The social media account market is actively developing. If you have a few spare Instagram or Facebook accounts with a good reputation, there will always be arbitrageurs who want to buy them. In the world of online marketing, accounts are a necessary resource, like thread for a sock factory or plastic for a recycling plant.
Where and how can you sell an Instagram account? What is the potential profit and is it possible to make money on it regularly? You will find answers to these questions in today’s article.
Instagram account: What affects the price
The platform prohibits the transfer of accounts to third parties. But as arbitrageurs, we will find a way around these restrictions, right? The main thing is to do it wisely. If you have not hacked someone else’s account but gained access to it through commercial agreements, the maximum you can face is a block. But you can always buy a new one.
The cost of an Instagram account depends on the following factors:
Number of subscribers
The more followers, the better. If you have less than a thousand subscribers, try to reach this number. Cheating is undesirable, as the cost also depends on the quality of the followers. An account with less than 1,000 followers can be sold only if it is highly engaged. However, it is easier to increase the number of followers than to increase their engagement.
Audience
The younger the audience, the better. The most valuable subscribers are teenagers and young people under 25. Gen Z is the most active and profitable audience for your account, as they already have some finances and are able to respond to online advertising in a habitual way.
Niche
The easier it is to monetize a niche, the more it costs. Accounts that are dedicated to cooking, business, or cosmetics are much more popular than pages with analytical content.
Involvement
It is important that engagement corresponds to the number of subscribers. The ideal indicator is when 10% of subscribers actively like your posts. In addition, engagement is measured by the number of comments, video and story views, as well as reactions to stories – the more the better.
Comments
Comments should be left by real people. It is not difficult to distinguish a real account from a fake one even for an inexperienced social media user. Fake pages are often closed or have minimal content. Bots are usually recognized by names consisting of numbers and meaningless symbols.
Warning! If you are planning to buy an account on OLX, be sure to ask the seller the following questions. Ask for screenshots from the page analytics that can be found inside the account, a demonstration of the audience and growth dynamics over the past months, if available, and not just an account waiting for a new owner.
Practice shows that sellers on OLX often add such screenshots to their ads. If you decide to sell your account, we recommend that you add such confirmation screens right away to attract attention. In addition to standard photos, add screenshots of ad requests and proof of product quality through reach statistics. This will significantly increase the number of applications.
Where to sell an Instagram account in Ukraine
In our country, many sellers sell accounts through OLX without any hassle.
Here are some examples of accounts that can be found for sale:
- 950 followers. The account is targeted at a female audience with 16 authentic photos that look quite acceptable. The cost is 220 UAH, less than $10. The ad has contact information, and the page sells more than one Instagram account for traffic arbitrage.
- 8 thousand subscribers. Mostly women, GEO – Ukraine. Age group 24-50 years, solvent audience. Target use – online store. The bid is 2400 UAH (approximately $65). The ad states that the seller offers accounts with a different number of subscribers from 2 thousand to 9 thousand and is ready to help you choose the right option.
- 970 thousand subscribers. Profile of a man in a military uniform with a car in the photo, authentic highlights, link to Telegram in the profile. The cost is $1000.
You can also find prices for other accounts:
- 50 thousand subscribers – 3000 UAH ($80);
- 100 thousand subscribers – 6000 UAH ($160);
- 250 thousand subscribers – 15000 UAH ($400);
- 500 thousand subscribers – 30,000 UAH ($800);
- 1 million subscribers – 60,000 UAH ($1600);
For a million+ audience, you can really get 100,000 UAH when selling an account.
In addition to OLX, there are several other ways to sell an Instagram account:
- Facebook Groups. Related communities often buy and sell accounts.
- Topic forums. Here you can also find interested buyers.
- Direct Messages. If you are selling a personal popular page, offers can come directly to Direct Messages.
How much can an Instagram account cost
Although the market dictates certain rules, there is no defined “market” value: the arbitrage market with its cunning participants provides room for maneuver. That is, you can sell your account for as much as your chutzpah will allow. Your account is lying quietly and does not require attention, while someone may urgently need to buy it today and will be ready to pay twice or even three times as much. Therefore, do not hesitate.
How to sell an Instagram account safely and avoid fraud
- Require an advance payment. If the buyer is not ready to make a 100% advance payment, it is better to find another client.
- Involve an intermediary. Although on OLX the sale of Instagram accounts belongs to the section “Business Sale” and is not subject to OLX delivery, on other exchanges mentioned below, funds are frozen until the buyer receives the goods.
Algorithm for the seller:
- Agree on the terms of sale.
- Recieve payment.
- Provide the buyer with a login and password for the account and all related pages.
It is worth noting that the transfer of data before receiving payment is impractical. When selling an account, the advantage remains with you, because the buyer usually bears more risks.
If the sale is made through an exchange, it may withhold the transfer of the account until payment is confirmed. Cooperation with exchanges is possible, but you should be careful, as most of them are Russian. For example, even Funpay, which has a Ukrainian localization, was created in the aggressor country: this is evident from the link to VKontakte on the main page and the mention that the site was developed by Artem Lebedev’s studio. Therefore, we advise you to be careful and, if possible, first use OLX, where accounts are also well sold.
According to experience, even one mention of VKontakte on the main page of a resource can lead to its closure. This rule applies not only to marketplaces that sell pages on social networks: a similar situation is observed with text generators and spam services.
In international practice, there are also marketplaces for selling Instagram accounts, such as Socialtradia. Whether to use them or not depends on the geographical audience your profile is targeting.
Conclusion
To summarize:
- The market for Instagram and Facebook accounts is growing rapidly. The consistently high demand for them among arbitrageurs creates opportunities for earnings.
- Demand covers different categories of accounts. From new profiles with a low price to long-term accounts with a large audience.
In Ukraine, popular accounts can be sold through OLX or through direct messages to the direct. An alternative is marketplaces that sell accounts, but it is worth considering that most of them are either Russian or Western. In the case of Western platforms, it is necessary to work for the appropriate geo.
