For anyone wanting to get into the website flipping business, there is no better time than now when the web is just teeming with opportunities along this business model. If you somehow have an idea of how the real estate market works, flipping websites is no different. The basic principle is buying websites low and then selling them for a profit. Still, there are some guidelines to the purchase of sites that you need to be aware of, specifically the what, where, and when.
What Sites Are Best For Flipping?
As with most new ventures, you should start your site flipping business small. Short-term sites are your best option here. They have a low initial cost and can be turned around for profit relatively quickly. The one thing that causes some people to ignore short-term sites is that they do not make very much money. The idea is to try for high volume and low profit so that you can get plenty of experience without risking too much of your money. If you spend your entire budget on an expensive site and are unable to turn it around, it could make for a quick end to your new business. If you will discover a domain which is already generating profit or has a flow of traffic, you have a better chance of successfully flipping it.
Setting yourself a budget, around $200 for newcomers, is a great way to limit the websites you’re shopping for. It’s important that you avoid sites such as turnkey domains at first. They are appealing for being fairly low-cost and completely built, only requiring the new owner to “turn the key”. However, they may be poorly built and not optimized to pull in traffic. Getting them up to snuff and ready for resale can require a great deal of work and knowledge.
Where Should I Buy Sites?
Once you know what to look for, you have to know where to go. Buying websites can be intimidating due to the wide range of places you can buy from. However, there are some places which are much better for purchasing than others. You should start off buying from the big, popular websites. This will give you the widest range of sites to choose from so that you can get the best one to match your needs. Flippa is one of the largest marketplaces for site flippers. Places like DigitalPoint and Warriors Forum also offer the opportunity to purchase and sell sites as well as giving you access to a member’s forum where you can learn the tricks of the trade. Not only are these sites important if you’re looking to buy and sell your sites, but they are tremendous resources that you should immerse yourself in before you ever make your first transaction.
While you want to shop around at multiple sites, it isn’t a great idea for inexperienced flippers to shop at non-specialized sites. While places like eBay and Craigslist might offer domains for sale, they aren’t where most experienced users buy and sell their sites. Because of this, they can be an unfortunate haven for people looking to pawn off shoddy websites on the unknowing.
When is the Right Time to Sell?
Knowing when to sell your domain is essentially a matter of experience. The entire point of site flipping is to buy a site which is performing poorly or has little visibility and turn it into something that someone wants to own. Once your site is holding steady traffic or turning a decent profit, it’s time to sell. This is all relative to the amount you paid for the site to start with. A good benchmark for a site that has reached its selling point is when it will make back a buyer’s investment within 6 months. That benchmark can also help you determine the selling price, although you will also want to do plenty of research to make sure that your site’s price makes it competitive with similar sites.
Turning around virtual real estate is something you can spend all day reading up on, and while you certainly want to learn as much as you can before you get started it is the actual experience that will teach you best. No matter how prepared you are, the hardest part is always making the purchase of that first site. But once you flip your first site, you’ll quickly understand why this business has grabbed the attention of so many people looking to make money working for themselves. Buying websites and flipping then can be addictive, profitable, and even fun.
