"Make me an offer" is how pre-revenue apps die on marketplaces

Short summary

Pre-revenue apps listed as 'open to offers' on marketplaces consistently fail to sell because buyers won't invent an anchor price. The article argues for pricing off replacement cost (developer-hours × rate, discounted 40-70%) and using timed auctions instead of negotiation. Data from Microns shows ~90 startups sold at ~$4,300 average, with valuation bands ranging from $0-500 for idea+domain to $5,000-25,000+ for products with distribution assets.

• •'Open to offers' kills pre-revenue app sales — buyers won't anchor a price for you
• •Price off replacement cost: hours × rate, discounted 40-70% for unproven demand
• •Timed auctions outperform negotiations for maximum-uncertainty assets per Bulow & Klemperer (1996)

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