Website Sellers Try to Sell Websites Too Fast
We often receive requests to sell websites that are less than 12 months old. In some instances, some website sellers look to sell websites that are less than 6 months old. Some are even a few days old.
We always decline to take on these clients. They confuse selling websites with selling domain names. They are not the same.
Professional website buyers are like buyers of any traditional business. They seek established website businesses with long operating and sales history that can provide them with a good ROI. Domain buyers, on the other hand, are predominantly speculators and flippers. They’re not focused on the sales history of the domain name and therefore buy and sell domains more regularly.
Of course, people flip websites also. But these are generally new websites with little sales history and revenues. These are sold for as little as a few hundred dollars. But real website businesses that provide a living for its owners are built over years. These are not hobby websites or part-time businesses. They form the main source of income for the owners and employees involved.
To successfully sell established websites, a seller must have uncovered and refined a successful business model that produces real cash-flow. This is what professional website buyers are looking to invest in.
So don’t be surprised if you list your new website for sale at a marketplace and get no interest from buyers. If it has no cash-flow or operating history, it’s not considered valuable to most buyers. After all, buyers can just register a domain name and build a similar website that also produces no cash-flow.
Take your time and build your website business. Treat it like you would treat any traditional business. You wouldn’t open a retail store today and try to sell it tomorrow. So don’t do this for websites.
Author: Kris Tabetando
Kris Tabetando provides mergers & acquisitions (M&A) advisory and brokerage services to Internet companies. He also partners with investors to acquire & manage Internet businesses.
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