Title: Regarding Offers to “Buy” Plugins Author: Ipstenu (Mika Epstein) Published: October 20, 2015 Last modified: November 20, 2015 --- [ ](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ipstenu/) [Ipstenu (Mika Epstein)](https://profiles.wordpress.org/ipstenu/) 2:30 pm _on_ October 20, 2015 Tags: [email ( 7 )](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/tag/email/), [warning ( 3 )](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/tag/warning/)    # Regarding Offers to “Buy” Plugins Did you get this email: > We’re reaching out to the WordPress community, looking for > individuals/companies > like yourself who are keen to explore the opportunity of a joint venture/sale > of their WordPress pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group > of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality > or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written > in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These > can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) > or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party./s. > If you are interested in discussing your plugin and what we’re offering > please > fill out the form on the attached website, and we will be in contact with you. This was a blast email sent to a few hundred people by an unknown person. Please delete it. It’s not from anyone we can trace back to the WordPress community, and selling your plugins will likely end with your users being highly upset that the changes in the plugin are not what they wanted. At the best, you’ll end up on a spam list. If you are a company looking to ‘buy’ plugins please don’t use tactics like this. It makes you look like a sleazy sort of person, whom no one would want to do business with. Purchase plugins by directly talking to people who have made a plugin you had a need for. If you do sell your plugin (or give it away to someone else), please make sure the new owners understand all the guidelines of the repository. Should they violate our terms the plugin will be removed, and we may not give it back depending on the level of the violation. Whomever has commit access to a plugin has the ownership and responsibility of it’s behavior for users. Spamming, inserting tracking data, and adding junk features are the fastest way to ruin your plugin. We advocate only giving your plugin to people you personally have vetted, and that you trust with being responsible with your code and your users. [#email](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/tag/email/), [#warning](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/tag/warning/) ### Share this: * [ Threads ](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2015/10/20/regarding-offers-to-buy-plugins/?share=threads) * [ Mastodon ](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2015/10/20/regarding-offers-to-buy-plugins/?share=mastodon) * [ Bluesky ](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2015/10/20/regarding-offers-to-buy-plugins/?share=bluesky) * [ X ](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2015/10/20/regarding-offers-to-buy-plugins/?share=x) * [ Facebook ](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2015/10/20/regarding-offers-to-buy-plugins/?share=facebook) * [ LinkedIn ](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2015/10/20/regarding-offers-to-buy-plugins/?share=linkedin) 1. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/522dc9d037e4b0517ee9b76cd63d75a6331b0e578afa9b27fee84b02863ace80? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 2. [Varun Sridharan](https://profiles.wordpress.org/varunms/) 2:35 pm _on_ October 20, 2015 3. Thanks For The Information 🙂 4. * ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/522dc9d037e4b0517ee9b76cd63d75a6331b0e578afa9b27fee84b02863ace80? s=32&d=mm&r=g) * [Varun Sridharan](https://profiles.wordpress.org/varunms/) 2:35 pm _on_ October 20, 2015 * I do Got 2 Emails Like This. But I Rejected it 🙂 5. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/8cf7655071f82970f9635a0c7e7646551756c333b57166083e506a72cad98916? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 6. [David Anderson](https://profiles.wordpress.org/davidanderson/) 2:35 pm _on_ October 20, 2015 7. I’ve had multiple of these. It would be interesting to see what someone gets if they fill in the form – not because I’m interested in selling any plugins to random email contacts (I’m certainly not!), but it’s always useful to understand the landscape of what kind of interesting ventures, curious escapades and downright scams different people out there are up to. 8. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/5689d9fe9a8dfb5392bed541d3055f8982edbc35baf94a1cd121ac74db8fd23b? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 9. [Brajesh Singh](https://profiles.wordpress.org/sbrajesh/) 2:40 pm _on_ October 20, 2015 10. Thank you for posting Mika. Had received an email from some guy named Michael Jenkins today and was wondering how they got my email. The strange thing was they were not using any of the emails I use on wp.org instead my sites admin email. 11. Had seen this earlier a few months ago, but did not care as anything serious due to there footer mailing list link. Anyway, never considered selling the plugins to any company, so was not much of an issue. 12. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/6b6d1c4d29f1b149da0008917c70b019408d5af404a46bca853e4dd33546e1ed? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 13. [Joost de Valk](https://profiles.wordpress.org/joostdevalk/) 2:54 pm _on_ October 20, 2015 14. So if you do have a nice pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. and want to sell it or otherwise hand it to someone else, talk to me 🙂 15. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/87f8c2bbfabbae3462bbab2c83ce82763c7ff91bc632b64f3af7e24d929633f6? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 16. [Aaron D. Campbell](https://profiles.wordpress.org/aaroncampbell/) 2:57 pm _on_ October 20, 2015 17. I’ve gotten three this week. The one you posted above was so ridiculously impersonal that I actually wrote back and chastised them for adding pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost- based plugin from a third-party. authors to a list and doing a blast without even taking the time to set up a merge with a name or plugin name. 18. The other two at least called me by name, listed the plugin they wanted to buy, and had business sites. 19. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/87f8c2bbfabbae3462bbab2c83ce82763c7ff91bc632b64f3af7e24d929633f6? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 20. [Aaron D. Campbell](https://profiles.wordpress.org/aaroncampbell/) 3:02 pm _on_ October 20, 2015 21. There was also an unsubscribe link in the footer, which is one of the things that really ticked me off. They made a list and added people to it with no opt-in of any kind. 22. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/a817a4adf9d263113f555d78b3a0a5d0b3baec9e16750e10c8a12ee7f14d0c6e? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 23. [Shareaholic](https://profiles.wordpress.org/shareaholic/) 3:37 pm _on_ October 20, 2015 24. +1 Mika vet people personally, and talk to only those that you trust being responsible with your users. 25. +1 Joost… if you do have a nice pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory [https://wordpress.org/plugins/](https://wordpress.org/plugins/) or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party. related to social, analytics, content recommendations or lead capture and want to sell it or otherwise hand it to someone else who will invest in and support and take care of the userbase, please reach out! 26. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/31013e1d9ae07c7691013db5b7bca68799700beaa8fa7f1cc8c361120dc588aa? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 27. [WPspider](https://profiles.wordpress.org/wpspider/) 2:30 am _on_ October 21, 2015 28. It was probably a capitalist! Boy, those guys really get on my nerves. 29. ![](https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/f847340cac151352b0bc321c16df9a032472b24bd496730d22dbecdaa1dbeec8? s=32&d=mm&r=g) 30. [FolioVision](https://profiles.wordpress.org/foliovision/) 3:17 am _on_ November 3, 2015 31. We’ve had a few of these emails as well. Thanks for the heads up and reminder Mika. (Grievous) misbehaviour could count across an account which would demotivate these acquirers (unless people are willing to sign off their WordPress.orgWordPress. org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. [https://wordpress.org/](https://wordpress.org/) accounts to them: at that point you could track by IP and find most miscreants pretty quickly). Comments are closed. # Post navigation [← Guidelines for Plugins that Include Company and/or Product Names in the Plugin Name](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2015/10/05/guidelines-for-plugins-that-include-company-andor-product-names-in-the-plugin-name/) [Creative Commons Licenses in the Plugin Directory →](https://make.wordpress.org/plugins/2015/11/06/creative-commons-licenses-in-the-plugin-directory/)