Two routes: a self-serve marketplace with a customer success manager, and a separate advisory service whose in-house CPAs and CFAs prepare the financials and a confidential information memorandum.
Closing fee of 8%, 7% or 6% of the total purchase price by asking-price tier (under $250k, $250k to $1M, $1M and up), plus a $25, $50 or $100 monthly listing subscription. No sale, no closing fee.
Sources conflict
The final price sets the final rate. Acquire's pages word the $250k boundary differently, so confirm your tier.
Commission on the business sale price: the greater of $10,000 or 15% of the first $700,000, plus 8% to $5,000,000 and 2.5% above. Separately priced inventory is excluded.
The $10,000 flat portion is due when proceeds are first released. A quoted agreement overrides the standard schedule.
Self-serve marketplace: one success fee at closing of 5% (under $250k), 4% ($250k to $1M) or 3% ($1M and up), by asking price. Advisory fees are not published.
Advisory pricing is unknown, not zero. Ask FE International for a quote.
No numeric listing screen in the pages we checked. Listings are approved before going live; the advisory service is for profitable SaaS with $100k or more in revenue.
$2,000 a month average net profit over 12 months, 12 months of revenue, analytics installed for at least 3 months, and more. Some niches are restricted.
Ad and affiliate sites need the same domain for 12 months; service businesses need more than half their revenue from multiple clients.
Write the listing with the team's help, choose and negotiate with buyers, and close using Acquire's NDAs, data room, legal-document builders and escrow.
Closing fee of 8%, 7% or 6% of the total purchase price by asking-price tier (under $250k, $250k to $1M, $1M and up), plus a $25, $50 or $100 monthly listing subscription. No sale, no closing fee.
Sources conflict
The final price sets the final rate. Acquire's pages word the $250k boundary differently, so confirm your tier.
No numeric listing screen in the pages we checked. Listings are approved before going live; the advisory service is for profitable SaaS with $100k or more in revenue.
Write the listing with the team's help, choose and negotiate with buyers, and close using Acquire's NDAs, data room, legal-document builders and escrow.
Commission on the business sale price: the greater of $10,000 or 15% of the first $700,000, plus 8% to $5,000,000 and 2.5% above. Separately priced inventory is excluded.
The $10,000 flat portion is due when proceeds are first released. A quoted agreement overrides the standard schedule.
$2,000 a month average net profit over 12 months, 12 months of revenue, analytics installed for at least 3 months, and more. Some niches are restricted.
Ad and affiliate sites need the same domain for 12 months; service businesses need more than half their revenue from multiple clients.
Two routes: a self-serve marketplace with a customer success manager, and a separate advisory service whose in-house CPAs and CFAs prepare the financials and a confidential information memorandum.
Self-serve marketplace: one success fee at closing of 5% (under $250k), 4% ($250k to $1M) or 3% ($1M and up), by asking price. Advisory fees are not published.
Advisory pricing is unknown, not zero. Ask FE International for a quote.
Two routes: a self-serve marketplace with a customer success manager, and a separate advisory service whose in-house CPAs and CFAs prepare the financials and a confidential information memorandum.
Vets buyers' identities and available funds for sellers. The pages we checked do not describe verifying a business's figures, so plan your own diligence.
"Data Verified" means the seller connected read-only data. "Vetted by Flippa" is a manual review for listings of $50k and up. Broker listings follow the broker's own checks.
Vets buyers' identities and available funds for sellers. The pages we checked do not describe verifying a business's figures, so plan your own diligence.
Two routes: a self-serve marketplace with a customer success manager, and a separate advisory service whose in-house CPAs and CFAs prepare the financials and a confidential information memorandum.
"Data Verified" means the seller connected read-only data. "Vetted by Flippa" is a manual review for listings of $50k and up. Broker listings follow the broker's own checks.
Listed alphabetically. Referral fees never set the order or the fit.
None of these providers pays us today. Every button goes to the provider's own public page.
Where the headline and the fine print part ways
Acquire.com
What the headline says
Closing fees of 6% to 8%.
What the fine print adds
The final purchase price sets the rate, a monthly listing subscription applies while you are listed, and Acquire.com's own pages word the $250k boundary differently.
Empire Flippers publishes its standard commission in full: the greater of $10,000 or 15% of the first $700,000, plus 8% of the next $4,300,000, plus 2.5% above $5,000,000. Enter a price to see the fee and what you keep.
Scenario, not a valuation
This shows the fee on a price you choose. It does not say what a business is worth or what it will sell for.
US dollars, excluding separately priced inventory
$
Enter a sale price to see the fee.
Sale price
–
Empire Flippers fee
–
You keep, before debt and tax
–
Fee as a share of price
–
The calculation runs in your browser. The price you enter is never sent to us or to analytics.
No separately priced inventory. Inventory sold separately is outside the fee.
Empire Flippers’ standard published schedule. A quoted or signed agreement overrides it.
Before debt, tax, earnouts and your other transaction costs.
Timing: the $10,000 flat portion is due when proceeds are first released, including deferred or contingent payments.
Why only one provider is calculated
Empire Flippers is the only provider here whose complete fee schedule is published in a form we can calculate exactly. Acquire.com and FE International publish tier rates we have not modeled yet, and Flippa’s seller pricing could not be confirmed. Their fees are unknown here, not zero.
03Field Notes
What owning it is really like
A listing shows the numbers. These notes cover the work, the weak points and what does not transfer, for seven business models. Six come from building and running that type of business. One is research-based, and labeled.
Operator experience
Content and affiliate websites
A content site sells traffic it does not control. Most of its income rests on search rankings and on affiliate programs that can change their terms without notice.
Written from building and running this type of business. It describes owning one, not selling or buying one.
01
What the listing emphasizes, and what it usually leaves out
What the listing says
Monthly revenue and profit, averaged over a recent period
Traffic totals and the share that comes from search
The number of articles and the age of the domain
Low owner hours each week
What the operator knows
How much of the traffic lands on a handful of pages, and what happens if those pages slip
Which affiliate programs pay most of the income, and whether they have cut commission rates before
Whether the articles need regular updating just to hold their rankings
Whether the low hours leave out writers, editors or assistants the seller pays, or work the seller does without counting it
02
What actually takes the owner's week
Updating existing articles so they stay accurate and keep ranking
Writing or commissioning new content, then editing it
Checking affiliate links, expired offers and program changes
Watching rankings and traffic after search engine updates
Keeping hosting, plugins, speed and security in order
03
The dependency that can break it after the sale
Search rankings and the affiliate programs that pay
One search update can cut traffic sharply, and one program can lower its rates or close. Neither needs the owner to do anything wrong, and the new owner cannot reverse either quickly.
04
What transfers cleanly, and what does not
Transfers cleanly
The domain, through a registrar transfer
Content, site files and the hosting setup
Analytics and search console access, added for the new owner
Does not transfer cleanly
Affiliate accounts. Programs usually approve the buyer separately, and every tracking link has to be switched
Rankings. They come with the domain and content but are not guaranteed to hold after the sale
Writers and contractors. They are relationships, not assets
Email subscribers, whose move depends on the email provider's rules and the consent they gave
05
What it takes to scale, and what usually stops people
What it takes
More content in the topics that already earn, stronger pages for the searches that convert, and more income per visitor from additional programs, display ads or your own products.
What usually stops people
Content costs that grow faster than income, and search updates that reset progress just as the work starts to pay.
Reviewed
Operator experience
Amazon FBA businesses
An FBA business is a product business that runs on Amazon's rules. Cash tied up in stock and the health of the seller account matter as much as the profit figure.
Written from building and running this type of business. It describes owning one, not selling or buying one.
01
What the listing emphasizes, and what it usually leaves out
What the listing says
Revenue, profit and margin over the last twelve months
Best-selling products, their ratings and review counts
Fulfillment handled by Amazon, manufacturing by a supplier
What the operator knows
How much cash sits in inventory and in transit at any time, and whether the asking price includes it
Whether profit reflects every Amazon fee, storage charge, return and advertising cost
How much of the sales depend on paid advertising inside Amazon
The account's history of policy warnings, suppressed listings and complaints
02
What actually takes the owner's week
Forecasting demand and placing reorders early enough to avoid running out
Managing advertising campaigns and their spend
Working with the supplier on quality, lead times and shipping
Watching listings, reviews, hijackers and account health notices
Reconciling Amazon fees, reimbursements and payouts
03
The dependency that can break it after the sale
Amazon's seller policies and a single supplier
One enforcement action or listing suppression can stop sales outright. A supplier delay can cause a stockout, and the lost ranking is slow to win back.
04
What transfers cleanly, and what does not
Transfers cleanly
Inventory, counted and priced at handover
Product designs, photography, listing copy and brand assets
Trademarks, by formal assignment
Does not transfer cleanly
The seller account. Moving one is governed by Amazon's current policies, so confirm the process before you price the deal
Brand Registry, which has to follow the trademark and be updated
Supplier pricing and terms, which belong to a relationship more than a contract
Rankings, which can drop if stock runs out during the handover
05
What it takes to scale, and what usually stops people
What it takes
Cash for larger orders, new products or variations in a niche that already sells, and advertising that stays profitable as spend rises.
What usually stops people
Cash flow, because every larger order is paid for before it sells, and margins squeezed by competition and rising advertising costs.
Reviewed
Operator experience
KDP publishing catalogs
A KDP catalog earns royalties from books on one platform, through an account tied to the publisher. What a buyer can actually take over needs checking before anything else.
Written from building and running this type of business. It describes owning one, not selling or buying one.
01
What the listing emphasizes, and what it usually leaves out
What the listing says
Monthly royalties and the number of titles
Best-selling titles and their rankings
Little ongoing work once books are published
What the operator knows
How much of the royalties come from a few titles
How much of the income depends on Amazon advertising, and what it really costs
Whether the seller owns the rights to the text, covers and interior art
Whether royalties are declining as titles age or competitors arrive
02
What actually takes the owner's week
Running and adjusting advertising campaigns
Publishing new titles or editions to keep the catalog earning
Checking listings, categories, reviews and content notices
Tracking royalties by title and marketplace
03
The dependency that can break it after the sale
Amazon's KDP rules and the account that holds the catalog
Royalties depend on one platform's rules, rankings and advertising market. A content enforcement or account problem can affect every title at once.
04
What transfers cleanly, and what does not
Transfers cleanly
Manuscripts, cover files and source art the seller owns
Pen names and brand assets that are not tied to the seller's identity
Does not transfer cleanly
The titles themselves. Confirm Amazon's current process for moving books or accounts before agreeing to a structure
Reviews and rankings, which stay with each listing and may not survive republishing
Content the seller licensed rather than owns
05
What it takes to scale, and what usually stops people
What it takes
More titles in series or niches that already sell, and advertising that stays profitable at higher spend.
What usually stops people
Each new title is a new bet, and advertising costs can rise faster than royalties.
Reviewed
Operator experience
SaaS businesses
A SaaS business sells continued access to software, so its value rests on whether customers stay, on the code, and on whoever understands how it works.
Written from building and running this type of business. It describes owning one, not selling or buying one.
01
What the listing emphasizes, and what it usually leaves out
What the listing says
Monthly recurring revenue and its growth
The number of customers and the churn rate
The technology it is built on, described as low maintenance
What the operator knows
How revenue is spread across customers, and how much the largest few account for
Why customers cancel, and how many stay past their first few months
Who wrote the code, who still understands it, and how much is documented
Support load and the hosting and third-party costs that grow with every customer
02
What actually takes the owner's week
Answering support requests and onboarding new customers
Fixing bugs and keeping dependencies, security patches and integrations current
Watching uptime, failed payments and infrastructure costs
Shipping the improvements that keep customers from leaving
Marketing and sales to replace the customers who cancel
03
The dependency that can break it after the sale
The founder's knowledge and a few key integrations
If the builder leaves without documentation, every outage and bug takes longer to fix. A platform or API the product depends on can change its terms or interface and break core features.
04
What transfers cleanly, and what does not
Transfers cleanly
Source code, by repository transfer
The domain and brand
Hosting and infrastructure accounts, transferred or rebuilt under the buyer
Does not transfer cleanly
The payment processor account. Customers' saved cards may not move without the processor's help
API keys, app marketplace listings and integrations tied to the seller's accounts
The founder's knowledge, which moves only through documentation and a handover period
Customer contracts that need the customer's consent to assign
05
What it takes to scale, and what usually stops people
What it takes
Lower churn first, then a repeatable way to win customers, and pricing that grows with the value customers get.
What usually stops people
Churn that cancels out new sales, and support load that grows with every customer.
Reviewed
Operator experience
iOS subscription apps
A subscription app's income passes through Apple's App Store, so App Store rules, app review and the developer account shape everything a buyer inherits.
Written from building and running this type of business. It describes owning one, not selling or buying one.
01
What the listing emphasizes, and what it usually leaves out
What the listing says
Monthly recurring revenue and active subscribers
Downloads and ratings
Trial-to-paid conversion
What the operator knows
How much of the growth depends on paid acquisition, and what each subscriber costs to win
How many subscribers renew after the first billing period
Whether the app needs regular work just to stay compatible with new iOS releases
Whether downloads depend on App Store search rankings or featuring
02
What actually takes the owner's week
Updating the app for new iOS versions and devices
Running and measuring paid acquisition
Testing the paywall, pricing and onboarding
Answering reviews and support requests
Getting each update through App Review
03
The dependency that can break it after the sale
Apple's App Store rules and review
A rejected update, a policy change or a shift in App Store search can stall growth. The app also depends on the developer account that publishes it.
04
What transfers cleanly, and what does not
Transfers cleanly
Source code, design files and assets
The website, domain and support email
Does not transfer cleanly
The App Store listing. Apple's app transfer process has conditions, so confirm what it requires for this app before agreeing terms
Active subscriptions, which depend on that transfer completing
Analytics, subscription-management and SDK accounts tied to the seller
Paid acquisition accounts and their performance history
05
What it takes to scale, and what usually stops people
What it takes
A lower cost to win each subscriber, better renewal, and more markets or platforms.
What usually stops people
Acquisition costs that rise faster than what a subscriber is worth, and dependence on one store.
Reviewed
Operator experience
YouTube channels
A YouTube channel earns from an algorithm it does not control and, often, from the person on camera. A buyer has to know what the audience actually follows.
Written from building and running this type of business. It describes owning one, not selling or buying one.
01
What the listing emphasizes, and what it usually leaves out
What the listing says
Subscribers, views and watch time
Monthly ad revenue and sponsorships
A long upload history
What the operator knows
Whether the audience follows a face, a voice or the topic
How much revenue comes from a few videos, and whether views on new uploads are rising or falling
Who makes the videos: scripts, editing and thumbnails may be done by contractors or by the seller alone
Sponsorship income that depends on the seller's personal relationships
02
What actually takes the owner's week
Researching, scripting, filming and editing new videos
Designing thumbnails and titles, and testing them
Replying to comments and community posts
Managing sponsors and brand deals
Checking analytics and policy notices
03
The dependency that can break it after the sale
YouTube's recommendations and monetization policies
A change in what YouTube recommends, or a policy strike, can cut views and revenue. A channel built around one presenter can lose its audience when that person leaves.
04
What transfers cleanly, and what does not
Transfers cleanly
Video files, scripts and production assets
Channel artwork, templates and brand assets
Does not transfer cleanly
Channel ownership. Confirm YouTube's current process for transferring a channel or brand account before agreeing terms
Monetization and payout setup, which the new owner has to configure
Sponsors, who usually contract with a person rather than a channel
The presenter's face, voice and the audience's trust in them
05
What it takes to scale, and what usually stops people
What it takes
A consistent upload schedule, a repeatable format, and income beyond ads, such as sponsors, products or memberships.
What usually stops people
Production time that grows with every video, and an algorithm that rewards what it rewards, not effort.
Reviewed
Research-based
Shopify and ecommerce stores
Shopify can move store ownership to a buyer, but the payments, apps, suppliers and ad accounts around the store each need their own handover.
Drawn from platform documentation and published sources, not from running this type of business.
01
What the listing emphasizes, and what it usually leaves out
What the listing says
Revenue, profit and order volume
Conversion rate and average order value
Traffic sources and the size of the email list
What the documentation shows
Stores using Shopify Capital or Shopify Credit cannot be transferredChecked · Source S28
An active Shopify Balance account must be emptied, and Shopify Support contacted, before ownership can moveChecked · Source S28
Unpaid Shopify bills can pass to the new owner if the billing threshold has not been reached at transferChecked · Source S28
How much of the sales depend on paid ads, and what each customer costs to win
02
What actually takes the owner's week
Managing products, stock and supplier orders
Running paid advertising and email campaigns
Customer service, returns and refunds
Maintaining the theme and apps, and keeping their monthly costs in check
Fulfillment, whether in-house, through a third party or shipped by suppliers
03
The dependency that can break it after the sale
Paid traffic and a few suppliers
If most sales come from paid ads, or most products from one supplier, a change in either can erase the margin. Check both before you buy.
04
What transfers cleanly, and what does not
Transfers cleanly
Store ownership within Shopify, through its transfer process. Plus stores follow a separate routeChecked · Source S28
The domain, theme, product data and content
Does not transfer cleanly
Payout bank details, billing details and each payment provider, which must be switched to the new ownerChecked · Source S28
Shopify Payments business details, which need Shopify Support to changeChecked · Source S28
Third-party apps, ad accounts, supplier agreements and email platforms, each on its own terms
Bringing a new owner up to speed, which Shopify notes can take days to monthsChecked · Source S28
05
What it takes to scale, and what usually stops people
What it takes
More traffic at a profitable cost, higher order values, repeat purchases and new products.
What usually stops people
Ad costs and returns that grow with sales, and the cash tied up in stock.
Reviewed
04If you are selling
Choose how the sale gets run before you choose a platform
Who do you want running the sale: a broker, a marketplace with support, or you?
Then check that your business meets the published screens of that route. The comparison above shows each provider’s.
01
Full broker
Empire Flippers; FE International’s advisory service
A broker prepares the listing, screens buyers, negotiates and manages the handover. You supply records and decisions.
You want someone else to run the sale, and your business meets the broker’s screens.
02
Assisted marketplace
Acquire.com; FE International’s self-serve marketplace
You list on a platform that helps, with a support team, screened buyers, NDAs and closing tools. You still negotiate.
You can talk to buyers and negotiate, but want structure and support.
03
Self-service marketplace
Flippa
You write the listing, answer buyers, negotiate and transfer the business yourself, with paid help available.
You are comfortable running the sale and want a large buyer audience, at any size.
04
Known buyer
No platform
You sell directly to someone you already know: a competitor, partner, employee or customer.
A likely buyer has already approached you. You pay no platform fee but handle every step, usually with a lawyer and an escrow service.
Records to gather first
Monthly profit and loss statements, ideally for the last 12 months or more
Proof of revenue: payout reports from each platform, payment processor or affiliate program
Traffic and analytics history, with access you can share
A list of every account, tool, contractor and supplier the business relies on, and who owns each
Your real weekly hours, and what you spend them on
Contracts, trademarks and licenses that would need to transfer
05If you are buying
The asking price is not the cash you need
Add up all-in capital before you decide what you can afford. It has five parts.
01
Purchase price
What you pay for the business itself.
02
Inventory
Stock bought at handover, common for ecommerce and Amazon FBA. It is often priced separately.
03
Transaction costs
Legal review, escrow, accounting, and any buyer fees the marketplace charges.
04
Working capital
Cash to run the business until its own income arrives: ad spend, reorders, contractors, software.
05
Reserve
Money set aside for a bad month, a platform change or a fix you did not plan for.
Fictional example
All-in capital for a fictional ecommerce business with a $180,000 asking price
Purchase price
$180,000
Inventory
$25,000
Transaction costs
$6,000
Working capital
$15,000
Reserve
$20,000
All-in capital
$246,000
Cash needed beyond the purchase price
+$66,000
The figures are invented to show the arithmetic. They are not typical costs, and your own will differ.
Three questions before you unlock any listing
01
How is the profit calculated, and does it pay for the owner’s time?
Ask whether the figure is after every cost, including the seller’s own hours at a fair rate. Profit that depends on unpaid work is partly a job you are buying.
02
Which dependencies actually transfer?
List the accounts, programs, suppliers and people the income relies on, and ask how each one moves to you. The Field Notes above show what usually does not.
03
What cash do you need beyond the price?
Add inventory, transaction costs, working capital and a reserve, as in the example, before you decide what you can afford.
06How we work
Who writes this, how it is checked, and how it is paid for
Who writes it
Kaden Coziar writes and edits Deal Field Guide, published by Kozi Publishing LLC in Orem, Utah.
Kaden Coziar has built and operated YouTube channels, Amazon FBA products, KDP publishing, affiliate and content websites, iOS subscription apps and SaaS. A few did well and several did not.
He has not worked as a business broker and has not sold a business through the marketplaces covered here.
Provider facts come from official pages and terms, each recorded with the date we checked it, and the date sits beside the fact. Fees and eligibility screens are rechecked every month and whenever we spot a change.
How the site is paid for
Some providers pay publishers a referral fee when a reader uses their link and completes a qualifying action. You pay nothing extra. Today no provider pays us: none of our referral links is active.
How to report an error
Use the contact form. Confirmed corrections are fixed and logged publicly.
We call it the Deal Decision Check. Each finding gets one plain status, so you can see exactly why an option fits or does not.
01
State the requirement
Write down what you need in plain terms: your role, the business model, its size and the constraint that matters most.
02
Identify the applicable evidence
Find the published rule, document or figure that speaks to that requirement, with its source and the date it was checked.
03
Apply a transparent rule or calculation
Compare the requirement with the evidence using a rule or calculation anyone can repeat.
04
Explain the result
Give the finding a plain status and say why, including what the evidence does not cover.
05
Name the next step
Point to the action that settles or acts on the finding: a page to confirm, a question to ask, a record to gather.
Worked example: Empire Flippers
Fictional example
Requirement
Sell a content site through a full broker. Net profit has averaged $1,500 a month over the last 12 months.
Evidence
Empire Flippers' published listing requirements ask for $2,000 a month in average net profit over 12 months.Checked · Source S3
Rule
Compare the 12-month average profit with the published screen: $1,500 is below $2,000.
Status
Does not fit
Result
This broker's published screen is not met, so this route does not fit yet. The finding says nothing about the site's quality or value.
Next step
Look at routes without a published profit screen, such as Acquire.com or Flippa, or keep building until the 12-month average meets the screen.
07
Two things people ask first
Will Deal Field Guide sell my business or review a deal for me?
No. We publish research, comparisons and calculations. Marketplaces and brokers handle listing, buyer screening, negotiation and the transaction. We do not review individual deals, value businesses or take sales calls.
Do referral fees change what you recommend?
No. Providers are listed alphabetically, fit is judged only on published evidence, and FE International, which pays us nothing, stays in the comparison. Today no provider pays us: none of our referral links is active.
Start from your side of the deal
Sellers start with the route. Buyers start with the cash and the questions.