1) Look out for Outrageous "Income" or "Income Potential"
Many listings claim that the website or business makes HUGE amounts of profit or has the "potential" of making a huge profit. This is your first sign of a possible scam because if YOU had a website that made $500 a day would YOU sell it? I know I wont. So why is this person selling his or her website? They always list a few "excuses" like, "I have no time to run this website" or "I build them so I can sell them". Honestly, if you had a website that's making you money, you would FIND the time to run it and improve it, not sell it off. Be weary about these claims of HUGE profits. If it looks too good to be true, it just might be!
2) Ask for Verifiable proof of income.
If the website is claimed to be making profit, the seller might show you a PICTURE of his or her income statement. Sadly these PICTURES can be easily altered to say ANYTHING that a person wants to - including showing profits. Pictures of Paypal statements can be easily doctored to show profits. If the profit statements are real, the owner should have no objection to faxing you a copy of the statement, plus statements for previous months. Plus the owner should be able to show DIRECT relations between the website being sold and the statements. Often owners will have multiple websites that tie into ONE paypal address. And they might show you a statement of that profitable paypal account. But the fact of the matter is that the actual profit is from multiple websites and the particular website on sale might not even be profitable. This is a business transaction so make sure you treat it like one and ask for verifiable proof. Don't settle for mere PICTURES on a website as proof.
3) How long has the website been established for?
Many websites are claimed to be "established". This means that the seller claims that the website has been around for some time and has regular traffic and customers. Look into the source of the traffic. The seller might have purchase "guaranteed" traffic just to make it LOOK like an established website. Demand website statistics for at least 6 previous months and study them. If you see a sudden spike in traffic, then you know something's up. And even if you don't see a sudden increase, where is the traffic coming from? What are the seller's advertising methods used to get that traffic? Once you purchase the website, will you continue to get the same benefits of advertising and traffic? Is the seller willing to show you how to advertise? If so, how much will it cost per month? Do the math and see if the website will indeed be profitable after the costs. Don't buy websites that are new yet claim to be established. Really profitable websites are at least an year old and can show you proof of its establishment. Also use tools such as http://www.Alexa.com and type in the URL of the website to see exactly WHEN it was established. Alexa's reports can't be doctored by the seller and is a credible source. Do your research before you place your bid.
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4) Beware of so-called Millionaires promising to make you a millionaire.
If YOU were a millionaire why would YOU be selling information about how to become one on ebay? If you were that generous, why don't you donate your money to charity? Or better yet GIVE that information away for free? Why CHARGE for information? I see many so called Millionaires selling their "secrets" starting at $49.00. If you had so much money what would $49 be worth to you? It's a drop in the ocean. Unless the seller BECAME a millionaire by selling his "secrets" for $49 to people who thought they can be millionaires themselves. So if you bought such a website, would YOU automatically become a millionaire? Or would you have to sell the SAME information to others at $49.00 a pop to become one? You'll need to make 20408 sales at $49.00 to become a millionaire. Often, there's always a catch like that in offers by these so-called self made millionaires. They don't love you. They love your money and they ask it upfront. If they were in a charitable mood why don't they just GIVE you the secret and once you make your million let you pay them $49.00 of out it? Ask them that before you buy these websites or "secrets".
5) Be weary of instant "Cookie Cutter" websites.
Many websites on sale are simply replicates of a site and are put up for sale many times. This means that you are not the only one who's got a website like that. This produces competition and when you are starting out, you don't want to have a fierce completion. These types of "cookie cutter" websites lose their identity in the market. Basically the mentality of your visitors would be "You see one, you've see them all". YOUR website won't be unique. And you end up fighting an uphill battle. Opt to buy unique websites that aren't sold many times over and over again. You can easily spot cookie cutter websites if you search ebay. You'll see the same theme such as "legal forms" or "paid to drive" websites. Don't waste your time or money on these. Save your money to buy a unique website. It will pay your back many times over.
6) Beware of Adsense Earning statements
Adsense is the new way of starting an instant income stream. You get paid by Google for showing ads on your website. Many websites claim they have a daily Adsense income of say $50 or a monthly income of say $3000. Work at home businesses that are SOLELY built on adsense are a disaster waiting to happen. Don't get me wrong. Adsense is a very good source of income. But it should NOT be your ONLY income. The Adsense revenue is directly related to your website traffic. If you lose traffic you lose income. If a seller boasts high profits through adsense, ask for verifiable proof of income for previous months and see how much profits were from adsense and if it was the ONLY source of income. Don't put all your eggs in one Adsense basket. It's tempting but you'll be flirting with trouble if your website doesn't have another method of income.
7) Pay attention to the number of bids.
If a website catches your attention don't bid on it until you can get a feel for it's worth. The number of bids on it can give you a rough idea about what kind of an opportunity it is and whether it's worth your time and money. If a website has 0 bids and has a buy it now price of $49.00 it's probably not worth your money. It could well be another cookie cutter website. If the website has many bids and there's still plenty of time before the auction ends, and the price is fairly high then it might be actually worth that price. Remember that you aren't the only person doing research. Many bids means many others have done research and like what they found. Make sure you check out WHO those bidders are and their feedback as well. Don't be fooled by false bids. - Instant Site
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