Lost Site: Selling at a loss [1 Week Auction]

Site: http://www.LostDiscussion.com

So, I bought this site about 14 months ago and was the first site that I had ever purchased. I have found that this site is a little too hard for me to run... mainly because I haven't watched lost at all. It was a good learning experience and other sites that I run (devoted to subjects that I know well) are doing extremely well and are making good money.

I think it is time for me to either catch up on Lost and really add some good content or allow someone else the opertunity to take this site to the next level. I will let this run for exactly one week at which time the highest bidder will take it provided my small reserve has been met. The reserve is only to make sure that the site isn't given away.

The site is comprised on all HTML pages with the exception of the PHP/MySQL based forum. The vBulletin license WILL be included which is a $160 value. All the forum members are legit and non-paid posters. Forum registration is hacked to prevent spam bots which has worked very well.

Details:
Members- 3,402
Threads- 4,023
Posts- 65,131

Pr - 4

Traffic:
Right now there isn't a ton of traffic. Lost starts up again in just a few weeks so with an email to all the members along with search engine traffic the site will be busy again. Its up to the new owner to provide content for them.



Referers:


Revenue:
So this is where I have learned the most about running a website. As you can see the ad placement is terrible on the site which is probably the main reason that this sites hasn't made much money. The previous owner had the site making about $75 per month which I was able to do at first but this year has not been very good since I have neglected it.

I had to close my old adsense account in May so that I could open a new one in my businesses name so I can only show May 07 - Dec 07 which when Lost wasn't running.



I think thats about it. Feel free to ask any questions or submit offers VIA PM. The BIN will be exactly what I paid for it - $1150. Again, I have a reserve in my head which will not be disclosed unless it is reached in bidding.

Lets start at $250 and have bids increase by $25.

Good luck to all,

-JRW

 

Everyone that PM'ed me should have a reply.

I have a bid for $250 ... so next bid must be $275 or higher.

Thanks,

-JRW

 

275 here...

 

Happy New Year everyone.... do I hear $300?

-JRW

 

I will bid $300. Just don't tell my wife.

 

I will go 325...

 

Ok, we are up to $325. The reserve has not been met, but we are getting there.

Keep the bids coming!

-JRW

 

$350 from me.

 

Ok, we are now at $350, do I hear $375 or $400? Remember, BIN is at $1150 which is exactly what I paid for this site over a year ago. Since then it has had a good deal of work done to it along with tons of new members and posts.

LOST starts up in a month and the new owner will have a community ready to thrive and prosper!

-JRW

 

What time/day will you be closing this auction?

 

The auction will run for one week from when it started .... so it will end on January 6th, 2008 at whatever time is listed on the first post which will vary depending on each users time zone settings.

A BIN bid will end the auction right away.

If the reserve is not met at the end of the week, I could just sell to the highest bidder, keep it going longer, or just keep it and get ready for the new season of LOST.

Payment can be made by certified check (which must clear before any transfer starts), Paypal (which also must clear), or Escrow (buyer will have to pay the fees).

Buyer will be responsible for moving the site to their own host... or take over the hosting account and leave things AS-IS. The domain can be transfered to the registrar of the buyers choice.

I don't have any feedback on this site as this is the first site that I have sold, but you can find me on ebay under the id JRW-910 where I have +121 feedback with over $40k USD in sales. If you are still nervous about a transaction with me, escrow is the way to go!

Good luck to everyone.

Thanks,

-JRW

 

Lets get this back up!

-JRW

 

I'll offer a little more than my previous bid, but there are a few things I am confused about. You say you neglected the site in the original post, now you say you have done a lot of work on it. Which is it?

Also, The shelf life for LOST is probably 2 years, right? I don't think the show will go longer than the original plan of 2 yrs.

I understand you paid $1100+ for the site, but your not making the $75 that the original owner was. Let's say your making $50/mo, thats great, but I would like to see some daily stats as we sit through the auction.

As I have told you, Im looking to buy a LOST site as a gift for a friend that really likes the show but I would like to see some consistency in the information provided. Thanks!

My Bid: $375

 

Let me clarify: When I first bought it, I did quite a bit of work on it. It was my only site and I was very excited to have it grow. A few months later I came into some larger sites on topics that I am more familiar with so I spent all of my time on those. Nothing major has been done on the LOST site since about Febraury or March.

Like anyone else, I can't really say how long LOST will go on for but I can't see them ending a show thats so popular around the world. The site has a decent size member base that watches a variety of shows that Im sure would move on to a new site if the owner decided to change topics in teh case that LOST ends.... but thats at least a year or two .... or more away.

Honestly, I'd like to see the site go to someone that knows the show well and can have the site thrive again. I'm simply trying to recoup as much money as I can.

Keep in mind, I'm including the vBulletin license which is owned and worth $160 alone. If the new owner would like, I can update the vB software to whatever version they would like before the sale.

Thanks,

-JRW

 

Back up!

-JRW

 

can I ask what the reserve is on this? or at least know if it has it been reached yet?

 

Of course I will post when its been reached. Its in the ballpark of about half what I paid for the site originally.

-JRW

 

Ok, can you do the transfer to my host for an additional charge? If so how much?

If I was to win of course

 

As much as its a pain in the ass to do... its not that hard and I can/will help you. Price would depend on time it takes... and maybe what the site went for

We can talk when/if you win the site.

-JRW

 

why do you get a 404 error when you click on 'lost news'