How to Safely Buy A Small Website
I researched this necklace to death beforehand !
Is there a totally safe way to purchase a website ? No really, but you can reduce the risk factor greatly. Ensure that you go into a deal with both eyes open. That approach is very important. It doesn’t mean that you have to disbelieve the seller totally, but research the site beforehand handing over the cash or negotiating.
Ask the seller for screenshots of traffic reports, income reports. If they hesitate, they might be stalling just to frantically find nice reprot screenshots from another site. The other day, during the negotiating stage for the purchase of an established site, the seller sent a traffic report. The traffic report was text that he or she had typed into the message…Uuum…hello ? Do I have stupid written across my forehead ( sometimes, but thankfully, not all the time ) ?
After receiving the valid reports, now should you fork over the money ? Not quite, the reports are to used to negotiate the price. You should also check on estibot for the lowdown on the approximate value, the alexa rating and so forth. Then do a search to see if the site is for sell elsewhere or was previously for sell. If you find discussion in a forum related to this site, the information can be priceless. Some people in forum can be very direct with their questions regarding sites for sale.
If the decided price is low, such as $50, and you are satisfied with the reports and research, now is the time to buy. However, make sure that person has access to the site by asking them to upload an image file of your choice. Ok, now you can pay.
I personally feel that if the site is more expensive, $150 or more, it is a good idea to use an escrow service. It is a great way of protecting your cash. The site escrow.com charge a minimum fee of $25. The money is transferred to the seller only after the domain registration has been changed to the buyer’s name. If this does not happen, the money is given back to the seller. This is a general synopsis of the process. There are other regulations to go over in detail on the site.
Have you ensure that you make a safe purchase ? Do you have any site purchasing horror stories to scare us all ?
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good article. there are many guys out there that want to cheat. and it is so easy. there is always someone easy to fool.
Thanks Hugo. You should research a site before you purchase it instead of relying solely on what the seller tells you.