Frequently Asked Questions: Sellers

What are the fees to sell on Investors Club?

Investors Club’s success fee is 7% of the final sale price, with a minimum success fee of $1000. Most other brokers and platforms charge upwards of 15%. We've created a different business model so it’s much cheaper for you to sell through Investors Club, and keep more profit.

However, we charge sellers a minimum $1,000 success fee if the percentage amount falls below $1,000. For example, if an offer of $8,000 is accepted, instead of charging $560 (which represents 7%), we will charge a minimum of $1000.

Is there a vetting/listing fee?

No. Listing your website on our marketplace is completely free provided your website meets our initial requirements, which vary depending on the type of your business.

• Minimum $500 per month in net revenue
• Site content is in English
• At least 6 months of verifiable revenue and traffic
• The site is not in the gambling or adult niches
• Must be a content site (we do not currently sell SAAS or Consulting busineses)

• Minimum average net profit of $1k/month
• Site content and listings are predominantly in English
• At least 12 months of verifiable sales history
• Must be Amazon, FBA, Walmart, eBay, or other marketplace business, or e-commerce brand with own or 3rd party fulfillment
• We accept KDP and Information Product businesses and dropshipping sites (only where the products aren’t being shipped solely from Alibaba manufacturers)
• 100% equity sales (no partial sales, investments, earn-outs, etc.)
• The site is not in the gambling, adult niches, or other illegal and dubious industries

If your website does not meet the above criteria, we recommend you submit your site for sale in our Facebook Group

How much can I get for my website?

There are many factors that influence a website's value. Generally, we look at the last six to twelve months of revenue history. We'll take the average net revenue number and multiply it by a determined multiple to arrive at the best price for the website. This multiple is normally somewhere between 30-55x. The multiple depends on a variety of things. These include:

• Site age
• Seasonality
• Stability (traffic, revenue)
• Monetization methods
• Content and backlink quality
• Spam signals

We also take into account that all revenue generated is on an accrual basis. For example, if your payment terms with an affiliate network are Net 30 days, and you achieved $1,000 in commission during the month of May, that will be recorded as earnings for the month of May despite the fact that you will receive it at the end of June.

We also do not include discretionary expenses such as content creation or link building unlike other marketplaces or brokers. For example, if you spent $200 a month on content creation or link building, this does not count as an expense. This means you would be able to record more profit.

What if I want to ask more than the valuation you provide for my site?

Investors Club has a very complex and proprietary system for evaluating the objective worth of a website. Our valuations are not negotiable, but we do allow sellers to ask upwards of 7% more than our valuation to account for our success fee. In this instance, it’s worth noting the listing will still show our original valuation.

Another note, if you increase the asking price by 7%, it might take longer to sell.

What things could I do to make my site worth more - or sell faster?

There are many things you can do to improve the valuation of your site. Some examples are:

• Diversifying traffic sources
• Adding multiple monetization methods
• Implement CRO to maximize the value per visitor
• Build an email list

One of the most important things is to sell on an upswing, (when all the trends are looking good) as opposed to selling when the site is on a major decline.

To sell your site faster, we recommend answering all the questions in the 'Sell Your Website' form in as much detail as possible. Try to avoid 1-2 word answers and elaborate whenever you can. Investors like detail, and you'll get a lot more interest if you invest some time and effort into your listing.

Are buyers able to negotiate? Can they offer prices lower or higher prices than the listed price?

Yes. The buyers will, more often than not, try to negotiate a lower price with you.

How certain are you that my site will sell?

Investors Club is an exclusive club that only accepts investors who have ready funds and are actively looking to purchase a business. This means that if your site gets onto the platform, there's a good chance that it's a great fit for our investors. Given that situation, there's a very high probability that your site will sell quickly.

How long does it take the average site to sell?

This is very hard to say because it varies from business to business. Online businesses that are worth below $100,000 tend to sell within a couple of weeks.

Businesses that are worth more than $100,000 can take a bit longer, but not necessarily.

That's the reason we ask for a 45-day exclusivity period in which to list and sell your business. We'll be in a position to tell you more about the potential time frames after we get all the details from you.

What happens if my site doesn't sell?

The reason we ask for a 45-day exclusivity agreement to list and sell your business is that we're usually able to close the deal within that time frame. If your site isn't sold within the initial 45-day exclusivity period, we no longer require exclusivity, and you may choose to keep it listed with us or list elsewhere.

What kind of information do I need to provide for you to sell my site, and what information is shown to buyers?

We ask all our sellers to confirm their identity by providing a clear picture of their ID or passport. We'll also ask you to verify the domain ownership, affiliate account ownership, and revenue that you claim the website is generating. Additionally, for larger sites video verification is also required.

The buyers will see that your identity, domain, and affiliate account ownership have been confirmed (we won't show them the actual documents). They'll see the website's traffic and revenue numbers, plus our detailed due diligence reports. The buyers also see our objective analysis of your site. Some things will be good and some will be bad, but our business model is one of complete transparency. This gives our buyers the confidence to move ahead.

What will you do with my personal information after the site sells or is no longer for sale?

We'll keep your details on file in case you decide to list another business on the marketplace or when we’re running internal marketing.Your details will never be shared with a third party.

When my site sells, how does the transfer process work?

Investors Club now offers an internal migration service for every single deal that happens through our platform.

We use our own internal no-fees (free) escrow service.

Here's a brief outline of a typical transaction:

1. The buyer places an offer, and the seller accepts
2. Our team will immediately draft an Asset Purchase Agreement with all the details, and which both parties are required to sign
3. We send the wire instructions to the buyer and put everything on hold until the funds land in Escrow
4. Once the money lands in Escrow, we'll start with the technical transition (domain, site's files, hosting, affiliate IDs, etc.). When everything is transferred to the buyer, the inspection period begins. The inspection period is 14 days. During this time, we monitor the earnings to ensure they are within 70% of what the average revenue was when the site was valued.
   
   Disclaimer: Despite the fact that Investors Club's standard inspection period earnings threshold is 70%, the percentage can be reduced in certain cases and for certain types of sites: sites in certain niches; seasonal sites; sites that are highly dependent on longer cookie duration or subscriptions; sites with multiple ad partners/affiliates or similar. Investors Club reserves the right to alter the threshold on a case-by-case basis to ensure the best conditions for both buyer and seller.
5. After the inspection period - and if everything is within the acceptable range - we'll wire the money to the seller and officially close the deal
6. The transaction will be marked as 'completed.'

What kind of support is needed and what questions will I receive after I sell my site?

That depends on the deal structure between the parties. Generally, we request that at least 30 days of support is provided by the seller. Some investors aren't tech-savvy, so you might have to answer a couple of basic questions. However, most of the Q&A will be handled by Investors Club. All of this is clarified in the Asset Purchase Agreement.

Can I attempt to sell through other brokers as well as Investors club?

During the 45-day exclusivity agreement period, no. This is because we invest a lot of time, effort, and resources into your listing. We need sufficient time to ensure that all the details are presented to the perfect investor. Sometimes investors will complete their own due diligence so this has the potential to prolong the sales cycle.

However, if your site has not sold within 45 days of being listed, the exclusivity period no longer applies, and you are free to list elsewhere.

Can I sell just a percentage of my site listed on Investors Club if I agree on that with the buyer?

No, partial or fractional sales are not allowed. Only a complete ownership transfer of the sites listed on our platform will be possible. You can’t make any partnership deals or sell just a percentage of a site.

Can I list several sites as a package?

There is an option to add several sites and submit them as a portfolio listing with one price. If you submit a portfolio listing or a business that is a package of several different sites, each site included in the package must have verifiable revenue and traffic to be considered for listing at our marketplace.