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Flipping Websites After HCU: The Surprising Results of My Latest Sale

This is a newsletter I sent to my subscribers last week. I publish the newsletters on my website; however, I edit out some information from the public versions.

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That’s why some online entrepreneurs don’t get too attached to their assets (not like me haha). Instead, they flip websites as a core monetization strategy 💰

In the pre-HCU era, this was a reliable business model.

But what about now? 🤔

Is anyone still selling—and more importantly, buying—websites? 🤔

Can you still flip sites in the post-HCU world?

Let me share what I’ve learned 👩‍🎓

My Post-HCU Website Sale: What Really Happened

In March 2024, about six months after one of the darkest moments in the history of online business (AKA the HCU), I sold one of my “old” websites—one that used to generate five-figure monthly income before the update.

The final sale price? ***edited out***

At the time of sale, it was making ***edited out*** on a 12-month average (L12M), but only meager ***edited out*** on average in the last 3 months (L3M)—the revenue was dropping fast.

If you calculate the multiple based on L12M, it comes out to 12x—not bad. But if you use L3M, the multiple jumps to 39x 🤯

39 🤯 That’s plain crazy! In the best days, multiples sat around the 15–25x range. Getting such a high multiple was completely unexpected.

Why Did I Get Such a High Multiple?

I sold through InvestorClub, which was very unusual for me—I’m always a hard-core pro-DIY-er and not a fan of big commissions that do not go into my pocket🤷‍♀️

But the website market had changed so much that I felt uncomfortable doing it on my own, and decided to use a broker for the evaluation and handling.

Right before that, a Flippa rep reached out to me about selling the exact same website 📧
If you’re not familiar, Flippa is a major online marketplace for websites and digital assets. I like their low fees and auction system—great when you’re unsure about your site’s value.

I’ve used Flippa successfully several times:

• Third time selling on Flippa
• My first Flippa sale

Flippa gave me a suspiciously high valuation—about ***edited out*** 🤨 It spooked me, but in hindsight, I probably should have gone with them.

☝☝☝ I left out some details from my original newsletter. If you’d like to receive these updates in your Inbox in unedited form, sign up:

Because, ironically, InvestorClub couldn’t sell my site to their own buyers and ended up listing it on Flippa 😆
They handled the auctions and answered all the buyers’ questions for me. I appreciated the help, but I could have done it myself and saved the commission 😒

Thanks to the Flippa auction, the price was bid up. Previous offers I’d received were just ***edited out*** and ***edited out***.

Another thing that helped tremendously with the price: the site was monetized with the Raptive ad platform. This platform lets sold sites stay on their platform even if they drop below the usual earning threshold for new sites 😉 Mediavine does not allow it.

What About Flipping AI Websites?

So, can you flip AI-generated sites after they hit a certain revenue level? The answer is yes—if they have a solid traffic source (like Pinterest).

I plan to sell one of my own AI-driven sites in August (as I mentioned in a previous newsletter). I’ll definitely use Flippa and set up an auction, since I’m not sure about the right price 💲

Someone I follow on a forum recently sold their site for a 10x multiple on the last 6 months’ average, and 15x on the last month—so the deals are still happening, even post-HCU 🤑

Final Thoughts

I got a good deal for my “old” website, but now I see how valuable human-written, long-standing sites are. Part of me regrets selling, but honestly, the cash allowed me to survive this past year.

The bottom line?

Flipping is still possible—even for AI sites—but the landscape has changed.
Human content, strong history, and reliable traffic sources are more valuable than ever. And if you’re going to sell, don’t underestimate the power of a good auction platform.

Are you considering selling a site, or have you flipped one post-HCU? I’d love to hear your experience! 😃

Go to the Comments and hit Reply!

Otherwise, have a wonderful weekend ❤️

This is a newsletter I sent to my subscribers last week. I publish the newsletters on my website; however, I edit out some information from the public versions.

If you’d like to receive these updates in your Inbox in unedited form, sign up for my newsletter: