Flippa "HIDDEN" Confidential Listings.

**christopheravell** · March 9th, 2011, 11:32 AM

I thought it would be nice to have a cat or thread where we could speculate on and discuss Flippa "Confidential" auctions. I think it is important that in order to post them here it should be clear that you should NOT BREAK ANY NDA you sign. For me, the biggest importance of looking into the "HIDDEN" domains is to allow people to discuss them openly and, especially, find any outright frauds that need to be reported to Flippa.

[[Edit: Moved a section of this post to the VIP Lounge - Clinton]]

**Clinton** · March 9th, 2011, 11:50 AM

OK, whether to allow the discussion of Flippa confidential listings is a subject that does need some thinking about.

On one hand, I can see how discussing it with a few friends can help flush out hidden problems. On the other hand it's making public information that the owner doesn't want made public for whatever reason. That seller could be a member here who's got genuine reasons for keeping the sale discreet and it wouldn't be right to devalue his site simply by mentioning publicly that it's for sale.

The only way around this that I can see for the moment is to keep these discussions in the VIP Lounge i.e. a discussion among friends and blocked from search engines and everybody else.

I've moved part of the OP to the VIP Lounge for that reason.

**petertdavis** · March 9th, 2011, 12:13 PM

How do you have a forum discussion about a confidential listing without violating the terms of the NDA?

**Clinton** · March 9th, 2011, 12:20 PM

And if you do violate the NDA - or the seller believes you've violated the NDA - he'll demand I disclose your ID so he can pursue legal action. Of course there's less chance of him knowing that if the discussion is in the VIP Lounge, but for all you know he could be a member here with access to the VIP Lounge! About 100 members are currently qualified to access the VIP area.

**christopheravell** · March 9th, 2011, 12:44 PM

There is no concern however if you do not violate the NDA. Because the seller's listing is confidential and there is an NDA to find the details does not prevent you from speculating... Again, one of the problems with Flippa's confidential listings is that they only keep the listings confidential to novices in general. I am sure almost anyone here can look at the listings and figure out within minutes what site is being sold (speculate).

**Clinton** · March 9th, 2011, 5:48 PM

I don't believe you get it, Chris. You call it speculation, the seller suspects you're somebody who has actually signed an NDA. He demands I release your identity to him as you have damaged his business and costed him money. Where do I stand?

We could allow the threads if we're discussing a particular business without referring to the Flippa listing or providing a link to it and without providing any information that's not already in the public domain. "If xyz.com came up for sale privately ...."

People in VIP would be free to connect that with a particular Flippa listing if they were smart enough.

**Thomas** · March 9th, 2011, 8:09 PM

I'm not really sure I get the point of this either, unless there is a clear reason to "expose" the seller (in which case, reporting to Flippa would be more productive).

I personally would be pretty pi**ed if one of my confidential listings got posted all over a public forum where there is usually unfounded speculation as to my/our motives for selling, criticisms about the site etc.

**petertdavis** · March 9th, 2011, 9:10 PM

Originally Posted by meathead1234

I personally would be pretty pi**ed if one of my confidential listings got posted all over a public forum where there is usually unfounded speculation as to my/our motives for selling, criticisms about the site etc.

I agree. Some of the threads here go way, way, way, waaaaaaaaay over the top.

**christopheravell** · March 9th, 2011, 10:35 PM

Clinton - that makes sense. My point in it is that Flippa's confidential listings can be a huge benefit for scammers. Since anyone with a little experience can easily tell what the site being sold is it leaves newbies who can fall easy prey to scammers the only ones who are really "hidden". And, since once they sign an NDA they cannot ask anyone for advice on the listing, they're even more apt to get hoodwinked. But you are exactly correct Clinton -- since all that matters is discussion on the site itself and not a linking to the Flippa listing that serves the purpose well.

**Thomas** · March 9th, 2011, 11:02 PM

Originally Posted by christopheravell

Clinton - that makes sense. My point in it is that Flippa's confidential listings can be a huge benefit for scammers. Since anyone with a little experience can easily tell what the site being sold is it leaves newbies who can fall easy prey to scammers the only ones who are really "hidden". And, since once they sign an NDA they cannot ask anyone for advice on the listing, they're even more apt to get hoodwinked. But you are exactly correct Clinton -- since all that matters is discussion on the site itself and not a linking to the Flippa listing that serves the purpose well.

I think in that situation it's down to the buyer to do their due diligence - and if they don't then that's not our responsibility. There are plenty of sites/blogs/forums to get information on how to safely buy a site. It's not "our" (as in those with more experience) responsibility to go digging into every possible scammer loophole out there and exposing it in public. In my opinion, there are more productive things to do with my time. We all have to learn somewhere (and most of us learned the hard way) so whilst I'm happy to help people if they ask me, we're not the Flippa police. I'm here to share and learn as much as the next person, but I think you have to draw a line somewhere and digging into someone's confidential listing isn't something I would like to be associated with.