How much do adult websites sell for?

[Marcus]

Im thinking of selling one of my gay sites. I was wondering how the value of it is calculated.
Its been earning money from 2009-today.
Does the evaluation only consider the past 12 months, or since back to 2009?

[ShoeBox]

How much does it make per month ,
How much traffic do you get per day etc..

[Colmike9]

General rule of thumb is around 8ish months worth of income from the site alone.

[Marcus]

Originally Posted by Colmike7

General rule of thumb is around 8ish months worth of income from the site alone.

thank you
is it that number alone. or is it that number x5 or something?

[free6xtube]

8ish is what? clear pleace if u want good evaluation...

[Colmike9]

Originally Posted by Marcus

thank you
is it that number alone. or is it that number x5 or something?

It would be about 1 month x8..

It can be higher or lower depending on the buyer if they are concerned about things like PR(not really anymore), traffic, quality of traffic, etc.

But actually finding a buyer is the hard part

[Marcus]

Im not actively looking to sell yet, just wanted an idea of how the valuation is calculated in case I do later.
Btw i'd never sell a good solid site for 8 months income, when it will make that back in 8 months, I'd just keep it.

[peterk]

it's funny when people want to sell their shit with a 2 to 3 year evaluation and their sales are decreasing each month.

[Vapid - BANNED FOR LIFE]

Not enough.

[alf6300]

It does not make to much sense to go for X months revenues. Other factors are crucial.
Does your stuff increase revenues 10% each month, with a consistent record? then you can command 20x easily, and it' would be dumb to sell for less.
Is your stuff on a declining path? firesale is the best you can get.

This is not true only for adult, it's true in every business at large.

[DamageX]

Adult sites sell for as much as you can get for them. It's a buyer's market right now, so many sites have gone to shit, in terms of revenue, that you'd be damn lucky to get anything near what you'd get 3-4 years ago.

[Kenny B!]

This is a very unique industry when it comes to buying and selling sites/programs.

As a seller you factor in past, current and potential future revenue, cost of content and uniqueness (value of exclusive vs non exclusive), branded domain names, affiliate base, promo content, ex-members email base, the list is long.

As a buyer you discount much of what's listed above and look at the last 6 months of traffic and revenue.

I don't know of any other industry where you can buy a business for 6 months to 2 years of net revenue.

[ZeroHero]

Originally Posted by Kenny B!

This is a very unique industry when it comes to buying and selling sites/programs.

As a seller you factor in past, current and potential future revenue, cost of content and uniqueness (value of exclusive vs non exclusive), branded domain names, affiliate base, promo content, ex-members email base, the list is long.

As a buyer you discount much of what's listed above and look at the last 6 months of traffic and revenue.

I don't know of any other industry where you can buy a business for 6 months to 2 years of net revenue.

Exactly

[wehateporn]

You also need to factor in how much maintenance the site requires; does it run itself or do you need to spend time on it?

[PR_Glen]

be lucky to get 6 months past revenue on a domain these days, if there's maintenance involved? probably would have to cut that in half.

[mrgica]

a years earnings from the site, something like that

[Kenny B!]

Maintenance should be accounted for when determining the net revenue.

Also any site with real value will have some maintenance, otherwise it's a dead site.

[Nicky]

6-12 months revenue unless Its something very special.

[DamageX]

Originally Posted by Nicky

6-12 months revenue unless Its something very special.

Are you in the market for buying a few bridges? ;)

[signupdamnit]

Originally Posted by Colmike7

General rule of thumb is around 8ish months worth of income from the site alone.

I think it's going to depend on the specifics. I might pay 8 months revenue for an established pay site still going strong. But I would be hesitant to even pay 3 months revenue for many affiliate sites relying on Google for most of their traffic and sponsors for their monetization.

[Paul Markham]

General rule is, they don't. If they do it's for what ever the buyers are willing to offer.

My advice, after doing nothing on our two paysites for 4 years and still making money from them, is to just let the money keep rolling in until it's less than the server cost. You really don't have to do anything if everything is already set up. Revenue will drop but slowly. Affiliates will still send traffic.

[Yanks_Todd]

Originally Posted by peterk

it's funny when people want to sell their shit with a 2 to 3 year evaluation and their sales are decreasing each month.

Not everybody's sales are decreasing.

[VenusBlogger]

NOBODY buys adult sites anymore or they want to buy it for pennies.

Last time I tried to sell a network with 30K daily GOOGLE UNIQUES and doing good money each month, and the fuckers just wanted to pay a TWO months revenue for it. WTF?

NO fucking WAY...

People are so cheap nowadays, nobody has a dimme to SPEND anymore and everyone want to recover what they spend just in 1 month.

Back in the day it was quite easy to sell a site, nowadays its impossible, unless you are desperate to sell and can LIQUIDATE it...

PIRIOD.

PS: CamBoss is a BROKEN CLUELESS LOSER.

PIRIOD AGAIN.

[xNetworx]

Originally Posted by VenusBlogger

NOBODY buys adult sites anymore or they want to buy it for pennies.

Last time I tried to sell a network with 30K daily GOOGLE UNIQUES and doing good money each month, and the fuckers just wanted to pay a TWO months revenue for it. WTF?

NO fucking WAY...

People are so cheap nowadays, nobody has a dimme to SPEND anymore and everyone want to recover what they spend just in 1 month.

Back in the day it was quite easy to sell a site, nowadays its impossible, unless you are desperate to sell and can LIQUIDATE it...

PIRIOD.

Don't listen to this idiot. ^^^

[VenusBlogger]

Originally Posted by PR_Glen

be lucky to get 6 months past revenue on a domain these days, if there's maintenance involved? probably would have to cut that in half.

THESE DAYS?...

I thought THESE DAYS were the best DAYS in ADULT EVER..

That's what all of you SAY in every single post... That we are in the best period ever in adult. WTF?

We all know the truth, there is no need to LIE to people.

Ask ROSS (the guy from scotland yard) why they closed Videos Board like 2 years ago, if we are in the best period ever.

PIRIOD.

[Yanks_Todd]

8-12 months of net revenue are what the aggregators are paying people that want a speedy exit or own a site that will essentially be assimilated and bled dry. I know of several deals where the sale price was 24 months gross.

That of course depends on if you are selling a quality product. Something with;

A strong brand, Good SE listings, good organic to affiliate traffic ratios, good membership numbers (retention and conversions), assets (exclusive content, email lists, etc.), a healthy growth rate, growth direction and room for more, etc.

Multiples are a hard way to value a company IMHO, especially in this business. I much prefer a pro-forma approach. Look at what the combined company will look like then price on the value the buyer gets.

If you have something of true value you will find a buyer willing to see their return around year 2 and sooner if they leverage economies of scale and have bought strategically.

So in short. Dying shitty run of the mill paysite. 6-8 months net. Well branded original quality site growing or sustaining site 24 months gross.

[GetSCORECash]

The content still has value and you have to consider the 2257 implications if a site hasn't maintained proper record keeping.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by GetSCORECash

The content still has value and you have to consider the 2257 implications if a site hasn't maintained proper record keeping.

I'm getting emails from people who didn't buy content from us and asking for documentation. When asked how they have it the reply is "I bought the site."

I just tell them to read the license for the content, which they haven't got, and to take our content off the site. Or buy a new license again.

VenusBlogger, welcome to my world. Most of these guys didn't want to spend much on the product you guys sell for years.

[OldJeff]

Always interested in buying sites, send me info, email below.

[SAMANTAmax]

depends how do you menage!more work on it,more monney

[Colmike9]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

I just tell them to read the license for the content, which they haven't got, and to take our content off the site. Or buy a new license again.

That's a dick move

[alf6300]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

I just tell them to read the license for the content, which they haven't got, and to take our content off the site. Or buy a new license again.

If the content had originally been licensed, and if you know it, and if all what is missing are some of the papers who may have gotten lost in the meanwhile - then you are not making any friends by making threats, I suspect.

If you told them: "Hey no prob, I know the content was legitimately licensed. I'll just send you another license straight away", you would probably earn more in terms of reputation and people would remember it next time they are buying more content.

[PR_Glen]

Originally Posted by VenusBlogger

THESE DAYS?...

I thought THESE DAYS were the best DAYS in ADULT EVER..

That's what all of you SAY in every single post... That we are in the best period ever in adult. WTF?

We all know the truth, there is no need to LIE to people.

Ask ROSS (the guy from scotland yard) why they closed Videos Board like 2 years ago, if we are in the best period ever.

PIRIOD.

what the fuck are you talking about? Just because you can't make sales anymore doesn't mean other people don't. Just because you overpaid for your domains and can't sell them without taking a loss doesn't mean everyone has.

[Colmike9]

Originally Posted by PR_Glen

what the fuck are you talking about? Just because you can't make sales anymore doesn't mean other people don't. Just because you overpaid for your domains and can't sell them without taking a loss doesn't mean everyone has.

Pretty much. The days of 'Build it and they will come' are gone but the money is still definitely there for those who know how to make it

[Ross]

Originally Posted by VenusBlogger

THESE DAYS?...

I thought THESE DAYS were the best DAYS in ADULT EVER..

That's what all of you SAY in every single post... That we are in the best period ever in adult. WTF?

We all know the truth, there is no need to LIE to people.

Ask ROSS (the guy from scotland yard) why they closed Videos Board like 2 years ago, if we are in the best period ever.

PIRIOD.

I didn't own Videosboard nor have I had any affiliation with that site for maybe 7 years now. I was only an Admin there.

[VenusBlogger]

Originally Posted by PR_Glen

what the fuck are you talking about? Just because you can't make sales anymore doesn't mean other people don't. Just because you overpaid for your domains and can't sell them without taking a loss doesn't mean everyone has.

You said "THESE DAYS", check your POST AGAIN you fucking IDIOT.

I just caught your move, asshole.

PIRIOD.

[Colmike9]

Originally Posted by VenusBlogger

You said "THESE DAYS", check your POST AGAIN you fucking IDIOT.

I just caught your move, asshole.

PIRIOD.

He was referring to being able to sell domains, not the adult industry.

Domains are going to be harder to sell unless it's a great 1-2 phrase or has great traffic and revenue or if the buyer has a specific reason to why he/she wants it. There are also a lot more options to make money online now than back in the 'golden days' with social networking and blogging where back in the day there were no free blog hosts or social networks and domains were expensive with much less TLDs. The closest thing would be to cycle Geocities spam accounts or something like that.

The other reason why people think the adult industry is dying is because there didn't used to be 100,000s of affiliates grinding away to make money. Beat the competition or evolve from your regular adult affiliate work and you will make money. It has nothing to do with people not buying anymore or free porn..

[PR_Glen]

Originally Posted by VenusBlogger

You said "THESE DAYS", check your POST AGAIN you fucking IDIOT.

I just caught your move, asshole.

PIRIOD.

check my post again paint chips... You'll clumsily discover I was talking about domains.

You don't treat this line of work as a business, you will lose money.

PIRIOD.

[MarkDeus]

Originally Posted by VenusBlogger

You said "THESE DAYS", check your POST AGAIN you fucking IDIOT.

I just caught your move, asshole.

PIRIOD.

Welcome to my ignore list.

[LokoWilli]

interesting..

[Lace]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

I'm getting emails from people who didn't buy content from us and asking for documentation. When asked how they have it the reply is "I bought the site."

I just tell them to read the license for the content, which they haven't got, and to take our content off the site. Or buy a new license again.

VenusBlogger, welcome to my world. Most of these guys didn't want to spend much on the product you guys sell for years.

You're such a dick. And who the fuck wants your shitty content anyway?

[bdld]

add some more money to the price if it's a good domain. some buyers don't care about the site/traffic and just want the domain to develop in the future.

[beks001]

Why is there always someone in a thread that has to ruin the whole damn thing with dick head comments or opinions?

For the OP...it's tough to say. Your best bet is to roughly decide how much time you put in and how much you are netting with your sites in total each month. If it makes sense to collect 3-6 months of revenue that is if you can get it now instead of holding them then sell. If it doesn't then maybe you should hold onto them. Just my opinion.

[amacontent]

Of course take into consideation some sites are worth different prices to different companies.

[Paul Markham]

Originally Posted by alf6300

If the content had originally been licensed, and if you know it, and if all what is missing are some of the papers who may have gotten lost in the meanwhile - then you are not making any friends by making threats, I suspect.

If you told them: "Hey no prob, I know the content was legitimately licensed. I'll just send you another license straight away", you would probably earn more in terms of reputation and people would remember it next time they are buying more content.

good point and all we do is write a new license for the new owner to sign and charge a small admin fee when we are contacted. It's the people who ignore the license we have problems with. They don't bother to stick to it and sell the content as their own, including it in the price of the site.

So the question is, should people ignore the rules?

[ColBigBalls]

Pay site?
Free site?
Niche?
Traffic?
Software?
Domain?
How long has it been up?
Recent income?
Long term income?

= Case by case.

[fuzebox]

Last 30 days income x 6.

I bought a brick and mortar business last year for 5 months revenue, lol.

[alf6300]

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

good point and all we do is write a new license for the new owner to sign and charge a small admin fee when we are contacted. It's the people who ignore the license we have problems with. They don't bother to stick to it and sell the content as their own, including it in the price of the site.

So the question is, should people ignore the rules?

Paul, I fear we are playing the same record over and over again.
I'll play mine once more, with the utmost respect but also a bit of puzzlement.

If you licensed your content to Mr.Brown, and Mr.Brown resells/relicenses it, he is a very bad guy if he is not authorized by you. You have all reasons to go after Mr. Brown.

But if you licensed your content to Brown Inc., and Brown Inc. sells shares to Mr.Pink, the legal status of Brown Inc. in respect to your licensed content, doesn't change. The licensee is still Brown Inc, and Mr.Pink just has some shares. Brown Inc. does not need to buy new Windows licenses, or renew any existing contract, just because Mr.Pink is now a shareholder.

This is how it works in any "normal" business. Your license contract is likely to follow the same rule. But in case you managed to insert any special clause there which says "every time Mr.Pink buys a share you need to re-licence", then 1) I doubt it is legal 2) in case it is, it is probably a bad business idea. It makes your content virtually unsellable to anyone who pays the due attention to what is written there.

Good luck anyways, I am meaning well and with no irony!

[lagcam]

Originally Posted by alf6300

If the content had originally been licensed, and if you know it, and if all what is missing are some of the papers who may have gotten lost in the meanwhile - then you are not making any friends by making threats, I suspect.

If you told them: "Hey no prob, I know the content was legitimately licensed. I'll just send you another license straight away", you would probably earn more in terms of reputation and people would remember it next time they are buying more content.

I think Paul is beyond caring about reputation or future goodwill. Paul is about the $ in hand today.....

Originally Posted by Paul Markham

good point and all we do is write a new license for the new owner to sign and charge a small admin fee when we are contacted. It's the people who ignore the license we have problems with. They don't bother to stick to it and sell the content as their own, including it in the price of the site.

So the question is, should people ignore the rules?

Most of the content you are selling was shot so long ago that the models are now grandmothers. They probably have the licenses but don't know it because the ink has evaporated !

[lagcam]

Oh and to the OP, the answer is that it is impossible to estimate what a site is worth without

[a] knowing the name of the site
[b] looking at traffic and revenue and how solid and sustainable each is
[c] knowing what other factors (reputation, niche, market share, etc) might make the site worth more to somebody.