Selling Hubpages Account? Is it allowed?

1. 89

   kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years ago

   After being here for a little over 2 years (i joined HubPages on August 2011), writing 100+ hubs on various topics, getting over 1.2 million views and making payout month after month; i thought about calling it a day and selling my hubpages account to someone else (may be another hubber).
   
   My question is: can i offer my hubpages account for sale? is it against hubpages' terms of service? Please advice me.

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   1. 85

      Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Personally, I'd recommend not selling your account.   Keep it and enjoy the passive income. 
      
      You don't need to be active here to make money.   You don't earn money from posting on the forums, or following other Hubbers, or commenting on other Hubs.  You can safely ignore your account, apart from approving comments on your own Hubs, and your Hubs will go on earning. 
      
      There is nothing to stop you transferring your account to someone else.  Whether you've gifted it to them or sold it is none of HubPages's business.

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      1. 89

         kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         @Marisa Wright, thank you for your helpful reply.

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   2. 60

      paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Looks like that account needs a lot of work. Plus, I'll have to go through each and every hub before putting my adsense account number on it. Also, anything with an Africa association is going to be a tough sell. If you want to get the thing out of your life and give it to me for free, simply email me your password (and the answers to the security questions so I can change it) via my fan mail button. You don't have to thank me; it's just the kind of guy I am.

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      1. 89

         kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Haha you're either insincere or living in a world of denial. Yeah am proud to be african and your opinion of "anything with an Africa association is going to be a tough sell" is nothing but racial prejudice from your side.
         
         Why do you think my account needs a lot of work? and by the way i have achieved the same number of views your account got (in 4 years) in 2 years.
         
         And why do you think i should pass over my account to you for free? Never!

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         1. 60

            paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Sorry, nothing racial. That particular area is positively famous for internet rip-offs, scams, spam, and other outright thievery. As such, many folks will simply run away when confronted with anything connected to Africa. You are right; the honest people in Africa suffer because of all the thieves and con artists who have ruined the area's reputation. Not my fault; it's just the way it is.
            
            On a more cheerful note, try eBay.

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            1. 89

               kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               Thieves and con artists are everywhere and not Africa alone as you claim.

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               1. 60

                  paradigmsearchposted 10 years agoin reply to this

                  Yep.
                  
                  And shoddy, cheap, inferior products are made everywhere, too; but China is the one stereotyped for that.
                  
                  And there are those that use capitalism in an unethical way everywhere in the world; but as far as Russia is concerned, the United States is the one that is famous for that.
                  
                  And so it goes...
                  
                  Btw, I was serious about eBay; I'd really check it out. Hang in there.

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   3. 32

      Writer Foxposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, you can sell it.  You might find a buyer on warriorforum.

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      1. 89

         kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Thank you, Writer Fox

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2. 93

   jansharesposted 10 years ago

   Interesting question. Good topics and titles. I see why you've done well. But why not continue to collect the passive income? I don't know the answer to your question but I don't see how someone would be able to legally assume your identity. I don't think you can switch over your identifying info (tax ID, etc) to someone else.

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   1. 89

      kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Thank you janshares. As for the passive income, i want to move on to other bigger projects and i know that won't be possible if i spend most of my time here. As for identity, i think it's a matter of removing them and replacing them with theirs.

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      1. 93

         jansharesposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I wish you abundant blessings in your new endeavors, kenya. Peace.

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            kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you.

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      2. 74

         Anna Marie Bowmanposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         Some people hardly spend any time on here and still earn money. They aren't active, but since the Hubs are still there, the money is still being earned. You could keep your account, keep earning money, and not have to spend time on here if you didn't want to. Maybe pop in once every couple months, just to check on things.

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         1. 89

            kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Thank you for your kind reply Anna but i still want to sell it if it's possible.

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3. 82

   psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

   So long as the account is transferred into a new real name and affiliate IDs upon purchase, I can't think of anything that would prevent it from being sold.

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   1. 89

      kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      I hope that is the case.

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4. 90

   Nell Roseposted 10 years ago

   Just jumping in here, what sort of price were you thinking of? I have read about this before ages ago, but I have no idea of what the price would be. No I am not interested as I have my own hubs, just interested, thanks.

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   1. 89

      kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Websites are sold like x10 of current revenue and i'm thinking of something like that. Traffic and income are not bad at the moment. Are you interested (or know someone who is interested)?

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      1. 85

         Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

         I would be very, very surprised if you get anything close to 5x current revenue.
         
         Think about it.  If you pay 10x current revenue for a website, it would take 10 years to make one cent of profit if it keeps earning at current rates.  So it's not worth paying that kind of money unless you think the site has huge potential to increase its income.   However even if you get it wrong, you can keep it running for as long as it takes.   Even if the hosting company closes down, you can move it to another host. 
         
         Compare that to HubPages.  You don't have any control over how long your account will last.  HubPages is a business, which could decide to close down tomorrow.  I don't think it's likely, but several other revenue-sharing sites have closed down in the last two years.  Personally I wouldn't be prepared to bet on the site still being around, in its current form, for five years! 
         
         It's true that you can keep a backup of all the Hubs - but if you have to move them, you lose all the benefit of your backlinks, and all the benefits of age, which have a big impact on search engine rankings.  The text of the Hubs is worth far less than the active account.

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         1. 89

            kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

            Interesting point there, Marisa. By x10 i mean i am gonna sell the account for say like $500 if it's making $50 a month income now. It would take the buyer  10 months to realize his initial investment of $500. The pay back time could be shorter if traffic to the hubs increases. It could as well be longer if traffic drops.
            
            As for Hubpages closing down business, it's likely but not something that could happen in the next 2 to 3 years.

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            1. 85

               Marisa Wrightposted 10 years agoin reply to this

               OK, ten months is achievable - but why sell it for 10 months' pay when you can earn the same amount in such a short time, and go on earning?
               
               To give you an example. A few years ago, I had a ballet site which I lost interest in.   I was offered $400 for it (which was about 10x monthly earnings at the time).   I declined.  I then ignored the site - I stopped making new posts, disabled comments, etc.  Income did gradually decline:  but the point is, I've since made about $2,000 from that site, and it's still making money, even though I'm neglecting it.
               
               My Hubs are similar:  In the last 4 years I've written a total of 10 Hubs. All I do with my Hubs is approve and respond to comments.  My Hubs are still making payout every month, by a long way.

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5. 82

   psycheskinnerposted 10 years ago

   Generally a price is based on x years of projected income.  Given the constant fluctuation and the fact we are on a bit of a peak now, probably less than five years.

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   1. 89

      kenyaentrepreneurposted 10 years agoin reply to this

      Yeah i agree with you.

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