How to Buy an Existing Online Business
💰 $10K+
⏱ First dollar: 1–3 months
📑 Due diligence is the job
Updated
The 30-second version
Instead of starting a site, you buy one that already earns. Marketplaces price content sites at roughly 30–50 times monthly profit, so a site earning $500 a month sells for about $15,000–$25,000. Expect 60 to 90 days to close including escrow, plus a migration period of two to eight weeks.
Instead of starting a site, you buy one that already earns. Marketplaces price content sites at roughly 30–50 times monthly profit, so a site earning $500 a month sells for about $15,000–$25,000. Expect 60 to 90 days to close including escrow, plus a migration period of two to eight weeks.
Entry price
$15K–$25K+
Typical multiple
30–50x monthly profit
Close plus migration
60–90 days
▶Watch this first
"Complete Flippa Buying Guide For Total Beginners [Flippa Review & Demo]" — picked from a real creator, not a GigWiz production.
✓What you actually need to start
- $15,000 upward in genuinely spare capital, plus a reserve for post-purchase work
- The ability to read a profit and loss statement and traffic analytics
- Comfort with escrow, asset purchase agreements and platform transfers
- Time during migration, which runs two to eight weeks
- A view on why the seller is selling
Assume the business dips after transfer. Budget both money and attention for the first three months.
👣The steps
Decide the model you can actually runContent, ecommerce and software businesses demand different skills. Buy what matches your abilities.
Learn the pricing conventionContent sites commonly trade at 30 to 50 times monthly net profit. Amazon Associates sites have averaged around 40x, display ad sites around 35x.
Verify the traffic and revenue yourselfScreen-share into the analytics and payment dashboards. Exported screenshots prove nothing.
Check the single point of failureOne traffic source, one supplier or one expiring contract is the most common hidden risk.
Budget 60 to 90 days to closeEscrow, agreements and funds transfer take time. Marketplaces typically expect full payment within about 7 business days of agreement.
Change nothing for 60 daysLearn the business before you redesign it. Most post-acquisition damage is self-inflicted.
💵The money, honestly
| Site earning | Typical asking price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| $500/month | $15K–$25K | Small, riskier, cheaper entry |
| $2,000/month | $60K–$100K | The common sweet spot |
| $5,000+/month | $150K+ | Broker-managed, heavier diligence |
Marketplace fees vary: one major broker charges 15% and vets hard, rejecting most listings, while more open marketplaces list everything from a few hundred dollars upward with correspondingly more risk.
⚠ The reality check
- You are buying the seller's problems too. Ask directly why they are selling and verify the answer in the data.
- Traffic can be fragile. A site dependent on one search engine can lose most of its value in a single update.
- Closing takes months, not days. Sixty to ninety days including escrow is normal, then weeks of migration.
- Cheap listings are cheap for a reason. The lowest tier of listings is where undisclosed problems concentrate.
❔Questions people actually ask
What multiple should I expect to pay?Roughly 30 to 50 times monthly net profit for content sites, with quality and stability deciding where you land in that range.
How long does buying take?Plan on 60 to 90 days to close including escrow, plus two to eight weeks of migration support afterwards.
Can I finance it?Seller financing exists but is less common online than in local business sales. Most small deals are cash.
The GigWiz verdict
✓ Good if
- You have capital and want to skip the zero-traffic year
- You can read financials and analytics critically
✕ Skip it if
- The purchase would use money you need
- You want a hands-off asset
The numbers
Entry price$15K–$25K+
Typical multiple30–50x monthly profit
Close plus migration60–90 days
DifficultyHard — capital and diligence
⚠ The catch
The cheap listings are cheap because something is wrong with them.