Prefer to start from scratch or buy forum?

[Deleted member 49125]

Since we have discussions going on buying, selling, I was wondering what people really prefer. Would you rather start a forum from scratch, get the membership base, threads started or would you prefer one that is already going?
Why would you pick one or the other?
I prefer to start from scratch. I guess it's just something about having something YOU personally start & feel good about yourself if it takes off. & if it doesn't, you learn from those mistakes.

 

[Page]

Nothing wrong with doing whatever way people want to do 🙂 Starting from scratch is a way to bring the full works of what you really want as a forum however starting from scratch can take a good amount of time and work and in my case, back in 2015 a lot of money was spent. Then you have no idea you going to last or what the future going to be 🙁

Buying an already setup community means that you take full control and then keep members happy and stay and everything is done. Less work and time and an easy way of going about it 😛

I never brought a community before as I can't find the right one or someone else brought it before me or the price is too high that they are asking for 😛

 

[Nous]

Completely agree with @Page Starting from scratch takes a lot of work and can be quite expensive.. Much more than one can even think of.

I have never bought a forum before, maybe I would consider in the future, but mostly something related to a forum I already run and would merge it together. Well, for now, starting a forum from scratch is still something I would consider.

 

[Shawn Gossman]

I've done both.

To be honest, I'd rather start it from scratch.

I paid a few thousand for my competition once and it went downhill from there. I think the members preferred the former forum owner instead of me. That is something to ponder before you buy an established community.

Starting from scratch allows me to develop a community fresh so that people know what they're in for.

I also like to watch it grow from zero to something else.

 

[dojo]

It depends. I used to love working with domains I'd create from scratch. Then started taking over websites, as they already had a decent backlink profile, traffic, were ranking etc. Same with forums. If the price is OK and it would cost me less to work on something that's already active and big, I might consider it.

 

[Page]

I paid a few thousand for my competition once and it went downhill from there. I think the members preferred the former forum owner instead of me. That is something to ponder before you buy an established community.

That's the hardest about it. Most members and I say we would feel the same that we spent hours to years being active then see a person taken full control of the site and they are fully new and join with no content

 

[Nomad]

I prefer to start a forum from scratch. It is easier to start a forum. If you want to buy a forum, you will end up paying a lot of money.

 

[Eclipse]

I prefer to start from scratch, it allows me to create and shape a forum exactly the way I'd want to. Although buying a forum does come with a database/content already created, there's something special about starting a forum and watching it grow

 

[Ravenfreak]

I've never bought a website before. I think it's great that people who can no longer manage an established site can sell their sites to other people who have more time on their hands, this way the community stays online. Would I buy one? Maybe if I had the money and more time I would, but now is not a good time for me. I have more fun starting a community from scratch and watching it grow. 🙂

 

[Kale]

I have considered buying forums before on here, but due to my limited income and all now I kinda just backed off from it. I'd much rather start from the beginning with users, topics, etc.

 

[zappaDPJ]

I prefer to start from scratch even though these days that really means creating a large amount of rich content just to get the ball rolling.

I have in the past acquired quite a number of databases and amalgamated them into existing forums with a view to providing a home for ailing forums or as an attempt to boost the forums I own. It usually works if you avoid the pitfalls.

I don't ever recall buying a database or existing forum with the sole intention of kick starting a new forum. Could it be made to work?... I'm not sure that it could. I think the existing members might object to being used a tool to create a new community, especially one that is outside of their interest.

 

[Linzii]

I have very, very rarely seen it work well in the long term when a well-established community is purchased.

 

[MrDawn]

It's probably better to throw money at an already established community than start a community that no one will join.

 

[Page]

community that no one will join.

 

[Shortie_]

I would personally prefer to start from scratch. I like to have something that I created and built from the ground up myself rather than taking on something someone has already built up. I feel if I start from the ground and work up I get less confused and find I can add things easier than taking on a forum and having to make changes and keeping up with what I have changed.

 

[Cory]

I would prefer to start from scratch, knowing all the administration work I did on the board was done by me and I'm starting my own little network instead of an already established one that may just require a lot of changes due to me not necessarily liking how the site looks. I'd rather grow than take what's already been established. It can be a great feeling when you work very hard on something that may end up as a success in the end. Besides, I use forums as a hobby so I don't see the need to burn money on something I use as a hobby.

 

[Cam]

I’d say it depends on what niche you’re digging into. In a crowded niche, it probably makes sense to acquire another forum and build off an already established project.

 

[Orion Corvus]

The same way I can't imagine buying a forum, I can't imagine joining a forum that has been tossed around in a business transaction. It simply goes against why I post on forums and that sense of community I look for. (Maybe I'm wrong?)

 

[Page]

The same way I can't imagine buying a forum, I can't imagine joining a forum that has been tossed around in a business transaction. It simply goes against why I post on forums and that sense of community I look for. (Maybe I'm wrong?)

Nope, you are not wrong.. I agree and everyone has their reasons as to why at times I sen that happens with one other site that I was a member, got sold and became so bad that the site is now dead