I just wanted to update everyone on the status of the sale and / or auction (mainly because I’ve received a half dozen emails asking when it would happen).
As I mentioned earlier, the auction for the anonymous blog would be delayed if we had serious offers, or letters of intent. We’ve received several of both, including one tentative offer from a buyer who’s offered enough that (if accepted) the auction may not happen at all.
I realize everyone’s itching to find out what the blog is. Even if the entire sale process happens in private, people will find out what it is once the transition takes place. Obviously my biggest concern, in brokering this deal, is getting the best deal with the best price from the best buyer with the best terms.
There is still a chance that this could go to auction. After all, nothing’s done until the money is in the bank, the site is transfered and the new owner signs off. But right now it’s looking good for a private deal.
January 13th, 2006 at 12:45 pm
This is getting pretty lame now, Jeremy.
January 13th, 2006 at 12:46 pm
Sorry, but my biggest duty is to the seller and potential buyers. If things fall through, the public auction will likely happen on Monday. The plan all along was to extend the private time if there were serious offers, which is exactly what we’re doing.
Edit: Just a note that I AM sorry if you feel this is lame. I’m not just turning my back and giving you the finger, but a decision had to be made, and everyone feels it’s in the best interests of the current parties to go this route.
January 13th, 2006 at 5:10 pm
Jeremy,
I can understand the frustration some people have here – it’s not coming across very well. If the intention is to let people know what the blog is *after* the sale, then why not before too? I’ll be honest and say that I could very well be interested, and have more than enough cash at my disposal to follow through – but I’m not going to jump through hoops just to find out if it is going to be in the slightest bit of interest to me.
If I was the seller, I’d be a bit narked if I sold it for $xx,xxx only to discover later that other buyers could be out there willing to pay $xxx,xxx.
Don’t get me wrong, I understand the need for privacy etc – I just don’t get why you (or the seller) isn’t prepared to divulge the name at the point it would be expected. The way you are handling it reminds me of an old British gameshow called ‘Bullseye’, where the presenter would tease the losing contestants with ‘Here’s what you could’ve won!…’
January 13th, 2006 at 5:15 pm
LB: Good point.
However, I’m not hiding the name, we’re just not saying it publicly at this point. Everyone who has asked privately has received every detail on the blog (name, traffic history, income history).
The point of this isn’t to hide the blog, and thereby frustrate potential buyers. In fact, that’s the farthest thing from my mind. If you have suggestions on how to present it effectively to buyers while publicly maintaining the seller’s anonymity I’m all ears
It isn’t like anyone is expecting people to bid without knowing what the blog is, after all (I know that’s kind of the idea circulating on some sites, so I felt it was worth clarifying). No, before you bid you need all of the relevant information – which is what all potential buyers are being presented with.
If you are interested, feel free to drop me a line and I’ll send you all the info LB.
Again, my apologies if this is coming across the wrong way or is frustrating anyone.
January 13th, 2006 at 7:01 pm
LB: How is sending an email to Jeremy “jump[ing] through hoops”, exactly? Sounds like a perfectly good way to handle it to me.
January 13th, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Sounds to me like an honorable business system for dialoguing with potential new owners of a product with present value – potential owners may who have interests that may be affected by a widely cast net and the awareness raised.
To notify the many that there is a product of value available, this way. enables serious owners, who may have many private questions, to become aware through a public forum, but to express interest and process details in private.
It does not sound to me, like a clandestine attempt to heighten enthusiasm through secrecy.
I appreciate the way you’re doing it Jer.
January 13th, 2006 at 11:49 pm
how does one contact you? And what is the category of blog?
Pamela
January 14th, 2006 at 12:14 am
Pamela, you can either email me at jeremy@ensight.org or call me at 506 466 3855 (I’m EST+1).
Publicy, we aren’t disclosing the category, because that would give the blog away. However, I’d be more than happy to share the category and specifics of the blog privately.
January 14th, 2006 at 10:14 am
your a dickhead just tells us the name you idiot your acting like a bloody idiot your not god you know
January 14th, 2006 at 12:12 pm
“You’re not god you know”
Oh I know. My wife reminds me everyday
January 14th, 2006 at 5:55 pm
Good stuff Jeremy, don’t let the haters get you down. I can’t wait to find out what blog is being sold….. I have some predictions but I’ll wait until it’s unveiled
January 15th, 2006 at 1:55 am
Looking forward to a sale announcement. I think the way you’re handling this is in the best interests of your seller. You’re not hiding anything from anyone who knows how to use email and I suspect it won’t hurt your end result at all.
January 15th, 2006 at 2:04 pm
Of course you are handling it correctly. But, you know that!
January 15th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
Jeremy-
I have started some semi-qasi “networks”, and would like information as I have some investors considering some innovative new strategies.
Thanks.
January 18th, 2006 at 3:26 pm
“I think the way you’re handling this is in the best interests of your seller. You’re not hiding anything from anyone who knows how to use email and I suspect it won’t hurt your end result at all. ”
I don’t think this could be further from the truth. He’s causing the seller to miss out on the 2nd or 3rd order potential buyers who are not reading this blog but who it might filter to if more information was public. If you are selling something in good faith, there is no reason to have any “private” auction part to a potential auction process.
Any bid that seems like a bid that won’t be beat, will in fact, be beat in a public auction. I say this with certainty with the caveat that a public auction may reveal some undisclosed weakness to the blog that the private bidding is attempting to conceal.
January 18th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
Johnny, I have nothing but respect for your blog. However, since you have no evidence that the private auction was concealing anything, I’d appreciate it if you’d lay off that line of reasoning. After all, there was nothing stopping you from asking for information on the blog during the auction proces and you chose not to.
Whether or not a public auction would have garnered higher bids is debatable. It probably would have put more attention on the auction, but there’s nothing to say that the caliber of bidder would have been higher (it was already exceptional) or that those bidders would have put down higher bids.
It might have, but it’s far from a “fact”. There was always the intent of doing a public auction, largely because the private period was never designed to actually sell the blog. It was simply designed to give interested parties a few extra days of research. In the end, the offers that came in, and the quality of bidder, were high enough to close the sale privately.