Originally Posted by $5 submissions

One man's sinking ship could be another man's rising tide. All market actions are based on perceptions of value. A sinking ship to you might be an underdeveloped golden asset to someone else. Specially if that other person has an existing system that could use new pieces to further optimize results.

Good point regarding full dislosure though but that only applies to facts, reporting perceptions/future outlook might only serve to undermine the seller's negotiating position. Those are opinions whereas traffic volume, traffic trend, operating costs, and conversion ratios are facts. The buyer focuses on the latter while hoping the former gains him/her a negotiating advantage