Another new website maketplace tries its luck - venforo

[jmb321]

I am not prepared to divulge information that would be readily available to competitors or those with less than chivalrous motives. If you have ever been in any kind of business, you will understand premature dissemination of company objectives and marketing plans is self-defeating.

If you and the other experts on this forum are unable or unwilling to accept that basic business practice of self-preservaton than, you are correct I am in the wrong place. If your are not willing to provide guidance or input without full disclosure than I will move on. I intend to review Clinton's links and will comment in due course but at this stage I cannot and will not provide more information other than what is on the splash page.

Thanks for your comments.

[TheodoreK]

...The only thing we know about you is a "coming soon" site and that you've been spamming LinkedIn.

I believe we know quite a few more things about this upcoming marketplace than those two facts you describe. Let me list some of them:


-Focus on higher end online businesses
-Will try to address some of the functionality and focus that other web property marketplaces lack
-Pricing structure aims to minimize low value domain name listings and engender established web based businesses
-Aims not necessarily at site flippers but also people who see value in a web property
-Custom auction software / No Flippa clone
-URL: venforo.com domain created: 6/4/12 Joined Facebook: 17/4/12
-Tidbits about Jonathan M. Berman and his qualifications

Also, apart from "spamming" LinkedIn, Venforo offers 3 free listings to anyone who signs up before they launch, which is presumably another marketing angle.


Finally, if there is a place where your awesome website marketplace idea can be stolen (and rapidly implemented) that's here in EP. Therefore, I think, it is understandable that a new member might be cryptic about their upcoming marketplace; especially if they have an ace up their sleeve (or think they do!)

[grynge]

If you and the other experts on this forum are unable or unwilling to accept that basic business practice of self-preservaton than, you are correct I am in the wrong place. If your are not willing to provide guidance or input without full disclosure than I will move on.

I think 90% of the users on this forum would absolutely love another place to sell websites, the problem is there has probably been about 20 that have come through this forum over the years I have been on it and I personally have seen probably another 100 or more as well and still there is very limited choice in where to sell high end sites. The reason flippa became successful isn't because of the software or the site it was because they had a huge user database in the first place. So just making a better auction system won't guarantee you any success. I wish you luck and as a webmaster I do hope you become successful.

[Clinton]

Finally, if there is a place where your awesome website marketplace idea can be stolen (and rapidly implemented) that's here in EP.

Thanks for your vote of confidence in EP and the membership, but I believe you're wrong. There are already tons of good marketplace ideas in various discussions here - more than enough for at least a few dozen marketplaces. Where are those marketplaces?

Instead of new markets getting established, those ideas from here have been taken and used by Flippa. Many if not most of Flippa's best improvements over the last couple of years originated at EP - from associating user accounts to taking month-by-month earning stats. Well done to them for recognising and using the ideas.

When a competitor to Flippa emerges it won't be a site that succeeds because of the idea, it'll be one that succeeds because of the implementation.

bryanon has a good post on the worth of an idea.

This thread is now #2 on Google for Venforo. If the owner markets the new business properly we should drop out of ranking for that term. Here's hoping that happens sooner rather than later.

[TheodoreK]

I don't think our opinions are mutually exclusive, Clinton.

An awesome website marketplace idea can be stolen and implemented by already existing marketplaces too.

Besides, the person that could steal and implement the idea -for whatever reason- might not share your views about what a competitor to Flippa needs in order to succeed and will go on to create another clone of a Flippa clone.

[Clinton]

Venforo seems to now be up and running

But in terms of focus I think our pricing structure will minimize low value domain name listings and engender established web based businesses.

You weren't kidding!

All the best with your marketplace.

[Thomas]

It's nicely developed, but the pricing structure is rather absurd considering the fact it's not well established with buyers. I spend a lot of time on industry sites and the only news of Venforo I've seen is posting on LinkedIn (which I think I pointed out before it was launched). I'm hoping the owner has a better plan than that, as otherwise it's going to go the same was as Rouper et al. and crash and burn within a month.

[TrustButVerify]

4% comission? http://awesomescreenshot.com/04bjnxa23

Seems pretty steep.

As a side note, I always think it's funny how people occasionally try to pop into the EP forum and make a quasi-promotional post or try to make something out to be the next big thing and we just don't bite off on it. Lots of "old-timers" here. If you're any sort of website buyer, you end up with a highly tuned BS radar.

EP is not the place you're looking for <waves hand>.

Ahh... to be with my fellow skeptics.

[Clinton]

It's a shame jmb321 didn't spend more time building relationships here with the core audience, that strikes me as a lot more worthwhile than starting groups and answering questions in LinkedIn where 99.99% aren't interested! But he's always welcome back if he wants to give it a shot.

Ahh... to be with my fellow skeptics.

In this case, I wouldn't say it's scepticism but sheer weight of experience as we've seen numerous markets come and go with each founder thinking he had something unique. Some of those sites were created by insiders here who know the industry really well, expert marketers and others with many years of solid business experience behind them.

jmb321's content suggests he's got business experience behind him, but then I saw the pricing structure and immediately decided that he didn't really understand this business.