Trampolines.com sells at auction for $81,500 on Flippa, don’t miss this exclusive buyer interview!

Today we sit down with Christopher Tracy, who purchased the online business Trampolines.com at auction on Flippa in March for $81,500! In this article Christopher gives us the inside scoop on Trampolines.com, his plans for the site going forward, and his experience as an online entrepreneur. You don’t want to miss this one!

Tell us about your background as an online entrepreneur.

I think there’s a misconception that web entrepreneurs are always in small start-ups working in someone’s garage or basement. I’ve been actively involved with web ventures in one form or another since the “heydays” of 1999. I’ve been extremely fortunate to work at many great internet companies including America Online, Ancestry.com, NextCard.com, and most recently as CEO of One on One Marketing.

At these companies we were often looking to acquire other internet businesses and web properties. These experiences taught me how to evaluate websites, business models, and opportunities.

What brought you to Flippa?

I think Flippa is a the best platform if you’re interested in buying and selling online businesses and/or domain names. I don’t remember exactly how I first arrived at the site, but I think it’s a great resource, easy to use, and very informative.

Tell us about Trampolines.com, and why you ultimately decided to place a bid.

First off, if I had a quarter for each friend that said they had also considered buying this website, I think I’d have made my investment back already! The Trampolines.com URL is a great unique name in an industry that does not have many well-known brands. My kids teased me that for years that I would never own a trampoline. Several years ago we bought a house that had an in-ground trampoline and since then I’ve seen firsthand that it’s great product for the entire family!

It’s a gathering place for the kids, and it really provides a great workout. I truly believe that you should only invest in products and services that you believe in – so you can call me a trampoline convert! The prior owner of the website had other businesses and never had the chance to invest heavily into this business.

Ultimately, I bought this website because I believe in the products it sells and see an opportunity to invest and grow the business.

What have you done with the site since you bought it?

Well it’s only been a few week, but my business partner and I have been pretty busy. We migrated the site over to a premium ecommerce hosting site and completed the first phase of a web redesign. The prior site had issues with the shopping cart, and that’s a huge issue that’s been resolved. We were very careful to maintain the site content and link structures and so far, everything has held up well.

What are your plans for Trampolines.com moving forward?

There will be three main areas that we will be addressing over time. First, we will continue to invest in the actual site making sure we’ve nailed down the user experience and understand the core messaging for what our customers want and need. Secondly, we hope to expand the current product line. Lastly, with those two in place, we will invest in growing the traffic to the site.

Any due diligence tips for other web entrepreneurs looking to buy online businesses on Flippa?

First, I believe good investments come from disciplined decisions. The best way to do this is to have a framework in place to evaluate an opportunity well before you see it. This helps to remove the emotion from a decision. Web properties and online businesses have lots of data and buyers should always use that data (both quantitative and qualitative) as part of their investment decision. All that said, it’s rare that all the numbers will line up or even be available. In which case, an investor needs to also trust their instincts. Secondly, always evaluate the seller and their motives for selling. Reach out to the seller and have conversations about the business.

This is a really informative and important step in the process. Lastly, have conviction about why you are making your investment and your plans for the website. Use your due diligence period to affirm your investment thesis.