{{deal.priceTagText}} {{deal.multipleTagText}} {{deal.ageTagText}} {{deal.newTagText}}Quiet Light is one of the top mid-market brokers in the space of buying and selling online businesses. I do a deep-dive review of this brokerage from covering the benefits, comparison with other brokers, fee structures, and the buying and selling process with them.
Let’s get into it!
4 Major Benefits of Quiet Light Brokerage
Quiet Light Brokerage is the brainchild of Mark Daoust, who started the company out of frustration from finding it hard to sell online businesses back in 2006 because of too many salespeople who promised the moon but didn’t know how to help aid the buy/sell and transfer process.
After looking at Quiet Light Brokerage as a potential option for buying or selling online businesses, several major benefits jump out.
Everyone Has Buying/Selling Experience
Each client selling a site gets an experienced broker working with them to help guide them through the process and to actively negotiate for a sale with potential buyers. This isn’t “just a salesperson,” but it’s a broker with experience being personally involved on the buying and selling side of the process.
This provides excellent confidence in the selling experience since the broker knows from experience what needs to be done to get the listed site the best price.
Lower Than Average Sales Commission
The selling fee is lower with Quiet Light Brokerage than most other big-name options. The largest commission is 10% for sales of $1 million or less. It goes down to 9% for sales between $1 million and $2 million, 8% for sales between $2 million and $3 million, etc. This goes up to sales of $7 million-plus which is a flat 3% at that point.
Big Database of Buyers
Quiet Light has a large database of vetted and confirmed buyers, meaning their brokers already have hot leads when looking to promote an online business. This isn’t an auction listing that has to do or die on its own.
Active Negotiations
The advisor to your account is not only actively reaching out to potentially interested parties for a sale but also negotiating for a better price. Quiet Light Brokerage claims that 47% of the businesses they sell go for above the asking price.
Quiet Light vs Empire Flippers vs FE International
| FE International | Empire Flippers | Quiet Light | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commission Rate | 15% or less | 15% or less | 10% for $1 million or less, declines 1% for each million thereafter (3% minimum) |
| Listing Fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total Listings | 25+ | 120+ | 50+ |
| Exclusivity Agreement | Revealed during Representation Agreement signing | 60 days | Yes, binding until the site is sold or withdrawn from sale |
| Users | Tens of thousands | 195,000 | N/A |
| Escrow Fee | Included in upfront fee | $0 | Discussed in initial contract |
| Proof of Funds Requirement for Buyers | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Free Site Migration Service | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Legal Documentation Provided | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Due Diligence Provided | No (vetting only) | No (vetting only) | No (vetting only) |
What Types of Online Businesses Are Offered for Sale?
There are a wide array of online businesses for sale on Quiet Light’s listings. This ranges from successful affiliate blogs to Amazon FBA stores, Shopify stores, SaaS businesses, and more. There are often even package deals with 2 or 3 content-based websites put together as a bundle for sale.
What is Quiet Light’s Brokerage Fee?
The brokerage fee is based on the total sale but is low and seller-friendly compared to the average market rates. The highest rate starts at 10% for the lowest value sales and declines as the price of sale goes up.
So as of this article the rates currently are:
- Under $1 million – 10%
- $1-2 million – 9%
- $2-3 million – 8%
- $3-4 million – 7%
- $4-5 million – 6%
- $5-6 million – 5%
- $6-7 million – 4%
- $7 million and above – 3%
The Buying Process with Quiet Light
The buying process is fairly simple overall and comes with plenty of support. Buyers are vetted for income level and ability to buy to keep the window shoppers separate from serious buyers.
1. What Listing Information Is Provided Publicly to Everyone?
Revenue, income, multiple, and price are numbers that are made public. While a description of the business is public, it’s general enough that someone would not be able to figure out who it is. These are the general descriptions of the type of business, style of income generation, and that’s it. Enough to match up with a buyer without making any potentially sensitive information public.
2. What Listing Information Is Provided Privately to Buyers?
Buyers are provided with the site name and the limited information needed to vet earnings, traffic numbers, and verify what’s being reported or pitched to them. This allows for proper due diligence and the ability to confirm the numbers being provided.
3. What Vetting or Due Diligence Is Provided?
Thorough vetting and due diligence have been done by the advisors at Quiet Light Brokerage to confirm the gross sales, net profits, traffic numbers, and any other relevant information. That information is provided, as well as information needed by buyers to continue on their vetting and due diligence process.
Make sure to check my website due diligence framework.
4. How Is the Migration of the Business Handled?
The migration is handled by the staff at Quiet Light. They handle all the technical details from escrow & payment to the transfer of the business from the seller to the buyer and all the steps in between.
5. How Long Is the Inspection Period When Buying?
The inspection period can take several weeks or even a couple of months. The estimated time of most transaction periods from initial interest to completion of transferring funds and business is 3 to 5 months, almost all of which is guided.
6. What Post-Sale Support Is Provided?
Support is given with a highly trained tech team that will ensure the process of migrating the business from the seller to the buyer, seeing to all legal requirements for changing ownership, and the proper payment from escrow funds once completed.
The Selling Process with Quiet Light
The selling process with Quiet Light Brokerage is relatively simple.
No Obligation Initial Consultation
Everything starts with a no-obligation initial consultation. The seller talks with an advisor who answers any questions they have, has a basic look at the business to see if it’s a good match for the broker and talks with them about how the detailed process works.
Valuation & Vetting
Assuming the seller decides to continue, the next stage is a valuation of the business. This is based not only on business type, earnings, and profits but a full look at the business is taken and the advisor will discuss what they see as an appropriate valuation.
This is also when vetting of all the income and traffic numbers takes place. A buyer will always want this information during a website business process.
Listing & Advisor Begins Pitching
After the valuation, the listing is put up so buyers who are members of the Quiet Brokerage Review can look at the listing. The advisor assigned to the seller will also look to actively pitch the business to previous buyers who are a good fit.
This active shopping of the business also includes negotiating the final price and trying to get the best possible deal for the seller.
Terms of Sale Are Agreed Upon
A final sale isn’t made until the terms of sale are agreed upon and the seller agrees to them. Once this is agreed upon an official contract is signed by both parties and the payment & transfer processes begin.
Sale & Post-Sale Work Is Completed
The buyer puts the money into escrow. When this is confirmed the process begins for migration of the site and following up with all the proper authorities to make the required legal changes to transfer ownership.
The Quiet Light Brokerage team is very hands-on, guiding the process with strong technical support and making sure things go smoothly every step of the process.
FAQs About Quiet Light
How big does your business need to be to use Quiet Light Brokerage as a seller?
Sales start at around the $100,000 mark and go up into the many millions. There is a focus on larger online businesses with this brokerage.
Is Quiet Light legit?
Quiet Light is a 100% legitimate online business brokerage and has been in the business of buying and selling online businesses since 2006.
Is Quiet Light Better for buyers or sellers?
Each deal is different so this really can’t be answered with a broad brushstroke. Since brokers are negotiating on behalf of sellers it can be harder to find an undervalued deal as a buyer but that doesn’t mean great deals don’t exist.
Summary of Quiet Light Brokerage
Quiet Light Brokerage offers another excellent option when it comes to buying or selling an online business. The hands-on approach by Quiet Light will be welcomed by some buyers and sellers alike who don’t want to get into the details. For others who like being hands-on or seeing an auction evolve, this might not be the ideal partner.
For buyers, the offering of high-earning and highly vetted online businesses is excellent and provides an opportunity to acquire some quality assets to add to the portfolio.
Pros
- Very experienced staff of professionals who clearly know what they’re doing
- Supportive process on both the buyer and seller side
- Fantastic fees compared to market averages
- Great group of interested buyers collected over 15 years of business
Cons
- Strong exclusive contract
- Longer average timeline from initial interest to final payment and transfer after sale
- Not right for smaller content sites under 100k
Wrap Up
Quick Light Brokerage has a far more hands-on approach than many other options. However, a team of experienced brokers who all intimately understand the process along with outstanding fee rates make them a tempting option. The no-obligation initial consultation for sellers is a major positive to make sure only good matches are brought to the table for their group of excited buyers.
There is a lot to like on both sides of the table with Quick Light, and they are certainly comparable in many ways to other brokers like Empire Flippers or FE International.
