When/How to sell your first website?

[Hammertime]

Hi Guys,

Aint been on here for a long time for a number of reasons but mainly for the same reason as why I am considering selling my "baby".

I set up a sports betting related website a few years ago and now I really don't have time to commit to making it as successful as I know it can be due to the success of my offline business. I am now reluctantly considering selling it and I immediately thought of this forum as a place with knowledgeable people in this process.

As you can imagine, with this being my first sale, I have a lot of questions regarding the process and I have read a number of threads already and picked up some useful tips.

So to those experienced in this, when do you know it is the right time to sell? At the minute the site is neglected, it is on a blog platform and I make 1 post per week at the minute. There is a forum with 359 members (222 active) and a mailing list close to 2k (last time I checked). With the right amount of time and effort I know it could be highly successful, but I just can't find the time. So should I try to sell it as it is? Or should I sacrifice some time from my offline business to achieve some success with this site before selling?

Also, are there any preferred places for selling such websites?

Thanks in advance.

[benitez17]

I think the time to sell is when you know that you are unwilling or unable to dedicate the time to maintain the site, and profit will suffer as a result. It's usually better to unload it rather than letting it slowly become worthless in my opinion.

Is the site profitable now? How much time does it take to maintain?

Depending on the size of the site, you can sell it on DigitalPoint, Flippa, or another website selling site, list it with a broker, or try to sell it yourself.

[petertdavis]

What you've written there is pretty much what every single person who over-prices their website says to justify inflated pricing. Do yourself a favor and set your expectations at what the site is presently worth, and not what it will be worth after someone buys it from you and puts their sweat-equity into the site.

[Clinton]

So to those experienced in this, when do you know it is the right time to sell?

As with any business, the best time to sell is when it is at its peak.

I really don't have time to commit to making it as successful as I know it can be

Every single site in the world has the capacity to be more successful than Google. "All it needs" is the right people behind it. You may "believe" your site has a better chance than other sites of becoming successful. Great! But till you make that success happen this is just a belief in your head....it's sharing your brain space with an uncomposed symphony, an unwritten bestselling novel, an unexplained solution to cold fusion... and all kinds of other good stuff.

[HUM]

Well, I would agree with the aforementioned comments of selling it when its at its peak.

However, there is something to be said about the "Power of Zero" - just to provide the other side of the coin. Going by the Power of Zero, if there are currently no revenue figures, the business could strictly be positioned from a projection perspective. This, IMHO, would be much better than having lets say, a few months of dismal sales. The Power is in the hope versus a Low figure. Here I am supporting a legit businesses with strong business models but haven't had any revenue traction due to resources and not supporting those Flippa sites, where yes they are basing it on projections but uniqueness is dime a dozen.