traffic in the main stats also doesn't add up.

...I would suggest that you don't get caught up in reporting these listings because Flippa doesn't care enough to do anything about it, you have better things to do with your time,

I've had a good response from them although it's clear many haven't. When I report an auction I don't view it as providing a service to Flippa, it's quite simply about me and the interests I have in their marketplace.

..and posting a link to an auction here to see what others think of it is probably more beneficial.

More beneficial to the person who listed the above sites.

What do you mean by this? What makes you think that the link is edited?

I'm questioning the link in the browser...I've never seen a faded and bold url combination like that so I wondered if it were edited but maybe that's just how it appears in his control panel.

[Clinton]

Michelle, I'm not so sure it would benefit the seller to get a link from here. I'm curious, how do you see him getting a benefit?

If you posted a link anywhere else or tipped a seller off to a discussion here that may be beneficial to him in that he can come and defend himself. Homo praesumitur bonus donec probetur malus

But we'd be giving him the chance to do so in a place where he can't delete replies

[Michelle]

Clinton I think you've misunderstood or maybe I have. It would be a benefit to this seller if I took benitez17's advice in that I don't get caught up in reporting these listings because apparently Flippa doesn't care enough to do anything about it, and apparently I have better things to do with my time, and apparently posting a link to an auction here to see what others think of it is probably more beneficial.

So if I follow that advice I basically don't bring this to anyone's attention and I see that as a benefit to the seller whose listing flies under the radar.

[benitez17]

Probably for the same reason his traffic in the main stats also doesn't add up.

I've had a good response from them although it's clear many haven't. When I report an auction I don't view it as providing a service to Flippa, it's quite simply about me and the interests I have in their marketplace.

How much time did it take you to verify that there was an issue with the auction, gather the evidence, present it to Flippa, follow up on it if needed, and then watch for a resolution that would hopefully end with a modification of the listing to meet your request?

I have an interest in their marketplace as well, because I would love to have more quality sites available for purchase, but once I have determined that a site is not for me for whatever reason (including where I suspect that the listing is a scam), my interest in that auction ends, and my minimal concern for Flippa's overall health is not worth the time it will take me to file a report and see it through to its conclusion, especially when in many instances, Flippa's response comes 2 days later, and they just allow the seller to delete the "mistakes" they made and carry on with the sale. If they offered a bounty for reporting a listing that is found to contain inaccurate data, I would be more interested, but that is a terrible idea for a number of reasons.

I'm questioning the link in the browser...I've never seen a faded and bold url combination like that so I wondered if it were edited but maybe that's just how it appears in his control panel.

That is how IE8 shows URLs. I think the point is to emphasize the domain in an attempt to reduce the success rate of phishing sites, but I find it to be annoying.

[Michelle]

How much time did it take you to verify that there was an issue with the auction, gather the evidence, present it to Flippa,

About a minute. Look at the revenue claimed, look at the revenue in the description, report it.

follow up on it if needed, and then watch for a resolution that would hopefully end with a modification of the listing to meet your request?

I don't necessarily watch for a resolution. They either agree and fix it or they don't. I always receive an email with the result so when I decide to read those it takes me a few seconds to learn the outcome.

I have an interest in their marketplace as well, because I would love to have more quality sites available for purchase, but once I have determined that a site is not for me for whatever reason (including where I suspect that the listing is a scam), my interest in that auction ends, and my minimal concern for Flippa's overall health is not worth the time it will take me to file a report and see it through to its conclusion, especially when in many instances, Flippa's response comes 2 days later, and they just allow the seller to delete the "mistakes" they made and carry on with the sale. If they offered a bounty for reporting a listing that is found to contain inaccurate data, I would be more interested, but that is a terrible idea for a number of reasons.

Everyone has different perspectives and interests and I respect that.

That is how IE8 shows URLs. I think the point is to emphasize the domain in an attempt to reduce the success rate of phishing sites, but I find it to be annoying.

Ah I see. I'm on a Mac so no IE here. Makes sense.

[benitez17]

Fair enough. I'm not going to tell you how to spend your time. For me, I think that Flippa's dependence on its paying users to police its auctions is unprofessional, I tend to spend more time than I should writing the report and watching for an update to the listing and waiting for a response, and I haven't been particularly pleased with the responses to the auctions I did report, so I just gave up on it.

[3Six]

Hold on a second, hold on a second, benitez, what's terrible about the bounty idea? I think it's fantastic. They could reward with rep points if they don't want to part with money (we're talking Flippa here!) This would encourage sellers to report the scam sellers, share the burden of regulation and clean the market up. Flippa is counting on people like us to report scams but there's centuries of practical experience behind the wisdom that you set a thief to catch a thief.