When purchasing a product or service online, you want to state clearly what your expectations as a seller include as it pertains to how payments are to be made via escrow. Below are sample escrow instructions by sellers looking to sell their website.

Seller expects the following in regards to the purchase of mydomain.com:

1. First payment in the amount of $xxx will be made within 24 hours of agreement of the terms regarding this sale.
2. Upon receipt by escrow of the full first payment amount,
   will be delivered as follows:
   • Current site files
   • Database content
   • All information required to access restricted areas
3. Final payment in the amount of $xxx will be made within 24 hours of product receipt.
4. Seller will set up and send registrar account name and all required information needed for a domain push to the current domain registrar - Godaddy (http://www.godaddy.com)*
5. Seller will push the domain to the account specified by the buyer

*Always use your current registrar in the domain transfer. This protects you more in the event of fraud as domains cannot be moved between registrars for 60 days after a domain transfer.

We would like to introduce everyone to our free escrow service which is now available at:

http://www.webpermit.net/escrow/.

Avoid being scammed, always use escrow!

This morning we came across a blog sale that caught our attention. It’s thecredence.com, and the sale is posted in the SitePoint Marketplace.

Summary

Website Name: The Credence
Sales Listing: http://www.sitepoint.com/marketplace/auction/19348
Site URL: thecredence.com
End Date: 29 days, 22 hours, 45 minutes (from this posting date)
Cost: $1500.00

Current Revenue Generated
Adsense - $46
Kontera - $10
Widgetbucks – $5
Blog Post Sales – $20
————————–
Overall Monthly revenue - $80+

Why we like this sale
The numbers look good (and legitimate) for this blog. It generates great traffic (18,000 visits/month) and some cash up front ($80+ a month) both of which could easily be increased with a little more TLC.

The site has over 2,600 pages indexed in Google (not really that many unique pages, but Google counts the translated pages which is a plus).

Additional website information:

Google PageRank: 3
Alexa Rank: 148,456
BackLinks: 542
Google BackLinks: 293
Yahoo BackLinks: 2,380
MSN BackLinks: 0
AltaVista BackLinks: 19
AllTheWeb BackLinks: 18

And is almost 2 years old (Domain age : 1 Years, 9 Months).

The auction will definitely end in a buy it now (BIN) bid being made, and we may throw our hat in at some point, especially since we’re techies who know the subject area and could easily add a post a day - a requirement to get it’s traffic rolling again. The downside is that there is no urgency to the auction, as it’s listed for 30 days. If it were 3, we’d have purchased it already.

Warning : Do not buy this if you have no intention of keeping up the blog as that’s what makes the website worth the investment.

Good luck seller, and good work on the site!

There are very few places online that we would recommend to buy a website from. Here are a few of the players we consider major.

SitePoint MarketPlace

SitePoint’s marketplace is in our opinion TOP NOTCH. Now, that’s not to say that you don’t have to be leery of posters that are trying to get something for nothing, but in general, the marketplace seems to be monitored in a way that posts from scammers are deleted pretty quickly.

Sitepoint has been around since 1999, and posters have to pay for each ad that is placed in the marketplace. This fact alone tends to get rid of most scammers. There is a wide variety of sites to choose from and some of the factors that we pay close attention to on each ad before buying are:

Date Established
Monthly Revenue (proof must be provided)

If all things seem to add up, we throw in a bid or choose the ‘Buy It Now’ (BIN) option. It’s shopping the way we like it.

When buying in the SitePoint MarketPlace - Check the Facts and Get Ready to Buy!

DigitalPoint Forums

If you’re new to website buying then please beware, because DigitalPoint’s Forums can be addictive. There are lots of sites (some scams, others not) added daily and the prices are reasonable for the most part. Sites on DigitalPoint Forums are not the best investment websites, but they are good starter sites if you’re just trying to own a site that Generates money using Adsense.

When buying on the DigitalPoint Forums : Gather as much information as you possibly can (including the seller’s phone number and address) and Proceed with Caution.

Webmaster-Talk.com

Webmaster-Talk.com has a common problem…people looking to make a quick buck off of a site they threw up in a day or so. And, not to say that all of the sites being sold are garbage (because they’re not), finding the perfect gem in the coal mine over there can be difficult.

There is also no legitimate rating system for posters as someone selling a product gets credit for responding to their own ad (for example, if I place an ad, and answer 50 questions regarding that ad, then I am considered an Experienced Talker).

When buying on Webmaster-Talk.com, beware of those looking for a quick dollar (at your expense).

Sedo.com

Sedo is top notch in secure domain buying, but their market for buying websites has much to be desired. First of all, we stated previously that we absolutely hate to bargain and attend auctions. We are people that like ’sure bets’ and don’t mind if we have to pay a bit more to get them. That being said we do buy on Sedo.com on occasion.

Sedo allows registered users to sell their websites and domains. However, there is no obligation for the user to sell it even if you offer them more than what they originally asked for. This irritates us to no end.

For example, the website tortillas.com has been on sale on Sedo for who knows how long. It’s been there for at least a year, and there have been 158 bids on the website to date. However, the website has yet to be sold. Why? Because the seller is not obligated to complete the sale even if the bid they are looking for is made. To us, this is irritating beyond belief. And although it doesn’t happen on all listings, this top listed site shows a major flaw in their system.

Another problem is that you can bid what the seller is asking for, and they can respond, “I got a bigger offer on another site, so the price is now x.xx more than it’s listed for. WTF.

Sedo.com is a great website for window shoppers, but may require patience and valium if you’re serious about buying.

Expiring domains are a great way to make quick cash through a website sale. And, the process we follow is as easy as 1-2-3. Keep track of how someone’s failure to renew can result in your shoe money. Keep in mind also that there may be several different companies you can choose to ‘work this magic’, but we have stated the following which produce consistently good results.

1. Godaddy’s TDNAM Auctions - First of all let me say that WE HATE AUCTIONS. Why? Because we are the ones who bid within the last 2 minutes on a product that you are sure you had completely sealed the deal on when you left your PC 15 minutes earlier. We don’t like the competition, so we simply say what we’ll pay and move on with our products. That being said, GoDaddy’s TDNAM auction allows us to buy direct on auctions that were never paid for, and on domains that are for sale. We simply choose a domain, build a quick site, and sell the site for a huge profit. We base each domain buy on a few factors:

1. Traffic - domains that already have traffic are HOT.

2. Memorability - we always go for domains that roll off the tongue with ease (and usually avoid anything with a number).

3. Age - The web is still fairly new, and in 50 years whether you bought your domain in 1999 or 2009 is not going to make a difference. However, today buyers like their domains old so we check on the age of the domain before laying down any money.

4. Work Required - We are web gurus and so most domains can be set up for less than $20 if we play our cards right. However, others are made for forums which take no time to build, but plenty of time to get posters. We try to steer clear of those

5. Potential Value - We rationalize that we can sell almost anything, but very few things are valuable to most of the buyers we interact with. A site’s value also depends on its subject area.

When buying an expired domain, always shoot for something you can push to it’s limit and then sell quickly. TDNAM already tells you the traffic you’ll be getting immediately upon purchase and these stats are always helpful in the sale. PLUS, you get the previous owner’s time of ownership….so, if they held it for 5 years, then you get that 5 years (a great selling feature).

In the end, buyers want to know that some time and effort has been invested and will pay more for a site that is low maintenance. So, build it up and sell it in tip top condition for a quick profit. Good luck!