If you’re trying to decide on a business marketplace to either buy a new business or sell your existing one, I’ve got you covered. In this article, I’ll take five categories and see how these two business marketplace giants compare.
Website Offerings
FE International offers three types of websites for buyers to choose from. They include:
- Saas
- eCommerce
- Content Websites
On the other hand, Empire Flippers has over 16 monetization methods on its marketplace. However, the most common websites you’ll see for sale are:
- Amazon KDP
- Amazon FBA
- eCommerce
- Affiliate
- Saas
- Lead Gen
Commission Structure & Listing Fees
Empire Flippers outlines their commission structure on their website. It breaks down like this:
- 15% on the first $700,000
- 8% on the amount between $700,000 and $5 million
- 2.5% on the amount above $5 million
FE International doesn’t have a stacked commission rate like Empire Flippers, but their website mentions that their commission rate is lower on larger deals.
FE International also requires buyers to pay a fee of 2.5% with a maximum payment of $1000. They are the only website broker that charges a buyer’s fee, and they use it to cover administrative and legal work.
When it comes to funds transfer and escrow, Empire Flippers doesn’t require buyers or sellers to pay escrow fees because they have their own escrow service in-house, free of charge. FE International on the other hand uses a third-party escrow service, Escrow.com, which has a fee of about 1%. They do however allow the buyer and seller to split the escrow fee.
Due Diligence Process
FE International performs due diligence for their buyers and helps the buyer do their due diligence. Interested buyers will get an info sheet from FE detailing if the seller has ever had any legal trouble, the time spent on the business each month, and potential growth opportunities for the business.
Empire Flippers however takes a different approach. They do a 2-4 week vetting process for every business interested in being sold on their marketplace. This means every business listed on the Empire Flippers marketplace has passed the vetting process. Empire Flippers reports that 91% of businesses who want to sell on their marketplace don’t pass their vetting process.
This may seem high, but it means that the businesses that do pass are of high quality. In some cases, they also offer an audio interview with the seller to help potential buyers learn more about the business and the owner.
Migration Support
The website transfer process with Empire Flippers kicks off once they receive a bank wire from the buyer to the official Empire Flippers bank account, their escrow service. They have an entire team tasked with handling website migrations, and they handle the migration from start-to-finish. This way the buyer and seller can sit back and relax, which makes the process a lot smoother.
FE International requires the buyer to first deposit cash into an Escrow.com account before starting the migration process. Then, they assist in the transfer of assets according to the Asset Purchase Agreement (APA). However, they don’t have an entire migration team like Empire Flippers.
Choose Empire Flippers as Your Business Marketplace
Dealing with online businesses can be complicated, but it doesn’t have to be! Because of their brokering experience, in-house escrow service, migration team, and vetting process, I recommend Empire Flippers over FE International.
If you’re interested in buying or selling a website with Empire Flippers I’d start by scheduling a call today to talk to one of their business analysts and see if how they can help you.
