Buying Portals......

[PhilF (ex-WhichBingo)]

We are in the process of buying a couple of existing larger portals and a couple of small ones.

This is a process that we havent done previoulsy so I need a little advice.

On one of the deals the seller isn't passing on the affiliate accounts that go with the site arguing that the residual revenue that will come from those accounts is his, as they found the players and therefore are part of what has gone before.

On the other much smaller sites, he is passing on the accounts, but they are so small as to be insignificant.

We sell ad space on our sites, and are not affiliates. However the residual revenue of the existing accounts would be welcome (of course).

What is the norm for buying/selling a portal? Do the affiliate accounts go with?

[Webzcas]

Obviously if the existing player base is not being transferred with the portal upon completion of the sale, then that has a massive impact on the potential price of the portal.

I would ensure you perform your due diligence regardless, especially if it is a larger portal. This would include, detailed traffic logs, including demographic breakdowns. At least a years worth of affiliate revenue income, whether it be by media buy, rev share deal or cpa.

You also have to remember that for affiliate accounts to be sold with a portal, you will require agreement with the relevant affiliate programs beforehand. Get this in writing, as you will find the TOS each affiliate agrees to, prohibits the transfer of players and accounts to another person/company.

However if it is a half decent portal, which brings in a fair number of players each and every month, the majority if not all the decent affiliate programs will agree to the transfer of accounts, upon completion of the sale of the portal.

Having not sold a portal before, you may also want to get advice off some of the members here that have bought and/or sold fairly good revenue sites.

[Tinhorn]

Square Play, Inc, is making FootballPot.com (plus several other domains) available for sale. This includes all associated assets including:

• affiliate relationships
• Web hosting account
• proprietary online software applications and support (help) functions
• email database
• all administrative user names and passwords

This unique well-developed online game produces over 500 hits each time a game is completed. This game's functions could easily be modified to provide an attractive feature to draw new users.

Sacrifice pricing availabel now to the right buyer.

[LiveCasinoPartners]

What is the norm for buying/selling a portal? Do the affiliate accounts go with?

I have never bought a portal, but I have thought about it a lot. I've seen supposed "deals" that appear to be once-in-a-life-time come and go. Out of all the ones I've seen, the only viable ones were from webmasters here on GPWA and elsewhere.

Check with the affiliate program to see if they will even let you pass the players to your account. Some will not allow it, other might.

Personally, I think there are so many potentially misleading information that can cause you to not get the anticipated return.

Good luck, and be very careful.

[AK]

We are in the process of buying a couple of existing larger portals and a couple of small ones.

This is a process that we havent done previoulsy so I need a little advice.

On one of the deals the seller isn't passing on the affiliate accounts that go with the site arguing that the residual revenue that will come from those accounts is his, as they found the players and therefore are part of what has gone before.

On the other much smaller sites, he is passing on the accounts, but they are so small as to be insignificant.

We sell ad space on our sites, and are not affiliates. However the residual revenue of the existing accounts would be welcome (of course).

What is the norm for buying/selling a portal? Do the affiliate accounts go with?

Depends on market and product. Do Yourself a huge favor and make sure a legal contract is signed.

[Doolally]

Whether existing players go with the site or not is just a matter of what both parties want included in the sale. There isn't a hard and fast rule.

Some sites are sold with, some without. So long as the price reflects a decent deal for all then it's a matter or preference but if you can't get value without the accounts then you shouldn't proceed unless the price is lowered.