Had a buyer on a small site ask for a two week trial period actually running it before he pays, full access, and if he likes the numbers he buys. On the surface it sounds fair, he wants to verify the traffic is real, which i respect because i tell buyers to do exactly that diligence. But handing full access to an unpaid stranger for two weeks feels like handing him everything to copy and then walk. Where is the line between reasonable verification and just giving the asset away for free? How do you let a buyer actually verify without exposing yourself like that?
Red flag the way he framed it. Verification does not require possession. He can confirm the traffic on a screenshare with you driving, live analytics, server logs, a read only view of the dashboard, all without ever holding a login himself. The moment someone insists on full access before any money moves he is not verifying, he is test driving a car he intends to drive off the lot. Offer supervised verification and watch whether he still needs the keys. If a read only look suddenly isnt enough for him, you have your answer.
two weeks of full access to not pay is wild lol, thats not a trial, thats a free rental with a copy of your files as a parting gift. legit buyers verify, sure, but through escrow and a controlled look, not by moving in. the ones who push hard for unsupervised access before any money changes hands are either going to clone it or theyre fishing your traffic sources for free. let him verify with you watching, or let him walk.
the reasonable version of what hes asking already exists and it isnt a trial. you give trailing analytics read only, you do a live call where he watches you pull the real numbers, and for a content site you can show server logs that match the claimed traffic. none of that needs him holding a key. if hes technical enough to actually audit a site in two weeks hes technical enough to know a screenshare and log access answers every honest question he could have. the insistence on hands on full access is itself the tell.
assume hes going to copy it and youll be right most of the time. ask him straight why a read only look and a screenshare isnt enough to verify what he actually needs. if he has a real answer, maybe. if he gets cagey or says he just needs to feel it out for a bit, theres your answer right there. nobody needs two weeks of live keys to check whether traffic is real.