How much is an IP worth once it is no longer published?
It is going down drastically month by month.
Yep. And that is where I think the chasm between the definition of the value is growing larger as time goes on. After shutdown, the cost to restart it remains the same whether they did it two days after shutdown or do it in 2015 (inflation and labor, license, server costs not withstanding). While on the seller end the value of the IP probably decreases each month. Although in the seller's mind, the value may be greater than what people are willing to spend. On our end we see that while the community is here and waiting and it's easy money for who ever buys the IP, the number of people decrease each day thus each day that is less "guaranteed" income each day. More than likely the buyer sees this, we see this but the seller do not seem to see this.
There are times where I wish there was some semblence of a KellyBlueBook for IPs. Even KellyBB isnt concrete and not for every situation but it gives all parties some sort of value to expect which make car transactions and pricing easier. Here with the IP, the price is what ever the seller says it is but whether or not it sells depends on whether or not the buyer wants to spend the asking price or else the IP will just continue to sit with different value numbers placed on it and no agreement made.
When Facebook was alot smaller, Microsoft tried to buy it for a crazy amount of money, way more than what it was currently worth but Z-man turned them down. It was more valuable to him at that time regardless of what it was officially appraised at. In hindsight, it was a good thing as it is now worth many times more than what Microsoft offered even though at the time with uncertain future, he turned down an offer that many people at the time thought he was nuts for turning down. Z-man had a plan. Here, who knows what NCsoft plan consist of but I dont think their plan consist of increasing the value of the IP beyond what has been offered so in hindsight, they may be missing out on millions. Or hell, their plan may be to sit on the IP if the only reason is because they can. Or maybe in their mind the value is inflated based off the numerous offers so soon after the shutdown and maybe they are thinking they can put these people on ice until they want to sell and see if they can get original offer. As stated here if people won the lottery, even an IP that has been dead for few months now, meaning according to the logic of decreasing value month to month, they would still offer 10 million if NCSoft took it, which is still about the same offer if not more than what was offered original. If NCsoft know that people will be waiting month after month with cash, and they are not yet hungry for cash, they probably will sit and wait until they are good and ready or have use for 10 million and contact those people that made original offer and just to make it more enticing might shave off a few million off the price to make it look even more better, especially if they manage to get big dogs like Google and Disney calling them. The dude with a mere 3 million probably wont make it on the radar when compared to the business savvy and weight of the likes of Google and Disney.
And I would understand that. If I had Disney and Google on the line and some off shoot smal beans guy each offering 3-6 million, I probably wont even bother with the small guy until I finish up with Disney and Google, even if I say I'll get back to Disney and Google in 3 months about their offer the small beans probably wont get around to a phoen call. Maybe a standard type letter from the secretary stating we have recieved their offer that I give out to anybody that put an offer in without the weight of major players. Why? I might be able to get afew extra million out of those two giants, as they wotn miss it, while that extra one or two millions may be stretching it and a big deal to the small fry. But if I had the mindset of "I'm not selling at all regardless if Jesus Allah Buddah Ja Jehovah Satan Mot Poacatlye Shiva Vishnu Zeus Chac Quetzalcoatl or Kukulcan themselves all made offers, then it wont be sold." But given they havent really stated much of their plans, who really knows what they are doing or thinking.
