Motion Invest Review (Is This Broker Best for Your Content Site?)

Motion Invest is an online marketplace that allows investors to buy and sell established content-based websites.

While it may seem like a promising opportunity, it’s important to understand the pros and cons before diving in. In this article, we will provide a comprehensive review of Motion Invest, including its features, benefits, and potential drawbacks.

Whether you’re a seasoned online business investor or a beginner looking for new acquisition opportunities, this review will help you make an informed decision about Motion Invest.

What is Motion Invest

Motion Invest is an online business marketplace and brokerage that helps online business investors of all levels find and purchase high-quality profitable content websites with ease and convenience.

Co-founded by Kelley Van Boxmeer, Jon Gillham, and Spencer Haws, Motion Invest gave content site owners a trusted marketplace to sell their businesses, even if the existing business was too small to sell with other brokerages.

The platform offers a variety of features that make acquiring a website easier, including comprehensive due diligence on listed sites, through analytics available on sites for sale, website transfer support, and resources to help with the sale process.

With Motion Invest, online business buyers and sellers can access profitable content sites at a fair market rate.

What Data Exists About Their Track Record?

• Years in the Industry: 4+ years.
• Track Record Data: Investors Club has sold over 1200 businesses since they were founded in 2019.
• Sale Success Rate: 97%
• Average Listing Multiple: 32x

What Types of Businesses Does Motion Invest Offer?

Motion Invest focuses on selling content sites generally making a couple hundred to a couple thousand dollars a month. For buyers on a budget, Motion Invest allows them a unique opportunity to acquire a quality content site for far less than other brokers.

While most sites are generally valued under $20,000, Motion Invest does have systems in place to sell $1M+ businesses.

Motion Invest Commission Fees & Pricing

Fees and Pricing for Buyers

Buyers don’t pay a fee or commission to Motion Invest. The cost to acquire is wrapped up in the final sale price of the business.

Fees and Pricing for Sellers

Motion Invest offers no listing fee and has a graduated commission rate based on the sale price of the business. Their rates vary from 5 to 20% as follows:

Buying a Business through Motion Invest

Motion Invest offers a streamlined process for buying a website. Here’s how the buying process breaks down:

• Make sure to sign up for a free account in order to view live listings
• Search listings and find a listing that fits your criteria.
• Request additional information and access to Google Analytics directly from Motion Invest’s team to perform additional due diligence.
• Buy a site via the “buy now” button and submit a nonrefundable deposit. For sites under $2000, you’ll pay the full list price, for sites valued over $2000, the nonrefundable deposit is $1,000.
• If your offer is accepted, you must send in the remaining money for the list price.
• Transfer of the business to the buyer begins after the money is received by Motion Invest to hold in Escrow.
• Once the transfer is complete, all funds are released to the seller and the sale is done.

It’s important to note that Motion Invest holds an auction-style sales process.

Specifically, they operate via a  Dutch Auction, where site selling prices decrease every 2 days until the site is purchased or reaches its reserve price.

But here is one of the most important things to note on Motion Invest’s auction-style sales process: In order to buy a site, you must submit a nonrefundable $1000 deposit.

That’s $1,000 you won’t get back if you don’t go through with the deal.

So keep all this in mind when looking to buy from Motion Invest. Most brokers don’t operate via bidding wars so if this is something you want to avoid, this may not be the best platform for you. Of course, those looking for a deal and the opportunity for a list price decrease may want to use Motion Invest’s auction process to their advantage.

Buyer Due Diligence Process with Motion Invest

Motion Invest conducts due diligence on listed sites, but it is still important to perform your own review. A marketplace may do a high level check to meet their own benchmarks, but that doesn’t mean their criteria will match your own buying criteria.

Selling Your Business with Motion Invest

Getting a Valuation

Motion Invest’s free website valuation tool offers a comprehensive and convenient way for users to evaluate their website’s worth and explore the options for selling it. By submitting their site for evaluation, users can receive an instant valuation, making the process of understanding a website’s value quick and easy.

To begin the valuation process, simply navigate to Motion Invest’s website valuation tool. 

You’ll be directed to fill out the valuation form and also required to give Motion Invest access to Google Analytics. Generally, Motion Invest asks sellers to follow these guidelines when submitting their site for valuation:

• Documentation showing monthly income for the last 12 months (when applicable). Showing three months of earnings is Motion Invest’s minimum.
• Providing the website name, specific traffic ID, and income proof data.
• Information on affiliate relationships

Once all the information is submitted Motion Invest’s team will follow up via email to discuss next steps and the list process on the marketplace.

Exclusivity Period

There is a one-month exclusivity period during which the site cannot be listed elsewhere. If the site doesn’t sell within this period, different options are available, including leaving the site listed with Motion Invest, lowering the purchase price, or removing it from the marketplace.

Listing and Selling Your Business with Motion Invest

The selling process of a site with Motion Invest involves several steps:

1. Submit Form for Valuation: You must fill out a valuation form with details like URL, income, and Google Analytics. This provides an initial estimate of the site’s value.

2. Team Outreach: Motion Invest’s team will contact you within 24 hours of form submission to confirm details and request additional data for due diligence. Sites not fitting their criteria may be rejected at this stage.

3. Due Diligence Process: The site undergoes a 10-step due diligence process, taking 3-7 days, varying by site size, details, and monetization methods.

4. Offer Stage: Post due diligence, if the site is a good fit, Motion Invest will make an offer to list on the marketplace. Otherwise, they will inform you if the site fails any of Motion Invest’s listing criteria.

5. Buyer Agreement: Upon agreeing on a listing price and auction details, you will sign a Marketplace agreement and answer some FAQ questions.

6. Listing Page Creation: The team creates a listing page for the site, which takes 1-2 days. Once created, it goes live on their website and is emailed to their buyer list.

7. Site Sold: After the sale, you will be notified and required to sign an Asset Purchase Agreement with the buyer. The average site sells within 12 days from this stage.

8. Site Transfer: The transfer team assists in backing up and transferring the site and domain to the new buyer after receiving all funds. This can take 3-7 days post-receipt of funds.

9. Getting Paid: Once the site is successfully transferred and the buyer confirms the setup, payment is released to you, which may take 3-6 business days to process.

Visibility of URL and Information Security

It’s worth noting that the URL is visible to potential buyers on Motion Invest’s marketplace. Since most brokers keep URL’s hidden to avoid exposing sensitive information to competitors, some sellers may opt for other broker options if they’re worried about security. That being said, revealing the URL makes the buying process easier for  buyers so those who want to sell their site quickly may not mind having the URL public on Motion Invest’s marketplace.

FAQs About Motion Invest

Is Motion Invest Legit?

Yes, Motion Invest has been a trusted marketplace for content-based sites for years. They’ve sold over 1200 websites and have proven expertise in the realm of content-based online businesses.

Who Handles the Migration Process of the Business?

This one is important to note with Motion Invest. While they advertise the free transfer process of the site, there is a limit. Only the first 20 pages are free to transfer. After that, the cost is $3 per page to transfer.

What Payment Methods Are Accepted For Buying a Business?

Accepted payment options include credit cards, cryptocurrencies, or PayPal. Credit Card payments are not always common with online business brokerages, so those looking to leverage their credit card to pay for a site will want to take note of this unusually accepted payment option.

Pros and Cons of Using Motion Invest

Pros of Using Motion Invest to Buy or Sell a Website/Online Business

Large Buyer’s Pool for Content Sites: Motion Invest specializes in content websites and has a large, active buyer’s pool for content sites at all price points.

Fast Sale: Websites that pass their due diligence can expect a quick sale. Direct sales are completed within 72 hours, and Marketplace listings have an average sale time of 12 days, with some sites selling in as little as 10 minutes.

Easy Hand-Off for Sellers: Sellers are required to provide only 20 days of support to the new owner, minimizing the need for extensive hand-holding.

Cons of Using Motion Invest to Buy or Sell a Website/Online Business

URL is Visible on Marketplace: Revealing the URL to buyers can make a site susceptible to copycats or competitors looking for private information about a business. Making the choice to reveal the URL can be personal to the seller and their goals, but it’s not a choice to take lightly.

Auction Process: Motion Invest’s Dutch Auction process is a bit unusual in the overall broker landscape. While it may help close deals faster, it does put the seller at risk of not getting the desired list price for their site.

Only Content Sites Listed for Sale: This is a niche marketplace that caters well to content-focused buyers. However, buyers looking for more diverse buying options will have to shop outside of Motion Invest.

The Final Review: Is Motion Invest a Good Option for You?

Motion Invest’s focus exclusively on content websites means they have an extensive experience and deep understanding of this niche market – that means they can be a fantastic resource for buyers and sellers in this monetization. They have a substantial active buyer pool who acquire from Motion Invest because of their fair market pricing and ability to close deals quickly at a reasonable commission rate. This combination of specialization, efficiency, support, and favorable financial terms makes Motion Invest an attractive option in the content website market.