Buying passive-income KDP businesses on Flippa

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I've seen a few, where the maintenance is very low, and if I bought the two I'm browsing on, I'd easily make 10k CAD a month. I've come across a 'small sum' of money. I'm going upwards of 85k USD on 2 stores. Is that a good idea? I can do whatever it takes for these stores to function as they have. I just couldn't get an answer on Reddit. If this post isn't allowed, please message me, mods. I apologize in advance.
#businesses #buying #flippa #kdp #passiveincome
  • Profile picture of the author Monetize
    Originally Posted by PLAYBOYSASKATCHEWAN View Post

    I've seen a few, where the maintenance is very low, and if I bought the two I'm browsing on, I'd easily make 10k CAD a month. I've come across a 'small sum' of money. I'm going upwards of 85k USD on 2 stores. Is that a good idea? I can do whatever it takes for these stores to function as they have. I just couldn't get an answer on Reddit. If this post isn't allowed, please message me, mods. I apologize in advance.

    Let me get this straight.

    You have $85K to spend on Flippa and you are seeking
    business advice on Reddit and the Warrior Forum?

    If you actually believe what somebody is telling you on
    Flippa, by all means, go for it!
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  • Profile picture of the author DWolfe
    Originally Posted by PLAYBOYSASKATCHEWAN View Post

    I've come across a 'small sum' of money. I'm going upwards of 85k USD on 2 stores. Is that a good idea? I can do whatever it takes for these stores to function as they have. .
    Hell No! Sounds like you are going to throw money down the drain to try to make an income. What experience do you have? Does the seller on Flippa have any credibility? . Before you spend any money near that price range. You should look into a professional business broker for a website

    This forum has, in the past, received many complaints about sellers faking sale numbers on Flippa. There are other companies selling websites out there. I would suggest doing a Google search for that information.

    Just a warning, if you are trying to import products into the US, beware of the current tariff issues.
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  • Profile picture of the author Darrell Hagan
    Not all listings on Flippa are fake. Many high-dollar, verified listings are legitimate but they are priced accordingly.

    As was mentioned, there are several other ecommerce business brokers. Here is a quick list of apparently reputable firms which were given when I asked MS Copilot:

    =================

    FE International - Specializes in SaaS, ecommerce, and content businesses. Known for high-touch M&A advisory and strong vetting.

    Quiet Light Brokerage - Run by experienced entrepreneurs; offers personalized guidance and deep due diligence.

    Website Closers - Handles larger ecommerce deals, including Amazon FBA, DTC, and tech businesses.

    Investors Club - Private marketplace with pre-vetted listings and no success fees; ideal for smaller deals.

    Motion Invest - Focuses on content and ecommerce sites under $500K; offers buy/sell and valuation tools.

    Ecomswap - Newer but growing fast; tailored for ecommerce and FBA businesses between $50K-$5M.

    =================

    Personally, I wouldn't be quick to heavily invest in a KDP or other similar downloadable content business due to the ever-increasing use of AI for information, and even AI generated fiction which can actually be pretty entertaining. Also, KDP is totally reliant upon Amazon which can and has changed rules on a moment's notice.

    With ~ $85k available, you have a big advantage over most. That much money could easily BUILD a lifetime sustainable business if carefully used, or could indeed buy an existing, legitimate business.

    Either way, due diligence on every aspect is your friend.
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    • Profile picture of the author Monetize
      Originally Posted by Darrell Hagan View Post

      Not all listings on Flippa are fake. Many high-dollar, verified listings are legitimate but they are priced accordingly.

      Flippa is the WORST!

      And this is not a complaint, only telling you about the
      nonsense that goes on over there.

      I "sold" a WordPress site a couple of years ago, it was
      a travel affiliate site, it was professionally developed by
      someone I hired, and it was monetized.

      The only reason I sold it is because it was developed
      to be sold, it wasn't part of my personal inventory.

      The "buyer" ran a total scam on me. He put the money
      in the escrow and after I transferred the domain name
      and the WordPress, he said that he could not find any
      affiliate offers, didn't complete the escrow, transferred
      everything back to me.

      It already had affiliate offers on it, plus I had given him
      an additional resource list of travel affiliate products he
      could have placed on there.

      I had some other things for him, but held those until the
      deal was finalized, which it wasn't.

      He only ever wanted to copy my WordPress and had no
      intention of completing the deal and Flippa staff didn't do
      squat to protect me. They shouldn't have allowed him to
      cancel after he already took possession of the WP, that
      was a straight up theft.

      Flippa staff's unprofessionalism was astounding, and I'll
      leave it at that.

      As to the Amazon KDP deal, it would be smarter to just
      develop a bunch of eBooks yourself and pay for the ads
      to drive traffic to them, instead of spending that amount
      of money on something that is questionable, because if
      it turns out to be a crap deal, Flippa will likely leave you
      flapping in the wind like they treated me.

      Let me know if you have any questions.
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      • Profile picture of the author Darrell Hagan
        Originally Posted by Monetize View Post

        Flippa is the WORST!

        And this is not a complaint, only telling you about the
        nonsense that goes on over there.

        I "sold" a WordPress site a couple of years ago, it was
        a travel affiliate site, it was professionally developed by
        someone I hired, and it was monetized.

        The only reason I sold it is because it was developed
        to be sold, it wasn't part of my personal inventory.

        The "buyer" ran a total scam on me. He put the money
        in the escrow and after I transferred the domain name
        and the WordPress, he said that he could not find any
        affiliate offers, didn't complete the escrow, transferred
        everything back to me.
        Wow, that sux . I had no idea. So in a nutshell buyer can commit and then transfer funds to escrow, seller releases assets all as promised, buyer hits dispute button and claims that seller sent a virtual bag of rocks instead of website? And by then I suppose it's too late for seller cuz buyer already has assets or at least has seen enough to copycat? Ugh. Need to be SO careful these days. Thanks, revised my opinion about Flippa.....
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        • Profile picture of the author Monetize
          Originally Posted by Darrell Hagan View Post

          Wow, that sux . I had no idea. So in a nutshell buyer can commit and then transfer funds to escrow, seller releases assets all as promised, buyer hits dispute button and claims that seller sent a virtual bag of rocks instead of website? And by then I suppose it's too late for seller cuz buyer already has assets or at least has seen enough to copycat? Ugh. Need to be SO careful these days. Thanks, revised my opinion about Flippa.....

          That was essentially it, but I hardly gave him a bag of rocks.

          I bent over backwards to give him a great deal, besides the
          domain name of the site, which was valuable on its own, I
          also gave him the matching plural version of the domain,
          so two great domain names.

          Then I was going to have my developer make him a second
          WordPress plus develop a third WP for a domain name that
          the buyer wanted to turn into an affiliate site.

          So he would have had three great websites.

          As a courtesy I tell people to take their time, that I'm not in
          any hurry, but this transaction was taking way too long, he
          had all sorts of questions wasting my time, I walked him
          through setting up his own hosting and on and on.

          It was nearly a month and when I finally told him to release
          the escrow funds, that's when he pulled his stunt.

          And again, Flippa should never allowed it because WPs are
          super easy to copy, especially once it's on your hosting, you
          can clone a WP multiple times.

          Once he transferred it back, I didn't even want it anymore.

          I know you don't know me and talk is cheap, but I'm a very
          honest person and that buyer was getting the best deal ever.

          Anyway, thank you for your empathy and compassion,
          I feel a little better about it. I'm just glad I didn't need the
          money, although I could have used it.

          You know how it is.
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          • Profile picture of the author Darrell Hagan
            Originally Posted by Monetize View Post

            I know you don't know me and talk is cheap, but I'm a very
            honest person and that buyer was getting the best deal ever.

            Anyway, thank you for your empathy and compassion,
            I feel a little better about it. I'm just glad I didn't need the
            money, although I could have used it.

            You know how it is.
            I do know and again I'm sorry. Years ago, my wife went through something similar except that it was a physical item - a classic Pioneer reel-to-reel tape deck which she had kept from her days in radio - that a guy talked her into selling, and she fell for a con job and lost unit. "Buyer" was an engineer at the station who promised a good amount of money for it but supposedly wanted to check it out on his workbench at home before buying. Never saw him again after he took it, couldn't prove anything. She had no reason to suspect anything wrong or that he would disappear.

            I have never and will never understand how or why a person can do such things to people like you & her.

            But in your case there was also a lot of work involved.

            Anyway, don't want to stray too far off topic here but thanks for sharing. Hopefully OP won't waste his/her money on a scam.
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  • Profile picture of the author samina moin
    Great insights!
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