Tips on buying from Flippa?

3 replies
Hey all - I'm looking into trying my hand in the Flippa market, but I don't know much about it! As a first-time buyer, I have a bunch of newbie questions.. for example, how does the person transfer the website's content to you? Do they just send you all the HTML/PHP/whatever files, and you put it on your own hosting? Or do they give you their hosting? How does domain transfer work?

Also how do you know if the person's traffic/earning statistics are legitimate?Basically, are there any traps I'm likely to fall into as a first-time buyer on Flippa? My goal is to purchase an established website which runs on autopilot (or pretty much on autopilot) which will bring in some money, but I don't want to get scammed or pay too much or make any other newbie mistakes.

Thanks in advance for helping me get started!
#buying #buying from flippa #flippa #tips
  • Profile picture of the author x3xsolxdierx3x
    Mandark,

    Some of the questions you can ask of the buyer either via PM or on their listing.

    As far as traffic and earnings, the seller SHOULD be attaching things like PayPal files/eJunkie logs/etc. Always be cautious...

    Flippa is a very complicated place sometimes. Sometimes things won't make sense at all. You'll see sites with $0 revenue sell for thousands for one reason or another...it really just takes time and experience. (I know, not something someone who wants to purchase a legitimate site...their FIRST time around...wants to hear...)

    Do try your best to be as proactive with your buying considerations as possible. Hope that helps...
    Originally Posted by mandark View Post

    Hey all - I'm looking into trying my hand in the Flippa market, but I don't know much about it! As a first-time buyer, I have a bunch of newbie questions.. for example, how does the person transfer the website's content to you? Do they just send you all the HTML/PHP/whatever files, and you put it on your own hosting? Or do they give you their hosting? How does domain transfer work?

    Also how do you know if the person's traffic/earning statistics are legitimate?Basically, are there any traps I'm likely to fall into as a first-time buyer on Flippa? My goal is to purchase an established website which runs on autopilot (or pretty much on autopilot) which will bring in some money, but I don't want to get scammed or pay too much or make any other newbie mistakes.

    Thanks in advance for helping me get started!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3458762].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Sarah Russell
    Regarding site transfers, a lot depends on what the seller is willing to do. When I sell sites on Flippa, I offer to move all of the files over to the buyer's hosting so that they don't have to participate in the transfer at all. In most cases, you'll want to move the site to your own hosting, although some buyers offer free hosting for a specific period of time (I just hate to have my properties under someone else's control). Domain transfers are pretty easy, and a Google search should turn up an article that lists the process.

    As for not getting scammed, it's tough - any results can be forged, even video proof can be set up to be misleading. For me, it's about gut feeling. Does the amount of money or traffic the seller is report match up with what seems reasonable for the website and the specific monetization model used? For example, if I see a site claiming to earn $500+ each month from Adsense in a niche that I know doesn't have a high eCPM, I know there's something fishy.

    Understand the traffic sources as well. A minisite that claims thousands of dollars in product sales might have made most of that money from running a few WSOs here. That kind of traffic isn't sustainable (since the market for WSOs is pretty small), so you'd better be ready to do some serious work getting the site ranked in the SERPs if you want to see continued sales.

    Also, cut your expectations in half - sellers usually talk up their listings (and I know, because I do it too!), but if you're comfortable with the site being half as successful as it's promised, you won't be disappointed
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3458774].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author mandark
    Thanks for the advice so far. How much do you think I should pay for a site based on its claimed earnings? For example, for a site which claims to earn $500/month on autopilot, how much would you be willing to pay for it?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[3459624].message }}

Trending Topics