Building a website or application from scratch is a tricky and time-consuming task. A much simpler approach is to buy a ready-made platform, better it, and start making money on it without any extra effort. Or you can sell it for a higher price: why not?
Both of these options are quite possible thanks to the Flippa marketplace. The resource is very popular: after all, it allows earning on website flipping business, which isn’t a bad way to get your living. Moreover, the creators of Flippa have their slice of the cake too, so to say, they’re by no means running at a loss.
Have we managed to intrigue you? Then we suggest reading our new article. We're going to share with you very useful and interesting information focused on creating a site like Flippa.
What Is Flippa?
Flippa works like an auction and offers a very interesting digital product, namely websites, applications, and domains. And you, too, can take part in the auction as a seller or a buyer (depending on what you need at a particular point in time).
The history of Flippa began back in 2009. The company has experienced its ups and downs, but today it's doing just fine: traffic is constantly growing, and every day the platform is visited by over 1 million people. Obviously, they appreciate all the benefits the Flippa website provides them with, one of which is a great opportunity to earn money online.
Naturally, to run a website flipping business, you have to fork out, but it’s totally worth it: Flippa gives sellers access to an incredible number of wealthy customers (potential buyers). Good examples are planetrx.com (sold for $ 1.2 million) and www.retweet.com ($ 250K). Not bad, isn't it?
What is so special about Flippa?
Usually, we see traditional goods or services on the marketplace website but this isn't the case with Flippa. Here we're dealing with products of a completely different kind. And that's what makes Flippa unique and special in its own way.
Each object on sale is accompanied by a detailed description, consisting of various useful information: monetization models, traffic, income sources, and so on. Moreover, Flippa's intuitive, advanced search allows users to easily find the desired product, be it a web/mobile resource or Flippa domain.
And Flippa isn’t limited to just selling digital goods; it also offers a number of services, namely:
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Helping newcomers to sales (the so-called Finder service). A business like Flippa doesn’t mind attracting more customers, which means it should help newcomers. That's why the company is ready to provide online consultations to inexperienced sellers in order to give them a number of useful recommendations on how to organize their first sale.
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Cooperation with qualified brokers. Not sure how to sell digital products? You can get rid of the hassle involved by resorting to one of the brokerage companies with which Flippa partners (the glorified LINK Business, the American company Latona's, SaleAway from the USA, and so on).
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Financial aid. Another cool service that makes Flippa marketplace popular is the opportunity to take advantage of the company's financial support. So if you have both a limited budget and a desire to buy a website or an application in order to monetize it, you're welcome to choose one of Flippa's loan programs.
How does Flippa work?
Okay, how does Flippa work? Let’s take a look at the whole scheme:
buying a digital product for cheap => improving it => selling it at a higher price.
And all this is possible without making any extra moves while enjoying the comfort of your home! That is, you have a new passive source of money without much hassle and worries.
Now let's discuss the issue in more detail. Basically, there are three options for approaching the website flipping business:
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The traditional approach. In the classic case, everything fully corresponds to the described scheme (buying a cheap platform, improving it, and finding a buyer who is ready to offer the highest price.
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Development from scratch. Here we're talking about building a resource from square one. After the development stage, you make an effort to promote your web or mobile platform in order to attract more buyers. In the end, the higher the traffic of your site or application, the more chances you have to sell it at a higher price.
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Upgraded level. And of course, you can buy a promising resource through the Flippa online platform and turn it into a reliable source of constant earnings.
You’ve seized the point, haven’t you? But it’s not enough if you're serious about creating a site like Flippa. So let’s dig deeper!
How to sell things on the Flippa marketplace
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Preparation stage. Before the authorized user starts the selling process, he should provide as much information about his digital product as possible:
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An icon, a striking title, and a concise and compelling product description (It's not an easy task to make a domain or a website sound appealing, but you have to try!).
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Additional information on the object for sale. It is important to indicate the date of creation, the level of profitability, rating, and so on. Any data that allows a potential buyer to understand what your site or application is would be very useful.
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Supporting data. Don't scrimp on words and information. Go into as much detail as you can, do your best to describe your product's potential, in other words, to convince a customer that the purchase is going to be a worthwhile investment
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Attachments. You can attach screenshots of your resource, add a video with a visualization of the process of its use, and anything that seems useful to you.
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Selling process. We’ve already said that the Flippa website is a kind of auction. You put your product up for auction, and the one who offered the highest bid becomes the new owner.
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The success of the sale largely depends on the activity of the seller. And as one, you must stay in touch with customers and answer their questions round the clock.
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Product transfer. Websites like Flippa are required to be careful when transferring a product to a customer (new owner). It's crucial to avoid fraud at this essential stage. Flippa chooses the following approach:
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Communication between the buyer and the seller, which usually occurs through an online chat or another similar tool. The main goal is to confirm the deal.
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The buyer's money is transferred to Flippa's system, which, in turn, notifies the seller of the receipt of the required payment.
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Now it's time to transfer the product to its new owner (a product means a website, domain, or application supplemented with various files and other materials ensuring its correct operation).
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The seller finally gets his money (only after Flippa receives information about the buyer obtaining his product).
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After-sales contact with the buyer (in order to answer possible questions related to app/website operation).
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What's the point of selling profitable resources?
Let’s say you intend to create a website like Flippa… but first, you want to eliminate the very last doubts. Among other things, you might be interested in what would get people to use your platform. Why would they sell their websites and applications, which are often rather profitable?
Actually, there can be a lot of reasons to explain such a desire:
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Foresight. Trends are constantly changing, and a site, which is at its peak today, may lose its relevance next year. And sometimes a businessman foresees that it's time to part with a profitable project (at least, so far) and sell it while it still brings money (which makes it more interesting in the eyes of the buyer).
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A new project in mind. If you're planning a new cool startup, you may well sell an existing project in order to get the money needed to implement your idea.
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An urgent need for money. Sometimes we find ourselves in a hopeless situation and are forced to look for money wherever we can: among other things, we sell a resource on the Flippa online platform (and why not?).
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No time to support the project. Perhaps you're too busy with other things that bring you more money and other bonuses, and therefore you don't have time to deal with a profitable website or application (but not profitable enough to keep you interested in it). In such cases, a website flipping business is a good way out.
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Disappointment with the project. And finally, sometimes you just get tired of your project, it starts to seem boring and uninteresting to you.
How much would one earn on selling digital products with your Flippa clone?
Here’s a simple algorithm to estimate the cost of website/application selling:
Cost = E x 20x/30x
E is a special multiplier and means Earnings. It depends on various factors including traffic data, market niche demand, financial indicators, and the like.
Now we’d like to discuss your project monetization, for you need to know how to recoup the cost of the Flippa clone script and get a source of profit.
As you can imagine, the cost of the Flippa clone script isn’t too low, so you should start by figuring out the best approach to its monetization.
Flippa Website Business Model
Are you a seller? Then you have 2 basic options to choose from:
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Self-conduct of transactions and sales. As a peer-to-peer solution with an intuitive interface, Flippa is self-explanatory and very easy to use. If desired, they’re welcome to seek advice from an experienced manager, and he or she would help them find the best way to run sales.
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Professional approach. If a seller isn’t up to the above option, he can resort to a professional broker (we wrote about such an opportunity earlier, in the section "What Is Flippa?").
50% of Flippa's revenue is based on digital product sales. Moreover, 30% of this income comes from domain names. But the company has other profit earners too, and they should be discussed in a proper manner.
Flippa Online Platform: Additional Sources of Income
Let's consider and discuss a few more monetization methods Flippa takes advantage of.
Sales Fees
Flippa gave them a special name, which is Success Fees. Its meaning is quite reasonable: the thing is, the fee is taken only if the transaction was successful.
Listing Fees
Let’s say, you'd like to list your lot using the Flippa website. Placing your ad won’t be free, though, you'll have to pay a certain fee (known as a listing fee).
Boosting Your Listings
Also, Flippa offers sellers the opportunity to buy access to additional promotional tools (depending on the package chosen):
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Advertising through social media sources;
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Better search result positions;
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High-level support 24/7;
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The possibility to use a video feature to promote your lot;
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Ad banner, placed in the most visible area of the Flippa marketplace.
Premium Features
Besides, the Flippa website business model includes some elements of the Freemium approach. It implies free access to basic functionality and a paid one to premium features.
When it comes to Flippa, premium features include a listing with additional data protection and the opportunity to consult with the company's experts who can provide useful tips for your lot improvement.
Other ways to make websites like Flippa profitable
If you really intend to create a website like Flippa, you have to find out the best way to monetize your platform and make it profitable. In the end, the methods your future competitor uses may turn out to be ineffective or insufficient in your case.
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Registration fees. If you’d like to start receiving money immediately, without waiting for completed transactions, ask for a registration fee. However, the approach is quite risky: after all, App Store and Google Play are full of free software.
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Subscription, which is a smarter approach to monetization compared to the above one. You give the opportunity to use basic features without paying, but if the user wants more, he has to subscribe to your application
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Advertising. And of course, don't forget about advertising! Truly, this is a wonderful and very promising monetization option. Using it, you’ll make a business like Flippa profitable in no time. All you have to do is to find advertisers and interest them with your website.
Flippa Marketplace Features
Perhaps it is worth discussing the features of your Flippa clone in more detail. We propose to divide them into a few basic groups:
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Purchase. First, you must develop features to help buyers buy the digital product they want.
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Management: these features are focused on managing Flippa's operation.
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Sale. And finally, don’t forget about Flippa marketplace features aimed at sellers.
Advantages & disadvantages of the Flippa marketplace
The platform we’re discussing has its pros and cons, and you should know all of them in order to create the best alternative to Flippa, without its disadvantages (but with its strengths).
Flippa’s pros:
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A thorough inspection of each lot. Sales will begin only after a particular lot has been checked for all parameters, including its financial indicators, statistics, and so on.
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Post-payment. The fee is charged to the seller only after the transaction has been completed.
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Network effect. Websites like Flippa (p2p marketplaces) have a useful quality: they initiate a network effect when the first success leads to even greater results without much effort. All you have to do is to invite the very first users (sellers and/or buyers), and they'll attract others. Your resource will advertise itself! That is, its users will promote it through word of mouth.
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No intermediaries. Flippa is a prime example of peer-to-peer websites, so there is no need to involve a third party (an intermediary represented by a broker).. You can use their help, but only if you want. It’s entirely up to you.
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The possibility to hide some information. Sellers are allowed to selectively provide data on their online products by hiding some of the information.
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No time & location restrictions. Forget about boundaries, buying and selling processes can be done anywhere, anytime!
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Premium access. Flippa marketplace features include a lot of cool options such as more opportunities to promote your lot.
Flippa’s cons:
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Incomplete data. Of course, the seller would be happy to hide some of the data on his lot if needed… but the buyer will clearly disagree with him! He’d like to know everything about the product he plans to buy, he doesn’t want to deal with a pig in a poke
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Probably a tough start. If you’re looking to run a website flipping business, Flippa will help you and offer all the support you might need. But let's face it: if you have no real experience, the start won’t be easy anyway.
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Insufficient language support. Only English-speaking people can enjoy all the benefits of Flippa.
Flippa Clone Development Cost
Surely, it’s impossible to name the precise amount you'll have to invest in your project (we’re speaking of creating a site like Flippa). Your development budget is based on such factors as:
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The project complexity. The more features you want to create and the more complex they are, the more time and money you need to implement your idea;
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The developers’ rate, which is influenced by their reputation, expertise, and experience. Moreover, the location also affects the rate of the development company: American IT specialists value their time more than those who live, say, in Eastern Europe.
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Development approach. If you choose to create a website like Flippa from square one, you’ll get a better and more customized result but you’ll have to fork out a lot. Using ready-made solutions is a much cheaper development option.
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Individual requirements imposed on the Flippa-like resource. These requirements may include the number of supported operating systems, language support, geographic coverage, and so on.
Now let's summarize: the cost of a Flippa-like platform depends on the time spent on its creation and the hourly rate of the developers who are going to do the job.
On average, creating a marketplace clone script like Flippa requires between 900 and 1800 hours of work.
Alas, the cost of the Flippa clone script is just the beginning of your expenses. Even after the launch of the resource, you’ll have to invest money in its smooth operation.
This refers to such post-launch expenses as:
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marketing. Creating a site like Flippa necessarily includes a promotion stage. And any marketing activities cost money;
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regular payments. We're talking about the inevitable costs associated with paying for cloud services, hosting, domain name, whatever;
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platform support, which requires constant investment too. After all, sites like Flippa resemble living creatures, and these creatures need your attention: releasing updates, testing resource performance, and so on.
Yeah, there are a lot of expenses, which looks scary. But as they say, big chances are never small stakes. All the more so because with the right approach to the project, you'll turn these costs into profitable financial investments.
Best Alternatives to Flippa
Surely, your key rival is Flippa, but it’s not the only competitor on the market today. And it is also important to pay close attention to them either… which we’re going to do right away.
SideProjectors
SideProjectors works with the widest range of digital products: plugins, online resources, mobile apps, and even sophisticated software. That’s why the platform is highly popular in Europe and the USA.
Pros and cons of SideProjectors
The good thing is that SideProjectors doesn't charge a commission for its services. But there is also a downside: no one would guarantee a quality deal!
On the other hand, user feedback (reviews and ratings) isn’t bad, so you can safely deal with SideProjectors.
eBay
Not everyone has heard of Flippa online platform. However, almost everyone has dealt with eBay at some point in time (and if you haven’t had this experience yet, you’ll probably get it in the future).
eBay has many sections, and one of them is about software. Of course, these digital products are up for auction.
Pros and cons of eBay
eBay pros include the following:
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a large selection of digital goods;
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a unique approach to sales (based on auction);
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access to a significant target audience.
But there are also cons, namely:
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imperfect check of lots;
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unreliable user reviews (among which there are fake ones).
Sedo
And of course, it's worth mentioning Sedo.com among the competitors of the Flippa website.
Sedo works in the markets of different countries, it is a world-class project, founded at the dawn of our century. Like eBay, it is based on the principle of an auction.
Its main digital product is domain names. But don't confuse buying and selling domains with their registration, Sedo is just an intermediary (P2P approach).
Pros and cons of Sedo
The pros of Sedo include the following options:
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Sedo works with most of the existing domain zones;
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complete security of the transaction is ensured;
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Sedo users can make money by attracting more customers;
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there is an opportunity to order paid consultations from Sedo's experts.
Cons of Sedo:
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you cannot purchase a mobile app or a website through Sedo. So, in fact, the company competes only with the Flippa domain area.
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Sedo’s auction fees are quite high (about 10-15%).
