If your product still earns money, use a marketplace or a broker: they reach many buyers, they know how to price income, and their fees are fair for what they do. If the product has stopped earning and you want to sell the code itself, a direct sale is usually the only route that fits, because marketplace rules and broker economics are built around revenue. The work then shifts to you: checking the buyer.
Who each route is built to serve
Acquire.com describes itself as a marketplace for “SaaS, ecommerce, agencies, content, newsletters, mobile apps and crypto businesses.” Flippa is an open marketplace for online businesses and digital assets. Empire Flippers and FE International work more like brokers, preparing listings and running deals for sellers. All of them sell running businesses to buyers who want income.
A direct sale is a private deal between you and one buyer who wants a specific thing. For The Blue Ocean Code, that buyer is Odys AI Labs, the research and development arm of Odys, which buys the source code of software no longer in use and uses it for AI training and R&D. There is no listing and no audience. Odys AI Labs may also work on the code with research partners, and the written agreement sets out exactly what rights transfer.
Marketplace, broker or direct: the published differences
| Factor | Marketplace (Acquire.com, Flippa) | Broker (Empire Flippers, FE International) | Direct sale of code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Built for | Running startups and online businesses | Established, profitable businesses | Code of products that have stopped |
| Revenue rule | Generally required, narrow exceptions | Profit history required | Must make no money today |
| Fees to seller | Listing fee plus closing or success fee | Commission or success fee | None |
| Visibility | Public listing, often with NDA options | Marketed to the broker’s buyer list | Confidential; no listing |
| Pricing basis | Multiple of revenue or profit | Multiple of profit | The code itself, offer after review |
| Who checks whom | Marketplace screens listings | Broker vets both sides | You must check the buyer |
| Typical timeline | Weeks to months | Months | Depends on how quickly the details and agreement come together |
| Payment | Lump sum, escrow, sometimes earn-outs | Lump sum, sometimes earn-outs | Cash only, one agreed price, paid on transfer |
What the marketplaces and brokers publish
Their published terms are clear, and they explain why a stopped product rarely fits.
Acquire.com says that “generally, we only list startups generating revenue,” and that pre-revenue startups do not usually get much buyer interest (seller FAQ). Its pre-revenue exception applies only to a functional SaaS or AI product that is live, publicly accessible and lets users sign up and log in. Fees are a small monthly listing charge and a 6% to 8% closing fee only if the startup sells.
Flippa charges an upfront listing fee plus a success fee shown as 10% on its pricing page. It does take some no-revenue projects, but caps their asking prices low, and its listing rules exclude businesses that include software they are not licensed to sell.
Empire Flippers requires at least $24,000 net profit a year, 12 months of consistent revenue and a two-month exclusivity period, and prices a listing as a multiple of the last 12 months of profit (sell page). Its scoreboard shows an average of 130 days to sell.
FE International works on success fees only, with no upfront listing cost.
None of this is a criticism. These are sensible rules for selling income-producing businesses. They simply describe a different product from a repository whose service was switched off last year.
When a marketplace or broker wins
Choose a marketplace or broker when:
- The product still makes money. Steady revenue or profit is what their buyers pay for, and competitive bids can lift the price well above the fee.
- You want customers to keep the product. Their buyers run the business; ours does not.
- The deal is complex. Staff, contracts, several assets or a company sale benefit from a broker’s experience.
- You want many offers. A public listing reaches buyers you would never find yourself.
A profitable, running software business belongs with them, not with us. We do not buy software that still makes money.
When a direct sale wins
Choose a direct sale when the product has ended and the code is what is left. A complete codebase written by your own team, ideally with git history, tests and docs, can have real value for AI training and R&D even with zero revenue, as our guide to what old source code is still worth explains.
It also wins on privacy and simplicity. There is no public listing, no fee and no exclusivity period. Sales are confidential, and we never use your brand or name. The process is short: a 60-second form with no code, a short call, a review from what you tell us, a cash offer, a written agreement, cleaning, transfer and payment. Our guide to how selling your old code works walks through each step.
How to check a direct buyer
Without a marketplace in the middle, you do the screening. A fair buyer:
- makes an offer from your description, and does not need your code before a contract;
- puts everything in a written, signed agreement before anything moves;
- never asks you to install or run anything on your computer;
- explains plainly what will happen to the code;
- takes no upfront fees from you.
Never run a stranger’s script on a machine that holds your code or credentials, whoever asks. Our list of red flags when someone offers to buy your code covers the warning signs in more detail.
What each route asks you to prepare
The preparation is different, and it is worth knowing before you start.
For a marketplace or broker, expect to prepare financial records: profit and loss statements, revenue proof, traffic data and often access to payment accounts so the numbers can be verified. Buyers then run their own checks, which can include access to the product and the code during due diligence. Listings are written to attract many buyers, so the product’s story, metrics and screenshots matter.
For a direct sale of code, there are no financials to prepare, because there is no revenue to verify. What helps is a plain description: what the product did, the main languages and frameworks, roughly how many lines your team wrote (cloc or tokei will tell you), how many years of git history exist, whether there are docs, tests and ticket exports, and who owns the rights. That is enough for a first conversation. The code itself only moves after a written agreement is signed, once secrets, keys and personal data have been removed.
Can you do both?
Yes, one after the other. If the product still earns a little, list it on a marketplace or ask a broker first. If they decline because there is no revenue, or the listing gets no serious interest, that is useful evidence: the business cannot be sold as a business, so sell the code. Remove the listing before signing a code sale, and do not run both at once for the same code. If a broker represents you, they can submit the details for you.
Which to choose
- Revenue or profit in the last 12 months, still continuing? Marketplace or broker.
- Large or complicated deal with staff and contracts? Broker.
- Product switched off, no revenue, code written by your team? Direct sale of the code, with the buyer checks above.
What to do next
- Read the requirements page of the marketplace you had in mind and check honestly whether you meet it.
- If you do not, write down what the code is: product type, languages, years of history, docs and tests.
- Put those details into the short form for a free code valuation; no code is needed to start.
Frequently asked questions
Will Acquire.com list my shut-down SaaS?
Usually not. Acquire.com says it generally lists only startups that generate revenue, and its exception for pre-revenue products requires them to be complete, live and publicly accessible, with users able to sign up and log in. A product that has been switched off does not meet that. A running, profitable SaaS, on the other hand, is exactly what it is built for.
Can I list just the source code on Flippa?
Flippa does accept some no-revenue projects, but it caps their asking prices low, and it requires you to prove you are licensed to sell everything in the software. It does not publish a page saying whether bare source code with no running product is accepted, so check with Flippa directly. Its pricing is built around trailing profit, which a stopped product does not have.
Is selling code directly to a buyer safe?
It can be, if the buyer follows a clear process. A fair buyer makes an offer from what you tell them, signs a written agreement before any code moves, and never asks you to install or run anything on your computer. Never run a stranger's script on a machine that holds your code or credentials. If a buyer wants the code before a contract, walk away.
Do brokers handle code-only sales?
Brokers are paid from the sale price of businesses, and the buyers they work with price on profit. A code-only sale of a product with no revenue gives them little to work with, so most decline it. That is a reasonable business decision, not a verdict on your code. If a broker represents you, they can still send us the details through the form.
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