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Where to Buy and Sell Websites in 2021

Thinking of buying or selling or buying digital assets? You have many options and marketplaces that could help you with that. However, not all are worth your time and money.  Some places require you to have a budget of at least 20K+ if your looking to buy a site and some don’t have the due diligence needed to ensure you are buying a quality site.We’ve compiled a list of seven of the best platforms to buy or sell websites online in 2019.

Let’s see how they stack up.

Comparison Chart

1) Flippa

Flippa describes itself as the #1 marketplace for buying and selling online businesses, and they have the numbers to back their claim. More than 250,000 businesses have been purchased or sold at this place. A new company is put on sale every hour. At the time of writing this article, there were 3000+ websites, apps, and domains on sale.

The platform matches and connects verified sellers and buyers in a secure and controlled space. It’s simple to use platform is designed to take the hassle out of the sale process. Standard listing costs $1 while the show off package goes for $59 (recommended). Flippa takes a cut out of 5%-15% for every successful domain or website sale, depending on the value of the sale.

As a top platform, Flippa covers different business verticals. You can buy or sell eCommerce, affiliate, forums, and advertising websites. They’ll also help you with your SaaS platform, apps, marketplace websites, and even domain purchase or sales.

If you don’t know how much your business is worth, you can use their free online business valuation tool to get a fairly accurate valuation of your digital assets based on their rich data set. They will generate and send you a report to your email. A friendly and helpful team is on hand to advise and guide you.

Sellers who prefer a hands-off approach can use Flippa’s assisted services. They have a network of brokers who can help them with preference-based search, account management, data room set up, and deal qualification and negotiation.

US residents can get 401(k) business financing and SBA loans to boost their businesses. Terms and conditions apply.

Good for: starters and experienced sellers and buyers who’re looking for a user-friendly platform that lets them find and close deals with quality prospects.

2) Empire Flippers

Sneaking its way into the second spot is Empire Flippers, a tried and test platform that aims to remove friction from selling or buying websites. They’ve received numerous awards including the dealmaker award from the IBBA and Inc. 5,000 awards for three years in a row (2016 to 2018).

As a curated marketplace, Empire Flipper lists websites and apps from different sellers around the globe. They have helped thousands of sellers and buyers close deals worth over $90 million. The closing rate is 88%, one of the best in the industry. Using their free valuation tool, you can estimate the value of your digital asset before you put it up for sale.

Empire Flippers has a 5-step process for selling websites. The first listing costs $297 while subsequent ones cost $97. Once a site is approved and listed, the fee won’t be refunded. To list a website, you’ll need to provide your personal information, site details, screenshots of your monthly revenue plus net profit, verified monthly expenses, and Google Analytics data plus access.

You can buy any website from their vast marketplace. The good thing about them is that they flesh out all the necessary details including screenshots of traffic data and revenue. Once you deposit 5% of the value of a website, you can get the URL of the website. The fee is refundable.

Empire Flipper validates all financials. So you don’t have to worry about fake numbers. While they subject all listed sites through a rigorous vetting process (automated and manual checks), the buyer is ultimately responsible for carrying their own due diligence before striking a deal.

Good for: Individuals who are looking for a safe, secure, and optimized marketplace that enables them to buy or sell verified online businesses.

3) Kingmakers

The Kingmakers is a premium investment fund cum accelerator for guys who want to buy small businesses than a place to buy or sell websites online. They help potential buyers find good businesses, negotiate and structure deals, and de-risk deals. Unlike other website flipping platforms, they give you access to an exclusive community of investors and buyers and arrange financing (investment capital).

Usually, they partner with individuals who want to acquire businesses with a market value in the range of $1mm – $5mm plus. They will help with vetting, closing deals, fast-tracking growth, and carrying out other business initiatives. For their efforts, they will request a small stake of 20% of the business.

In the last few years, they have evaluated thousands of SMEs and acquired over a dozen firms. Their core team comprises of wired investors and a small cap private equity firm that has a keen interest in the digital space.

Good for: entrepreneurs who want to find and invest in profitable online businesses in partnership with a firm that takes care of acquisition and business growth.

4) OnFolio

Sometimes, business owners don’t have the time or systems to manage their websites online. The guys behind OnFolio came up with a system that would take off the strain of day-to-day management, so business owners can focus on what they do best.

Whether you have a huge portfolio of websites or just a single money-making website, OnFolio will step in and help you manage and grow your digital assets so you can enjoy passive income. But that’s not all. If you want to buy a website, but don’t know how to close a deal, they will help you make the first purchase.

As well as managing your websites, which is their core function, they can step in and help you vet a website before you make a purchase. Their skilled evaluators will carry out due diligence and share advice that could inform your buying decision. If you don’t know how to negotiate a deal, they will go a step further and handle the purchase process on your behalf. They will also issue monthly payouts from your website’s earnings.

Since they can fulfill several needs of a website in-house, they’re a lot cheaper than commissioning a third party and paying for those services out of pocket.

Good for: entrepreneurs who want a cheaper and efficient hands-off approach to managing income-generating websites online.

5) Centurica

UK-based Centurica is a risk assessment firm that helps sellers and buyers avoid frauds and scams when acquiring or disposing of an online business. They offer solutions such as live verification, website assessments (simple or advanced), and due diligence. Whenever a seller puts up a website on sale, they will ensure they provide correct and accurate financial and analytics data.

Basic Pre-offer website assessment and valuation reports cost $399. If you want live revenue, traffic, and operations verification of websites, you will part with $549. Live verification will come handy when you finalize an auction or signed an LOI.

Live advisors are also available to offer complimentary consulting services. For $59, you can schedule a 15-minute live conference call that will include an overview of a website’s risks. When analyzing a website, they look at various factors and present it in an easy-to-understand format, even if you lack technical expertise.

If you’re looking for an excellent web-based business to buy, you can start your search at Centurica’s MarketWatch. It’s a free tool that lists down 200 established online enterprises whose values range from $20,000 to 5 million. From the dashboard, you can view different metrics including sale price or three-year ROI. Information is standardized, and you can sort websites by niche or categories.

Good for: Customers who want accurate and easy to understand information on a website before they place a bid for a website or close a sale.

6) MotionInvest

Let’s face it. Big players in the website flipping industry always favor deep-pocketed entrepreneurs and not small-time investors. Motion Invest was founded by ordinary people who wanted to buy or sell websites with small monthly revenue streams but couldn’t find a reliable platform that could accommodate their needs.

Using their platform, you can sell a website and make money or acquire a website and add it to your portfolio of digital assets. All their sites are vetted thoroughly by professionals meaning you’ll enjoy the benefit of personal due diligence.

Aside from vetting websites, they list them at market prices. You can request a customized action plan and get on a call with experts to find out how you can ramp up traffic and grow your revenue.

Whether you’re buying a new website or an established one, MotionInvest assures you of a quality purchase. Their involvement with you won’t end with the closing of a deal. Friendly and helpful support is always on hand to help you with day to day running of your websites, which is what time-strapped buyers want.

Good for: Sellers or buyers with small business websites that generate a monthly revenue stream of $50 to $200.