Are Empire Flippers Legit

Whether you’re looking to buy or sell a website, Empire Flippers is one of the top players in the marketplace. But how do you know whether this website brokerage platform is the real deal?

In this article, we’ll take an in-depth look at the pros and cons of their services so that you can confidently decide if they are the right fit for your investment goals.  We’ll cover everything from trustworthiness and customer service to buyer resources and seller features.  With all the information out there on flipping websites, it’s important to have all the facts before making your decision.

 

My Personal Experience With Empire Flippers

I sold an e-commerce dropshipping business for about $300,000 on Empire Flippers and I walked away happy with the sale. Empire Flippers handled all of the technical aspects of the sale like finding potential buyers, website migration, social media account transfers, and escrow. This allowed me to focus on running my business up until the day it sold so that I got the highest payout possible.

My biggest takeaways were that the process takes time and Empire Flippers is very thorough in its vetting process so if you’re planning on selling a website, you’re going to want to get started right away. It took about two months to get my site listed on the Empire Flippers Marketplace and another six months for it to sell.

If you want more information you can see my in-depth Empire Flippers Selling Review here.

 

 Overview of Empire Flippers

Empire Flippers is an online marketplace for buying and selling websites, online businesses, and other digital assets like SaaS products and Kindle Direct Publishing.

They have sold over $400 Million Dollars worth of online businesses and have strict criteria for the types of businesses that are listed on their marketplace. All the businesses being sold need to have at least a 6-month track record and all of the sellers need to go through a thorough vetting process. This is in stark comparison to a marketplace like Flippa which will accept any website or domain for sale.

Click here to read the full article on Empire Flippers vs Flippa.

Who Owns Empire Flippers?

The company was founded in 2011 by Joe Magnotti and Justin Cooke and since then, they have completed over 1,700 successful transactions.

What sets Empire Flippers apart from other platforms like Flippa is that they only list quality businesses that have been verified on their marketplace. This takes a lot of the risk out of buying and selling an online business but also comes at a cost. And while it is free to list your site on Empire Flippers, their commission is about 15% of the final selling price.

who owns empire flippers

Credibility & Trustworthiness

The credibility and trustworthiness of an online brokerage platform cannot be overlooked when buying or selling a website. Empire Flippers has a track record dating back over a decade which made me feel comfortable working with them. Over the years, I have also met a few employees in person at e-commerce, digital nomad, and SEO conferences.

Additionally, all payments are handled through an escrow account which ensures that buyers will receive their goods as promised and sellers get their money on time.

Customer Service

Empire Flippers doesn’t charge a fee to list a website and only gets a commission once a site is sold. This means that they need to have a very knowledgeable team of employees that can find buyers the best deal possible and help sellers get their sites listed and improve the quality metrics that buyers are looking for.

The staff at Empire Flippers answered all of my questions quickly and thoroughly, and I felt confident leaving my online business with them during the sale process.

The Empire Flippers team has over 50 representatives in it with dedicated staff in Management, Sales, Vetting, Migration, Customer Service, Sales and Marketing.

Empire Flippers Employees

How to Buy a Business on Empire Flippers

To buy an asset on the Empire Flippers Marketplace, you need to register for an Empire Flippers account and then verify that you have enough funds to make a purchase.

Empire Flippers Register

Sign Up For Empire Flippers Here

The fund verification is done through Plaid which acts as a third party between your bank and Empire Flippers. This way your financial information is secure and you don’t need to share your account numbers or any sensitive information with Empire Flippers.

Once you have verified your funds you can browse the EF marketplace for potential businesses and sort them according to your criteria. They currently have over 160 listings from $43,000 up to $15 million and everything in between.

They have filters available so that you can search for which type of monetization method you prefer like Amazon FBA, Affiliate, or Dropshipping and then you can also pick which type of niche you’re interested in with everything from Art to Travel.

How do you Unlock a Business on Empire Flippers?

unlock website

Once you see a business that you like, you can “unlock” it which will give you detailed access like the Website URL, Amazon Store Name, Google Analytics, Ahrefs Data, and anything else you might need to make a purchasing decision. Many businesses also have seller interviews like this one here.

Asking Sellers Questions

There’s also a place where you can submit seller questions which will be available for everyone all potential buyers to see, or you can schedule a call with the seller which will be hosted by an Empire Flippers Representative who will facilitate the conversation and act as a conduit between the buyer and seller.

Ask Seller a Question

 Making an Offer on an Empire Flippers Online Business

Once you have found a business that you want to buy you can either make an offer or buy it right away. I suggest speaking with an Empire Flippers representative before making an offer or purchase so that they can give you advice on how many other offers have been received and what price they think the seller will be willing to accept. I have seen content businesses like Amazon Associates, Affiliate or Display Advertising sites get sold within 24 hours. These are usually priced under $50,000 and are the only time when using the “Buy Now” button makes sense. Otherwise, you’re better off talking with someone from EF first or making an offer for about 10% less than the asking price. 

buy now button

How to Sell a Site on Empire Flippers

Online Businesses are generally sold by taking a multiple of your average net profit. Some companies use yearly profits while EF uses monthly profits and the range is typically 25x-50x monthly profit. So if your site is making $4,000 a month then you can expect to get $100,000 – $200,000 for your business. The first step is to use the Valuation Tool to see how much you can sell your site for. The monthly multiple generated will be based on the type of business you have, how old it is (older is usually better), how much traffic it has, and if it is growing or declining. If you are happy with the multiple from the valuation tool then you can contact an Empire Flippers employee to help get your site listed.

Website Valuation Tool

Be sure to have this information ready before your call:

  • Accurate Profit and Loss Statement
  • Your personal information (be sure to use your real identity)
  • Website details like your full domain name, where and when you bought your URL, site history, and if you have used any article writing or backlinking services
  • Proof of Revenue (this can be screenshots)
  • Proof of Expenses (screenshots)
  • Google Analytics Account Information

What Happens After the Sale?

Inspection Period

There is a 14-day inspection period during which the business will need to make at least 50% of its average revenue otherwise the buyer has the right to cancel the deal. In most cases, this is not a problem but it can still be stressful for the seller and is essentially one more hoop they need to jump through to sell their business. During the inspection period, all of the profits are also going to the new buyer so the seller will need to run the site for free. This was my biggest complaint during my Empire Flippers Review as a seller and you can read more about my experience selling a site on Empire Flippers here.

Post-Sale Support

Usually, a seller will agree to a certain amount of post-sale support. This is typically done via email or Zoom call and can last anywhere from 2 weeks to 3 months. This support ensures that the new buyer will get off to a running start with their new business and will give them the best chance of success. Most sellers are happy to offer this support because they take pride in their business and want to see it continue to thrive.

Empire Flippers Customer Reviews

Empire Flippers has a range of customer reviews from some of the biggest players in the internet marketing world. Travis Jamison from Smash Digital, Ace Chapman, and John Hefter from Thrasio just to name a few.

What Kind of Businesses Are on Empire Flippers?

Empire Flippers has sites and online businesses with many different monetization methods:

  • Afflilate Sites
  • Display Advertising
  • FBA
  • Kindle Direct Publishing
  • Subscription
  • E-commerce
  • Dropshipping
  • Saas

They also cover a wide variety of Niches including:

  • Art
  • Automotive
  • Health
  • Food & Beverage
  • Travel

Just keep in mind that Empire Flippers doesn’t list adult sites, gambling sites, or scam sites. Also, the niche and monetization methods will affect the selling price and the duration of the sale process. For example, content sites like Amazon Associates and Affiliate websites usually sell the fastest because they don’t have any inventory and are considered more passive.

Empire Flippers Alternatives

Buying an online business might be one of the biggest purchases of your life so it’s important to check out the competition. I listed my site on Flippa before I ultimately chose Empire Flippers and you can read the full review here.

Flippa is the biggest marketplace for buying and selling websites and they currently have over 5,800 digital assets that you can buy! They also sell domain names and pre-revenue generating businesses while Empire Flippers only accepts established businesses. If you’re trying to save some money and get a site for cheap, then Flippa is probably the place to be, just make sure you do your due diligence before making a purchase.

Store Coach is a smaller curated marketplace that only sells a handful of sites at a time. Due to their low volume of sales, you will get a more personable buying and selling experience which many investors value.

Motion Invest is another big player in the online asset marketplace. The sites that they have are generally making a smaller monthly profit than places like Empire Flippers which can be great if you are looking for a starter site that you can to grow. All the sites listed with Motion Invest need to be making at least $20.00 per month so if you are new to Website Flipping, then these lower-profit sites could be a perfect fit for you and your budget.

Empire Flippers Capital Review

Empire Flippers Capital is a great alternative for passive investors. Instead of buying or selling a website directly, investors can choose to own a percentage of a multi-million dollar digital asset. This is perfect for investors who want to have some exposure to high-growth potential assets without needing to manage them.

Drawbacks

Currently, this is only open to accredited investors which usually means you need to have a net worth of at least $1,000,000. The investment minimums are generally about $20,000 – 100,000 per digital asset (Website, FBA, etc.) so investors will need a large amount of capital to get started. Especially if they want to properly diversify and invest in multiple digital assets.

Empire Flippers – Pros and Cons

PROS:

  • The biggest benefit of using Empire Flippers is that their sites are thoroughly vetted which means your chance of success after buying a site is a lot higher than a marketplace with less strict guidelines.
  • They also have a great customer service team who can answer any questions you might have and make sure that the process is smooth.
  • They handle the migration process from start to finish so that you don’t need to worry about the technical details of transferring assets in your business like the domain name, copyright, Facebook Account, or Amazon FBA Account.
  • Empire Flippers will act as the escrow for your sale. This means that the buyer and seller are not transferring money directly between themselves. They will first transfer it to Empire Flippers and then once all the conditions are met the funds will be transferred to the seller.
  • Empire Flippers will help negotiate the sale so that both the buyer and seller are happy. Online businesses can have a lot of emotion attached to them if the seller has built them from scratch. Having a third-party help negotiate the deal will make sure that neither side is offended and both walk away from the deal satisfied.
  • There aren’t any listing fees when putting your site on the Empire Flippers marketplace. Flippa charges about $39.00.
  • There is an inspection period where the site is required to earn a certain amount of revenue. If it doesn’t then the buyer can void the transaction.

CONS:

  • The main downside to Empire Flippers is that their sites are usually more expensive than places like Flippa or Motion Invest.
  • They also have higher selling fees than Flippa and will take a 15% commission on sites sold for less than $700,000. You can check out their commission calculator here.
  • Due to the thorough vetting process, it can also take about 1-2 months to list a site on the marketplace.
  • Empire Flippers only accepts established businesses with a proven track record which means that they might have less potential growth potential than a starter site from a place like Flippa.
  • There is a two-month exclusivity period for sellers once they list a site with Empire Flippers. This means that the seller cannot list their site on another platform during this time.
  • The inspection period is a benefit for buyers and can be a drawback for sellers. During this 14-day period, the seller is required to continue running the site while all of the profits are going to the new buyer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Your Take on Empire Flippers  Biased?

Empire Flippers has an affiliate program that I’m a part of. This means that if someone clicks on a link in this article and then goes on to buy or sell a site, I will get a small percentage of the commission. That being said, I have personally recommended Empire Flippers to my friends and family who are interested in flipping websites. This is because I have experience with them and honestly believe they have the highest quality websites on the market. However, I encourage you to look around at other platforms like Flippa and Motion Invest so that you can get a good idea of the entire marketplace.

Where is Empire Flippers Based?

Empire Flippers is technically based in Wilmington, Delaware but this is most likely just an LLC or Corporation based there for tax purposes. In reality, they have remote workers spread across the globe and can be found at international conferences like The DC and The SEO Chiang Mai Conference.

Is Empire Flippers Free?

EF is 100% free for buyers and also free for sellers to list their sites. They take a 15% commission on sites up to $700,000 and a smaller percentage after that.

Is Empire Flippers Legit?

From my experience, they are completely legitimate and do their best to only sell quality sites. But this doesn’t mean that you can just buy any website and expect it to churn out profit for you consistently. You still need to do your homework and research to give yourself the best chance of success.

What Percent of Businesses sell on the Empire Flippers Marketplace?

They currently have a 71% success rate and are motivated to have this be even higher because they only get paid once a website sells.

Wrapping up

Overall, Empire Flippers is an excellent option if you are looking for a reliable marketplace to buy or sell established websites. They have a thorough vetting process that helps to ensure the quality of their sites and a great customer service team to help you through the process. While their fees may be higher than some other marketplaces, the extra money spent can be worth it when you consider what they bring to the table including handling the negotiating, migration process, contracts, and escrow. The inspection period is also a great benefit for protecting buyers but, in my opinion, can be a slight drawback for sellers. This is because the profit from the website goes to the new buyer during this period even though the seller technically still running the site. If you are looking for an established website to purchase or sell then Empire Flippers is absolutely worth looking into. Good luck with your search!

Websites for Sale