Profitable, Patented, and Ready to Scale

What we'll cover this week

• Dream Business - Multi-tool brand with an amazing community

• Don’t Buy - The numbers don’t add up

• SaaS Businesses - The Guru Fantasy vs. Reality

This Week’s Pro Tip

Google Analytics is not the truth but…

With more users relying on tracking blockers - or using browsers that enable them by default - Google Analytics (and most other analytics tools) are increasingly unreliable for measuring actual traffic.

Sometimes, it barely captures 40% of a site’s real visitors, which is a bigger issue for smaller websites. But despite its flaws, having data is better than having none.

If you want a more accurate picture, server-side tracking is the way to go. Shopify’s native analytics or WordPress built-in stats tend to offer better insights.

So, when looking at Google Analytics data, double the reported traffic for a rough (but closer to real) estimate.

Short Disclaimer

Online Acquisition Weekly is for informational purposes only and should not be considered financial, investment, or legal advice. We do not endorse or guarantee the accuracy of third-party listings. Always conduct your own due diligence or consult a professional before making any investment decisions.

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This Week’s Dream Business

This one is absolutely bonkers. It checks all the right boxes, but I can’t share too much due to NDA restrictions. Want the details? Sign the NDA yourself.

What I can say is that this undisclosed brand (listing on Flippa) is riding an upward trend, and if you time it right, you could cash in big.

They manufacture a multi-tool (think Leatherman or Swiss Army knife) with patented features and an awesome product with a loyal following.

TL;DR

• Patented, high-quality multi-tool brand with strong branding and community support.

• Growing business with solid numbers—owner transparently disclosed past profitability dip.

• No upsell system in place (huge AOV potential left on the table).

• Product photos & website aesthetics need an upgrade.

• Massive inventory stockpile - potential warehousing cost concerns.

• Pricey but interesting - this could explode in value with the right tweaks.

Why This Listing Stands Out

You know I love graphs that go up. I also love owners who aren’t shady and actually explain past issues instead of hand-waving them away.

Last summer, profits dipped due to a bad service provider - but the owner fixed the issue, and margins bounced back.

• Current profit margin: 22% – decent, but I usually prefer higher.

• Adjusted for the bad period, margins are closer to 30%, which is much more appealing.

The real magic in this business is their community. This brand built a following through a successful Kickstarter campaign and actually nurtured its buyers into loyalists.

The branding and marketing are also on point. You could let this run as is and enjoy the cash flow, or tweak it for even bigger profits.

What Could Be Improved?

Upsells, Aesthetics & Referrals

• Upsells are non-existent - and that’s just leaving money on the table.

• Product photos - some look like they were shot on an iPhone 4—in 2025.

• Referral program - Not a thing, but it should be.

A few ideas to improve your ROI.

1. Fix the Upsell Strategy

• The product has TONS of add-ons, but the checkout process doesn’t push them.

• By adding basic upsell/post-sell offers, the average order value could easily jump 20–30%.

• Right now, skipping add-ons makes the core product’s USP weaker. That’s a huge missed opportunity.

2. Improve the Website & Photos

• Some images are pixelated or poorly lit. For a premium product, that’s unacceptable.

• A simple A/B test on the website’s design & color scheme could improve conversion rates.

• That uniform orange color everywhere isn’t doing this brand any favors.

3. Introduce a Referral Program

• Multi-tool buyers are gearheads—they love talking about their tools.

• A “Refer a Friend, Get a Free Add-On” program would drive repeat sales and bring in new customers cheaply.

• They already have an affiliate program, but it’s worth looking into if it’s managed properly.

What to Watch Out For

• Holding Inventory – This isn’t a hands-off business. You’re either dealing with shipping yourself or paying fulfillment fees.

• Patent Renewal Costs – Patents aren’t one-time expenses. In the US alone:

  • 3.5 years → $800

  • 7.5 years → $1,800

  • 11.5 years → $3,700

  • Global patents: more fees per country.

• Too Much Inventory – Buying this business means inheriting $174K in inventory, which translates to $800K in potential sales but at the current sales rate, could take 4–7 years to sell.

• Virtual Assistant Disappearance – They had a VA until August. Then costs doubled for a month, and the VA vanished. Why? Who’s running the business now?

• Existing Contracts – Some service provider contracts seem to take a cut of revenue. Are they actually worth the cost?

Due Diligence Checklist

Before making an offer, ask the tough questions:

• Inventory – Why so much? Bad forecasting? Minimum order requirements? We need answers!

• Manufacturing Process – How easy is it to reorder? Who assembles the product? Will they work with a new owner?

• Team Costs – Are these fully accounted for in the P&L?

• Revenue Verification – Request a video call to check Stripe & PayPal transactions from the past 30 days.

• Traffic Quality – Ask for Google Search Console access to confirm organic traffic legitimacy.

Final Take

This could be a great buy if you:

• Have a plan to move that massive inventory.

• Fix the upsell funnel & AOV strategy.

• Negotiate the price based on the inventory risk.

If you’re comfortable with the logistics and can optimize the checkout process, this could be a steal.

If not, just wait until next week. We might have something for you.

Don’t Buy and Why

This is where we break down listings that aren’t worth your money—but still offer valuable lessons about buying online businesses.

Specialwines.com

Sometimes, the numbers just don’t add up. A good indicator: suspiciously round numbers.

• 65,000€ in revenue

• 25,000€ in profit

When was the last time a business hit two perfect round numbers in a year? Right. On the day, someone pulled numbers out of thin air with no receipts to back them up.

Turns out, those numbers crumble under scrutiny:

This data comes straight from WooCommerce, and the total revenue? ~10,000€.

That’s not a rounding error. That’s straight-up fantasy accounting.

Reality Check

• The claimed revenue is 6.5x higher than what WooCommerce processed.

• They’re asking for a 4.1x profit multiple—even based on these inflated numbers.

• Could they have other payment processors? Maybe. But at this point, why waste time digging?

If numbers don’t make sense at first glance, they won’t magically improve with more research.

And Then There’s This…

I’ll leave you with some pure poetry from the seller’s description, which is apparently meant to impress:

"Key to SpecialWines.com's success is its sophisticated use of technology. The platform operates on WooCommerce, which provides a scalable and customizable foundation that accommodates the specific needs of an e-commerce wine seller. Payment processing is streamlined through PayPal, offering users a secure and convenient checkout experience. This simplicity in transaction execution is crucial, ensuring customer satisfaction and trust.”

Sophisticated. Wow.

It’s WooCommerce and PayPal. The most standard e-commerce setup imaginable. If this is their version of a tech innovation pitch, I’d hate to see what they think “complexity” looks like.

And that’s why I’m out.

Buying a SaaS business

Ah yes, the “Buy a SaaS and scale to infinity” dream.

Low costs, sky-high margins, massive exit multiples. The perfect business—as long as you’re a developer (or willing to hemorrhage cash hiring one).

The Pitch Sounds Great… Until You Think About It

Internet gurus love SaaS because:

• Minimal overhead. (Until you need a developer.)

• Scales endlessly. (Until the code breaks.)

• Sells for huge multiples. (Until buyers see the nightmare codebase.)

It all sounds amazing - until you realize SaaS requires actual product maintenance and isn’t just a cash-printing machine.

The Problem: No abla developer?

Unless you’re fluent in the Matrix like Neo, prepare for a masterclass in burning money.

• Bug fixes, security updates, server maintenance. You’re paying for all of it.

• Hiring a developer. Easy? Good luck. You have no idea if they’re any good - or if they just copy-pasted from Stack Overflow.

• Evaluating their work. Oh look at you, you’re so cute! Hope you enjoy vague technical jargon and inflated invoices.

• Selling the business. Buyers won’t touch messy, undocumented code with a ten-foot pole. That "high multiple" just turned into a “Give me an 80% discount please” situation.

Your only way out: Hire a CTO to manage your developer(s)—so now you’re running a tech company instead of a “passive business.” Oh and they are expensive. Did I mention this already?

When Buying SaaS Doesn’t End in a Financial Crime Scene

I’m not saying never buy SaaS. Just don’t do it blindly. Here’s how to not tank your investment:

• Understand software development. No, a Coursera intro course doesn’t count.

• Find a tech co-founder. Someone who actually enjoys debugging code at 2 AM.

• Learn to code - before you buy. Maybe start with something other than your six-figure acquisition.

• Have cash reserves. Because developers don’t work for equity in your “big vision.”

What you shouldn’t do? Buy SaaS as your first business and expect it to be a hands-off goldmine. It’s not.

Yes, SaaS can be a fantastic business model—if you have the skills, the team, or the bankroll to make it work.

But if you’re looking for “passive income” (I’ll talk about that another day), try something that doesn’t implode the moment your only developer quits and ghosts you on Slack.

Final Words

That’s it for this week. This week’s dream business has a brilliant (growing) foundation and is the perfect fit if you want to handle inventory and a physical product with great potential.

Got something on your mind? Hit reply and let me know—I’ll get back to you ASAP.

See you next time,
Tim