Rudy Bekker vs FE International.

FE International is one of the most reputable online-business brokers in the market. They've closed meaningful volume in the 7-figure and 8-figure range, their buyer network is real, and their team genuinely does the work of packaging a deal and running it to close.

What you're paying for — 8% to 15% depending on deal size — is the broker running the entire process. They write the prospectus, they source buyers, they manage DD, they coordinate escrow, they do the migration. For an operator who has zero time or bandwidth to run a sale, that's genuine value.

What you're also paying for: an exclusivity agreement (you legally can't talk to other buyers while you're listed), a 60–120 day process, and a buyer-side fee that narrows your addressable buyer pool. On a $1M deal, the blended effective cost to the transaction is often closer to 17–18% when you include both sides.

If you know you want to sell, know the number you'd take, and know your numbers are clean — the broker process adds time and cost without adding certainty. I send a written offer in 24 hours. If we agree, I wire in 48. No exclusivity, no broker middle-person, no inspection window that keeps funds in limbo for another week.

FE International earns its fee when the sale is complex: multi-entity structures, cross-border tax optimization, rollover equity, management carveouts, or anything where you genuinely need an experienced M&A advisor sitting between you and the buyer.

They also earn it when you have zero capacity to run the sale yourself and the last 5–10% of price discovery meaningfully moves the outcome. Their buyer network is real, and competitive tension can lift final pricing in a way that offsets some of the commission.

For straightforward, profitable, $50K – $500K-per-month SaaS and eCom businesses where you want cash in the bank fast — a direct principal is almost always cleaner.