What Is Flippa & How Does It Work? Beginner's Guide
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What Is Flippa & How Does It Work? Beginner's Guide

11/25/2022 14:49:23 +0000
The process of buying and selling websites has become very difficult and competitive. Transferring sites isn't equivalent to exchanging them, so security and trust are paramount compared to when selling tangible goods.
 
This is where marketplaces, like Flippa, aim to make a difference.

Flippa has fast become a popular place to sell and buy web properties.

It has an advantage as it lets people who own smaller and medium-sized companies use the platform.

This is why many prefer Flippa compared to Quiet Light Brokerage and Empire Flippers, as these prioritize larger businesses with more earnings. Anyone can sell their own website or buy a different website with Flippa.

You'll learn more about Flippa and how it works in this post, including its pros and cons so you can decide whether or not you'll use the platform.

Flippa: The Basics
Flippa began in 2009 as a descendant of an older site, known as SitePoint. It started as a digital marketplace for online property, generally for domain names and websites.
 
Flippa is now a place where you can sell and purchase domains, websites, and smartphone apps. It's designed to aid those that want to purchase digital property, as well as website owners in selling their sites.
 
Flippa has a fee of $15 per month, and success fees are owed with successful sales. The charge is related to the concluding sale price.
Things You Can Sell With Flippa
Flippa is a site that acts as a marketplace for sellers and buyers. Both selling and purchasing on Flippa are very simple. You'll notice various business categories located on the top of Flippa's home page.
 
This list displays several websites, mobile apps, and domains that you can purchase. These will either have a fixed price or be sold with an auction-like method.
The Website
The websites that are up for sale are classed into primary categories. Flippa has the following:
  • SaaS
  • Content
  • Service
  • MarketPlace
  • eCommerce
Apps On Flippa
Apps on Flippa are separated into two groups, Android apps, and iOS apps.

Apps can sell for a lot and are promoted like the way websites are on the site.

However, as there are different technical platforms used, purchasing and handling an app is different from selling and buying a website.

This means that it's important to have a good understanding of the app market before you buy an app.

Domains
It's a lot easier to sell and buy a domain name with Flippa compared to doing the same with apps and websites. It's easier to pay and do the transfer as you won't need to disclose a lot of information or data.
How Flippa Works
It's important to have an idea of how Flippa works so you can achieve the most from using the site.
 
Remember that you won't be buying or selling straight from Flippa. The site acts as a peer-to-peer location where buyers and sellers can interact.
 
People and businesses will list their online assets for sale, at a fixed price or at an auction where others can bid.
 
You can use Flippa in three different ways:
Building And Selling
This produces a resource from the very beginning. Once the development stage is complete, you will work to make a site more appealing and popular to potential buyers.
 
You can then sell your property after you reach a specific traffic level.
Buying And Holding
This involves buying a site and holding it for anywhere from two to five years. The website will keep earning money for the amount of time that you own it for.
 
You can also grow it to increase your earnings, provided you understand how to do so.
Flipping
Flipping involves purchasing a site, holding the website for a short period, then selling it for more than what you paid.
Pros And Cons Of Buying On Flippa
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of buying on Flippa.
Advantages
  • Buyers can use several filtering options through the home page. The home page is very easy to use and helps you navigate through the site.
  • As long as buyers understand how the site works and persevere in looking for good deals, you might find some amazing websites with lower costs on Flippa.
Disadvantages
  • Unfortunately, no site can fully resist digital scams. The company doesn't entirely inspect its listed websites, so Flippa does carry a risk of scams.
Pros And Cons Of Selling On Flippa
Advantages
Here are the advantages and disadvantages of selling on Flippa.
  • Flippa is very easy to navigate through. Sellers won't usually have to spend more than ten minutes to list their website up for sale, though some can do this in just five minutes.
  • You can list your assets on Flippa and display them in front of amazing leads. You'll have a much larger buyer audience that's of better quality. The site requires ID verification to ensure that queries remain serious.
  • Flippa has a broker which may help those that want to guarantee appropriate merchandising for your brand. They understand who they should target and what information they should deliver, as well as the groups you should be directing your adverts to.
Disadvantages
  • It's best to list yourself if you aren't keen on renouncing control of the sale. If you have a distinct idea of who you want to lead and target your business, it may be unsafe to give the job to another person.
  • Flippa may leave you vulnerable to more risks compared to using a conventional business broker. It doesn't matter how much you've examined a buyer online, scams may always happen. This is one of the main drawbacks of most internet transactions. If you aren't keen on taking the risk, it's best to stick to face-to-face sales.
  • Flippa is a business-for-sale program that uses auction-like postings, so you may not earn a lot selling your digital property through these platforms.
Advice On Avoiding Flippa Scams
People have noticed that Flippa is prone to several scams, as the platform doesn't verify the business listings that are uploaded on the website.

Here are some tips to avoid scams when using Flippa.

If It's Too Good To Be True
A rule that can save you a lot of time and money is that if something looks too good to be true, it probably is.
 
You can assess whether this is the case by dividing the Buy It Now price by the average monthly earnings. If the number is under 25, it's best to skip the website and look for others.
 
Be cautious of any listings where the Buy It Now price is under 25x the monthly earnings.
Be Wary Of Unverifiable Traffic
You can use tools like Ahrefs and Google Analytics to look at organic and paid traffic. You can also use Google Analytics to verify social traffic and look at social channels.
 
However, the same can't be said for direct traffic. People generally don't type a specific URL to reach a website. This type of traffic cannot be verified, so always be cautious of sites with higher amounts of direct traffic.
Don't Go For Peculiar Websites
It's best to look at the website you are planning on purchasing, as you should make sure that all of the links are working, the layout is decent, and the quality of the posts is.
 
If you find that anything looks strange, trust your instinct. Scammers love to produce things that look great at first, but don't deliver later.
 
You'll often find that things start to look ugly once you click further into a site, so always trust your gut if you find things you don't like.
The Bottom Line
Now you know what Flippa is!
 
We hope that you have a greater picture of how Flippa works and the pros and cons of buying and selling on the site.
 
Flippa can be a great way of selling digital property, as well as locating amazing sites that deliver earnings for several years.
 
However, Flippa isn't immune to scams, so always be cautious when using the site and do your research into the assets that you buy.
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About the Host
Sophie Howard is the founder of Aspiring Entrepreneurs, a community designed to help people develop the skills and confidence to build a business and a life that serves them. Sophie began online in 2013 with an Amazon firm, which she sold for more than $1 million in 2015.

Sophie has lectured on stages all around the world, encouraging and teaching other ambitious entrepreneurs. She has established instructional programs educating thousands of students how to sell online, in addition to releasing over 1000 products.

Sophie has also written a book titled "Aspiring Entrepreneurs: A Guide to Finding Your Best Path to Financial Freedom."
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