In most cases, when you’re selling a website, you want to include a lot of data. Flippa’s sales statistics have already proven that more attachments = more $ for the seller, but there are some specific instances where it’s wise to hold back on some of this data, or to consider a completely different sales platform than Flippa and other large marketplaces.
If You Found a Gold Mine, You Wouldn’t Publish a Map to It
Frequently, when we sell websites, we’re really selling execution — good unique content, proper implementation of an SEO and link-building campaign, and conversion optimization. Sites that get traffic and turn it into money.
For most of these sites, the market is well-known. There’s no intellectual advantage owned by the site — it’s not in a brand new, untapped market. It’s just been executed better than most of its competitors.
Sometimes, however, you find a keyword that’s basically untargeted organically. It’s a profitable keyword (has advertiser competition if you’re an AdSense builder, or is a buying term in e-commerce sites), but you’re the only one who really knows it. How you handle that situation is completely different from “regular” websites.
In those instances, it’s important to play it “close to the vest.” The last thing you want to do as a seller is publicize your untapped niche, inviting lots of competition for yourself.
How to Make a Sale without Setting Off Alarms
If you have one of these sites and you’re looking to sell it, your best bet is to try to move it privately, if possible. If you’ve been buying and selling sites regularly, you’ll have a list of potential buyers that you’ve already vetted in the past — this is a great place to start.
Since you’ve already bought or sold with these people before, there should be some degree of trust to begin with. This will allow you to withhold certain information (namely the niche or keyword), and instead disclose general financial information (and perhaps the general industry and monetization approach of the site).
Where to Find Better Buyers
If you don’t have a list of potential buyers, I strongly recommend checking out the forum at Experienced People. If you post there and prove yourself to be a valuable contributor, you’ll have access to their private forum. There are a lot of great people who frequent this board, and they are the types who would be more likely to understand (and appreciate) this approach. You have to remember that the seller’s discretion in a situation like this is also advantageous to the buyer, who doesn’t want to see the competitive landscape for the site change unfavorably.
