---
title: "44% of 88 live business listings raise a high-severity red flag"
url: https://firstpassmemo.com/red-flag-index/
updated: 2026-10-16
publisher: FirstPass Memo (hello@firstpassmemo.com)
---

Data · Listing Red-Flag Index

# 44% of 88 live business listings raise a high-severity red flag

Short answer: 44% of 88 public Empire Flippers listings we read (2026-10-14 to 2026-10-16) raised at least one high-severity flag, 54% showed a negative marketplace-reported revenue trend, and every one left customer or revenue concentration undisclosed. The median listing asked 2.4× annual profit, a payback of 28.8 months.

Edition 2026-W42 · Published 16 October 2026 · Free to cite under CC BY 4.0 · By Joan Murphy (https://firstpassmemo.com/about/joan-murphy/) (pen name) · How we check (https://firstpassmemo.com/methodology/) · Corrections (https://firstpassmemo.com/editorial-policy/)

## Check a listing now, free

FirstPass Memo offers a free red-flag checker for business-for-sale listings and a $79 first-pass memo on a specific listing you send, paid after delivery. Paste any listing below for payback, the asking multiple and its red flags. Nothing you paste leaves your browser. Open the full checker (https://firstpassmemo.com/checker/) to unlock every flag with its seller question.

Share of listings raising each flag. SVG (https://firstpassmemo.com/red-flag-index/chart.svg) · CSV (https://firstpassmemo.com/red-flag-index/red-flag-index-2026-W42.csv) · JSON (https://firstpassmemo.com/red-flag-index/latest.json)

## Key figures

- Listings read: 88 live Empire Flippers listings, asking $55,000 to $424,477 (median $175,934).

- Mix: 68 ecommerce, 14 content sites, 6 SaaS.

- At least one high-severity flag: 39 of 88 (44%).

- Negative marketplace-reported revenue trend: 47 of 87 (54%) that reported one.

- Median flags per listing (excluding information-only notes): 5.0.

- Median asking multiple: 2.4× annual profit; median payback 28.8 months.

## Which red flags appear most often?

| Flag | Listings | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Customer or revenue concentration not disclosed | 88 of 88 | 100% |
| Generic reason for sale | 80 of 88 | 91% |
| Relies on a platform (Amazon, Shopify, Google, YouTube…) | 79 of 88 | 90% |
| Volatile monthly profit | 59 of 88 | 67% |
| Last 3 months' profit below the 12-month average | 43 of 88 | 49% |
| Owner works more than 10 hours a week | 29 of 88 | 33% |
| Marketplace-reported revenue trend negative | 23 of 88 | 26% |
| One traffic channel above 60% | 10 of 88 | 11% |
| No churn figure for recurring revenue | 9 of 88 | 10% |
| Asking multiple above the typical range | 8 of 88 | 9% |
| No traffic data in the listing | 7 of 88 | 8% |
| Organic search above half of traffic | 6 of 88 | 7% |

## By business type

| Type | Listings | Median multiple | Median payback |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Ecommerce | 68 | 2.32× | 27.8 months |
| Content site | 14 | 2.4× | 28.8 months |
| SaaS | 6 | 2.73× | 32.8 months |

SaaS has only 6 listings in this edition, so treat its medians as indicative only.

## Embed the chart

Journalists, newsletters and bloggers may use the chart and figures with a link back. Copy this HTML:

<a href="https://firstpassmemo.com/red-flag-index/"><img src="https://firstpassmemo.com/red-flag-index/chart.svg" width="760" alt="Most common red flags across 88 Empire Flippers listings, FirstPass Memo Listing Red-Flag Index 2026-W42"></a>

Suggested citation: FirstPass Memo, Listing Red-Flag Index 2026-W42, https://firstpassmemo.com/red-flag-index/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Method

We read each listing's public page data on Empire Flippers between 2026-10-14 to 2026-10-16 and ran it through the same rules as our free checker (https://firstpassmemo.com/checker/), with a human review of each flag. Each listing has its own teardown page (https://firstpassmemo.com/teardowns/) (see also famous-deal teardowns (https://firstpassmemo.com/teardowns/famous/)) so every count can be checked. Figures are asking prices and seller- or marketplace-reported numbers, not sale prices or verified results. A flag is a prompt for a question, not a finding of wrongdoing. Information-only notes (for example, which data providers a listing shows) are not counted as flags. Our separate benchmarks (https://firstpassmemo.com/data/) cover $10k–$150k listings on other marketplaces.

## FAQ

### How often is the index updated?

It is a weekly edition built from the teardowns live that week. Each edition is dated; figures are not revised after publication except for corrections, which we note.

### Does a red flag mean a listing is a scam?

No. Most flags mean something is missing or needs explaining. Use them as questions for the seller.

### Can I check my own listing?

Yes: paste it into the free checker (https://firstpassmemo.com/checker/). Sellers can use the seller pre-check (https://firstpassmemo.com/sellers/).

## Looking at a specific listing? Get a full memo — $79, pay after delivery.

Paste the link; your memo arrives within 24 hours (Mon–Fri). $79, pay after delivery: we send the memo first, then a payment link. Human quick reviews cost $199–$390.

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FirstPass Memo is informational screening, not investment, legal, tax, accounting or valuation advice, and not an audit. Seller figures are not independently verified. HTML version: https://firstpassmemo.com/red-flag-index/