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  1. #1

    IBforFree.com FOR SALE - Established Free Forum Site

    IBforFree - Established Free Forum Site
    Site Focus - The site provides free Invision Power Board forums in exchange for a banner ad spot at the top of the page.

    Website url: http://ibforfree.com
    Domains included: ibforfree.com
    Age of site: put into productive use 11/03
    Traffic: (obtained from Awstats and Webalizer)
    Month of February: 13,472 Uniques, 641,047 Page Views
    Daily in February: Average Daily ~1,000 Uniques, 15,500 Page Views
    Marketleap Link Popularity: 667

    Details:
    http://ibforfree.com/ibforfreestats1.jpg
    http://ibforfree.com/ibforfreestats2.jpg
    http://ibforfree.com/ibforfreestats3.jpg
    http://ibforfree.com/ibforfreestats4.jpg
    http://ibforfree.com/ibforfreestats5.jpg
    http://ibforfree.com/ibforfreelinkpop1.jpg

    Google PageRank: 5
    Alexa Rating: 104,945
    Total forums registered since start: 1612
    Design: Site design is totally custom (one of a kind), and includes a custom IB skin/template to match for the support forum. Includes a matching Flash splash page.
    Scripts included: SEB_Flipper Multiforum Pro license (bought), News rotation script, and Invision Power Board which runs the forums
    How is content obtained: Not a content site... the site content is the discussion in the forums... many with thousands of posts.
    Time to maintain: It takes nearly zero time to maintain the site, although someone fluent with Invisision Power Board could certainly exploit the site and do lots with it. Currently there is a support forum where the users help each other with problems. There is an FAQ that has some info to help people with initial problems.
    Space / Bandwidth: The site doesn't use a ton of bandwidth, but does use a lot of space. Each forum takes approximately 2MB of space. Many forums go unused, so the script easily prunes dead forums to help with space, but you need several GB of disk space to run this safely.
    Hosting Requirements: Runs fine on a Linux/Unix box, but requires a couple of changes to php.ini. Currently the hosting is being done in exchange for advertising. You can work out something with the current host, or move it if you like. This does require a little effort to move because of the size of the backup.
    Income: I am running Google Adsense ads at the moment, and since they are part of a larger account, I don't really know how much its generating. I bought this site to add with another and create a forum related network. That deal fell through, and I've never really done anything to promote the site. It is well established, and one of the most original free forum sites out there.
    Promotion: I have not done anything at all. The site gets about 10 new forums signed up on average each day just from word of mouth.
    Help: I will assist with the move to the new owner and answer any questions that I can, but the new owner needs to have some idea how to move a site, setup mysql databases, and make a change to php.ini.

    I am looking for offers above $2000.
    Mike Collins
    PDAPhoneHome - Get Converged! : NorthEastFoto - Take a Picture!

  2. #2
    No offense, but if someone was gonna pay $2k and above, they would want to know the exact income generated

  3. #3
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    4,549
    yup, I will give you $2000 today for it but only when actual income is disclosed, after all your selling a service that is free and reliant on advertising to generate income, without it its only worth the traffic.

    without clearly identified income streams I will give you $500 today.

    PM me with more details.

  4. #4
    I worked on the official IPB resource, you may recognise me.

    I would be very intrested. But $2000 is way to much as it is only ran from a £30 script, plus i have a design

    Thanks

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Dec 2003
    Location
    United Kingdom
    Posts
    1,389
    Can you give an estimate on the amount of bandwidth used (you said a small amount).

    Also, is it hosted on a dedicated or shared server? How much are you paying out, and how much is comming in, therefore how much revenue?

    Finally, what sort of load is it putting on the server?

  6. #6
    I'll buy it now $120

    Better then nothing

  7. #7
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    4,549
    Originally posted by Chris Reilly
    I'll buy it now $120

    Better then nothing
    I offered $500 today with no info on the income stream. So where did you get that figure of $120 as a counter offer?

  8. #8
    Easy guys....

    High offer so far is $500.

    Most of what was asked is listed above, but I'll replay it here for clarification.

    It is costing me nothing to host it right now, because it is running in exchange for advertising for the host. It uses a lot of space, and not a lot of bandwidth, at this point. Obviously with more forums created, that will change. The actual space that you would need for this is several GB. I am not precise on that point, because you can prune the inactive forums back as far as you like. Currently we prune any forum with zero posts after so many days, and any forum that is inactive for 30 days. That is configurable in the control panel. If you look at the stats links, one of them will show you the bandwidth usage from last month... I believe it was around 5GB (if you factor in the bots). This could easily run shared since it doesn't load the server a lot, but most shared plans will not give that amount of space, and allow you to modify php.ini... so I'd advice running it on your own server, but allong with other stuff. It creates a set of IBP tables for every forum, so that is why it uses up a lot of space. Presently I believe we are below 1GB after recent pruning. But you will always need effectively 3-4 times the space used, since you need to be able to do a backup... AND, you need growth space.

    It is true that you can buy the script and start your own site. Obviously if you intended to do that, then this wouldn't be for you. In this case, you are getting an established site.... the support forum and current growth have a value. If you started over, you'd not have that. Whether that is worth $2K is up to you. I wasn't looking for an appraisal here, so if you aren't interested in the site... then that's fine.

    I do not believe the revenue is significant from Google Adsense, and that is the only revenue stream I have exploited thus far. If you use Adsense, then you know that they don't give you detailed stats by site... so there is no way for me to determine that number. You'd do much better with paid ads, or an ad network. The ad networks I already use - Tribal Fusion and Valueclick - are not interested in the site because it is just forums. Other ad networks would be more favorable, but it takes time to connect with them. I would estimate the Google income at $50-100/month. You can assess whatever value you like on the free hosting. There are a number of forums on the site that have thousands of posts, and they would be candidates for a paid hosting plan if they convert.

    As I said up top, I bought the site for a project that fell through. It isn't really costing me anything to keep it. It requires near zero work to maintain. So, the comments of "better than nothing" with bids way below what I asked to start at are kind of ridiculous and a waste of everyone's time. Rather than fill the thread up with this stuff, please move on if you aren't interested in an offer.

    $500 is the high offer at this point. Thank you.
    Mike Collins
    PDAPhoneHome - Get Converged! : NorthEastFoto - Take a Picture!

  9. #9
    I'll go $650

  10. #10
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    4,549
    $800

  11. #11
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    4,549
    I agree with what your saying in the main utopia host.

    The revenue it could generate may be more but the traffic is more important to me, the way the scripting works in the site is very restrictive on the users, limited skins, mods, etc..... There is no individualism on there, that will limit revenue as well

    Thats not a criticism on you, just my oberservations initially on what I see.

  12. #12
    L Wisener,

    That is not actually true. Take a look at this forum and you will see that with a little work anything can be done...

    http://www.ibforfree.com/members/?mforum=SoA

    This one forum has a beautiful design and over 3,000 posts. This was totally done by the forum owner with zero participation from me.

    We used to include a lot of skins, but the space requirements were excessive... approximately 10MB per forum... if someone wanted to go back to that model, it would be very easy. We do include a number of languages, and a few skins to chose from. If you will notice, most of the forum owners just stick with the default.
    Mike Collins
    PDAPhoneHome - Get Converged! : NorthEastFoto - Take a Picture!

  13. #13
    The high bid by PM is $1000.

    I also have a bid of $1500 from someone that I haven't confirmed has the money, and several other creative non-cash offers.
    Mike Collins
    PDAPhoneHome - Get Converged! : NorthEastFoto - Take a Picture!

  14. #14
    Do you have a URL for this SEB_Flipper script so I can take a look at what powers this before considering?
    Dan Grossman - dan @ awio.com
    My Blog | Affiliate Program for Web Hosts

  15. #15
    SEBflipper is the site... don't ask me what that stands for... I don't think i want to know.

    The url to the script is http://www.sebflipper.com/?page=scripts_mfp
    Mike Collins
    PDAPhoneHome - Get Converged! : NorthEastFoto - Take a Picture!

  16. #16
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    4,549
    Originally posted by UtopiaHost
    The high bid by PM is $1000.

    I also have a bid of $1500 from someone that I haven't confirmed has the money, and several other creative non-cash offers.
    I am withdrawing at this point, I would go up to and higher than the $2k but not when personal messaging is being used and I cant actual see bids being made.

    If you dont get what your looking for come back to me and I will discuss with you further.

  17. #17
    L Wisenr,

    I prefer everything to be here in the thread, but I'm not sure how I can control people sending me PMs. All I can do is post what I receive here as quickly as possible. This was posted on 3 forums, but all the activity is primarily here at this point.... which is where I expect it to stay. I am trying to disclose everything as I receive it.

    The $1000 bid would be the front runner, and that was PM'd on this board. The other offer I posted because I received it, but it is not credible at this point... an offer without money behind it is of no value. I am looking to sell this to someone that I believe to be credible and capable of handling it. That would weigh heavily into my final decision. I would favor a bid from a more experienced and credible buyer.

    So, please reconsider withdrawing.
    Mike Collins
    PDAPhoneHome - Get Converged! : NorthEastFoto - Take a Picture!

  18. #18
    As an update... I would very much PREFER, that if you have a bid, you post it in the thread, rather than by PM. Obviously if you are proposing something other than a cash offer, this may not be possible.
    Mike Collins
    PDAPhoneHome - Get Converged! : NorthEastFoto - Take a Picture!

  19. #19
    Join Date
    May 2003
    Location
    Scotland
    Posts
    4,549
    I will keep an eye on the thread an keep an open view on its progress before I consider bidding any more

  20. #20
    Thanks...
    Mike Collins
    PDAPhoneHome - Get Converged! : NorthEastFoto - Take a Picture!

  21. #21
    When does the auction end?
    LNXPS - C# XPS Library

    The Sun Bingo -

  22. #22
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Houston
    Posts
    6
    My offer is 1100

  23. #23
    Where is it hosted?
    LNXPS - C# XPS Library

    The Sun Bingo -

  24. #24
    Thanks Argohost...

    I haven't set a specific time to end it. I will let it go a few days and see what happens.
    Mike Collins
    PDAPhoneHome - Get Converged! : NorthEastFoto - Take a Picture!

  25. #25
    It is being hosted at EDK Hosting at present. I know the owner and we worked out a deal in exchange for text ads on the site. So, my current hosting costs are zero. He is willing to work something out with a new owner. I would be happy to explain any further details with anyone that was to the point of needing details to reach a final decision.

    Originally posted by matrix28
    Where is it hosted?
    Mike Collins
    PDAPhoneHome - Get Converged! : NorthEastFoto - Take a Picture!

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