Topic: How do you calculate the value of a forum for sale?

[ChalkCat]

Not my forum, of course, but I have been asked by a friend to seek advice.

If someone is looking to buy or sell a forum, what is the correct or best way to calculate its value?  Assume a paid forum software with domain and hosting, which displays some banner ads.  Is there some kind of formula to use?

How do you then factor in the size and activity of the membership, reputation, etc.?

Thank you 

[nightbre]

I use this for a general idea but specific forums can be worth more or less depending on what its niche is.

www.urlappraisal.net

[ChalkCat]

Thanks for the reply   That website doesn't seem to be very accurate - it estimated my blog with its average 20 visitors a day at only $300 less than my friend's blog which averages 2,000 visitors a day. That can't be right....

Using my own common sense, I have added the price of the forum software licence to one year's worth of hosting and doubled it.  I haven't taken into account the advertising banners because I don't believe there's any revenue from them in this case - nor do I believe the existing member base is worth anything commercially. My approach makes perfect sense to me but I would like to know whether my approach and my estimate have any substance in the real world

[ARG]

Online domain estimators are more or less useless. Not one of them are accurate and Your forums value depends solely on the domain name and the traffic and/or members that you currently have, and valuable only to a very small market. Unless you have an extremely active forum, your domain name is all that you have to work with. Most of the time buyers will be more interested in the domain rather than the site itself.
Some potential buyers will be more interested if the domain is being used for a website and, you already have current advertisers.
In short, it really comes down to a straight forward domain name, traffic and current adverts. If advertisers are willing to stay on board with the new owners then you may be able to cash in fairly well. If no advertisers, you must have a decent, well desired domain to get a good offer.

I buy-sell-trade more than 30 domains per month. If you are willing to post the domain, I may make an offer myself. 

[ChalkCat]

Thanks ARG, you clearly know what you're talking about!  I knew my estimate was generous and it was deliberately so, but now I'm rethinking it to a fraction of that.  If all the value is on the domain name, then a domain name that was chosen to deliberately mimic a more successful website really can't be worth all that much, can it?

[ARG]

If all the value is on the domain name, then a domain name that was chosen to deliberately mimic a more successful website really can't be worth all that much, can it?

In most cases no. A domain deliberately meant to mimic a more successful website usually will not fair well but it really depends on the site. I am sure there are some that have been successful in doing so but personally I wouldn't spend my hard earned money in an attempt.

PM sent. 

[nend]

According to that tool I can cash in all my sites with domains and end up with a big lump sum. My domains are old though, been around for a long time already. I have quite a bit of old ones, I don't really maintain the sites that they host though, they are just there and information the same as it was years and years ago, lol.

[nightbre]

According to that tool I can cash in all my sites with domains and end up with a big lump sum. My domains are old though, been around for a long time already. I have quite a bit of old ones, I don't really maintain the sites that they host though, they are just there and information the same as it was years and years ago, lol.

The idea was to check the stats and the url not an absolute price for any given site. No url checker will ever give a true and accurate price for any site whatsoever but can provide some information towards making a decision when trying to sell a site or url on. 

The url itself can be the reason you may make a good sale or thesite content ignoring the url. The type of site and its niche will determine its overall popularity and also its worth when it comes to a sale. I know the guy who created gocompare and he sold for millions but if another person had called a site that and made a forum or blog it may have been worthless so depending on what you offer then it will make a difference to your sale.

Advertising revenue and backlinks ect will fluctuate the price of a site considerably and can create a good stream if you buy up neglected but niche or interesting sites to clean and sell on so even low ranked sites in some situations will be bought still for a quick turnover.

There is no absolute formula for selling a site. You need all the traffic and revenue info plus users ect and also if the site is a type that could be monetised in some way if it isnt already. Most serious buyers are looking to make money not run them for the sake of it like some of us here for gaming or a club ect and dont rely on a revenue stream to make a profit from the users.

I would look for sites sold along the same line as your own and extrapolate a price from that. You could post the url here and some of the users who do buy sites regular may give you a better idea but unless you can provide greater detail its all ifs and buts and no real conclusive estimate.

Sorry my first answer wasnt a lot of detail but obviously dont take url appraisers as gospel just use them for general info as I did say to begin.

[nend]

According to that tool I can cash in all my sites with domains and end up with a big lump sum. My domains are old though, been around for a long time already. I have quite a bit of old ones, I don't really maintain the sites that they host though, they are just there and information the same as it was years and years ago, lol.

The idea was to check the stats and the url not an absolute price for any given site. No url checker will ever give a true and accurate price for any site whatsoever but can provide some information towards making a decision when trying to sell a site or url on. 

The url itself can be the reason you may make a good sale or thesite content ignoring the url. The type of site and its niche will determine its overall popularity and also its worth when it comes to a sale. I know the guy who created gocompare and he sold for millions but if another person had called a site that and made a forum or blog it may have been worthless so depending on what you offer then it will make a difference to your sale.

Advertising revenue and backlinks ect will fluctuate the price of a site considerably and can create a good stream if you buy up neglected but niche or interesting sites to clean and sell on so even low ranked sites in some situations will be bought still for a quick turnover.

There is no absolute formula for selling a site. You need all the traffic and revenue info plus users ect and also if the site is a type that could be monetised in some way if it isnt already. Most serious buyers are looking to make money not run them for the sake of it like some of us here for gaming or a club ect and dont rely on a revenue stream to make a profit from the users.

I would look for sites sold along the same line as your own and extrapolate a price from that. You could post the url here and some of the users who do buy sites regular may give you a better idea but unless you can provide greater detail its all ifs and buts and no real conclusive estimate.

Sorry my first answer wasnt a lot of detail but obviously dont take url appraisers as gospel just use them for general info as I did say to begin.

I know 

I don't want to sell anything, hopefully ever. 

[nightbre]

I don't want to sell anything, hopefully ever. 

You never know, you may have the million dollar idea one day. 

[ApplianceJunk]

Every site owner and buy is going to value each site differently. There are just to many variables.

For me 5x the income my site generated for me last year is the minimum I would consider taking for my site.

[CASMAN]

Every site owner and buy is going to value each site differently. There are just to many variables.

For me 5x the income my site generated for me last year is the minimum I would consider taking for my site.

Variables ??
I count website income at 0 no matter how big. 
I think most would agree that the countless hours spent will never be paid for .  Volunteer staff like mods and admins are usually free with more hours. I would also go as far as to say that here on this forum there has been more than a Billion dollars worth of Free Help.
Consider the hours and the fact that the helpers are teaching computer software in reality.
I suppose there could come a time where in a forum is in the greeen. But unless you fire all the people it goes red just as quick as well anyway.
Open to comment good or otherwise.

[ApplianceJunk]

I count website income at 0 no matter how big.

 

I count income the same as the government does.

[ARG]

Variables ??
I count website income at 0 no matter how big. 
I think most would agree that the countless hours spent will never be paid for .  Volunteer staff like mods and admins are usually free with more hours. I would also go as far as to say that here on this forum there has been more than a Billion dollars worth of Free Help.
Consider the hours and the fact that the helpers are teaching computer software in reality.
I suppose there could come a time where in a forum is in the greeen. But unless you fire all the people it goes red just as quick as well anyway.
Open to comment good or otherwise.

I disagree. I had a gaming site that brought in more than $2,000 per month in advertising for more than three years. It sold for $11,000.

Investment:
Domain name: $30 (@ $10 per year)
Hosting: $252 @ $6.99 per month for 36 months
Design: Approx 12 hours @ $0.00

Gain:
Advertising profit: $72,000 @ $2,000 per month for 36 months
Sale of domain and SMF based website: $11,000

Total Investment = $282
Total profit = $82,918 over three years.

Another example is a non-SMF local community forum website that I created. I put about 100 hours into setup and design. It sold for $9,000 and is now one of Michigan's most popular community information websites. www.mlive.com

Investment:
100 hours @ $90 per hour

Total profit: $9,000

There can be a nice profit in a basic forum site if one plays their cards right. 

[mrintech]

Don't use Online Services for calculating the resale value of your forum. These services use following metrics:

1. Alexa Rank
2. Google PR
3. Compete Rank
4. Number of Pages indexed by SE
5. more....

Alexa and Compete data are always wrong, so you will not get any correct estimation of traffic and resale value using these services.

Try bidding on popular sites and you will get an idea.