Buying and selling websites and internet businesses can seem vague and overwhelming at best. How do you sell something that exists on the internet? There are actually businesses that do that. Empire Flippers is one such business.
They help you set up an exit plan for when you are ready to leave the business. With many website sales brokers now, you may wonder where to start.
That is where we come in. We have reviewed one of the big players in the internet sales game and are prepared to give you the full scoop.
We left no rock unturned so our readers can have confidence with who they choose. This Empire Flippers review will give you not just an overview but a deep look into what business is like.
UPDATED: June 2023
Our Overall Rating
Overview of Empire Flippers
Who is Empire Flippers? When you first visit their webpage and see the landing page it may make you think of a website like Zillow.
There is a search bar that lets you enter parameters and will then bring up the matches. This makes it seem really simple.
The picture on the landing page suggests that the business is located in New York City. However, we didn’t find where it explicitly said that and upon Google search it was still not found.
That isn’t really a big deal because all of the business is done remotely. You would not be going into an office anyway.
On the landing page it says that they are the number one “curated marketplace for buying and selling websites. This is a big claim but all of the media features and awards seem to support that claim.
Empire Flippers is not the newest or the oldest business that is out there in the website sales business. The founders started this business in 2013 and have been on the upswing ever since.
They do have a large staff that is well divided into sections to keep things organized. Having that many hands is great for a business of this size.
Types of Businesses Empire Flippers Sells
Empire Flippers is in the business of selling websites. These are businesses that are mostly or all online. There are different types of online businesses so it is important to know which ones they work with.
They sell a lot of businesses that monetize using affiliate programs, Amazon Associates, and advertising. It seems like they will sell any business that fits a few criteria.
If you are interested in selling your website it needs to have a solid six months of making $500 or more. There can’t be any off months. This is not negotiable.
Your website also has to use Google analytics. This also has to be for six months.
They will not under any circumstances work with businesses that have manipulated the numbers. Empire Flippers wants to be scam free and are very serious about the vetting process.
Just a quick search of their marketplace showed businesses in all kinds of niches. We saw automotive, bed/bath, office supply, baby care, and gaming just to name a few.
Because they don’t only work with the top valued websites, they are more accessible to small internet businesses.
Empire Flippers Valuation Process
Similar to a few other website brokers, Empire Flippers does offer a free valuation tool to get you started. It is a somewhat automated process.
It will only give an accurate valuation if you answer the questions honestly. The first question is how you monetize your website. You cannot choose more than one.
The next set of questions will ask how many hours you work and when you started the business. This is to make sure you aren’t trying to sell a brand-new business that has not proved itself.
After this they start asking the money questions. They want to know your average monthly gross revenue and net profit.
While money is important the valuation tool is also going to ask about your visitors, subscribers, and other traffic. This factor will indicate if your website will continue to make money.
Once you have finished the traffic questions they want to know about your business and personal network. The number of social media followers you have is a factor.
Then it is time to get your free valuation. They will only give you the valuation once you have entered your email.
It is pretty simple and took me less than five minutes. Since it is not in-depth you will need to be as honest as possible for an accurate valuation.
Sales Process
Once you have your valuation and decide that you want to list your business you will have to prove what you said on the valuation form.
Empire Flippers is not going to just take your word for it. Like we said, they are very serious about the vetting process.
To start the sales process, they require you to submit certain things. The first thing they ask for is your personal information.
This is not just your name, address, and phone number. The sales associate also wants your social media accounts, Skype, and email. If there is other information out there then you will be asked for that too.
The next thing they will ask for is all of your website information. The date you created it or bought it, the URL, any backlinking efforts you have made, site history, and any other pertinent information.
Monthly revenue details will need to be submitted. They make this pretty easy because they accept screenshots. This needs to go at least six months back but they may ask for more.
Expenses play into the sales process as well. If you are claiming an expense then it needs to be verified by a paper trail.
Your sales person will ask for your Google analytics reports or log in. They will want to see for themselves what is happening with your site.
If you happen to use Clicky instead their website says that it is an acceptable alternative.
When everything has been submitted and properly vetted the listing will be created. All that’s left is to wait for a buyer.
Empire Flippers Success Rate
Looking at the numbers, it is hard to imagine a website broker with a higher success rate. It is not uncommon for websites to be sold only days after listing.
Even if your site doesn’t sell as fast as that they are selling in a couple of weeks. Those numbers aren’t bad.
The rate of sale has been as high as 95% recently with it staying near 88% most of the time. This is a very high rate of sale.
But the success rate is not the only thing that is worth talking about. Empire Flippers has won numerous awards.
Four years in a row they won the Inc 5000 award for fastest growing companies. In addition to that, in 2017 they won four awards from the International Business Brokers Association.
- Deal Maker Award
- Top Deal Maker Award
- Top Global Producer Award
- Chairman’s Circle Award
On top of the awards they have been featured in multiple press outlets. These are widely read media outlets.
- Forbes
- Hostingadvice.com
- Smart Passive Income
- Drop Ship Lifestyle
- Ahrefs
- Niche Pursuits
- HostGator
- Business Insider
- Moz
- Problogger
- Huffpost
- BuzzFeed
This impressive list of press features and mentions is not even complete. One of the founders has been on a podcast and they seem to be a well-known broker.
These awards and press occurrences speak to the popularity and notoriety of Empire Flippers. They are a buzz worthy business that shows no sign of slowing down.
With awards and acclaim come online reviews and sometimes scams that have been pushed aside are seen. This doesn’t seem to be the case with this company.
They are honest and trustworthy. In fact, the reason they have such a large vetting team is because they do not want any scams.
Fees Charged by Empire Flippers
Now onto the fees. Because no one is going to sell your internet business for free. There are some companies that do not charge listing fees.
They will simply charge a commission at the time of sale. Empire flippers is not one of those companies.
There is a listing fee charged. It is different for first time listers and return listers. If it is your first time you will pay $297 whereas if it is your second or more time you will pay $97.
Why do they charge a listing fee? Remember when we told you how serious they were about the listing process?
That is the reason for the fees. They spend a lot of time and manpower to vet all sellers and buyers.
Time and payroll costs money. The fee is charged to offset this cost.
But the listing fee is not all that you will pay. On top of that fee you will also pay commission at the time of sale.
Empire Flippers does have a very well laid out commission schedule that was not hard to find. Considering you pay a listing fee the commission may seem high.
- Listings above $10 million: 2%
- Listings between $5 million and $10 million: 5%
- Listings between $2 million and $5 million: 8%
- Listings between $1 million and $2 million: 12%
- Listings under $1 million: 15%
The commission prices seem high but they are actually in the normal range for this type of business. One thing we really like is how easy it was to find this on their website.
This is listed under seller FAQs. Any website broker that is forthcoming about the prices they charge without a phone call ranks high on our list.
A certain level of transparency is important in the digital business world.
You can see the number of businesses they have sold and their success rates here.
Pros and Cons of Using Empire Flippers
No matter how much you like a business or how many reviews they get there are always pros and cons. While in this Empire Flippers review, we have looked at all of the aspects of the business, it really comes down to the next two sections.
This is where we really evaluate the business and all of the information. We make a decision about whether or not we would recommend Empire Flippers.
Before we get to the verdict we will get to the pros and cons. With all of the awards and positive press it is hard to imagine any cons.
Pros
This list of pros is not a complete list of all of the things that are great about Empire Flippers. This is a list of what we consider the best things about them.
Easy Valuation Process-The process is very easy but is not foolproof. Because the process is very automated it is easy to fool it. You can lie to the computer but if you choose to sell the site you will need to prove what you claimed. Just keep that in mind. It only takes about five minutes if you have all of your numbers together.
Detailed Vetting Process-This might actually be the top pro on the list. A detailed and committed vetting department is the way to prevent scams and the loss of money. When people scam the business or hurt the clients, the business will suffer. The vetting process is incredibly important. We love how serious they take it.
Sell Small Business Websites-Some website brokers won’t work with small business websites. They only want the big fish. Empire Flippers is not like that. As long as your business makes more than $500 a month and has a good traffic flow you will be able to list with Empire Flippers.
Forthcoming about Pricing and Commission-We have written reviews for other website brokers and the fee and commission schedule was either hard to find or not on the site. This is something that really should be listed. We were pleasantly surprised when we found the fee schedule quickly and easily.
High Success Rate-Any time you are working with a website broker you want to look at the success rate. You can also look at awards and press. But really the success rate speaks for itself. Empire Flippers has a great success rate.
Cons
While we can only really find one con for this business, it is one that might be a deal-breaker for some.
Listing Fees are not something we love. But we don’t like why they have them. This is to offset the cost of the vetting process. We still don’t want to pay a listing fee.
Our Experience With Empire Flippers
Scott, the founder of Business Brokers Rated used Empire Flippers to sell an affiliate based website. The site sold for mid five figures so it was not a huge deal.
Here is a bit about what Scott says about Empire Flippers”
“I have sold several businesses using other business brokers and the process was very smooth and easy.
Selling my business with Empire Flippers was not a pleasing experience. It was one of the worst experiences I have had selling a business.
The process and system was very clunky. Communication was difficult and it took a long time to get answers to questions as I was going through the process.
Verification of steps also was very difficult and it took much longer than needed to get things done.
That being said, I still think Empire Flippers is a good business broker to use for web based properties.
I have heard good things from others so it could be that my deal was not a good example of their typical processes.”
Conclusion And Verdict
Our overall view of Empire Flippers is that they are a solid website broker that can be trusted with your business. We would use them personally if we had a website to sell.
They have a high success rate, a dedicated team, and seem to be very transparent with their information. The awards and press mentions prove that they are a business to watch.
With an easy valuation process and a sales process to make sure everything goes smoothly it is possible to sell your website successfully.
Buyers also have a great experience with Empire Flippers. They don’t have to worry about getting scammed because of how hard this business works to protect their clients.
Empire Flippers has grown fast since 2013. They do not have the years of experience of other business brokers but they do seem to be good at understanding how to sell online businesses.
Since they have become quite large, you won’t get the one on one experience you will have such as using a business broker like Website Properties.
Our one and only drawback with this business broker is our experience with this company. As stated above, selling an online business with Empire Flippers was a bad experience. However, this may not be typical of their normal sales process.
