Some of these are fatal, most are just expensive, and a few are opportunities in disguise. What they share is that every one should produce a specific question before you invest a week in the deal.
1. Revenue with no verifiable source
Screenshots, spreadsheets, or "I can show you on a call". The fix is simple and the refusal is the signal: ask for provider-verified figures or read-only access.
2. A single spectacular month in the chart
One month at triple the baseline usually means a launch, a lifetime deal, or a one-off contract. It is not part of the recurring business and should not be in the multiple.
3. Revenue quoted as an annualised run rate
"$96k ARR" from a business that has existed for five months means the best month × 12. Ask for trailing twelve, and if it doesn't exist, price accordingly.
4. "Passive income, 2 hours a week"
Sometimes true. Usually it means the owner stopped doing the work, not that the work stopped existing. Ask for the support ticket volume — it's a number, and it doesn't have opinions.
5. No mention of churn
For any subscription business, the absence of a churn figure in the listing is itself the figure. Sellers publish good churn.
6. Traffic that doesn't match the revenue
200,000 monthly visitors and $900 in revenue means either monetisation is broken — which could be your upside — or the traffic isn't what it appears. Both are worth establishing before anything else.
7. Vagueness about why they're selling
"Pursuing other opportunities." Ask directly. The real answer is usually mundane and fine; the evasion is what's worrying.
8. A recent, unexplained decline
Down 20% over six months with no explanation offered. There is always an explanation. Get it before you get interested.
9. Everything on personal accounts
Domain on a personal registrar, API keys on a personal profile, mailing list on a personal ESP. Not fatal, but it's weeks of untangling and it tells you the ops doc doesn't exist.
10. A price with no basis
An asking price that corresponds to no recognisable multiple of anything. Sometimes it's a number the seller needs rather than one the business supports — which is useful to know, and occasionally negotiable.
11. Urgency
"Multiple offers, need to close this week." Sometimes real. But time pressure is the oldest technique for preventing diligence, and no genuinely good deal is destroyed by a buyer taking five days to check the numbers.
There is always another business. Acting like it is the most valuable position you can hold.