What Empire Flippers does

Empire Flippers is a curated, two-sided online business marketplace that intermediates the sale of established digital assets — including Amazon FBA stores, SaaS businesses, e-commerce stores, content/affiliate sites, and YouTube channels — primarily in the $100K to $10M enterprise value range. Founded in 2011 and operating as a U.S. LLC (Empire Flippers, LLC, Michigan-governed, with operational presence in Wilmington), the company vets both sides of every transaction: sellers undergo ID and financial verification, buyers must demonstrate proof of funds (via Plaid) before unlocking confidential business information, and Empire Flippers escrows payments and runs done-for-you migrations including credential transfers and APA execution. The platform reports over $580M in cumulative transaction volume across 2,638+ closed deals, 215 active listings, 647 weekly NDAs/LOIs, and a verified buyer network with $15.3T+ in stated liquidity.

The technology stack is a Ruby on Rails API backend serving a React frontend, with a WordPress marketing site; notable proprietary components include a valuation algorithm calibrated on the company's closed-deal dataset (producing ±15% valuations from 10+ data points) and an APA Builder that drafts Asset Purchase Agreements from existing deal data. Native integrations with Xero, QuickBooks Online, Plaid, Google Analytics, Amazon APIs, Stripe, and PayPal automate P&L generation, proof-of-funds, and payment/account transfer. Two public APIs (Marketplace API and Valuation Tool API) plus embeddable HTML snippets enable third-party syndication of listings and valuations.

Empire Flippers monetizes exclusively through a tiered commission on completed sales: $10,000 flat up to $66,667 (raised from $7,000 in February 2026); 15% to $700,000; 8% to $5,000,000; and 2.5% above $5,000,000. There are no listing fees or upfront charges; sellers typically retain ~85% of final sale price, and commission is only paid on successful migration. A secondary revenue stream — the Referral Partner Program launched in 2022 — pays approved partners 20% of EF's commission on referred closed deals, with cumulative partner payouts exceeding $1.7M. Customer segments are horizontal: SMB owners exiting digital businesses and a long tail of individual investors and small funds acquiring them, served through self-serve marketplace tools plus M&A advisor support for deals above $100K.

Name

Empire Flippers

Legal name

Empire Flippers, LLC

Website

https://empireflippers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Empire Flippers is a curated two-sided marketplace for buying and selling established online businesses (Amazon FBA, SaaS, e-commerce, content sites) typically valued between $100K and $10M, earning tiered commissions on closed deals and offering vetting, escrow, and migration services to SMB sellers and individual acquirers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Business Brokerage

akta.pro primary industry

Vertical/Specialty Marketplaces (BPAMAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Price Comparison, Deals, Cashback & Loyalty Shopping Platforms (BPAMAGAH)

Keywords

• Online business brokerage
• Digital asset marketplace
• Website M&A
• Business valuation tool
• Curated business marketplace

Headquarters

HQ city

Wilmington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Brokerage Commissions: Empire Flippers charges sellers a tiered/blended commission on completed sales. The commission is only paid upon successful sale and migration. Commission structure: $0-$66,666.66 = $10,000 flat; $66,666.67-$699,999 = 15%; $700,000-$5M = 8%; above $5M = 2.5%. Sellers receive approximately 85% of the final sale price.
2. Referral Partner Program: Referral partners earn 20% of Empire Flippers' commission on referred deals that close. Partners receive unique tracking links and are paid within 45 days of Empire receiving its commission. Since 2022 launch, referral partners have collectively earned over $1.7M.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Empire Flippers operates a curated online marketplace where sellers list established, profitable digital businesses (SaaS, e-commerce, Amazon FBA, content sites, affiliate sites) and vetted buyers browse, unlock confidential details, and complete acquisitions. The platform manages the full transaction lifecycle including business vetting, ID and proof-of-funds verification, due diligence, escrow, and post-sale migration, earning a tiered commission on completed sales.

Product overview

Empire Flippers is an Inc. 5000 company and the #1 curated marketplace for buying and selling online businesses, having facilitated over $580M in transactions. The core platform consists of the Marketplace for listing and discovering digital businesses, paired with the Valuation Tool for automated business pricing. A suite of developer-facing products includes the Marketplace API, Valuation Tool API, and corresponding embeddable HTML Snippets for partners. Additional services include Migration Services (managing business transfers post-sale), ID Verification, Proof of Funds Verification, the APA Builder for deal documentation, Deal Structuring support, and the Commission Calculator. The Referral Partner Program enables partners to earn commissions by driving transactions to the platform. The platform integrates with accounting tools (Xero, QuickBooks Online), payment processors (Stripe, PayPal), verification services (Plaid), and analytics platforms (Google Analytics, Amazon APIs) to enable automated financial reporting and secure transactions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Empire Flippers Marketplace Core marketplace where verified sellers list established, profitable digital businesses and vetted buyers browse, unlock confidential details (URL, Google Analytics, P&L), and complete acquisitions. Features 215+ active listings and publishes 9 new businesses every Monday.
• Valuation Tool Free automated business valuation tool that uses a proprietary algorithm and 10+ data points to generate valuations within a +/- 15% range, based on over $580M in real closed-deal data from the Empire Flippers marketplace. Specialized fields for different monetization types including Amazon FBA, e-commerce, and SaaS.
• Marketplace API Public API allowing partners to access all current online business listings for sale, build meta-marketplaces, and apply customizable filters for monetizations and niches. Javascript SDK supported.
• Valuation Tool API API that provides automated business valuations to embed on third-party websites, using the proprietary Empire Flippers valuation algorithm and historical closed-deal data.
• Marketplace Snippet Embeddable HTML snippet that lets partners display live, curated Empire Flippers listings on their websites with real-time updates, customizable filters, and referral code attribution. Requires no coding.
• Valuation Tool Snippet Embeddable HTML snippet for partners to provide automated business valuations on their websites, available in auto mode (dynamic fields) or custom mode (specific monetizations and fields).
• Referral Partner Program Partnership program allowing approved partners to earn 20% of Empire Flippers' commission on closed deals referred to the platform, paid within 45 days. Partners have collectively earned over $1.7M since the 2022 launch.
• Migration Services Facilitated post-sale transfer service where Empire Flippers manages the migration of credentials, assets, and operations from seller to buyer, including payment release coordination through Zendesk.
• Commission Calculator Interactive tool that calculates seller commissions based on listing price or monthly net profit and multiple, applying the tiered structure of $10,000 flat up to $66,667, 15% to $700K, 8% to $5M, and 2.5% above $5M.
• Deal Structuring Service Advisory and structural support for M&A transactions including earn-out arrangements, milestone-based payments, domain holding during financing periods, and managed escrow services.
• ID Verification Identity verification system requiring government-issued ID (passport, driver's license, or national ID) plus video verification, maintaining marketplace integrity for all buyers and sellers.
• Proof of Funds Verification Buyer verification process powered by Plaid bank account verification, required before buyers can unlock confidential business listings, protecting sellers from non-serious inquiries.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $580M in online businesses sold across 2,638+ transactions
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration10 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• XerocoreTechnology or Integration · 1 January 2026Integration allowing sellers to connect their Xero accounting software directly to the Empire Flippers platform. Automates P&L statement creation from accounting data, with automatic monthly updates on the 2nd of each month and access to up to five years of historical financial data.
• QuickBooks OnlinecoreTechnology or IntegrationAccounting integration for automated profit and loss statement generation from sellers' QuickBooks Online data, providing buyers with high-fidelity financial information for due diligence.
• PlaidcoreTechnology or IntegrationUsed to verify proof of funds for buyers before they can unlock confidential business listings. Plaid provides secure bank account verification services.
• Google Analytics APIcoreTechnology or IntegrationUsed to collect and analyze traffic information about websites listed on the marketplace, assisting with P&L generation and due diligence verification.
• Amazon APIscoreTechnology or IntegrationUsed to collect FBA store information for Amazon business listings, including inventory data and store performance metrics that feed into P&L generation.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Latona's: Online business brokerage and auction platform focused on smaller websites, Amazon FBA businesses, and Shopify stores. Comparable in marketplace model and target segment (digital SMB M&A).
• MicroAcquire: Marketplace for buying and selling small SaaS and online businesses, originally a Y Combinator–backed startup that has since merged with Acquire.com. Comparable curated marketplace model serving the same online business buyer/seller segment.
• Acquire.com: Marketplace for buying and selling SaaS startups and small tech businesses. Operates a similar curated listing + vetted buyer model for digital businesses, primarily serving bootstrapped SaaS founders and acquirers.
• Flippa: Online business and website marketplace offering both auction and listing formats. Closest direct competitor with similar buyer/seller marketplace dynamics, though Flippa generally serves a broader and lower-priced range of digital assets than Empire Flippers.
• Website Closers: Business brokerage specializing in the sale of internet-based businesses, including e-commerce, SaaS, and content sites. Comparable brokerage model serving digital business M&A in similar transaction ranges.
• FE International: M&A brokerage specializing in SaaS, e-commerce, and content businesses in the $1M–$50M+ range. Directly comparable in target customer (online business owners and acquirers) and service model (curated listings, vetting, full-service deal closure).
• Motion Invest: Marketplace for buying and selling content and niche websites, focused on the small-to-mid transaction range. Comparable in offering (online business marketplace) and audience, though typically serving smaller deal sizes than Empire Flippers.
• Quiet Light Brokerage: Online business M&A brokerage focused on seven- and eight-figure e-commerce, SaaS, and content businesses. Comparable target segment, vetting-led process, and end-to-end migration support.

Broad incumbents

• BizBuySell: Largest online business-for-sale marketplace in the U.S., but focused on traditional brick-and-mortar SMBs. Overlaps in marketplace format but does not specialize in the online/digital business niche Empire Flippers dominates.
• Transworld Business Advisors: Large business brokerage franchise handling franchise and main-street business sales. Overlaps in providing M&A brokerage services but does not specialize in online/digital businesses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCnXKO42ItY0BT6xc77GPh2Q?sub_confirmation=1
• Xx.com/empireflippers
• Facebookfacebook.com/empireflippers
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/empire-flippers

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Empire Flippers