Selling Websites

When Can I Buy And Sell Adult Websites?

Adult Websites For Sale With the popularity of website flipping and an online porn industry worth billions of dollars, you would think it would be easy to find places to buy and sell adult websites.

Unfortunately for webmasters of adult websites, it’s not that easy at all. And despite how lucrative the porn industry may be, flipping adult websites isn’t nearly as lucrative. In fact, it isn’t that lucrative at all these days.

For a number of reasons, adult websites aren’t easy to sell and they don’t command the kind of multiples non-adult websites enjoy. There are always exceptions, but for the most part, there isn’t a lot of demand for these types of websites so they just don’t sell that well.

15 August, 2010 Posted by:
Travis Van Slooten Filed under: Selling Websites Comments (12)

When Is The Best Time To Buy And Sell Seasonal Websites?

I got an email from one of my loyal newsletter subscribers that wanted to sell a seasonal website – specifically a Halloween costumes website. He wanted to know when would be the best time to sell it. I thought it was a great question so I thought I would write a post about it.

Seasonal websites can be tricky because it’s all about timing. The key to successful buying or selling of these websites is to know the cycles of the seasons. Once you know the cycles, you can time the buying or selling of these websites perfectly.

Continue reading

12 August, 2010 Posted by:
Travis Van Slooten Filed under: Selling Websites Comments (6)

How Do You Protect Yourself When Selling Websites Via PayPal?

PayPal Seller Protection In part 1 of my series on how to buy and sell websites, someone left a comment asking about the type of protection there is when buying websites via PayPal. After I responded to the comment it got me thinking about the other side of the coin – protection for the seller when doing deals through PayPal.

My general rule of thumb is that you should never do a direct deal with a buyer when the amount of the website being sold is over $1,000. You should always use an escrow service. There are always exceptions to the rule but those are my general guidelines. For websites under $1,000, doing direct deals is usually o.k. and for me personally, PayPal is the easiest way to do it – but how do you protect yourself as a seller when doing a deal through PayPal?

11 August, 2010 Posted by:
Travis Van Slooten Filed under: Selling Websites Comments (5)

The Nuts and Bolts Of How To Buy And Sell Websites: Part 3 of 3

In Part 1 of this series of how to buy and sell websites, I detailed Steps 1 and 2 of the process. Those steps involved buyers and sellers coming to an agreement and the payment methods that are available to both parties to complete the deal. In part 2, I detailed step 3 of the process: getting the domain to the buyer and determining the hosting arrangement. In this final part of the series I will be covering the fourth and final step: handing the keys of the site to the buyer or transferring the site.

Step 4: Handing The Keys Of The Site To The Buyer
Or Transferring The Site

Once the domain has been transferred to the buyer the, seller needs to get the actual website in the buyer’s possession. The seller can do this by handing the keys to the buyer or by transferring the site to the buyer’s web host. The specific options available to accomplish either one are:

Option 1: Seller Hosts The Site Via A Reseller Account
Option 2: Seller “Hands Over The Keys” To A Shared Hosting Account
Option 3: Seller Transfers the Site To The Buyer’s Web Host

Let’s take a look at each option…

Option 1: Seller Hosts The Site Via A Reseller Account

Most people that flip websites have a shared account or a reseller account. I’m not going to get into the nuts and bolts of shared vs. reseller accounts because it’s beyond the scope of this article (although I will likely write about that topic in the near future so stay tuned). Suffice it to say, a reseller hosting account gives you the opportunity to “resell” hosting services through your own account.

In this arrangement, you basically share your hosting account with someone else and pass along the hosting costs to the person you are hosting for – and you can charge anything you want. The person you are hosting for has their own account within your account so the person doesn’t have access to any of your websites or files. For this hosting arrangement then, the seller would offer to host the website for the buyer and would give the buyer access to the hosting account immediately. The buyer then pays the seller a hosting fee that the two parties agree on.

The advantages of this arrangement are that the buyer doesn’t have to obtain hosting elsewhere and doesn’t have to deal with having a website transferred to another hosting account. There is also no downtime of the site at all since nothing is being moved from one hosting account to another – and the name servers don’t have to be changed either. It’s truly a painless and turnkey option for both the buyer and seller. There is also the added benefit for the seller to have a small residual income by providing hosting services.

Option 2: Seller “Hands Over The Keys” To A Shared Hosting Account

Some people who flip websites regularly will create new shared hosting accounts for each website they develop to flip. For example, a website flipper might own 10 websites that are each hosted on their own shared hosting account. In this example, the seller will be paying for 10 separate shared accounts on a monthly basis. This is the most expensive way to setup the hosting as a website flipper. The main advantage, however, is that this setup makes it incredibly easy and painless for both the buyer and the seller.

In this arrangement, the seller will hand over the shared account to the buyer. The seller will simply change all the information over to the buyer’s name, contact info, billing info, etc. and give the buyer access to the account. The buyer will literally take ownership of the account moving forward and will be responsible for the billing.

Unlike the arrangement in option 1, the buyer will not pay the seller for the hosting. The buyer will pay the hosting company directly and will pay whatever that company charges. This option is just like the buyer going out and creating a new account at a web host. The only difference is the seller doesn’t have to transfer the site to another hosting account so there are no delays or down time – and the name servers don’t have to be changed. The buyer just takes ownership of the existing hosting account and has immediate access to the site.

Option 3: Seller Transfers the Site To The Buyer’s Web Host

This is the most common arrangement between buyers and sellers because typically buyers will have their own hosting accounts already. Unfortunately, it is also the most complex and time consuming option – particularly if the site is large with any kind of database (i.e. most WordPress sites).
In this arrangement, the website and all the files associated with it are literally moved from the seller’s hosting account to the buyer’s hosting account. This would be analogous to moving computer files on your computer to someone else’s computer. This option also requires that the name servers be changed with the domain registrar.

The details involved in the process of transferring a site are beyond the scope of this article. I will, however, be writing on the topic in the near future and I will also be providing a step-by-step video of the process. Until then, the basic steps involved are:

1. Backup all website files (and database if applicable)
2. Download all website files (and export database if applicable)
3. Add the domain via an addon domain (shared hosting) or create a new account with a separate cPanel (reseller hosting)
3. Change name servers at domain registrar to point to the buyer’s web host
4. Upload all website files to the buyer’s web host (and import database if applicable)

After all the files and the database are in place, the buyer will have full control and possession of the domain and the website. Any funds that are in escrow will be released to the seller, or if any money is owed to the seller (doing a direct payment deal), it will be sent at this point. The deal will be officially over!

This concludes the three-part series on how to buy and sell websites – specifically the process of the deal itself. I hope it helps you newbies out there. As you can see, the process isn’t as difficult or overwhelming as it might seem at first glance. Now get out there and start flipping websites!

05 August, 2010 Posted by:
Travis Van Slooten Filed under: Selling Websites Comments (13)

The Nuts and Bolts Of How To Buy And Sell Websites: Part 2 of 3

In Part 1 of this series of how to buy and sell websites, I detailed Steps 1 and 2 of the process. Those steps involved buyers and sellers coming to an agreement and the payment methods that are available to both parties to complete the deal. In part 2, I’ll detail step 3 of the process: getting the domain to the buyer and determining the hosting arrangement.

Step 3: Getting The Domain To The Buyer & Determining The Hosting Arrangement

After the buyer and seller have come to an agreement on a deal and have selected the payment method, the next thing that needs to be done is to get the domain to the buyer and to determine what the hosting arrangement is going to be. Let’s look at the options available to get the domain to the buyer.

Option 1: Push A Domain

This is the most common way to get the domain to the buyer. When you push a domain you are simply “moving” a domain from one person to another from within the SAME registrar. For example, the seller has the domain registered at GoDaddy and the buyer also has an account at GoDaddy. In this example, the seller would push the domain to the buyer within GoDaddy.

Pushing a domain has a couple advantages. For one, it’s free to do. Second, it is a quick and easy process and the “move” to the buyer takes affect almost immediately. There is also no 60-day waiting period like there can be when you transfer a domain from one registrar to another, which I’ll discuss shortly. Here is a video I put together that shows you how easy it is to push a domain:

Option 2: Transfer A Domain

The other way to get a domain to a buyer is to transfer the domain. When a domain is transferred, it is moved from one registrar to another. For example, the seller has the domain registered at GoDaddy but the buyer has an account with another registrar (i.e. NameCheap) and wants the domain transferred there. In this example, the domain will be moved from one registrar to another (GoDaddy to NameCheap).

There are a few disadvantages to transferring a domain and as such, this option isn’t used as much. For starters, the buyer will have to pay to have the domain registered at his registrar, which is usually no more than the cost of registering a new domain. If the buyer’s registrar charges $10 to register a new domain, it will typically cost anywhere from $8-$10 to register a transferred domain. Second, there are more steps involved than there is when you push a domain. Finally, you cannot transfer a domain within 60 days of registering a new domain. For example, if a seller registers a domain to build a website that he’s going to sell within a few weeks, the seller will not be able to transfer that domain to another registrar for at least 60 days. Here is another video I put together that shows you how to transfer a domain:

Should I Push A Domain Or Transfer A Domain?

This is a common question among new website flippers. In almost every case, domains should be pushed. Even if the buyer has all his current domains registered at one registrar, the buyer should still agree to a simple push. It’s free to create an account at the major registrars and it’s free to push a domain so the buyer shouldn’t have any objections. To keep the process as simple as possible, the buyer should agree to a push and then he can transfer the domain to his registrar of choice after the deal with the seller is completed if he wants to.

The only situation where it would make sense to transfer a domain is if the seller’s registrar is an unknown company and “iffy.” For example, if the domain is registered at, Bob’s Super Cheap Domains, the buyer may feel more comfortable having the domain transferred to a more reputable registrar like GoDaddy.

Determining The Hosting Arrangement

Once the buyer and seller agree on how the domain will be moved to the buyer, the domain is actually moved. While the domain is being moved to the buyer, the buyer and seller will discuss the hosting arrangement and get that squared away. I cover the hosting arrangement options in great detail in part 3 of this series but they are:

Option 1: Seller hosts the site via a reseller account
Option 2: Seller “hands over the keys” to a shared hosting account
Option 3: Seller transfers the site to the buyer’s web host

As soon as the hosting arrangement is agreed on, the buyer and seller will act accordingly. This is discussed in great length in part 3 of this series. The main point is that at this stage of the process the domain is moved while simultaneously coming to a hosting arrangement. After the domain has been moved and the hosting has been squared away, the deal is officially done as far as transferring everything to the buyer.

04 August, 2010 Posted by:
Travis Van Slooten Filed under: Selling Websites Comments (9)

The Current State Of The Major Website Flipping Marketplaces

Last week I published my interview with Justin of FlipFilter.com. The interview focused on the FlipFilter tool itself. I followed up the interview with a couple questions for Justin about the current state of the major website flipping marketplaces.

Since the FlipFilter tool pulls data from these marketplaces and since Justin is really big into numbers and statistics, I figured he would be the best person to talk to about this topic. I wanted to tap into the treasure trove of data he has and get some insight on how the marketplaces are doing and where they’re heading. Here is what Justin had to say…

FW: Justin, what sorts of “global trends” have you noticed within the website flipping market as a whole over the past several months?

Overall, (looking at May to current) the numbers listed week on week has decreased, but relatively, only slightly (less than I would expect after all the recent ‘Flipping is Dead’ drama). This seems to have bottomed out so I guess we’re seeing more stability. Whilst Flippa has lost some traction, Digital Point is starting to gain some credible listings with bargains often being picked up for a 1/4 of the price the same site would sell for elsewhere. Overall, prices have dropped slightly too, but when you remove starter sites from the data, prices have actually got stronger as I guess buyers have recently become more savvy to what’s ‘value’.

FW: I would imagine you’ve become very familiar with the marketplaces FlipFilter pulls from. In your opinion, what is the current state of these marketplaces right now? Are they getting better, getting worse – what are your general thoughts?

Flippa
Flippa, the largest by far, has the problem of being number one, and when you’re number one everyone decides to attack. For anyone unfamiliar with the industry, there’s been a lot of negative ‘chatter’ lately on blogs and forums from people experiencing problems with starter sites (no traffic no revenue) failing to sell (I believe there’s even a few angry commenters on their recent blog post). I won’t get into the great debate about why, and whether it was doomed to happen, but ultimately many people simply lost faith and gave up and both Flippa’s listing and clearance rates suffered.

They also have a more serious problem lately with fraud and non-paying bidders, which could be a ‘nail in the coffin’ if a solution isn’t found quickly. I think they’re a highly profitable company and I’m in awe of their success with so few employees, but it’s probably time they put some of that revenue back into hiring additional people to help with security in both the code and the financial transactions.

I think (hope!) Flippa has a long future left providing it can change people’s expectations and perceptions. I think a combination of looking outside the world of IM to general low level investors and a responsibility for user education is key.

Digital Point
Digital Point is a total enigma; on the one hand we see a lot (and I mean a lot!) of crappy listings and probably discard at least 60% before they even make it onto our site. On the other hand, I think people are generally unaware of the genuine bargains you can pick up if you know what to look for. This is a generalisation, but many of the sites I see listed are from sellers in India who are great at grasping the technical aspect – creating the site, getting Page Rank, getting ranked almost instantly for various terms and hence getting traffic. The design and copy though is usually quite poor and often so is the monetisation strategy, (sometimes due to geographic restrictions on affiliate or advertiser programs).

You can pick up a mainstream PR3 site for less than $300 that’s already receiving a fair amount of targeted US traffic on a .com or .net domain. Simply tweak the content without affecting things like keyword density to make it more legible, tweak the design to make the site more credible and add high paying mainstream monetisation methods. In most cases, you make what you paid for the site in the first month.

Ironically, I believe DP has the most certain future of them all as people generally have low expectations of what they will find. I once suggested that they would do better by extracting the sites for sale section into its own marketplace, but watching the fate of Flippa could show otherwise.

Website Broker
Website Broker has been around for a while, and could have been a serious competitor to Flippa, but unfortunately lacks quality control. We frequently see listings appear that make $1,000 per month with a price tag of $10 million and think, “Yep, that’s a Website Broker one.” I have seen some real good sites listed here, but unfortunately, there’s just too much ‘market spam’ for it to be a serious competitor right now. I think an acquisition from someone with fresh ideas and a good management strategy would put this site on top.

Webmasters Marketplace
Webmasters Marketplace is kind of like the underdog I hope will do well – partly because it’s run by a fellow brit but it seems to be losing momentum. There is something here, but it needs a serious marketing push and some thought behind its strategy.

After Justin’s responses, it’s obvious Flippa remains king. The question will be, how long will they retain that title? Right now, it appears it is their title to lose and if they play their cards right, they could hold the #1 position for a very long time. It will be interesting to see how these marketplaces shake out in the months to come. I’ll be following up with Justin at the end of the year for another update.

The logos of the major marketplaces are copyrights and/or trademarks of their respective owners.

30 July, 2010 Posted by:
Travis Van Slooten Filed under: Selling Websites Comments (17)

The Nuts and Bolts Of How To Buy And Sell Websites: Part 1 of 3

The majority of the posts I publish on this blog are written with the assumption that the reader has “some” experience on how to buy and sell websites, or is at least familiar with the concept. I take it for granted that there are actually a lot of newbies to website flipping who are reading this blog and are being introduced to this online business model for the first time.

Sometimes it takes a flood of emails from folks asking specific questions on how to buy and sell websites to realize I may have been overlooking the basics and ignoring those new to this industry. For that, I apologize for being a knuckle head and will strive to be more balanced with the topics I’m writing about.

With that said, I am going to write a three-part series that covers the nuts and bolts of how to buy and sell websites. Specifically, I’m going to cover the actual process of the deal itself. Here are the basic steps of the process and what I’ll be covering in each part of this series:

Step 1: Buyer & Seller Agree To A Deal
(Part 1 of the series)

Step 2: Buyer & Seller Agree To A Payment Method
(Part 1 of the series)

Step 3: Getting The Domain To The Buyer & Determining The Hosting Arrangement
(Part 2 of the series)

Step 4: Handing The Keys Of The Site To The Buyer OR Transferring The Site
(Part 3 of the series)

Step 1: Buyer & Seller Agree To A Deal

When you buy and sell websites, the first step of the process is obvious – buyers and sellers have to agree to a deal. The seller puts a website up for sale and a buyer steps forward and agrees to buy it. This can be done through a public marketplace like Flippa.com, or it can be done directly via a private deal. The bottom line is, the buyer and seller agree to move forward with a deal.

Step 2: Buyer & Seller Agree To A Payment Method

After a deal has been made, the buyer and seller need to agree on a payment method. There are essentially two ways for the buyer to get the money to the seller. One way is to use an escrow service and the other way is to do a direct payment via PayPal, bank wire, or even check or money order.

Using An Escrow Service

For deals over $1,000, I strongly advise using an escrow service. The most popular escrow service for website flipping is Escrow.com. The company has become so popular that it is now even integrated into the Flippa marketplace. There are some that argue Escrow.com isn’t the best option for website transactions but I disagree. I’m not going to get into that debate here as that would be another post entirely. The point is, you should use an escrow service you are comfortable with. I prefer SafeFunds.com myself because they are much cheaper than Escrow.com. I have used both services with success and I have never had an issue with either service.

Regardless of the escrow service you choose, you will need an account at the escrow service you’re going to use. It’s quick and easy (and FREE) to create an account at Escrow.com and SafeFunds.com. I can’t speak to the charges and the processes involved registering an account at other escrow services so you’ll need to do your own leg work if you’re not comfortable with these two companies. Whether you’re going to be flipping one website per year or several, you should have an account with the escrow service you are comfortable before you do any deal so that you can familiarize yourself with the service.

How The Escrow Process Works

Every escrow service will have its own process but for the most part, they are all very similar in how they work. Here is a diagram that outlines the escrow process:

The Escrow Process

Escrow Process

Let’s tackle the process in greater detail. For the purposes of this post, I am going to assume Escrow.com or SafeFunds.com will be used. Here are links that outline the Escrow.com process and the SafeFunds.com process. After an escrow service has been selected by the buyer and seller, they will enter into what is a called a “transaction.” Both Escrow.com and SafeFunds.com allow either party to initiate the transaction. The buyer and seller will just need to discuss who will initiate the transaction. It will be that person’s responsibility to then initiate the transaction and to detail the terms of the deal.

After the transaction has been initiated and the terms of the deal have been outlined and agreed upon by both parties, the buyer will fund the escrow account. Both escrow services offer different methods to fund the account. You’ll note that the seller hasn’t transferred anything to the buyer at this point!

After the escrow account has been funded by the buyer, the escrow service will verify those funds. If the funds come from a bank wire or electronic transfer, the funds are instantly verified when the money arrives. If the account is funded by a check, then the funds aren’t verified until the check clears. Once the funds are verified, then and only then will the seller proceed to transfer the domain, website, and anything else to the buyer.

After everything has been transferred to the buyer, the buyer will essentially notify the escrow service that everything has been received as per the terms of the deal. At that point, the money held in escrow will be released to the seller. The seller will then be able to get the money via bank wire or check from the escrow service.

Dispute Resolution Process

In the event the buyer doesn’t receive all the goods as per the deal, the buyer can file a dispute via the escrow service’s dispute resolution system. Both parties will attempt to resolve the dispute and if it is, then the transaction will move forward and the funds will be released to the seller. If the dispute can’t be resolved, the transaction will be canceled and the goods and money will be returned to the respective parties.

Doing A Direct Payment

When you buy and sell websites, I don’t recommend a direct payment unless both parties have flipped at least one website and have a great deal of trust with each other. Even then, I personally won’t do any deal over $1,000 directly. That is my personal comfort level but you may have your own.

If you decide to do a direct deal, I advise using PayPal as it’s the easiest way to transfer money online these days. If you do elect to use PayPal, be sure to read my post about how to protect yourself when selling websites via PayPal. You can also do a bank wire, personal or certified check, or even money order.

The process of a direct payment deal is similar to using an escrow service except there is no dispute resolution option. As a result, there is little to no protection for either party. The buyer and seller are doing the deal strictly based on trust and hoping nothing goes wrong.

As for the actual process of doing the deal directly, the parties will ideally draft a contract that will be agreed on and officially signed. For big money deals, I consider a notarized signature an “official” signature. At the very least you want both parties to sign off on a written contract – with or without notarized signatures.

The contract doesn’t have to be written by a lawyer either. Remember, you should only be doing small money deals directly anyway so there is no need to involve the expense of a lawyer. You just want to outline, with as much detail as possible, what each party will do and what each party will get in the deal.

After the deal as been officially agreed upon, the buyer will send the money to the seller. Once the seller receives and verifies the funds, the seller will proceed to transfer everything to the buyer. Since there is no formal dispute resolution option when doing a deal directly, I recommend a 50/50 payment structure. Under this arrangement, the buyer sends 50% of the money upfront and the seller transfers “some” of the goods. For example, the seller might transfer the domain only and some files associated with the website. After that has been completed, the buyer sends the remaining 50% and the seller transfers everything else.

Now that you understand the first two steps of the deal when you buy and sell websites, it’s time to move on to the next step of the process – getting the domain to the buyer and determining the hosting arrangement. Continue to part 2 of this series…

29 July, 2010 Posted by:
Travis Van Slooten Filed under: Selling Websites Comments (6)

Does PageRank Matter When Flipping Websites?

I got this question the other day from Dee, one of my loyal subscribers. Thanks, Dee, for the question because I’m sure you’re not the only one who wants to know the answer.

PageRank does play some role – particularly if the buyer is inexperienced and new to Internet Marketing. The importance of PageRank is over-hyped and unfortunately, newbies buy the hype hook, link, and sinker.

For any buyer with experience, however, PageRank is just one small piece of the puzzle that carries little weight in the overall value of a website. Having said that, all things being equal, “site A” will have more value than “site B” if site A has a higher PageRank. No two sites are ever equal, however, so it’s a moot point.

Having a high PageRank is great when you’re ready to sell – especially if you’re selling to a newbie, but experienced buyers will look right past it. They will be looking for more important things such as traffic and revenue trends, number of backlinks, keyword rankings, etc. PageRank will be one the last things experienced buyers will be looking for (unless they are a text link broker, I suppose). Otherwise, it will be the last thing an experienced buyer will consider when determining the value of a website.

If you want to know more about PageRank – including how to check fake PageRank if you are buying a site solely because of its PageRank – read the detailed post I wrote about it here.

26 July, 2010 Posted by:
Travis Van Slooten Filed under: Selling Websites Comments (5)

Flippa Was Hacked So Now What – Is Your Personal Information At Risk?

Flippa Hacked Geez, a guy takes a few days off (the great blogger’s sin) and all hell breaks loose. The crew over at Is-Hacked.com is claiming they hacked into Flippa’s admin panel late last week. According to the blog post at Is-Hacked.com, they were running some kind of “routine task” at Flippa when they discovered a vulnerability.

According to the post, this was not a malicious hack. They were not trying to hack into their system nor were they trying to do any harm. In fact, according to them they notified Flippa’s top dogs within hours of discovering the breech. Flippa responded quickly and had the “massive vulnerability” fixed immediately.

When I first read about this I didn’t think much of it. For starters, I’ve never heard of Is-Hacked before and only ran across this story via a Google Alert that has been sitting in my inbox. For all I know, this could be a bogus claim and much to do about nothing. Furthermore, there hasn’t been a word from Flippa about this, which would lead one to believe there isn’t anything to the claim.

Havid said that, Is-Hacked has a screenshot of Flippa’s admin panel published on their post. Unless the screenshot is a fake, you can clearly see they had full access to Flippa’s admin panel. They are promising to post a video as further evidence of the breach. The only reason they haven’t posted the video yet is because they are being threatened with legal action from Flippa, according to the post.

Is-Hacked is recommending any users of Flippa to change passwords for SitePoint, Flippa itself, PayPal, Escrow.com, Google Analytics, and any other account Flippa asks their users to associate with them. The reason for their recommendation is because they claim this was a “massive vulnerability” and getting access to Flippa’s private data was too easy. If they could figure it out, any hacker could – and most probably aren’t “friendly hackers” – so says Is-Hacked.

So was the hack real and if you believe it was, should you worry that your personal information may have been compromised? Good questions. These are the same questions I’ve been asking myself.

If there was a breech of any kind, you would think Flippa would alert users directly or at least post something on their blog. I didn’t get any message from Flippa and there hasn’t been anything on their blog about it so who knows what’s going on.

It may be a pain to change passwords for all these accounts but I suppose it’s better to be safe than sorry. I just wish Flippa would have said something either way. If any hack occurred, they owe it to their users to notify them of it. If it didn’t happen or if the breech was harmless, they should have said something to put this story to rest. Their total silence just makes things worse.

19 July, 2010 Posted by:
Travis Van Slooten Filed under: Selling Websites Comments (13)

12 Simple Things Website Sellers Can Do To Instill Trust In Buyers

Whether you are flipping websites that are startups or are established, instilling trust in buyers is a critical part of the process. If buyers don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you. It’s that simple. Here are 12 things you can do to instill trust in buyers to increase interest in your websites and to make more sales.

Note: Most of these tips are aimed at selling on Flippa, the largest website flipping marketplace right now. However, the principles can be applied to just about any marketplace or avenue you choose to sell your sites.

1. Just the facts ma’am (to coin the slightly altered catch phrase from Dragnet)
Don’t exaggerate or lie in your listing description. If you made one sale of $30, don’t multiply that by 30 and then state that the site makes $900/month. Don’t even say it has the potential to do that. If you only made one sale then that’s all you can say – period. Example: So far the site has made one sale for $30.

2. Add plenty of screenshots
In my book, you can’t have enough screenshots. You should have screenshots of everything that is applicable in the sale – and I’m not talking just traffic and revenue here. Do you have a mailing list? Show me! Do you have a unique admin page for this directory? Show me! Anything your buyers can’t see or confirm on their own should have a screenshot.

3. Add video walkthroughs
Thanks to free and super-easy-to-use tools like Jing, there is no excuse not to include videos in your listing. Videos are even more convincing than screenshots as they are much harder to fake. Same rule applies here – what the buyers can’t see and verify on their own, there should be a video walkthrough.

4. Provide ALL contact information
Your name and email address is a start but it’s not good enough. Include your mailing address and a telephone number – or at the very least your telephone number. Also provide links to your Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn accounts so buyers can see that you are a real person.

5. Respond to ALL comments (both positive and negative) in a timely fashion
Respond to all comments – even those nasty ones. Never delete comments! If you don’t know how to handle negative comments, read this post for help. You’ll come across as a real professional if you respond to all comments – both good and bad – in a timely fashion.

6. Respond to all private messages in a timely fashion
Same goes here – respond to any type of message you get from buyers sooner than later – be it through a private message or email.

7. When buyers ask questions, give them thorough, detailed answers
Nothing turns me off more than getting a one-sentence, incomplete answer to a question I have. As an example, I was following a $10,000 auction the other day where the website had a trademark in the domain. I asked the seller if this was an issue with the trademark owner. His exact response? “The domain is fine.” See ya…next auction, please.

8. Provide a real picture of YOU
This is a big pet peeve of mine and one that makes me suspicious of a seller right out of the gate. What is the seller hiding? Most of us don’t look like Brad Pitt so who cares? Post your damn picture! And don’t be lazy and post a stupid logo or some picture you think is cool. Of these three sellers, which one would you trust the most – just based on the picture?

9. PLEASE, for the love of god, use your real name
This is a HUGE pet peeve of mine – not just with website sellers but with people online in general. I once did an entire transaction with a seller – including followup emails after the sale – who never once gave me his name. I won’t give you his real username, but it was something like Tsu098SX. Not only was it a pain in the ass to type his name every time I sent him something, but I felt like I was dealing with a robot. Unless you are a friggin robot, please…at least give your first name!

10. Humanize your listing
Tips #8 and #9 will go a long way in accomplishing this, but also include a paragraph or two in the opening of your listing telling me something about you or the history of the website. I don’t need a book here or some sappy story that you have medical bills to pay (although I do find those entertaining to read).

11. Boost your trust rating
If you’re selling on Flippa, there is no excuse not to have all the trust factors that you can control such as connecting your Linkedin and Facebook accounts with your Flippa account.

12. Include a link to a bio about you
If you’re working online – even part-time – you should have a bio page. Think of it as an online resume. This can be a simple one-page website or an about me page from your personal blog. Either way, you should be able to give your buyers a link where they can go to see who you are. Put this link in your listing and if you’re selling on Flippa, you can also include that link on your profile page as well. Here is an excellent example of a bio page/resume site.

If you implement all of these tips, not only will establish yourself as a true professional in the website flipping arena, but buyers will flock to you in droves.