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any tips on how to not get burned when buying an established site?

by topgun129
10 replies
Hi,

I'm looking into buying a few sites that are generating revenue and are established. At the same time I've seen and read of a lot of horror stories of being taken for a ride.

Any thoughts, suggestions or tips on how to avoid getting burned and making sure the seller's claims are fact?

Thanks!
#burned #buying #established #site #tips
  • Profile picture of the author Kevin_Hutto
    What type of sites? Adsense or ecommerce or what?
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    • Profile picture of the author topgun129
      It would be either or. The site could be generating revenue from affiliate sales, adsense or even selling drop shipped products.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobuzz
    Most important thing you should check is site's traffic. Is it steady or manipulated to lure you. For that ask past six months traffic details with traffic source. By this way you can identify any fishy methods to generate traffic, if present there.

    Next tips is don't just rush to high PR domain. Because it also can be influenced.
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  • Profile picture of the author topgun129
    @Gujju Boy - awesome advice, thanks!

    For any purchase I'm planning on using Teamviewer to see all stated claims. That should weed out any made up data .
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    Well, that's the hardest part ... determining whether or not the seller is using facts or fake stats and fake screenshots. I know of no trustworthy way of determining that. For a safer transaction though, escrow is the way to go. It protects both the buyer and seller.

    It's important to also check feedback from other customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author webpagemonkey
    I would highly recommend you learn how to build an income generating site yourself because

    -You will know what is involved and what makes a good site and you'll know what to look for when investing.
    -You'll know what it take to maintain your site.
    -Your rank could drop and if you don't know how to get it back up your investment just could be totally lost.

    Never rush in buying a site there will always be another one. What I do in flippa is go to the just sold and browse if i find a site that I would of bought I add that seller to my saved seller list. Next time he list a site I get an email. They typically sell similar sites just in different niches.

    Good Luck !!
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    • Profile picture of the author Michael Fereday
      Originally Posted by webpagemonkey View Post

      I would highly recommend you learn how to build an income generating site yourself because

      -You will know what is involved and what makes a good site and you'll know what to look for when investing.
      -You'll know what it take to maintain your site.
      -Your rank could drop and if you don't know how to get it back up your investment just could be totally lost.

      Never rush in buying a site there will always be another one. What I do in flippa is go to the just sold and browse if i find a site that I would of bought I add that seller to my saved seller list. Next time he list a site I get an email. They typically sell similar sites just in different niches.

      Good Luck !!
      Very good advice...wouldn't have thought of that out of the gate. Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author Brian E Adams
    Yes, I've been burned when purchasing websites. Here are some tips to keep you out of trouble.

    1. Definitely use escrow dot com to handle the financial transaction. Allow for a 4-7 day inspection period. If they were lying about the traffic or revenue, you will get your money returned.

    2. Use a website selling service such as Flippa dot com. In this way you can better protect the buyer and seller. They also have some good training about how to transfer the website.

    3. As part of the sale, enlist their help in consulting for the web business. This is in case there is something you don't understand.
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  • Profile picture of the author TryBPO
    I wrote an article about this the other day that I think might help you:
    Top 7 Things Flippa Sellers Hope You Won't Notice (And How To Spot Them In Minutes) | AdSense Flippers

    I'm not addressing the outright scammers as those should be pretty obvious, but it makes sense to pay attention to the details and I point out a few that you may or may not have heard/thought of before. Hope that helps...
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  • Profile picture of the author WebPen
    Definitely look into traffic/revenue patterns. If they're claiming its ranking in Google, double check with Scroogle.com

    As far as the actual purchasing, maybe use Escrow or another site that protects the buyer/seller
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