Once you confirm that the website fits into your plan, it’s always good to know from whom you are buying the website. Dealing with a seller who is not cooperative can make even the best deal turn sour fast. The checklist below can help you remember major points to address when working with a seller on purchasing their website. Best of all, they can fix many of the issues listed below before you even place a bid. It may take some time and a little effort on both parts, but it’s well worth it.
Finding Marketplace Feedback
There are many marketplaces available for buying and selling websites such as Flippa.com, DigitalPoint.com, etc. These are great locations to research a specific seller and see what sort of feedback they have received from buyers in the past. It’s a quick process and can provide you with much helpful information in a short amount of time.
Can You Catch the Seller in a Lie?
Be sure to check traffic claims, income claims, and any of the other major claims made by the seller. If everything checks out and all the numbers add up, then there shouldn’t be anything to worry about. There’s nothing more frustrating than taking the word of a seller and having it be a complete lie.
Is the Seller Willing to Go the Extra Mile to Help You Out?
Surely the seller can produce a quick screen capture that will provide you with the information you seek. If you make a simple request and the seller won’t comply, they may be trying to hide something. Asking for something as simple as a screenshot shouldn’t be too much. This is a good way to verify if the seller is telling you the complete truth about the site. If you plan to shell out thousands of dollars for a website, the seller should allow you at least some simple verification that you are getting what you pay for.
Can You Persuade the Seller to Be Available for a Few Days after the Sale?
Find out if the seller will stick around for a bit after the sale is final, to help with any issues. Get this in the contract, just to make sure that all parts of the transaction go smoothly. You may have some questions that don’t come to mind right away. Access to the site may cause many questions to arise. It will be much easier to get them answered if the seller is available. Since the seller should know all the ins and outs of the website, this person may be the best reference you have.
Try to Contact Previous Buyers
While feedback is a significant source of information for a quick positive or negative comment, having an actual chat with a previous buyer can be even more beneficial. This is a great way to find out the buyer’s personal experience with the seller. Was this seller helpful? Was the seller a tremendous pain in the neck? Be sure to speak with multiple buyers. It’s better to get an average from many buyers, instead of relying on the experience of only one person and basing your impression on what that person says.
Don’t Be Unreasonable, but Do What’s Necessary
Even if a seller doesn’t have a ton of feedback, this doesn’t mean the seller isn’t reliable. If site flipping isn’t what this person is into, then they may only have one or two reviews. You can usually contact the seller and chat a bit. Be cautious, but not over the top with requests and expectations.
The key idea here is to find out if this seller is an all-around trustworthy individual or if they are simply trying to get rid of this website. Now it’s time to research the domain.
*Originally published on WorldStart April 05, 2010
