eBay Is SO Old-Web - Web 2.0 for Sale

Here's an idea that's so obvious I should probably kick myself for not thinking of it. Steve Poland, Founder/CEO of Vested Ventures as well as as a contributing writer for TechCrunch, has put edgeio Marketplaces (which we previously profiled) to a very meta use: replacing eBay as the place to go when you want to sell your Web 2.0 company.

Web 2.0 for Sale provides a more centralized location for selling domain names, code, any other related Web 2.0 products and/or services. Listings cost $10 for a 30-day run, and Web 2.0 for Sale provides an RSS feed to help advertise your sales. Want to get a piece of that pie? Sign up as an affiliate. Any listings you generate from your site will net you a $5 affiliate fee per listing.

At the present time, there is no discussion forum, but Poland has linked two blog posts on his Tequila Shots blog for users to discuss listings and any successful sales, as well as buying and selling tips for Web 2.0 for Sale users. Tips Poland suggests could be anything buyers or sellers should factor into their transaction: legal information, hosting costs, factors that should be considered when transferring a site or company (tech support, time to transfer, any consulting needed), etc.

Reading about Web 2.0 for Sale reminded me why I write about Web 2.0 companies rather than come up with ideas for them. Poland took two things we've all already seen (2.0 sites for sale at auction and the edgeio Marketplaces) and put them together for a great idea that seems much more appropriate for the sale of 2.0 sites and tech than using eBay does. This takes the products directly to the audience that would be most likely to want to buy them, and provides a way for people to know as soon as something goes up for sale, rather than relying on the word-of-mouth that's been typical of the eBay listings to date.