Visiting marketplaces like Digital Point’s forum and Flippa.com may be the logical first step when setting out to buy a website. But are you aware that in the website flipping business, there’s a way of overtaking all other potential buyers in getting the first shot at a site that you may be interested in? Yes, there is, and that’s by buying websites privately. True, a website that isn’t publicly listed may not really grant you that big of a discount compared to sites you can find in popular marketplaces, but at least you know that you won’t be paying as much as you would if there were 20 other possible buyers looking to acquire that site too.

Say for instance you get a private offer to buy a 5,000-dollar website. While this may still cost you a pretty penny, it may be the lowest price you can find if the site is really worth it. If the owner were to publicly list this site at Flippa.com, other website flippers would also be able to uncover its money making capability, and this could pull the price higher and higher. Even if the site owner were agreeable to peg $5,000 as the Buy It Now price, hundreds of other interested buyers may beat you to actually purchasing it.

Bear in mind though, that one doesn’t receive these types of private offers from just out of the blue. Having a solid network is crucial to opening such possibilities. In website flipping, it’s not only important to know what you’re doing, it’s just as vital to reach out to the right people, site sellers and buyers alike. While learning how to network would call for an entirely separate discussion, there are still some tips you can start with to find these coveted private websites.

First, you start your search the usual way, and that is at dependable marketplaces like Flippa.com. Browse through the listings found there and try to find the following revealing signs that may suggest that a seller has more than one site for sale such as when a seller outright declares this fact in the description, when a seller mentions having “too many sites to handle” as a reason for selling a website, or when it is indicated that the seller is also working on other projects. Regardless of how you pick out a seller who may have more than one site to sell, be certain of that seller’s legitimacy and credibility.  

The moment you find a good seller with one quality site, possibly more, up for sale, it’s time to take the next step, and that is to send the seller a private message. Make the effort to draft a personal message introducing yourself and politely inquiring after other sites he might have available. The message need not be lengthy but you do have to project yourself as a reliable site flipper, and not a spammer.

When you send discreet, personalized messages, there is a 90% chance of the seller replying to your communication. If you’re in luck, he may very well consider selling to you privately, or at the very least, the seller can notify you what type of sites he’s selling so you can add him to your Flippa seller watchlist for timely updates in case he decides to sell another site or two.

Don’t limit yourself to sellers who are selling websites at this time. Use this same strategy even with site owners who were able to sell sites only recently or even those who had unsold sites. This way, you would have access to more sellers and increase chances of being able to buy websites which aren’t publicly listed.