If you are a WordPress enthusiast and have been following the latest news, you will know that Small Potato (Wpdesigner.com) recently sold his blog for $65,000 to some Polish guy called Pawel Ciszewski. It is really amazing that the blog was sold for that much money even when it was not earning any substantial revenue. But anyway, I feel that SP (Small Potato) has made a wrong choice by selecting someone who is not related to the WordPress field and the blog is in jeopardy now. I guess SP was in a hurry to pack his bags for his tours.
There has been no news posted since March 28, 2008 on the blog which is making the blog readers impatient and many have already unsubscribed from the blog. Pawel who is the new owner, promised the blog readers that he is hunting for theme designers and other staff who will run the blog. But its very ironical that there has been no update after that point. According to some readers’ research, Pawel Ciszewski runs some online casino sites. So, this really shows how much he will care about the reputed blog which was taken to a high level by SP. But SP, shame on you… your baby is dying out there and no one really cares.
If you read the history of Blog Oh! Blog, you will know that I purchased this blog from Bob (the previous owner) for $10,000 and have managed to take the blog to the next level. I do not have any shame admitting the fact that I bought this blog for earning money but hey, I never ceased to make good themes or write useful stuff for the readers (which is clearly appreciated by the community). Blog Oh! Blog is very close to my heart and if I ever sell (not likely though), I will not let it go into the hands of any Tom, Dick or Harry..I promise that much to you all 🙂
Let me know what you think…
32 replies on “WPdesigner.com going down the Drain?”
Thanks for this blog and keep sharing related to WP.
.Whatever you have done its good.
Keep sharing the valuable stuff related to WP,
Many Thanks!!
Actually for the record, wpdesigner and all the great content is there free for all to enjoy. People like your self and can enjoy it for Free. I ask for nothing just like small potato.
Small potato sells for $65k to me and he was super lucky. Nobody would of gave him more than 20k for that site.
Sure you guys love him and his work and tutorials but use him for your own selfish desires of knowledge. Give him nothing in return. Would you of payed for this knowlege? The answer, hell no!
He put his life and soul into that site and got nothin back but hate from his fans because he wanted to actually make some money from it by selling. The guy had personal issues and problems and had to sell. But all you guys care about is how the site doesn’t give YOU any more value.
Me, I’m a frickin’ marketing guru. I can make money where others can’t, I’ve done this over and over and over again. The site is a gold mine for me, I do nothing with it and clear $15k a month. This site will make me probably about 500,000 over its life time and I invested 65K.
pawel cisewski what an idiot.. how can someone weaste 70 k.. and kill a site… plain stupid
he was so lazy that he didnt write a single post in 1 year… diot..
i wnt to kick this guy for being so stupid… i just wonder how someone that stupid can have so much money to waste… incredible..
He probably bought it because he didn’t know what else to do with the money and he wanted to screw with you guys. LOL @ Pawel spending 65k like it was 10 bucks.
Just checked the site after recieving a cancellation email from Pawel for my WP Themes Club.
Looks like he’s crawled out from under his rock, and hes finally doing something with the site, whether it be good or bad.
There is a notice on there saying, ‘Discontinued’, so perhaps someone has started legal action?
Wpdesigner sucks for sure!
I purchased a login at the theme club but after days my account is still not activated and cannot download the themes. Scammer!
Is there somebody who downloaded it from the member section. If so please help me out. I can proof payment. I tried everything to contact the guy (whois, linkedin, email, forum) but he doesn’t respond any more……
Any help?
Rwin2007 on dp
It’s amazing that SP was able to sell his site for that price, and good for him. But like any “small business” purchases, whether Paul can keep the site at the same caliber or level and garner the same fan base is up to Paul.
I believe that in the case of blogs and small businesses in general, there is more to “good will” value based on the owner (and therefore considered intangible or non-book value) than the blog owners care to admit, because this eats into their ability to demand higher prices from the prospective new owners.
That said, I think Jai you’re doing an excellent job and you’ve brought many new offerings to the table.
True, WPdesign sucks .. I’ve given up..
Hi,
Investing on an already made blog is something to be made with great consideration. As in any investment.
One must have the capability to inovate through great articles and campaigns.
The competition is getting tougher all the time and I hope that quality will be the winner.
Kind regards,
José
Hi Jai. I’m not going to criticize SP for selling his blog. That’s his business. But it is indeed a shame to see what has become of it. I paid a visit today. Spam is starting to fill the comments. It’s starting to leak into the forum. The place looks like a graveyard.
As for you and BlogOhBlog I can’t make any comparison since I never visited when Bob had it but I do like the way you are running the show. You’re doing a great job here.
@Andy : Hey Andy, thanks for the nice comments 🙂
And how long is Powel going to stick with the site?
He is all into gambling business, everyone knows that. And he aint here to SERVE the community in any way. His main focus would be to raise the cost of this site, one way or the other and then sell it when he finds the right buyer and make a good profit, may be within 6 months or at the most an year. Take my word on this. He will also try to get the traffic to his casino sites 😉
Just my opinion.
Andy.
Although I haven’t been into wordpress for too long like some of you guys here, but one thing for sure, when Bob handed over BlogOhBlog to Jai, he made sure that he got the BEST man in this industry to handle the site. Its always nice to visit BlogOhBlog to see all the good wok Jai is doing to help the wordpress community. I wish I could be even 50% as good as he is lol. But I’m a programming noob.
I’m least bothered about WPDesigner.com as I get whatever I need, right here.
Thanks Jai, you rock man!
Small Potato won’t care so much as long as he get the money.
I don’t think you even bothered to read SP’s entire sales post on sitepoint. First of all it is making a profit, about 890 bucks a month says SP. So, let’s round that up to 900. Now, 900×12 months = 10,800. So, in order for Pawel to pay off his 66,000 dollar investment, it will take roughly just under 6.2 years. That means that after 6 years it is all profit.
However, this is only based on 900/m income for a service that has literally just begun 3 months ago. It isn’t nearly as robust as it can and will be. This means that when the new owner finally gets the gears in motion and has a team working on the themes with regular monthly release, potentially numerous more members will join, thus greatly increasing the monthly income, which of course means he will be able to pay off the 66,000 dollars in probably half the time. So lets just say in about 3 years time, he will be making all profit!! That is indeed a wise investment.
So, why you go on about this being such a bad thing, I don’t know. everyone will win. SP made 66,000 bucks in only 2 years!! Pawel will soon be running a great and profitable website, and us users will be able to access what will most likely be a much improved themes club. oh, and as for the 3 weeks of no updates, give the guy some time. he can’t just pull it all out of his ass the moment he owns the site.
Yep i agree with u that wpdesigner sucks!
I was waiting for someone to post this topic
Got a kick out of the picture at the top… “Take the money and run!”
SP may have made a wise move since he was packing his bags and heading off to see the world, however, he should have had deeper consideration for his subscriber base and regular visitors.
If he comes back on the scene later this could negatively affect his credibility. Well see… hope not.
As for you Jai, good job—keep it up.
I’m actually confused why Small Potato was sold his blog. Wpdesigner.com was interesting blog for me. But don’t know for future yet. Is that all about the money ?
Jai, u have done an excellence job..more than my expectation…keep it up..
Last time when BOB was mentioning to sell his blog i feel very unfortunate coz late to know him. Furthermore, i am very skeptical with the new owner whether he or she shall manage as well as what BOB did..It was the same feeling happen to wpdesigner.com. I just start to learn the basic of the wp codex and register for the theme club, out of sudden SP mention want to sell his blog, again what the hell had happen to my faith…but i still cool and patient..when i know sp was selling the blog some 65k,i thought the guy should got the potential as sp had delivered before, but it is really upset me…til today none post as per jai mention…really upset me.
Man, this is a classic example of how a good article image can make or break a post, I simply love it. As for the post about the demise of WPDesigner.com, I still think it’s slightly too early to throw in the towel but that time is fast approaching.
Jai did, is doing and will do a good job! I believe in you!
Pawel is a Polish guy who is from Miami. So yep, he’s from the states and SP got paid 66, 000 for the site.
I believe he’s from the United States, not Poland.
I didn’t know this blog b4 Jai has bought it, but definitely the previous owner did the right decision, since it is not all about money, but a webmaster should be faithful to his visitors.
I think I didn’t add anything new to the article! 🙂
It’s such a shame that he sold it to someone that couldn’t (obviously) continue his great work. For all of us who paid to be in the theme club are very disappointed right now, at least I am.
@WordPress Modder : What proof do you have that he got less than $65k. The sitepoint sale closed for that much I think.
It was reported that SP was asking 65,000, but that it sold for much less.
“Some Polish Guy” is from the state of Wisconsin in the U.S.
Small Potatoe’s wordpress theme tutorial is one of the best still….
I love Justin Tadlock’s design. Looks like this is another god place for me..
I came to know about Blog Oh! Blog only after you purchased it and I have to say that you are really doing well. About WPDesigner, I thought that the owner will take care of it because he paid a good amount to buy it. But its a shame that its not the case.