When I find a website I’m interested in buying, I research the following regarding each domain:
1. Confirm that the site details (page rank, search engine rankings, pages indexed, etc) are in deed valid. Flippa gives you some basic semrush stats, keywords, etc. Is anything showing up on this page? If they have no traffic from google or search engine traffic, be cautious and ask where there traffic came from… was it paid traffic?
2. Determine whether any changes can be made to increase revenue.
3. Research seller… check their reputation, confirm whether they accept Escrow or not….
4. Find out whether or not I can reproduce the website myself and save money…
5. Look closely at comments on the listing and check for any “funny business”… have any been deleted?
6. How much control do you have of the website once you purchase it? Do they allow you to move it to your own server? Do you own the rights to any “proprietary scripts” that are required for the website to run? Are you obligated to the seller in any way after the sale? I like to have a clean break and do not want to forcefully be engaged in an ongoing business relationship out of necessity…
7. Research the seller and listing extensively… If they claim the website is on a dedicated server, I do a reverse IP to see all sites that reside there… I also research all domains that the seller owns and research as many as possible.
8. Ask the seller if they will give me a “tour” of the back end of the website… it’s EASY to post faux screenshots, etc. They should be willing to guide you through the back end of the website using mysupportsession.com or teamviewer. It is much more difficult to fool someone when they are seeing your screen… insist you see the entire desktop and URL’s of the page…. TRUST NO ONE. Tell them you want to see traffic and revenue stats… any legit person will agree…
9. If it is a big purchase, talk to them on the phone…. do a video chat as well… Especially in video chat, when you ask questions, you can get a better indication if they are being honest with you.. body language seldom lies.
10. Is the site in broken English? I am very leery of sites in very poor English… I’m not talking about common mistakes, I am speaking of broken English… something that would have to be rewritten…
11. Check for any trademark or copyright problems in the domain or website…. You don’t want to inherit any legal problems…
12. See if you can confirm any revenue details with an affiliate manager… contact the affiliate company and inquire… send them to the listing… also email more than one person at the company for good measure.
13. What payment methods do they accept? I have noticed that one seller with NO feedback rating that accepts escrow is asking to be paid with a payment processor I’ve never heard of…. Be leery of all payment options…. Only purchase through Escrow.com.
This may all seem complicated for a new buyer… but the following is a MUST have of DO NOTS and are typically deal killers.
1. DO NOT purchase anything off of Flippa without using Escrow services. If they don’t accept escrow, run for the hills.
2. DO NOT purchase anything that will obligate you to pay any kind of fee (including hosting it on their server, not allowing you to move it) once you purchase the website.
3. DO NOT purchase anything where there are several comments deleted from different users…. this is a BIG red flag. I am writing these as I think of them, so I will update this page periodically.
4. If you ask a legit question (such as giving you a back end tour of the website) and they ignore you, make excuses or flat out refuse, then DO NOT purchase anything from the seller.
I plan on having a checklist of things to look for when purchasing a web property…. You can quickly eliminate many sites and possibly saving yourself from wasting a lot of money by following some simple guidelines. It would be nice to assume that everyone is honest… but they are not. Flippa.com is an awesome place to add to your virtual real estate empire… like everything else out there, it pays to do your homework!
Below are some websites I have researched…. You can click each one for details. Depending on your connection, you may need to wait for the page to fully load.
[emaillocker id=”299″]
[/emaillocker]