Sell my website?
Today I was presented with a most unusual offer, would I be interested in selling my website?
Yes, the very site you’re reading right now, paulmaden.com.
Ordinarily mail like this gets sent directly to my junk folder, but this one really caught my interest. Not because it pulled any clever tricks to avoid being labelled as spam, far from it, it was well constructed. No, it was because by whatever means someone had determined that my site has value!
OK, so let’s look at what my site contains…
- First we have this blog, with circa 40 posts, moderated by a control freak (yours truly) to remove pretty much all user comments.
- Then there is my site directory, a simple list of links to my current and archive projects.
- Next up is my Amiga MODs Jukebox, a customised installation of a well known flash music player called 8bitboy.
- Finally there is my free web development tools site, a small collection of my own tools written to test various PHP and JavaScript programming concepts that my day job does not allow me time to explore.
Now, why would someone want to buy that?
Maybe the tools have value, sure, but they’re just that, tools. The real value lies in the engineer that develops the machinery, or the skilled operator that knows in what order to pull the levers that makes the whole thing tick.
The rest of it, nuh-uh, there’s little of value here, save for one tiny teeny thing…
It’s my name, my bloody name! You can’t buy my name off me! People will search for me and find you! (Hmm, not a bad idea!) My email will become your email, my contacts in the underworld will become yours!
So, to conclude my thoughts on this mail, it’s short, and sweet, “No sale!”
Original Proposition Follows…
The reason I am contacting you is my interest in buying your website - paulmaden.com . If you are interested, could you please give me your phone number, so I can call you, or just write me back.
I have cash to buy today!Thank you and looking forward to hearing from you
I’ll double any offer up to 2p!
Does your soul come with the deal. I’ll give you £2.50 if that’s the case
I wonder, was the persons name maybe also paul maden? That would explain the motive.
Nope, the email was from a Dorcas Mcelroy, originating from a French domain. I’m pretty sure there isn’t a single Paul Maden in France, there are only 10 in the UK.