The whole buy and sell process in website flipping can prove to be quite complicated for the inexperienced and while on my blog I have come up with several posts already on specific aspects of website flipping, this is the first time that I will be going over the process in detail. This article in particular, covers the initial steps that both parties undertake if they buy or sell a site.

Step 1: Buyer and Seller Agree on the Deal

Before any step can be taken, the transacting parties, i.e. the buyer and seller, have to reach an agreement. As expected, it all begins with the seller putting up his site for sale, then the buyer signifying his interest, and finally, both agreeing to a deal. The process may be done through reputable marketplaces such as Flippa.com or through a private deal.

Step 2: How to Transfer Payment

Next, the parties should agree on the mode of payment. There are a couple of choices here: using direct payment or let an escrow service handle payment. If you opt for direct payment, you are further provided with more paying options ? PayPal, bank transfer, and check or money order. If you choose to do it via escrow, there are several things you might want to consider.

Why Use Escrow?

Not all dealings have to be done via an escrow service. There is no hard and fast rule for this, but ideally, transactions that go more than $1,000 should use escrow. A preferred escrow service which has even been built-in into Flippa.com’s system is Escrow.com. If you find Escrow.com’s fees to be on the high side (although certainly worth it I should say), there are other services you can use such as SafeFunds.com.

Whichever company you select what’s important is that you make sure you feel secure working with that service. Next, register an account with that escrow service. I’ve used both Escrow.com and SafeFunds.com in the past, I do know that signing up with either of these two is simple and costs nothing. Regardless of how seldom you intend to flip a site, it’s always advisable to have an account beforehand so you will already have a good idea of how escrow works.

So how exactly does it work? In a nutshell, the process goes like this:

Once the terms of the sale are ironed out and are agreeable to both buyer and seller, the buyer then places the funds into the escrow account. The escrow service verifies the funds and confirms this to the seller. Upon verification, the seller must then right away initiate the transfer of the site to the buyer, who then takes a close look at the “goods”. If everything is in order, the buyer informs the escrow service and the seller gets the funds.

This may all sound quite clear-cut but in actuality some disputes may arise such as the buyer alleging that the terms of the contract have not been strictly followed. In such situations he can file a dispute claim with the escrow service’s dispute resolution system.

As you can see, the first basic steps in buying and selling websites can be easily managed even by those new to thejust starting out in the business, and with the assistance of escrow services when needed, there’s really no reason why you can’t flip websites for profit.

This post only covers the first few steps of how to buy and sell websites. Check out our site to learn the detailed steps of the process and other great tips on website flipping.