Quiet Light Brokerage Review (from a Real-World Client)

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If you’re considering selling your website or online business, you may be looking for a broker to help you find the right buyer. And if you’re interested in buying a site or business, you may be looking for a way to find quality options.

Quiet Light is one of the leaders in the industry, and they’ve earned a solid reputation over the years. I have personal experience with them, so I wrote this Quiet Light brokerage review for anyone looking for feedback from a real-world client.

Summary

Quiet Light is a leading online business broker that works with various business models rather than specializing in a particular type of website or online business. They have a long history in the industry and an impressive track record of getting the best price for sellers. Most of Quiet Light’s listings are in the six-to-seven-figure range. They add new listings each week.

My Personal Experience with Quiet Light

I’ve used Quiet Light to sell two sites in the past. Both were content-based websites that sold for six figures in 2018 and 2023. In both cases, Brad Wayland was my advisor.

👉 I’d hesitated to use a website broker in the past, mostly because of the fees. However, both times I worked with Brad and Quiet Light, I walked away with more money after the fees than I would have if I had tried to sell the sites independently. By listing with Quiet Light, my sites got exposure to a large audience of qualified buyers, and the sales process was easy.

In 2018, I had two strong offers within four days of listing the site. I accepted the better offer and finalized the transaction about three weeks later. 

In 2023, I received two offers within three weeks of the listing going live. Again, I accepted the better offer, and the sale closed a few weeks later.

My experience with Brad and Quiet Light has been amazing. I talked with potential private buyers in both cases before deciding to list with Quiet Light. Each time, I had an offer on the table, but Quiet Light was able to get a price that far exceeded those private offers.

In 2016-2017, I listed an Amazon FBA business with another leading broker, and they could not sell it in four months. I wound up selling it on my own after the exclusivity period. My experience with Quiet Light was completely different than this other broker. Not only did they sell the site, but the communication was also much better, more professional, and more trustworthy.

Based on my experience, I confidently recommend Quiet Light, especially Brad Wayland, to anyone interested in selling an online business. 

Company History

Quiet Light was founded in 2006 by Mark Daoust. One of Mark’s friends asked for help selling his site, knowing that Mark had sold a site earlier that year. After helping his friend, Mark grew Quiet Light one client at a time.

Since 2006, Quiet Light has sold more than 600 websites and online businesses for more than $300,000,000 in total transaction value. Today, Quiet Light’s team includes more than 15 M&A advisors.

Quiet Light Brokerage Review

Quiet Light works with a wide variety of online businesses, including ecommerce, Amazon FBA, dropshipping, content-based websites, SaaS, membership sites, newsletters, and more. Unlike other brokers and marketplaces specializing in a particular type of website or online business, Quiet Light deals with just about everything.

Most of Quiet Light’s listings are in the six-to-seven-figure range ($100,000 to $9,999,999), but some are priced higher or lower. As a seller, your site should make at least $5,000 per month to be an ideal fit with Quiet Light.

They add new listings each week, and a nice selection of businesses is always available for purchase. However, Quiet Light takes a quality-over-quantity approach, so you won’t find hundreds or thousands of active listings. At the time I’m writing this article, there are 35 available listings and another 25 currently under offer but not yet closed.

For sellers, Quiet Light allows your business to stand out rather than being overshadowed by hundreds of other businesses listed. For buyers, Quiet Light offers an excellent selection of high-quality businesses, so you won’t have to weed through many low-quality listings.

All listings are posted on Quiet Light’s website and sent to a large email list of active buyers and investors. Listings describe the business without revealing the URL of other sensitive information. Potential buyers interested in learning more must sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before receiving additional details.

Here are a few ways that Quiet Light stands out from other brokers.

1. Every Broker is an Experienced Buyer or Seller

All of Quiet Light’s brokers and advisors have firsthand experience growing and selling an online business. They’re all entrepreneurs, not just salespeople. This is a big deal because the advisors are intimately familiar with the process from the buyer and seller’s perspective, not just the broker’s. 

This real-world experience also allows Quiet Light advisors to serve you through every phase of the process, from valuation to closing.

2. Emphasis on Honesty

If you browse Quiet Light’s website, you’ll notice that they emphasize honesty and a low-pressure approach. From my experience, that’s 100% accurate. There’s no pressure to list your business with them. In fact, they’ll advise you to wait if the timing isn’t right. They also don’t pressure sellers in terms of pricing or accepting offers. They’ll advise you based on their experience, but ultimately it’s your decision.

My experience with Quiet Light, particularly Brad Wayland, is that they don’t rely on high-pressure sales tactics to get results. Instead, they get your business in front of a large number of potential buyers, and they work to find an ideal fit between the buyer and seller. With a good match, there’s no need for a high-pressure approach.

3. Incredible Success Rate

When you’re evaluating brokers, their track record is an important consideration. Quiet Light’s work speaks for itself. An impressive 85% of their listings sell within 90 days or less. And 47% of the listings sell at or above the asking price. As you can see from those numbers, Quiet Light is highly successful.

I’ve listed three different online businesses for sale with brokers. Two were with Quiet Light, and both sold quickly and for prices that I was happy with (about 95% of the listing price, and the listing prices were fairly aggressive, in my opinion). The other business was listed with another broker and didn’t sell in four months. Instead, I found a buyer for that business on my own.

Vetting and Due Diligence

The seller will provide Quiet Light with a profit and loss statement (P&L) showing the business’s income, expenses, and net profits. Quiet Light does provide some level of vetting before businesses are listed. However, the process may vary from one advisor to another and from one listing to another. 

Buyers need to perform their own due diligence or hire a firm to do it for them. This is typical of the industry, and Quiet Light’s level of vetting is similar to what most other brokers provide.

Quiet Light Brokerage Fees

The fees are an important consideration if you’re selling a website or online business. Quiet Light’s fees are pretty typical of what you’ll find from other established brokers and M&A advisors. I wouldn’t say the fees are low or high. Their fees are right in line with industry standards.

Quiet Light offers free consultations and valuations. They don’t charge any fees for listings, and they don’t charge any fees to buyers. Fees are only assessed to sellers when a website or business sells.

The fee structure is:

• 15% on the first $500,000
•  5% for everything above $500,00 and below $1 million
•  10% from $1 million – $2 million
•  9% from $2 million – $3 million
•  8% from $3 million – $4 million
•  7% from $4 million – $5 million
•  6% from $5 million – $6 million
•  5% from $6 million – $7 million
•  4% from $7 million – $8 million
•  3% above $8 million

It’s important to remember that the amount you walk away with is really what matters. From my experience, Quiet Light’s services are easily worth the price because they tend to get higher selling prices that offset the fees.

Buyers know you’re not paying broker fees when you sell sites privately. Typically, they’ll reduce the amount they’re willing to pay because of this. As a result, it’s challenging to find a better deal on your own than what you could get with a qualified broker like Quiet Light.

Quiet Light’s Valuation Process

The first step is a no-obligation initial consultation with one of the advisors at Quiet Light. During this call, you’ll talk about the details of your business, like revenue, expenses, monetization methods, etc. The Quiet Light advisor will give you an idea of what they think your business may be worth, based on other recent sales and industry trends.

Of course, you can ask any questions you have and provide feedback that may help the advisor determine an appropriate listing price.

After the call, you’ll sign an engagement letter if you decide to move forward. The engagement letter is a legal document that defines the relationship between you (the seller) and Quiet Light. 

Even if you decide not to sell, the consultation can be extremely helpful in understanding the value of your business.

Quiet Light’s Process to Sell a Business

Here’s an overview of the process you’ll go through if you list a website or business with Quiet Light.

Preparation of Marketing Materials

To begin the process, you’ll need to provide your Quiet Light advisor with financials like a P&L that shows the business’s income and expenses broken down by month. They can provide you with a template if needed (it’s just a simple spreadsheet). 

The advisor will begin working on the listing to market and promote your business. This is an essential part of the process because many potential buyers will see the listing, and if they’re interested, they’ll sign an NDA and get more details.

Potential buyers who sign the NDA get access to a seller interview. The interview is usually text as well as video. As a seller, this is an excellent opportunity to present yourself and your business in a positive light.

From my experience, Brad Wayland has done an awesome job with the listings of my businesses. 

Listing

Now, the listing goes live and potential buyers will start to see it. Quiet Light emails new listings to its large database of potential buyers, generating immediate exposure. They also publish listings on their website.

Typically, they try to time the listing so each one gets adequate attention and exposure. That means it may take a week or more before your listing is live, depending on the upcoming listings in the queue.

Buyer/Seller Calls

Once the listing is live, the advisor will field calls and emails from potential buyers who want more information or details. They must sign an NDA before seeing the URL of your site. The advisor will handle inquiries on their own if they’re able to.

They’ll also schedule buyer/seller calls. These calls are typically through Zoom, so the potential buyer and seller can get comfortable with each other and ask any questions they may have. The Quiet Light advisor will be on these calls as well. 

In some cases, follow-up calls are arranged if needed.

Offers and Negotiation

The buyer/seller calls do not involve negotiation. The advisor will handle any negotiations for you. If a potential buyer makes an offer, the advisor will present it to you.

When you receive an offer, you can accept it, reject it, or make a counteroffer. The Quiet Light advisor will provide their professional opinion, but the decision is yours.

Due Diligence

After a non-binding agreement is in place (usually with a signed letter of intent), the due diligence process will begin. At this time, you’ll provide the buyer with the information they need for verification, including proof of income and expenses. This may include bank, credit card, and PayPal statements, etc. Tax returns may be needed for larger deals.

The amount of time needed for due diligence varies, depending on the buyer and the size of the deal. Once everything has been verified, the next step is the closing.

Closing

The buyer and seller will determine the date of closing or settlement. Quiet Light provides templates for legal documents, or the buyer and seller can choose to use their own documents.

The details can vary, but typically, an escrow service is used. In this case, the buyer will transfer money into an escrow account. Once the money is received into the escrow account, the seller will transfer everything to the buyer (including the domain name, logins, and accounts associated with the business). 

Once the buyer has received everything, they’ll release the funds from the escrow account and pay the seller. Quiet Light receives its fee directly from the escrow account. 

Post-Sale

After the sale, the seller may need to provide a small amount of assistance or training to the buyer. These details are usually included in the asset purchase agreement, so there’s no ambiguity. From my experience, Quiet Light has not need to be involved after the sale, but that may vary depending on the deal. 

Quiet Light Pros

• Highly experienced staff. Every Quiet Light advisor has extensive experience building, buying, and selling online businesses. They’re not your typical salespeople.
• Excellent track record. Quiet Light has an impressive track record of completing sales. If you list your business with them, there’s an excellent chance it will sell.
• Honesty and integrity. It’s essential to trust your broker, and Quiet Light excels here.
• Free consultation. Quiet Light offers a free, no-obligation consultation and valuation if you’re considering selling your business.
• Low-pressure approach. Quiet Light takes a low-pressure approach for buyers and sellers. They get results by doing their job well rather than using slick sales tactics.

Quiet Light Cons

• Not ideal for smaller sites. Most of Quiet Light’s listings have six or seven-figure sales prices. If your site or business makes less than $5,000 per month, you’re probably better off with Empire Flippers or Motion Invest.

Is Quiet Light Legit?

Yes, Quiet Light is a legit and established online business brokerage. They’ve been in business since 2006 and have sold hundreds of websites and online businesses. Their incredible track record demonstrates their ability (85% of listings sold within 90 days or less).

I can also attest that Quiet Light, and Brad Wayland in particular, offers excellent services for sellers, based on my experience with two different transactions. 

If you’re considering selling a website or online business, reach out for a free, no-obligation consultation.