37signals lists web designer directory Sortfolio on Flippa

This is one of the worst listings on Flippa. There's no information at all. No breakdown of traffic over time or by source. Nothing about how the transition to a new owner will be handled. No information about how billing is done and what information, if any, will be transferred to the new owner -- if everyone had to re-subscribe under new ownership most of that revenue is going to disappear. No information about the site architecture and what kind of resources are required to run it. No information about the customer service load generated.<p>It's like listing a house for sale with no photos, no description, and a fence around the property so you can't go check it out in person either. Just a lot number and a price tag. And we really are talking about the price of a house here...

Sortfolio without the 37signals brand is not the same asset.

Has 37s indicated how the billings will transfer? If by default, after the sale, users have to opt-in and provide their billing information again, there will be a substantial loss of customers, well beyond typical churn.<p>Additionally, if I were interested in purchasing Sortfolio, I'd want a clear picture of their customer acquisition practices. If most customers are being acquired through the 37s website and/or branding, you cannot count on continued revenue streams. If customers are being acquired by channels that don't rely on 37s, I'd be much more comfortable with it.

I must be missing something because I don't understand why they are so desperate to get rid of it. If it's really making $200,000+ per year just hire someone for 1/4 to 1/3 that to handle it.

I don't have 500K, are there any other good deals on Flippa? I'd love to buy an autopilot business for that rate of return.<p>Any advice? Has anyone bought a site on Flippa?

There's an article on the 37signals blog as well:<p><a href="http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3172-sortfolio-going-once-going-twice" rel="nofollow">http://37signals.com/svn/posts/3172-sortfolio-going-once-goi...</a>

A friend of mine with lots of experience angel investing and running profitable B2B companies told me he looked at Sortfolio last Fall and passed. He didn't go into detail, but he said they're asking too much.

I'd lease it. 50% split until the 480k is paid off, or the site dies.