How to sell your online business or blog on Flippa

Thinking of selling your online blog or business on Flippa? Here are the important issues to consider and the steps to take.

Entrepreneurs sell and buy websites on Flippa every day. So, you too can sell that blog or web business that you have been growing.

There are many reasons that you might want to sell your online business. But the important thing is that you get a good price for it.

Flippa makes it easy for you to get the best price for your online property. It does this by providing an efficient platform, offering the right tools, and exposing your offer to a large pool of buyers.

This post shows you how to evaluate, optimize, and list your website on Flippa.com for maximum returns.

Types of Properties you can Sell

Flippa.com currently has over 6,000 listings and this includes all types of web properties. You can sell anything on the site from domain names to starter websites, and more established businesses as well.

They can be a blog, FBA store, a SaaS application, newsletter, Shopify shop, or a BigCommerce store. You can even sell Android and iOS applications.

The important thing is that the property is yours and that you can prove or transfer the ownership after the sales process.

Evaluations & Checklist

Your first step should be to evaluate your business and decide not just what it is worth to you but what a fair price that should be able to attract the right buyers.

Flippa offers an online evaluation tool. It is free and easy to use. So, you can try it out and see what it says.

Else, an average price for most businesses is usually 2 to 4 times their annual profits. So you will first need to conduct your research and come up with an acceptable price for both you and the potential buyer.

Other factors that determine the sale price of websites or blogs include the following:

  1. Age – Older businesses are proven to be solid. So, they are often more valuable in the eyes of potential buyers and can therefore command higher prices.

  2. Revenue – A website with good and stable revenue is better than one without. So, the higher the revenue, the more valuable the business. Of course, expenses have to be considered as well to estimate profits.

  3. TrafficTraffic is the lifeblood of the Internet. So, a website with traffic is more valuable than one without. Also, the more, the better.

  4. Ease of transfer – A business that requires just one online login to manage is easier to transfer between owners. This contrasts with one that requires the new owner to take over a physical warehouse or shop, for example.

  5. Customer Loyalty – Customers are a valuable asset for any business, and loyal customers are even more valuable. If your business has repeat customers of any kind, then do not fail to consider and mention it.

Optimizations

One way to make your offer more attractive and get the best price is to optimize your online business or blog as much as you can. Here are a few things you can do.

  1. Profits – If you can increase profit margins, then you will automatically be increasing the business’ valuation and potential sale price. This can be as simple as saving costs on expenses or trying out different monetization techniques.

  2. Design – Appearances matter a lot. So, recreating your website’s design might boost its value and price. It should be user-friendly, include eye-candy, be clutter-free, intuitive, and easy to navigate.

  3. Streamline operations – This means reducing the management time or manual input required to keep the business running to a bare minimum. The more automated the website is, the more valuable it will be.

  4. Cleanup your Paperwork – You want to make sure your business is in good legal standing. And there are no outstanding debts, taxes, or even lawsuits.

  5. Provide Good Statistics – Including statistics in your listing improves its attractiveness. But make sure to focus only on those statistics that speak to potential buyers. A business buyer wants profits. So, provide any statistics to back up what he stands to gain from the purchase.

Associated Costs

There are three types of costs associated with selling on Flippa. The first is the listing cost, which is charged when you list a property for sale. The second is a success fee, which is charged only when someone buys your offer. And the third is additional services costs.

A. Listing Costs

You pay the following costs, depending on the property you are trying to sell:

  • Domains = $10
  • iOS and Android Apps = $15
  • Starter sites = $15
  • Established Sites = $49

B. Success Fee

If your listing is successful and finds a buyer, then Flippa charges the following commissions:

  • Up to $50K = 10% – Businesses that sold for $50,000 and less, pay 10% of the sale price.
  • $50K to $100k = 7.5% – Those that sold for between $50,000 and $100,000 pay 7.5% of the sale price.
  • Over $100K = 5% – Businesses that sold for over $100,000 pay only 5% commission.
  • Flippa Broker = 15% – Flippa lets you use their broker matching service if your business exceeds $100,000 in annual profits. The brokers handle all the details, making the sales process smooth for you. But you have to pay a 15% commission for the service.

C. Additional Services

You can also choose additional services to help make your listing a success. Flippa offers a Premium Boost service. And it includes a higher search ranking for your listing, as well as premium support for $65.

The Step By Step Listing Process on Flippa

Flippa.com has made the listing process simple. So, most people can easily follow it without complications. Here is a step-by-step layout of this listing process.

Step 1: Visit the website at www.flippa.com

Step 2: Log in with a previous account or register a new one

Create Flippa account

Step 3: Select Sell Now

Step 4: Enter your website’s domain name and click ‘Continue’

Step 5: Click on ‘Website or Online Business’

Step 6: Click if it has revenue or not

Step 7: Select how long the site has been active

The program will either present you with a Starter Website or Established Website menu from here, depending on the characteristics of your website.

Step 8: Add basic details for your website, such as content type

Step 9: Add more details like listing title, description, auction/classified, and price

Step 10: Select the premium boost promotion if you want to

Step 11: Enter your credit card details and click ‘Pay Now’

Notes on Listing

You should include a screengrab of your website as part of the listing. And if you are registering a new account, Flippa also needs a 120×120-px picture of you or the person responsible for selling the online property.

The attractiveness of the title and description is up to you. But they should be concise, truthful, and meaningful. You can use private listings if you want the business name and URL hidden. You can also save your listing as a draft and continue later.

Your listing will undergo a review after you submit it. And an account manager will contact you if there are any issues. Else, it will go live.

Answering Messages

Once your listing has been reviewed and is live, the next step is to keep an eye out for messages. As potential buyers might have questions that they need to first ask. Or they might want to make you an offer. Flippa makes it easy to respond to these messages and this increases the interest in your listing.

Verifying Offers

There are scammers everywhere. And sometimes, a potential buyer might also not be a scammer. Anyway, if you ever feel confused or are not sure of an offer that you just received. Then contact your account manager for verification.

Getting Paid

If you succeeded in selling the site, then all you need to do is supply your bank details to get the payment from Flippa. The platform used includes an escrow feature and it is free but it has been discontinued.

It now makes use of escrow.com. The whole process is smooth and painless. And no worries, our team lead, Mfon, has sold many times on Flippa and never had issues getting paid. If your payment is below $2000, you can supply your PayPal ID and get paid instantly.

Conclusion

We have reached the end of this online business selling guide for Flippa.com. And you have seen the different types of businesses you can sell on the site, as well as how easy it is.

Flippa probably has the highest pool of online property buyers. So, if you do your homework well and make a good offer. You will surely see some success.

Nnamdi Okeke

Nnamdi Okeke

Nnamdi Okeke is a computer enthusiast who loves to read a wide range of books. He has a preference for Linux over Windows/Mac and has been using
Ubuntu since its early days. You can catch him on twitter via bongotrax

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2 Comments

  1. Hey man, what is the criteria of a starter and established website.
    Flippa charging me $49 for the listing. But I don’t have that much money.
    Can I list it on $15?

    • Established website should be a website that is at least generating reasonable revenue and traffic. If it is not, why not list it as a starter website?

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