HN Explorer

For Sale: Dating Website...

3 points by mikecurry ↗ HN
Until recently, I was planning on marketing my website and making a go with it. However, I was recently laid off and unable to maintain the hosting cost of my site.

If you're interested in buying a fully functional dating website (that could easily be converted to also be a social site) then take a look here:

http://mikesandmegs.com

The name is not so hot, however, it could be changed, and the graphics revamped to make a completely hot site.

The sale would include the rights to the source code, the IP etc.

Serious inquiries only please: mikecurry74 (at) gmail (dot) com

12 comments

[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 28.5 ms ] thread
brk
Why don't you use the time off to really put some serious work into it? Are the hosting fees that excessive?
mikecurry
I suppose I could put more time into it, however, I think I am probably going to face the same problem I am facing now again in two months.

I think I need someone to redesign the site graphically- the code is perfect in my mind, but the design- well, I think its lacking.

Any advice welcome...

jonknee
Hosting a low-traffic site at 1and1.com is cost prohibitive? Should be running you a couple bucks a month if not a shared hosting account.
mikecurry
its on a dedicated server.
jonknee
Any reason why? By all looks it has almost no traffic (not a slam at all, just an estimation). Unless you have a lot of back end processing it could almost certainly be run easily off of a small VPS or even a shared hosting account.
mikecurry
I think I overestimated the success of a dating site. I should say, its the VPS III package from 1&1 which is running me $60.00 a month. Though it doesn't seem like much, when the bills are adding up, it does affect the bottom line.

I think I will sleep on it, and see how I feel tomorrow. Any advice would really help me right now.

aaroneous
If you're burnt out, over it, and just not going to put any more energy into it: go ahead and shop around for a buyer.

It doesn't hurt to get a gauge on what people would pay for your site, though I doubt you'll get a price that comes close to repaying you for the time already spent.

Otherwise, your site doesn't need a dedicated host at this stage. Get a shared host and reduce your hosting fees to $60/yr instead of per mo. Your adsense revenue should cover that easily.

In most situations being unemployed is a benefit for a low-burnrate startup with potential. Plus, a lot of employers love to see entrepreneurial experience.

Hope this rough spot passes swiftly, and good luck with whatever you decide to do.

turtle4
My advice would be to move to a hosting provider that can scale easily with the success of your site. I like linode. If your site isn't generating much traffic, $23 should cover your hosting expenses ($20 for a single node). As your traffic scales up, add additional nodes.

I'm not really willing to sign up on your site, and almost nothing is viewable without an account, so that's going to be it as far as advice I can offer. Good luck!

_pius
I'm sad to hear this ... I was/am rooting for you guys. What platform did you build on? Maybe we can recommend some low/no cost hosts that you can use to bootstrap yourself until you get more traffic.

Really, being unemployed is the worst time to throw away your startup.

mikecurry
Just unsure what to do. At this point, google ads is not a revenue stream ($23.00 over the last month).

Seems, that I jumped before I looked, there are thousands of dating sites, not any with the social feel mine has, however. I am facing dating 'chicken and egg problem', perhaps I should have tried to solve that one first.

You could say, that this is the perfect example of someone not doing research before they start a huge project.

mikecurry
Well, thanks for the advice, I decided on dropping the $60.00 monthly fee for the 1&1 package, and went down to the shared hosting pro which will cost about $5.00 a month. I just have to rewrite a few things (use postal codes instead of a giant geo database) and a few others that will actually help the application out.

If there is anyone out there who would like to put some sweat equity into the site for SEO, and Graphics/UI contact me at mikecurry74 (at) gmail (dot) com. There is so much that I am lacking in the graphical area and UI area that I don't know where to start.