Unfortunately the website buyers marketplace is riddled with shady salesman, who would inflate the value of a website with the intent of deceiving website buyers into thinking their website is worth more than it actually is. Here are some tips to spot and avoid these dealers.

Now, some legitimate sellers use these tactics, and you won't be scammed. You will still get your website and domain. But these stunts really leave a bad taste in my mouth so I decided to give some tips on avoiding these websites. I believe every new website buyer should read this, otherwise you will probably get roped into purchasing a site like this.

First thing is every seller wants you to know the value of their site. This is fine, but many sellers will stretch the truth, or all and all out lie. First look at the title. This is their sales pitch. Watch out for words like "make $5000/month potential!" The keyword of course is "POTENTIAL". The site does not actually make $5k a month and there is a strong chance it never will.

The next thing to locate is the date the website was started. There are important points to watch out for: if the site is old, that is good, but not necessarily legit especially in the claims of their monthly profit. If the site was "started in 2008", but they claim the site has been making "$500/month for the last two months", than most likely the seller bought an expired domain, and the business itself has been only running for a few months. Old domains are good however because Google trusts them more, because they are most likely not a spam site.

There are what are known as "Website Flippers". There are forums, memberships, and special groups that all they do is build and re-sale websites. Note how I said "build and resell", not buy and resell. There business model goes like this:

1. Build a site that usually includes an eBook or digital product. This product is usually based upon a hot trend or the biggest, most popular things online(ie Twitter)
2. Next, they hit up "make money online" forums, where newbies are hungry to get rich quick online, and are thus willing to shell out coin for products guaranteeing or claiming big profits
3. These Flippers create smooth sales pitches, and even get testimonials(usually paid), claiming how the product will instantly make them a bazillion dollars in as little as 1 day
4. Like a mad torrent, these script kiddies will buy the product, and Flipper will make their own bazillion dollars very quickly. But with most products its life span will die off miserably, very quickly within a few weeks usually, maybe a month. These forums include DP, Warrior Forum, and Wicked Fire.
5. Once their quick profit has been made, they move over to a website marketplace like Flippa or Digital Point.
6. They claim the site makes $xxxx'/month and will likely go on to grow exponentially. Again, watch the age of the site and how long they have been making this money. If they've only made the money for a few months, most likely the efficacy of the site is over and it will crash and burn quickly after you buy it.
7. Another thing to watch for is how much they are selling it for. If it makes "$1000 per month" and they only want $3000 for it this is a HUGE RED FLAG. If you could make $1000 per month with no effort why sell it for only $3000? Most real businesses sell for at least 12 - 36 months or more in claimed income. I rather make $1000 month for the rest of my life than make a one time $3000 chunk of change.
8. Watch out for duplicate sites or products. Sellers business may be based upon a PLR, or Public License Rights, or a MSR, Master Reseller Rights, product. This is a product or site that gives the seller full rights to the product. Them, and a million other people. That means your business is flooded with competitors and makes your product's value next to none.

Here are other things to consider:

Look at buyer's feedback. Do they have negative comments, or been accused of fraud?
How quick is the seller able to respond to your questions?
Do they respond directly, or dodgedly answer your question like a politician?
Is the seller's English good? Not always, but many times sellers from other countries will try to swindle you as there really is no jurisdiction to stop them. Our country has bigger things to deal with than go after 3rd rate con artists in other countries. These swindlers know this.

With these tips, you should be able to spot some of the biggest red flags. Not all of these are direct signs, or a dead on giveaway. Some products may legitimately good, or have REAL potential to make money. Do your homework, ask questions, research the site, seller, and product online in the search engines, forums, Copyscape, and wherever else. If you do this you will avoid wasting your money, and have a better chance of scoring a gem of an online business that will help your web portfolio rather than harm it.

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