Looking to buy your first website?
The ideal stepping stone for anyone looking to purchase their very first slice of digital real estate, Flippa is an online marketplace that specifically sells small sites that primarily include websites, domains, blogs and more.
Since its inception, Flippa has slowly but surely built up a reputation for being one of the top marketplaces to purchase a small website, blog or domain.
But, despite all of the hype – is Flippa a good place to make an investment in a website? And better yet, is it even legit?
We’re here to help answer those questions.
To help get to the bottom of whether or not Flippa is the right platform for you to go ahead and invest in a website, blog or other type of domain, we are going to be taking a closer look at Flippa in this guide today.
From what Flippa offers, the main pros and cons that you should be aware of as well as whether or not it’s legit – we’ve covered all bases to help you decide if it’s the right move for you and your business endeavors. Just keep on scrolling.
What Is Flippa?
Kicking this review guide off – we first think that it would be a good idea to outline what it is that Flippa is, exactly.
By having a clear understanding of what this marketplace offers, you will be able to make the most informed choice as to whether or not it’s the right place to invest in digital real estate.
Essentially, Flippa is an online marketplace/platform that has been specifically created to allow its users to easily purchase and sell all kinds of small websites including blogs, domains and more.
To help give you a better idea of what you can expect to get from this site, Flippa sells the following main things:
- Applications
- Domains
- Starter sites
- Established small websites
If you want to purchase any of these things from Flippa, you will need to first take the time to make an account with them. Once you have done this, you will then be able to go ahead and begin shopping around.
This brings us to our next section.
The Benefits And Drawbacks Of Using Flippa
Now that you have a much better idea about what it is that Flippa offers exactly, we are now going to be taking the time to share with you some of the main advantages that you can expect to get from Flippa, as well as share with you some of the potential downsides that you should be aware of, too.
Pros
- You have the ability to both buy and sell: One of the biggest advantages of choosing to use Flippa is that you will have the opportunity to be able to buy and sell at a variety of different price ranges. This is a huge plus point of Flippa and certainly makes it stand apart from the competition, because the majority of similar platforms often tend to require the value of all assets to be (at the very least) in the 5 figure range.
- Ideal for all budgets: As we have already briefly touched on above, Flippa isn’t the only online marketplace selling websites – but they do happen to be one of the only marketplaces doing so for affordable prices. This makes Flippa accessible to people with a variety of different budgets, and is ideal for those who are just getting started in the online sphere.
- You’ll have access to insightful data when shopping: To make sure that you are able to not only get the very best value for your money but also to ensure that you do not end up with a website that simply wasn’t worth the money – Flippa requests for all of its sellers to provide them with a Google Analytics report in order to approve it to be sold on the site. In some instances, Flippa may even request additional information. It is highly recommended that you refer to the analytics report when deciding whether or not to purchase the site/blog that you are considering. This is because the report will contain all of the necessary information you’ll need to know about (including things such as how many organic visitors it currently has, how often they get traffic, conversion rates and more) while also providing you with the ability to search and identify any red flags that you should know about before going through with the purchase.
Cons
- Scamming is common: Unfortunately, despite the fact that Flippa is a genuinely legitimate website and marketplace for those wanting to purchase a site or blog at a range of different prices – the truth is that it is common for many sellers to try and trick buyers into purchasing site’s that just aren’t worth the money. This is especially true given the fact that Flippa is intended to be a marketplace that is ideal for those who are just getting started out in the online space.
Is Flippa Legit?
Given all the great benefits that Flippa offers, as well as the fact that it is one of the only marketplaces that specializes in websites, blogs and domains that sell in the low to mid price ranges – it’s only natural that many people should often find themselves wondering whether or not Flippa is legitimate.
Generally speaking, Flippa itself is totally legit – although you will want to be careful that you do not get scammed when purchasing your digital real estate of choice.
To help make sure that you do not experience this, as a general rule of thumb – when it comes to purchasing a website, you should keep in mind that all legit sites will typically sell for upwards of 30-35x that of their average monthly profit.
In some rare cases, this figure can be even higher!
With that being said, a big red flag you should always look out for are sites that are selling for any less than 20x that of what the average monthly price currently is at the time of selling it.
This is a strong indication that it is a scam, so it is best that you avoid it – no matter how tempting the price may be!
Along with the overall price of the website or blog, another simple and clever way that you will be able to easily identify any red flags when selecting a site to purchase is via the Google Analytics report that is mandatory for all sellers to provide to Flippa.
That being said, when you find a site that you are interested in, you should thoroughly analyze the Google Analytics report prior to making your final decision as to whether or not you should purchase it.
The most common types of red flags to be aware of are random spikes of direct traffic, as this can be a sign that the owner/seller obtained the traffic through purchasing traffic or via another non-organic way.
Along with this, if you can see that there are any huge spikes in backlink profiles, then this is a clear indication that the current seller used “spam” methods to obtain many links in a fast period of time.
Along with this, when deciding whether or not you should make a purchase, we also recommend that you take the time to inspect the site as a whole. What is the content like? Is it rich and well-crafted?
What relevance do the featured images have to the site’s niche? When was the last time that any posts were made? All of these will help you to make the most informed decision as to whether or not the site is worth the purchase.
Our Verdict
All in all? If you are someone who is currently on the search for a marketplace that will allow you to acquire digital assets for more affordable prices – Flippa is a fantastic place to shop for established websites, blogs, start-up sites and plenty more.
Not only that, but the website itself is super easy to navigate, will allow you to shop around for the best value for money and is also known for offering fantastic customer service.
Still, despite the fact that Flippa is great in theory, the reality is that it is common for many sellers to scam buyers – especially those wanting to purchase digital real estate in the low to mid price ranges.
However, while this might very well be the case, if you make sure that you follow the guidance that we have shared with you above, you should find a legitimate website for an affordable price.
Thank you for taking the time to read through this guide, we hope that we have been able to help you come to a decision as to whether or not Flippa is the right marketplace for you. Happy shopping!
Hello, my name is Jack O’Neil and I have been in the marketing industry for almost 10 years. I focus on online marketing, SEO, advertising, and more.
- How To Find Site Map - October 6, 2022
- How To Increase Sales Volume - October 6, 2022
- What Is An Anchor Link? - October 6, 2022
