What Empire Flippers is, in one line
Empire Flippers is a vetted marketplace that sits between a self-serve platform like Flippa and a full-service broker: they screen listings, verify your numbers, connect you with pre-qualified buyers, and manage the migration, but you still list on their marketplace rather than handing the whole sale to one agent. That middle position is exactly why it's a popular choice for established sellers — you get much of the trust and hand-holding of a broker while keeping the reach of a marketplace. Here's what to expect if you go this route.
The vetting process
Before your business goes live, Empire Flippers verifies your financials and traffic themselves. This takes time up front and means not every site qualifies, but the payoff is significant: buyers know the listing has already been checked, so they trust the numbers and move faster once you're live. Think of the vetting as an investment — the days you spend getting verified are repaid by a smoother, quicker sale to buyers who don't have to independently re-confirm everything from scratch.
Commission structure
Empire Flippers charges no listing fee. It takes a success commission only when the business sells, and the rates stack in bands rather than applying one percentage to the whole price.
| Sale price | Commission |
|---|---|
| Up to $66,667 | $10,000 flat |
| $66,667 – $700,000 | 15% of the sale price |
| $700,000 – $5M | 8% on the part above $700K |
| Above $5M | 2.5% on the part above $5M |
Source: Empire Flippers commission calculator, page updated February 2026. Checked September 25, 2026.
What that means in practice:
| Sale price | Commission | Effective rate |
|---|---|---|
| $40,000 | $10,000 | 25% |
| $100,000 | $15,000 | 15% |
| $300,000 | $45,000 | 15% |
| $1,000,000 | $129,000 | 12.9% |
| $5,000,000 | $449,000 | 9% |
The $10,000 minimum is the number that decides fit for smaller sites. Below about $67,000 you pay more than 15%, and on a $40,000 sale a quarter of the price goes to commission. Most sellers under that line net more on an open marketplace, even after listing fees. From $67,000 to $700,000 the rate is a flat 15%, and it only starts to fall once the sale passes $700,000.
Managed migrations and inspection
A major draw is the managed migration and post-sale inspection period. Rather than leaving buyer and seller to transfer a business between themselves, Empire Flippers coordinates the handover and gives the buyer a defined window to confirm the traffic and revenue match what was advertised before funds are fully released. This reduces disputes, reassures buyers, and removes a lot of the friction and anxiety that can derail an otherwise-agreed deal at the last moment.
Who it's for — and who it isn't
Empire Flippers fits established sites, typically worth roughly $70k and up, with clean, verifiable records and a track record long enough to satisfy vetting. If that's you, the combination of qualified buyers and managed process often justifies the fee. If your site is very small or brand-new, the thresholds and vetting timeline make it a poor fit — an open marketplace or a direct sale will serve you better and faster. Match the venue to your stage, and the process works with you rather than against you.
How the vetting process actually runs
You submit the business, provide financials and analytics access, and an analyst verifies both before anything goes live. Expect two to six weeks depending on how organised your documentation is and how many revenue streams need separate verification. Sites are rejected, most often for insufficient earnings history, unverifiable revenue, or traffic that cannot be substantiated. That rejection rate is the point: it is what makes the listings credible to buyers.
What the commission includes
The 15% is not only for introductions. Migration is included and managed by their team, which matters more than it sounds: the handover is where unmanaged deals most often go wrong, and a botched migration can trigger a post-sale dispute over whether the business performed as described.
Who it fits
The sweet spot is an established business earning above roughly $2,000 a month, with twelve or more months of clean history and documentation you can produce on request. Below that the commission and the vetting overhead are hard to justify against an open listing. The other strong fit is any seller who wants the process handled — you answer questions and approve decisions rather than running the sale.
Who it does not fit
If your site is under about six months old, if a meaningful share of revenue cannot be independently verified, or if you need to be liquid in three weeks, this is the wrong venue. It is also a poor fit for sellers who want to negotiate directly with buyers, because the marketplace intentionally sits between the two sides for most of the process.
What sellers most often get wrong
The common mistake is treating the vetting as a formality and arriving unprepared, which turns a two-week review into a two-month one. The second is under-documenting add-backs, since a well-evidenced add-back raises the valuation the multiple is applied to and a vague one gets removed. The third is listing at the top of the band without the stability record to support it, which produces a long, quiet listing and an eventual price reduction.
- It sits between a self-serve marketplace and a full broker.
- Fees: $10,000 minimum, 15% up to $700K, then 8% and 2.5% on the portions above.
- Below about $67K the minimum makes it expensive — an open marketplace usually nets more.
- Expect upfront vetting in exchange for buyer trust and speed.
- Best for clean, established businesses worth roughly $70K+.
Work it out: Marketplace fee calculator
See if you meet Empire Flippers' thresholds — get a free valuation to benchmark your site first.
Value my site →Empire Flippers vets both sides and runs the migration for you. For established sites it consistently reaches the strongest end of the range.
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