Does the haystack.com domain come with it?
Sortfolio: Going once, going twice...
11–20 of 98 posts
Re: Sortfolio: Going once, going twice...
#12I'd be worried about the requirement to switch billing. I'm not sure there's a clean way to switch a customer from one billing system to another without requiring user intervention.
In general, recurring billing is a scam by its opt-out nature. If you aren't on top of your accounting, tiny charges slip by. When you spot them, you may be too lazy to immediately cancel it, so you forget.
It isn't enough to know how many users are billed, but how many users are active on the service and willing to jump through the hoops when they have to update their account.
Also, beyond the server requirements, consider the cost of a support infrastructure. It costs much less for 37signals to support one more project in their portfolio than for a new company to spin up a support team from scratch.
Re: Sortfolio: Going once, going twice...
#13I really wish I had that kind of money laying around, i'd would easily hand it over in a heartbeat. It would be such a shame for an almost auto-pilot business to be shutdown for no good reason other than its simply not worth it to 37Signals and while thats a perfectly legitimate reason, its so much potential lost for someone like me who would value it immensely.
Re: Sortfolio: Going once, going twice...
#14I believe this was a concern raised the first time they were trying to sell it, but a big worry for anyone considering purchasing Softfolio is probably what would happen when 37s no longer owns it. It's sort of like their job board ( http://jobs.37signals.com/ ). People like the job board because of the types of developers it attracts. Both companies and prospective employees value each others' skills and styles. If…
I think it would be useful to know how much traffic / new signups come from other 37s sites vs SEO or links from other sites. That won't give you the exact answer of "how can it fall once it's no longer a 37s product", but it's a start.
Re: Sortfolio: Going once, going twice...
#15You get the design, the branding, the code (it's a Rails app), the customers, and the steady cash flow.
You'll lose the branding, unless 37Signals decides that it'll keep linking and promoting it. Potential buyers and clients are coming from 37Signals; and that's why design firms are putting a high monthly fee on the product.
The design and code are by no measure worth $480K. The clients (and steady cash flow) will go with clients. Expect a cash flow crash by losing the branding, and also changing the payment system.
Re: Sortfolio: Going once, going twice...
#16We contacted 37signals when they originally announced their intention to sell Sortfolio. Having bought and sold sites before we asked for some pretty standard information about traffic, revenue, etc. These questions weren't answered and we did not pursue the matter further.
I'm not surprised the site wasn't sold; the "business" of buying and selling sites isn't exactly very "37signal"-y.
With a price now available it's much more transparent for everyone involved; I hope though that this time they are able to accommodate due diligence.
Re: Sortfolio: Going once, going twice...
#17Have you considered selling it directly to your user base?
How would that even work?
I'm making the assumption there is a dedicated group of users that wishes to see the site continue.
Financing can be done through a bank loan, private lenders, or escrow account. If it wasn't against some sort of investor protection idiocy (in the US), they could probably hold an auction for shares, turn it over to a board voted in by the share holders and then get on with the business of running the business.
Organization of the community I would imagine could work to something like how StackOverflow operates in it's community aspects.
Re: Sortfolio: Going once, going twice...
#18I'd be worried about the requirement to switch billing. I'm not sure there's a clean way to switch a customer from one billing system to another without requiring user intervention. In general, recurring billing is a scam by its opt-out nature. If you aren't on top of your accounting, tiny charges slip by. When you spot them, you may be too lazy to immediately cancel it, so you forget. It isn't enough to know how man…
I was auditing my finances last week and discovered in the last year I spent over $300 on a tenderapp.com subscription that I had forgotten about. I'm inclined to agree with you there, especially when the target sortfolio customers are businesses, $99/m is easy to forget about until you're asked to renew your details. I wonder if 37 Signals will publish information on how many of their $99/m paying customers (although at $99/m that's only about 200?) actually login and use the site every month, although maybe they'll disclose that to interested parties.
Re: Sortfolio: Going once, going twice...
#19I feel like this would be a good listing for latonas.com, Rick Latona has built a huge following of clients willing to spend in this range, http://latonas.com/
Re: Sortfolio: Going once, going twice...
#20I don't believe for a moment he will shut down $200,000 profit with little maintenance.
It's condescending to suggest "I want it to go to a nice home but I'll close it down if I don't get x." If you're willing to entertain such thought then you do not truly value the user.