Comments on: Confirmed: Penthouse Buys AdultFriendFinder For $500 Million http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/ Startup and Technology News Sun, 07 Sep 2008 09:17:03 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: champlaindrifter http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1911895 champlaindrifter Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:51:49 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1911895 John Smith is right. I have been a paying member of AFF for several years and have met several women through the site. But the site can be a bit frustrating. As a "silver" member you cannot view "new" members for at least 3 days, and you are taken to a screen that tries to get you to buy a gold membership so you can view newbies right away. So, they manage to keep your membership clock ticking away! And yes, the men to ladies ratio is very lopsided. Most of the real women get swamped with emails from guys, so its very competitive. To complicate things, the number of bi women and couples seeking bi women on AFF is through the roof, so the field of available hetero women is greatly narrowed! On the other hand, I have watched many beautiful ladies (regular people, not pro models) from all over the world on their webcams on AFF, and some of the "shows" have been wild!! Truth is, I met more (horny,LOL) women thru yahoo profiles and chat rooms 3-5 years ago, and it was free!! As with almost all internet "meat markets", there are loads of players, scammers, losers, bitter divorced people and just plain rude people, so one should go at this with the right attitude! Shark infested waters to be sure.... John Smith is right. I have been a paying member of AFF for several years and have met several women through the site. But the site can be a bit frustrating. As a “silver” member you cannot view “new” members for at least 3 days, and you are taken to a screen that tries to get you to buy a gold membership so you can view newbies right away. So, they manage to keep your membership clock ticking away! And yes, the men to ladies ratio is very lopsided. Most of the real women get swamped with emails from guys, so its very competitive. To complicate things, the number of bi women and couples seeking bi women on AFF is through the roof, so the field of available hetero women is greatly narrowed! On the other hand, I have watched many beautiful ladies (regular people, not pro models) from all over the world on their webcams on AFF, and some of the “shows” have been wild!! Truth is, I met more (horny,LOL) women thru yahoo profiles and chat rooms 3-5 years ago, and it was free!! As with almost all internet “meat markets”, there are loads of players, scammers, losers, bitter divorced people and just plain rude people, so one should go at this with the right attitude! Shark infested waters to be sure….

]]> By: SabrinaSexxy http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1850448 SabrinaSexxy Mon, 17 Dec 2007 23:06:27 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1850448 The scam to spam ratio of AFF compared to read adults looking for action is north of 95%. Why else would they sell. And look who they sold the darling too. Penthouse, the ones that brought a whole new meaning to term POP-UP. So get this, I go to Penthouse site and guess what POPs up within 20 seconds. AFF. SCAM DOT CUM. The scam to spam ratio of AFF compared to read adults looking for action is north of 95%. Why else would they sell. And look who they sold the darling too. Penthouse, the ones that brought a whole new meaning to term POP-UP. So get this, I go to Penthouse site and guess what POPs up within 20 seconds. AFF. SCAM DOT CUM.

]]> By: John Smith http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1845418 John Smith Sun, 16 Dec 2007 00:28:43 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1845418 I've been an AFF member for a couple of years and have done VERY well meeting women. The key is that yes you need to be a paying member because you have very limitrd options and amost have no chance of meeting women because you need the ability to send out messages which is limited to non-paying mambers. The guys that are having problems are usually the non-paying members that think beautifu women are going to look at photos of their 'members" and think the e-mails are going to fly in. Get a reality check. There are 100 guys to every girl and we all have the same baisc equpment. The really hot girls are not looking for losers that have no face photos and have nothing to offer except dick photos...I am very happy with AFF and I'm an average 50 something guy. You just need to know how to present yourself and have some respect for yourself and the women you message. I’ve been an AFF member for a couple of years and have done VERY well meeting women. The key is that yes you need to be a paying member because you have very limitrd options and amost have no chance of meeting women because you need the ability to send out messages which is limited to non-paying mambers. The guys that are having problems are usually the non-paying members that think beautifu women are going to look at photos of their ‘members” and think the e-mails are going to fly in. Get a reality check. There are 100 guys to every girl and we all have the same baisc equpment. The really hot girls are not looking for losers that have no face photos and have nothing to offer except dick photos…I am very happy with AFF and I’m an average 50 something guy. You just need to know how to present yourself and have some respect for yourself and the women you message.

]]> By: sinstock69 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1839364 sinstock69 Fri, 14 Dec 2007 05:38:53 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1839364 AFF is definately for real. My wife and I have met many beautiful, sexy, and fun people on there. What we like is being able to screen people when you are not drunk and plan on meeting in a safe, sober environment. If everything clicks, then it's time to get busy! We like our AFF friends way more than our "Bar" friends. AFF is definately for real. My wife and I have met many beautiful, sexy, and fun people on there. What we like is being able to screen people when you are not drunk and plan on meeting in a safe, sober environment. If everything clicks, then it’s time to get busy! We like our AFF friends way more than our “Bar” friends.

]]> By: Richard Revel http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1837523 Richard Revel Thu, 13 Dec 2007 12:46:49 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1837523 $500M Wow. Someone above made reference to facebook only going for $15M. The clear difference is the tiered subscription packages charged by AFF, starting at $15 / mo and going as high as $30. For the impatient person, it quickly adds up to something on par with your cell phone bill. By comparison, Facebook makes it's profit almost solely from advertising. Yes, this is a cash cow for Penthouse. And as said, it's not all spammers either, though they are significant. There are some ways built in to screen against them. One odd feature is an IM applet that allows you to contact others for free, even though sending someone a direct email still requires a pay subscription. The principal drawback to this site is that with current advertising it doesn't attract average, everyday people who could just get what they want at the local bar. From a business perspective, this is a relatively good thing in that the subscription base seems to be largely in the 30 and older market that use this as their sole means of dating, meaning that there's a strong base of buyers for continued business growth. $500M Wow. Someone above made reference to facebook only going for $15M. The clear difference is the tiered subscription packages charged by AFF, starting at $15 / mo and going as high as $30. For the impatient person, it quickly adds up to something on par with your cell phone bill. By comparison, Facebook makes it’s profit almost solely from advertising. Yes, this is a cash cow for Penthouse.

And as said, it’s not all spammers either, though they are significant. There are some ways built in to screen against them. One odd feature is an IM applet that allows you to contact others for free, even though sending someone a direct email still requires a pay subscription.

The principal drawback to this site is that with current advertising it doesn’t attract average, everyday people who could just get what they want at the local bar. From a business perspective, this is a relatively good thing in that the subscription base seems to be largely in the 30 and older market that use this as their sole means of dating, meaning that there’s a strong base of buyers for continued business growth.

]]> By: Frank http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1837440 Frank Thu, 13 Dec 2007 11:26:46 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1837440 It's certainly a steal when you look at the revenue only, on the other hand the growth potential is limited since it's already very saturated...so I'd say a good deal for both of them. It’s certainly a steal when you look at the revenue only, on the other hand the growth potential is limited since it’s already very saturated…so I’d say a good deal for both of them.

]]> By: Amateur Dating Club http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1837286 Amateur Dating Club Thu, 13 Dec 2007 09:05:32 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1837286 Adult Friend Finder is #1 adult dating even althought it's full of cam girls wanting you to pay. Adult Friend Finder is #1 adult dating even althought it’s full of cam girls wanting you to pay.

]]> By: Jason http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1837261 Jason Thu, 13 Dec 2007 08:33:18 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1837261 Here's hoping that Penthouse reverses some of the unethical practices that AFF was partaking in such as advertising on torrent sites that were dealing in stolen copyrighted content. They have helped to monetize many sites whose whole existence was based around aiding the distribution of unauthorized content. Shame... Here’s hoping that Penthouse reverses some of the unethical practices that AFF was partaking in such as advertising on torrent sites that were dealing in stolen copyrighted content.

They have helped to monetize many sites whose whole existence was based around aiding the distribution of unauthorized content. Shame…

]]> By: Steve Ballmer http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1836853 Steve Ballmer Thu, 13 Dec 2007 02:29:10 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1836853 What's penthouse? What’s penthouse?

]]> By: HotChick http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1836775 HotChick Thu, 13 Dec 2007 01:56:55 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1836775 IMHO this is a bargain for Penthouse. NBC bought the village idiots, um...I mean ivillage for $600 million and I bet their revenues were no where near AFF. Congrats to Andrew Conru! IMHO this is a bargain for Penthouse. NBC bought the village idiots, um…I mean ivillage for $600 million and I bet their revenues were no where near AFF.
Congrats to Andrew Conru!

]]> By: chrisco http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1836270 chrisco Wed, 12 Dec 2007 21:26:54 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1836270 AFF is not a scam... at least not completely. All sites with profiles contain some scammers and spammers, and dating sites are probably worse than most, but there are real adults making friends on there... or else the pricetag would have been a LOT less than $500 MM. True that's a low multiple, but that's the porn discount at work. On a DCF (discounted cash flow) basis, $500 MM is going to provide a helluva IRR (internal rate of return) for Heff. Probably 30%+. That is value creation for Penthouse and its investors. And it's money in the bank for Andrew and his crew. AFF is not a scam… at least not completely. All sites with profiles contain some scammers and spammers, and dating sites are probably worse than most, but there are real adults making friends on there… or else the pricetag would have been a LOT less than $500 MM. True that’s a low multiple, but that’s the porn discount at work. On a DCF (discounted cash flow) basis, $500 MM is going to provide a helluva IRR (internal rate of return) for Heff. Probably 30%+. That is value creation for Penthouse and its investors. And it’s money in the bank for Andrew and his crew.

]]> By: SabrinaSexxy http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1836041 SabrinaSexxy Wed, 12 Dec 2007 19:00:41 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1836041 Adult friend finder is a scam. Sex sells. Even if its fantasy. Gotta pay to play. If you want to find me...click my link. Otherwise, you're annoying me lol. Adult friend finder is a scam. Sex sells. Even if its fantasy. Gotta pay to play. If you want to find me…click my link. Otherwise, you’re annoying me lol.

]]> By: Sully http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835889 Sully Wed, 12 Dec 2007 17:28:42 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835889 Wow. I had always assumed that Adult Friend Finder was a scam to get horny guys to part with their cash, and that all the "women" on there were just auto generated profiles with just random pics pulled from other places on the web. Wow. I had always assumed that Adult Friend Finder was a scam to get horny guys to part with their cash, and that all the “women” on there were just auto generated profiles with just random pics pulled from other places on the web.

]]> By: Ray Nugent http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835820 Ray Nugent Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:44:09 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835820 Congrats Andrew! Glad to see you made your IMS experience into something big! Congrats Andrew! Glad to see you made your IMS experience into something big!

]]> By: thomas http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835812 thomas Wed, 12 Dec 2007 16:37:24 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835812 looks like Penthouse got a great deal. looks like Penthouse got a great deal.

]]> By: Nir http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835472 Nir Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:58:16 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835472 That's great! http://www.wannago.com is launching today 12.12 in Israel That’s great! http://www.wannago.com is launching today 12.12 in Israel

]]> By: Aidan Henry http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835465 Aidan Henry Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:54:56 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835465 Whaaaaaa... I don't get it... How does a successful, established site like AdultFriendFinder only get $500 million when it has a market that's willing to pay for services? I'm obviously making reference to Facebook's $15 billion valuation and the fact that the SN is relatively new and lacks a 'paying' target market... Cheers, Aidan www.MappingTheWeb.com Whaaaaaa… I don’t get it…

How does a successful, established site like AdultFriendFinder only get $500 million when it has a market that’s willing to pay for services?

I’m obviously making reference to Facebook’s $15 billion valuation and the fact that the SN is relatively new and lacks a ‘paying’ target market…

Cheers,
Aidan
http://www.MappingTheWeb.com

]]> By: I Am Not Posting To Spam My Blog http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835372 I Am Not Posting To Spam My Blog Wed, 12 Dec 2007 12:01:02 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835372 Hopefully Penthouse will drive some synergies between Various' various dating sites. BigChurch users could be sent subtle emails hinting that if they're frustrated after the nth time they went home alone after their date said they were "saving themselves for marriage", they can satisfy themselves with a quick one-night stand. While AdultFriendFinder subscribers might be feeling dirty and tired of sleazy encounters in a cheap motels, and might feel that a movie and dinner with a girl who talks about Jesus, doesn't show her ankles and stares constantly into the middle distance would make a nice change. Hopefully Penthouse will drive some synergies between Various’ various dating sites. BigChurch users could be sent subtle emails hinting that if they’re frustrated after the nth time they went home alone after their date said they were “saving themselves for marriage”, they can satisfy themselves with a quick one-night stand.

While AdultFriendFinder subscribers might be feeling dirty and tired of sleazy encounters in a cheap motels, and might feel that a movie and dinner with a girl who talks about Jesus, doesn’t show her ankles and stares constantly into the middle distance would make a nice change.

]]> By: Miley Cyrus http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835276 Miley Cyrus Wed, 12 Dec 2007 10:33:35 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835276 Why so cheap?? His revenue was around 250m/year. If he sat on it, in 4 years it would be 1bn, and this business is recession-proof. Why so cheap?? His revenue was around 250m/year. If he sat on it, in 4 years it would be 1bn, and this business is recession-proof.

]]> By: Scarlatescu.ro » Se confirma zvonul, AFF este vandut... http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835240 Scarlatescu.ro » Se confirma zvonul, AFF este vandut... Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:52:00 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835240 [...] de adult dating se vinde pentru 500 milioane de dolari catre Penthouse.Din nou, cand e vorba de TechCrunch, nu iese fum fara foc asa cum am banuit. Si din nou, sex sells, mai ales pe Internet Taguri: [...] [...] de adult dating se vinde pentru 500 milioane de dolari catre Penthouse.Din nou, cand e vorba de TechCrunch, nu iese fum fara foc asa cum am banuit. Si din nou, sex sells, mai ales pe Internet Taguri: [...]

]]> By: Alex http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835182 Alex Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:54:27 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835182 Merry Christmas! What a nice present. Looks like there will be Ferrari's under the tree this year:) Merry Christmas! What a nice present. Looks like there will be Ferrari’s under the tree this year:)

]]> By: Duncan Riley http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835157 Duncan Riley Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:30:17 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835157 link fixed, apologies. There's got to be some irony about an adult operator running a dating site for god botherers, WWJT? :-) link fixed, apologies. There’s got to be some irony about an adult operator running a dating site for god botherers, WWJT? :-)

]]> By: Mark Mayhew http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835135 Mark Mayhew Wed, 12 Dec 2007 08:06:57 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835135 pron is good! pron is good!

]]> By: Faramarz http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835101 Faramarz Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:36:01 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835101 almost all of that amount goes into Andrews bank account. HOT DAMN! almost all of that amount goes into Andrews bank account. HOT DAMN!

]]> By: chrisco http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835099 chrisco Wed, 12 Dec 2007 07:31:57 +0000 http://www.techcrunch.com/2007/12/11/confirmed-penthouse-buys-adultfriendfinder-for-500-million/#comment-1835099 PlayPal.eu - Want to repeat that model, but in Europe? Contact me. PlayPal.eu - Want to repeat that model, but in Europe? Contact me.

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