Answers
How does escrow work when buying a website or online business?
Short answer: Escrow holds your payment with a neutral party until the assets have moved to you. You pay into escrow, the seller transfers the domain, code and accounts, you check that everything works during an agreed inspection period, and only then is the money released. Use a licensed escrow service or the marketplace's own escrow, never a direct transfer.
What are the steps in an escrow purchase?
- Agree terms. Price, the list of assets, the inspection period and who pays the escrow fee, all written into the escrow transaction and the purchase agreement.
- You pay the escrow service, not the seller. The service confirms it has the funds.
- The seller transfers the assets: domain, hosting, code, content, social and email accounts, supplier and payment accounts.
- You inspect. During the agreed period you confirm you control every asset and that the business works as described.
- You approve and the money is released. Escrow.com's fee page (read 7 October 2026) says it pays the seller the same or next business day once all terms are completed and verified.
How long should the inspection period be?
Long enough to check what can be checked: that you can log in to every account, change the passwords and owner emails, see payments arriving in accounts you control, and that traffic and revenue look as they did before. A few days suits a simple content site; a SaaS with payment and hosting migrations may need longer. Agree the length in writing, and do not approve the release until you have checked everything on the list.
What should be on the asset list?
Everything the business needs to run, named one by one: the domain and registrar account, hosting and code repository, content and media files, email lists and the email platform account, social accounts, analytics and Search Console access, payment processor arrangements, supplier and affiliate accounts, and any contracts. Anything not on the list is easy to forget and hard to claim later.
What does escrow cost?
Escrow.com publishes its fees. At typical small-deal prices, its standard service costs:
| Purchase price | Escrow.com standard fee | As a share of the price |
|---|---|---|
| $20,000 | $480 | 2.4% |
| $45,000 | $1,080 | 2.4% |
| $90,000 | $1,710 | 1.9% |
| $140,000 | $2,660 | 1.9% |
Escrow.com fee calculator, USD, standard service, read 7 October 2026: 2.4% from $5,000.01 to $50,000 (minimum $130), 1.9% from $50,000.01 to $200,000 (minimum $1,200). Buyer and seller agree who pays; card and PayPal payments add a processing fee, and an international wire adds $25.
Buyer and seller can split the fee any way they agree. Marketplaces may set this themselves: Flippa's help centre (read 7 October 2026) says its escrow is provided by Escrow.com and the fees are paid by the buyer.
What are the warning signs around payment?
- A seller who asks you to pay directly, by bank transfer, crypto or a payment app, "to save on fees".
- An escrow website you have not heard of, suggested by the seller, or a link sent by email instead of a site you open yourself.
- Pressure to release funds before the inspection is finished.
- A request to move the conversation off the marketplace before the deal is agreed (is Flippa legit for buyers?).
If the deal includes a seller note, escrow covers the closing payment and the rest follows the note (how seller financing works).
Sources
- Escrow.com, Fee calculator, US dollar transactions, read 7 October 2026
- Flippa Help Center, Pricing, Escrow Fees, FlippaPay Fees, and Buyer Verification, read 7 October 2026
Related
- Is Flippa legit for buyers?
- Is Acquire.com legit?
- How to buy an online business
- How seller financing works
- Glossary of listing terms
- More questions buyers ask
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Composite examples are invented and labelled. Figures from other sites are quoted with a link and the date we read them; FirstPass figures are asking prices and seller-stated profit, not sale prices. Informational screening only, not investment, legal or tax advice.