Best Practices for Buying Websites | Tips for Buying Websites
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The venforo online marketplace offers a great opportunity for enterprising individuals to find, bid and buy an established online business. But participating in this marketplace requires certain responsibilities of you as the buyer. You will search independently for a business that meets your requirements and budget. You will investigate the business to determine if the details of the business hold up under review. You will set your bidding limits based in the value determined from your research. Finally you will carry out contract negotiations (with the aid of trusted advisers – see our Closing Guide) and complete the sale.
Venforo is here for you every step of the way to assist you in conducting your search and research on the web properties listed in the marketplace. However, venforo is not a business broker, does not represent either you or the seller in the transaction, nor do we handle funds or the transfer of assets post sale. It is the responsibility of the buyer to carry out due diligence on the business’s financial, web metrics and other crucial data during the sales process.
The rewards for your direct action are great as you will be dealing directly with the person responsible for the online business listed on venforo. This offers you a chance to assess the business without the filtering of a middleman. And venforo can provide significant savings through a reduced transaction cost when compared to brokers’ fees. As an entrepreneur interested in getting the best deal possible this can offer significant costs savings as you start on your next big venture.
If you have a specific type of web property and/or industry and budget, you are interested in pursuing, try the Advanced Search to see if a listing is available that meets your criteria.
Please note if you are contacted about buying a web business listed on venforo directly, please do not respond. Outside-of-venforo transactions are prohibited as detailed in the Terms of Use Agreement. Attempts to transact business outside of venforo may result in the immediate suspension of your account and further use of the website.
Beyond the details of the business itself we recommend researching the business’s reputation on online forums, like Yelp, the Better Business Bureau and RipOff Report to see if there are any patterns of concern in the business’s history or practices. Listings on venforo offer links to third party profilers, like Whois and Open Site Explorer to get further evidence in support of business ownership and web popularity. Independent research on the internet is great way to find any hidden details about a seller or property. Don’t forget to include social media platforms as part of this stage of your due diligence.
It is your responsibility to thoroughly research the seller and details of any property you may want to purchase. If something about a business or seller makes you uncomfortable after your research, move on to your next opportunity.
A listing with a BuyNow option provides an opportunity to short circuit the auction process and purchase the property outright. If you place a bid at the BuyNow price you will be obligated to purchase the property per the venforo Terms of Use Agreement. A bid at the BuyNow price ends the auction and you will be contractually bound to complete the transaction.
If you place a bid on an auction that meets the sellers reserve price (ie.the non-published lowest price a seller is willing to sell at) you are obligated to complete the sale unless outbid by another buyer. All bid activity on a listing you are watching or bidding on will be notified to you by email. However you should check the listing regularly as the auction nears expiration to ensure timely review of all bidding activity.
All bids on venforo are non-retractable so only bid on a listing you want to buy at price your are able and willing to pay.
Venforo is committed to positive outcomes at the end of all successful auctions and sales for both buyers and sellers. Please review our Closing Guide - Leveling the Playing for valuable information and tips for a successful post sale process and closing.
Venforo is here for you every step of the way to assist you in conducting your search and research on the web properties listed in the marketplace. However, venforo is not a business broker, does not represent either you or the seller in the transaction, nor do we handle funds or the transfer of assets post sale. It is the responsibility of the buyer to carry out due diligence on the business’s financial, web metrics and other crucial data during the sales process.
The rewards for your direct action are great as you will be dealing directly with the person responsible for the online business listed on venforo. This offers you a chance to assess the business without the filtering of a middleman. And venforo can provide significant savings through a reduced transaction cost when compared to brokers’ fees. As an entrepreneur interested in getting the best deal possible this can offer significant costs savings as you start on your next big venture.
Initial Search
The venforo search function offers a variety of ways to find a web property of interest. Our home page is a great place to start as it provides listings based on variety of popular criteria. Browse through these listings if you have broad based interest in seeing what businesses are available for sale. Add a listing to your Watchlist in your Dashboard to follow activity (comments, bidding, etc.).If you have a specific type of web property and/or industry and budget, you are interested in pursuing, try the Advanced Search to see if a listing is available that meets your criteria.
The Listing Detail
The details as posted by the seller in the listing are you initial step to researching the business. Venforo offers sellers ample opportunity to provide extensive background, financial and web traffic data to get a good overview of a web property. However, it is impossible to cover all information that may be of interest to potential buyers of websites. If you need clarification on a listing detail or require additional information, do not hesitate to contact the seller by posting a public comment or sending a private message. Check listing comments regularly as other interested buyers may post inquiries not previously considered. Remember the only stupid question is the one not asked so utilize the venforo messaging function from your Dashboard extensively.Please note if you are contacted about buying a web business listed on venforo directly, please do not respond. Outside-of-venforo transactions are prohibited as detailed in the Terms of Use Agreement. Attempts to transact business outside of venforo may result in the immediate suspension of your account and further use of the website.
Beyond the details of the business itself we recommend researching the business’s reputation on online forums, like Yelp, the Better Business Bureau and RipOff Report to see if there are any patterns of concern in the business’s history or practices. Listings on venforo offer links to third party profilers, like Whois and Open Site Explorer to get further evidence in support of business ownership and web popularity. Independent research on the internet is great way to find any hidden details about a seller or property. Don’t forget to include social media platforms as part of this stage of your due diligence.
It is your responsibility to thoroughly research the seller and details of any property you may want to purchase. If something about a business or seller makes you uncomfortable after your research, move on to your next opportunity.
Bidding
Based on your budget and research of the business, formulate a price range you will be willing to pay for a specific property. We recommend researching similar businesses that have sold on venforo and other web business for sale directories to get a better sense of an appropriate price range.A listing with a BuyNow option provides an opportunity to short circuit the auction process and purchase the property outright. If you place a bid at the BuyNow price you will be obligated to purchase the property per the venforo Terms of Use Agreement. A bid at the BuyNow price ends the auction and you will be contractually bound to complete the transaction.
If you place a bid on an auction that meets the sellers reserve price (ie.the non-published lowest price a seller is willing to sell at) you are obligated to complete the sale unless outbid by another buyer. All bid activity on a listing you are watching or bidding on will be notified to you by email. However you should check the listing regularly as the auction nears expiration to ensure timely review of all bidding activity.
All bids on venforo are non-retractable so only bid on a listing you want to buy at price your are able and willing to pay.
Post Auction/BuyNow Sale
A winning bid on venforo makes you legally bound to buy the property at the price you bid. After a successful auction or BuyNow sale the sellers First Name, Last Initial, phone number and personal email address will be available in your venforo Dashboard. This will be your starting point for post sale due diligence, final negotiations and closing.Venforo is committed to positive outcomes at the end of all successful auctions and sales for both buyers and sellers. Please review our Closing Guide - Leveling the Playing for valuable information and tips for a successful post sale process and closing.