Why CleaningExits Exists
We analyzed over 1,000 cleaning business listings on BizBuySell. In the past 30 days alone, 139 new listings appeared. Only 54 (39%) are legitimate. Here's the data that exposes a fundamentally broken marketplace.
Who built this? We run ATM Brokerage — achieved 90% market share and facilitated $75-100M in transactions over 10+ years by becoming the trusted specialist in a fragmented vertical. We're applying the same playbook to cleaning businesses.
We've analyzed over 1,000 cleaning business listings on BizBuySell over time. In the past 30 days alone, 139 new commercial and residential cleaning listings appeared. We verified broker accounts against our database of 2,500 business brokers, analyzed financials, and checked multiples. The result? Only 54 of the recent 139 listings (39%) are legitimate businesses with real brokers and verifiable financials. 56 (40%) are confirmed junk—impossible multiples, franchise spam, and listings with no financial data. The remaining 29 need manual review.
What we found in the past 30 days:
- 40 listings with impossible multiples (below 1.5x) — Including 20 from VERIFIED brokers
- 42 listings with no financial data to evaluate the business
- 9 fake "aircraft cleaning" account farms posting identical listings across different cities
- 27 dry cleaning businesses incorrectly categorized as commercial cleaning
What we excluded from our analysis: We focus on commercial and residential cleaning businesses. We excluded dry cleaning (different industry entirely), aircraft/aviation "cleaning" (confirmed scam category), and franchise recruitment ads.
The pattern holds across time: Whether we analyze the past 30 days or the past year, roughly 60% of BizBuySell's cleaning listings have serious red flags or can't be verified. The marketplace isn't getting better—it's consistently broken.
Here's What "Junk" Looks Like
These are REAL listings from BizBuySell's cleaning section. Both have mathematically impossible financials. The worst part? 20 of them are from VERIFIED brokers.
Why this is a red flag:
$409,900 asking price ÷ $502,135 cashflow = 0.82x multiple
This listing claims the business generates $502K in annual cashflow but is only asking $410K. That means you'd get your money back in less than 10 months and the seller would be LOSING money on the deal. This is mathematically impossible for a legitimate business sale.
Another example:
$375,000 asking price ÷ $350,268 cashflow = 1.07x multiple
You'd get your entire investment back in 13 months. If this business actually generated $350K in annual cash flow, why would anyone sell it for $375K? Real commercial cleaning businesses sell for 2.5x-4x multiples, not 1.07x.
The pattern: Both listings have "No photo available," generic descriptions, and multiples under 1.5x. These aren't real businesses being sold—they're lead generation traps or franchise funnels.
These listings stayed active for months. BizBuySell never removed them.
The Real Problem: The Numbers Don't Work
The junk listings aren't just low-quality or poorly written. They have mathematically impossible financials:
40 listings have multiples below 1.5x
This means you'd supposedly get your entire investment back in under 18 months. That's not how legitimate service businesses are priced. Real commercial cleaning companies trade at 2.5x-4x multiples because that reflects the actual risk, effort, and time required to operate them.
Examples of impossible deals:
- • Account 45893 - $19,900 asking / $497,313 cashflow = 0.04x (15-day payback)
- • Account 45895 - $409,900 asking / $502,135 cashflow = 0.82x (10-month payback)
- • Account 44397 - Posted 3 different listings, all with 0.91x-1.36x multiples
Why this matters:
If a business really generated $497K in annual cashflow, no rational seller would accept $19,900 for it. You'd recover your investment in 15 days. The seller would be giving away a money-printing machine for pocket change.
These aren't distressed sales or special situations. They're listings that stay active for months, collect buyer contact information, and never result in actual transactions at the stated prices.
When 40 out of 139 listings (29%) have mathematically impossible multiples, and they stay active for months without being removed, the platform has stopped functioning as a legitimate marketplace.
How We Know This
We didn't just guess. We built the infrastructure to systematically research and analyze BizBuySell's marketplace over time:
1. Built a Database of 2,500 Business Brokers
Over the past year, we diligently built a database of the top 2,500 business brokers in the United States. For each broker, we attempted to verify their legitimacy through multiple signals:
- • Active web presence (professional website)
- • LinkedIn profile with broker credentials
- • Verifiable business registration
- • Professional associations and licenses
Red flags we tracked: No web presence, no LinkedIn profile, no verifiable business registration, or no signs they're actually operating as a business broker. These signals help us distinguish legitimate brokers from suspicious accounts.
2. Analyzed Over 1,000 Listings
We've systematically reviewed over 1,000 cleaning business listings on BizBuySell over time. For our most recent analysis, we examined the 139 commercial and residential cleaning listings that appeared in the past 30 days. For each listing, we extracted the asking price, cash flow, broker account, and contact information.
3. Calculated the Multiples
We calculated price-to-cashflow multiples for every listing with financial data. Industry standard for service businesses: 2.5x-4x. Anything below 1.5x is mathematically suspicious—you'd get your money back in under 18 months.
4. Cross-Referenced Against Our Database
We matched broker accounts against our database of 2,500 verified brokers. This revealed which listings came from legitimate brokers, which were from unverified accounts, and critically—which verified brokers were posting impossible deals.
5. Identified Patterns Over Time
Through ongoing research, we found fake account farms posting identical "aircraft cleaning" listings across different cities, franchise spam with no real financials, and verified brokers systematically posting deals with impossible multiples for lead generation. The pattern is consistent month after month—roughly 60% of listings have serious problems.
The Result:
In the past 30 days, 54 out of 139 new listings (39%) passed our verification. The rest had serious red flags: impossible multiples, no financial data, fake account patterns, or were incorrectly categorized. We have the receipts for every single one. And this pattern holds true whether we analyze the past month or the past year—BizBuySell's marketplace is consistently broken.
The Problem: A Market for Lemons
"When quality cannot be verified, bad products drive out good ones."
— George Akerlof, "The Market for Lemons" (Nobel Prize in Economics, 2001)
In 1970, economist George Akerlof described what happens when buyers can't distinguish quality products from junk. He called it "The Market for Lemons." When sellers know more than buyers (asymmetric information), and there's no way to verify quality, bad products flood the market and good ones disappear.
This is exactly what's happening on BizBuySell:
- Buyers can't verify quality — Is the cashflow real? Is the broker legitimate? There's no easy way to know.
- Bad listings flood the market — When 60% of listings have serious problems, buyers waste months chasing fake deals.
- Good listings get buried — Legitimate brokers with real businesses can't compete with impossible multiples and franchise spam.
- Trust collapses — Eventually, serious buyers stop looking. Why spend time on a marketplace where most listings are worthless?
BizBuySell's Business Model Creates the Problem
BizBuySell charges $100-$400 per month for listing fees. Anyone can post anything. There's no quality verification. No financial validation.
Here's the math:
BizBuySell makes MORE money from junk listings than real ones.
If they verified listings and rejected the garbage, they'd lose 60% of their revenue. That's not a bug in their system. That IS their system.
Who Loses?
- Legitimate brokers — Their real listings get buried in spam. Qualified buyers never see them.
- Serious buyers — They waste months chasing fake leads, lose trust in the entire market, and often give up.
- The industry — When 60% of listings are junk, everyone's reputation suffers.
Who Wins?
- BizBuySell — Collects monthly fees from everyone, real or fake
- Franchise companies — Pay $200/month, capture 100 emails, sell $500K franchises
- Lead generation accounts — Farm contact info, sell to "opportunity" lists
Our Verification Methodology
How We Verify Listings (Simple + Transparent)
Financial Data Required
Listing must include revenue AND cash flow or EBITDA. We calculate the multiple and flag anything below 1.5x as impossible.
Commercial Cleaning Only
We remove dry cleaning (different industry), aircraft cleaning (confirmed scam category), and franchise recruitment listings (not real businesses for sale).
Verified Broker with Real Contact Info
Cross-referenced against our database of 2,500 brokers. Must have web presence, business registration, or LinkedIn profile. Phone and email must work.
Process: Automated scraping + ML pattern detection + manual review of flagged listings. We run this daily on all new listings from 1,500+ broker websites.
The Solution: CleaningExits
We Built What BizBuySell Should Have Been
❌ BizBuySell
- • 1,000+ "cleaning" listings
- • 65% are junk, wrong category, or spam
- • Pay $100-400/month to list anything
- • No quality verification
- • Makes MORE from junk listings
✅ CleaningExits
- • 291 verified commercial cleaning businesses
- • Analyzed 824 listings, kept only the best
- • Free for legitimate brokers
- • Co-brokering revenue model
- • We only win when YOU close
How We're Different:
- Curated, not cluttered — We analyzed 824 BizBuySell listings over time and removed 533 (65%) as dry cleaning, aircraft scams, franchises, or junk. Only 291 legitimate commercial cleaning businesses made the cut.
- Verified brokers — Cross-referenced against our database of 2,500 brokers with web presence, LinkedIn, and business registration.
- Financial validation — We calculate multiples and flag impossible deals. If the numbers don't make sense, it doesn't get listed.
- Aligned incentives — We make money through co-brokering when deals close, not from monthly listing fees. Your success is our success.
A Note to Brokers
You're not the problem. The platform incentives are.
BizBuySell penalizes accuracy and rewards volume. They charge you $100-400/month regardless of listing quality, so their revenue goes UP when junk listings flood the platform.
Your legitimate listings get buried. Buyers waste time on garbage. And the serious operators (like you) lose credibility by association.
What CleaningExits Does for You:
- ✓Free listing for verified brokers (no monthly fees)
- ✓Quality buyers only — no tire-kickers wasting your time on fake deals
- ✓Co-brokering opportunities — we bring you qualified buyers and split commission
- ✓Your listings stand out — no junk to compete with
- ✓Direct contact info displayed — buyers can reach you immediately
We built this because we're brokers too. We ran ATM Brokerage for 10+ years and facilitated $75-100M in transactions by becoming the trusted specialist. We know what legitimate brokers need: quality buyers, clean data, and aligned incentives.
Ready to Find a Real Cleaning Business?
Browse our curated database of 291 verified commercial cleaning businesses. No junk. No franchises. No dry cleaning. No impossible deals.