# BizBuySell Scraper (`datascrapers/bizbuysell-scraper`) Actor

BizBuySell business-for-sale records with asking price, cash flow, revenue, location, and broker fields. Query by search URL, location, or industry, with optional listing-page fields.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/datascrapers/bizbuysell-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [Farhan Ali](https://apify.com/datascrapers) (community)
- **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $1.00 / 1,000 listings

This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

An Actor is a serverless cloud program that runs on the Apify platform. It has two run modes.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.

Apify vocabulary and the platform model are defined once, in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md.

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.

Do not guess an integration path. Every one of them is in the agent quickstart at https://apify.com/agents.md: the Apify MCP server, Agent Skills with the Apify CLI, the JavaScript and Python clients, the REST API, and the account-free path for an agent with no human to sign in. It also carries the rule on stating cost before the first paid run.

For examples already wired to this Actor's own input schema, see the [API](#api) section below.

Each client library has reference documentation the quickstart does not restate: [JavaScript/TypeScript](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md) (`npm install apify-client`) and [Python](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md) (`pip install apify-client`).

# README

**BizBuySell Scraper** creates a structured dataset of business-for-sale listings collected from BizBuySell. Each dataset item can include list number, title, URL, location, asking price, cash flow, EBITDA, gross revenue, broker fields, images, and listing flags. Query the source with a BizBuySell search or listing URL, or with location, industry, financial, and keyword filters. Control volume with `maxItems`, optionally add listing-page fields with `scrapeListingDetails`, and retrieve records through the Apify Dataset API or export them as JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, or another supported format. The default charge is $0.001 per listing, plus $0.001 for each listing that includes listing-page fields.

### Dataset at a glance

| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Source | bizbuysell.com |
| Record unit | One business-for-sale listing |
| Input methods | Search or listing URLs, or location, industry, and financial filters |
| Main identifiers | `listNumber`, `url` |
| Delivery | Apify Dataset and API. Run counts are also written to the key-value record `run-stats` |
| Export formats | JSON, CSV, Excel, XML, and other Apify dataset exports |
| Update model | Fresh records per Actor run |
| Pricing | Pay per event. `listing` $0.001. `listing-extra` $0.001 when listing-page fields are included |

### Coverage and available records

A search-result record includes the card fields: list number, title, URL, location, region, asking price, cash flow, EBITDA, gross revenue, listing type, description, images, broker company and name when shown on the card, and flags for real estate, recently added, recently updated, price reduced, and hot property. `detailsScraped` is `false` on those records.

When `scrapeListingDetails` is true, the same row is filled from the listing page. Additional conditional fields include broker phone, employees, facilities, competition, growth and expansion, financing, support and training, reason for selling, franchise, business website, real estate status, building square feet, lease expiration, and rent. The page’s label-value pairs are also stored in `detailFields`. Financial numbers from the page overwrite the card values when the page has them. `detailsScraped` is then `true`, and one `listing-extra` event is charged for that listing.

`startUrls` preserves the encoded `q` filter on a BizBuySell search URL. If you do not pass URLs, `location` accepts a state, county, or city, and `industries` accepts the industry labels in the input schema, including parent categories such as Travel and child labels such as Travel > Hotels. Financial filters are integer bounds for gross revenue, cash flow, asking price, and included real estate. `daysListedAgo` and `establishedAfterYear` are optional. Keyword and listing-id lists are optional. Boolean flags can hide listings without a price, hide home-based businesses, include relocatable listings, or require seller financing, included real estate, or absentee ownership.

`maxItems` of `0` means no item cap. The Actor does not return a historical catalog of sold or removed businesses.

### Data dictionary

Deduplicate on `listNumber`. `url` is the stable listing URL when the list number is missing.

Search-card fields:

| Field | Type | Nullable | Description | Example |
|---|---|---:|---|---|
| listNumber | integer | yes | BizBuySell list number | `2524127` |
| title | string | yes | Listing title | Proven Hospitality Brokerage & Consulting-Perfect for Licensed Broker |
| url | string | yes | Listing URL | `https://www.bizbuysell.com/business-opportunity/proven-hospitality-brokerage-and-consulting-perfect-for-licensed-broker/2524127/` |
| location | string | yes | Location text | `Palm Desert, CA` |
| region | string | yes | Region code from the card | `CA` |
| askingPrice | number | yes | Asking price as a number | `299000` |
| cashFlow | number | yes | Cash flow as a number | `247802` |
| ebitda | number | yes | EBITDA as a number | `null` |
| grossRevenue | number | yes | Gross revenue as a number | `null` |
| listingTypeId | number | yes | Listing type id from the card | `40` |
| description | string | yes | Description text | Card or page description |
| images | array of string | no | Image URLs | BizBuySell image URL |
| imageUrl | string | yes | First image URL | First `images` entry |
| brokerCompany | string | yes | Broker company from the card | `null` |
| brokerName | string | yes | Broker name | `null` on some cards |
| realEstateIncluded | boolean | yes | Real estate included in the asking price | `false` |
| recentlyAdded | boolean | yes | Recently added flag | `false` |
| recentlyUpdated | boolean | yes | Recently updated flag | `true` |
| priceReduced | boolean | yes | Price reduced flag | `true` |
| hotProperty | boolean | yes | Hot property flag | `false` |
| detailsScraped | boolean | no | `true` when listing-page fields were merged | `false` |

Listing-page fields, present when `scrapeListingDetails` succeeds:

| Field | Type | Nullable | Description |
|---|---|---:|---|
| brokerPhone | string | yes | Phone shown on the broker card |
| employees | string | yes | Employees text |
| facilities | string | yes | Facilities text |
| competition | string | yes | Competition text |
| growthExpansion | string | yes | Growth and expansion text |
| financing | string | yes | Financing text |
| supportTraining | string | yes | Support and training text |
| reasonForSelling | string | yes | Reason for selling |
| franchise | string | yes | Franchise text |
| businessWebsite | string | yes | Business website |
| realEstateStatus | string | yes | Real estate text from the page |
| buildingSf | string | yes | Building square feet text |
| leaseExpiration | string | yes | Lease expiration text |
| rent | string | yes | Rent text |
| yearEstablished | number or string | yes | Year established when the financial block includes it |
| detailFields | object | yes | Remaining label-value pairs from the page |

Money fields on the search card are numbers. Some page financial strings are parsed into those same keys. Text fields from the detail page stay strings.

### Example dataset record

This is a search-card record from a prior run. `scrapeListingDetails` was off, so `detailsScraped` is false and listing-page fields are absent. The description in the saved sample was shortened.

```json
{
  "listNumber": 2524127,
  "title": "Proven Hospitality Brokerage & Consulting-Perfect for Licensed Broker",
  "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/business-opportunity/proven-hospitality-brokerage-and-consulting-perfect-for-licensed-broker/2524127/",
  "location": "Palm Desert, CA",
  "region": "CA",
  "askingPrice": 299000,
  "cashFlow": 247802,
  "ebitda": null,
  "grossRevenue": null,
  "listingTypeId": 40,
  "description": "This long-established hospitality brokerage and consulting business",
  "images": [
    "https://images.bizbuysell.com/shared/listings/252/2524127/21de0770-526e-43e2-a28d-30f7de6e0739-W336.webp"
  ],
  "imageUrl": "https://images.bizbuysell.com/shared/listings/252/2524127/21de0770-526e-43e2-a28d-30f7de6e0739-W336.webp",
  "brokerCompany": null,
  "brokerName": null,
  "realEstateIncluded": false,
  "recentlyAdded": false,
  "recentlyUpdated": true,
  "priceReduced": true,
  "hotProperty": false,
  "detailsScraped": false
}
```

The input that produced this shape was a BizBuySell search URL with `scrapeListingDetails` false.

### Query and input reference

| Input | Type | Required | Default | Accepted values | Description |
|---|---|---:|---|---|---|
| startUrls | array | no | none | Request objects with a BizBuySell URL | Search or listing URLs. Encoded `q` values are kept |
| location | string | no | none | State, county, or city text | Used when `startUrls` is not the source |
| industries | array of string | no | none | Industry labels in the input schema enum | Parent or child industries |
| grossRevenueMin | integer | no | none | Integer | Minimum gross revenue |
| grossRevenueMax | integer | no | none | Integer | Maximum gross revenue |
| cashFlowMin | integer | no | none | Integer | Minimum cash flow |
| cashFlowMax | integer | no | none | Integer | Maximum cash flow |
| askingPriceMin | integer | no | none | Integer | Minimum asking price |
| askingPriceMax | integer | no | none | Integer | Maximum asking price |
| realEstateMin | integer | no | none | Integer | Minimum included real estate value |
| realEstateMax | integer | no | none | Integer | Maximum included real estate value |
| daysListedAgo | integer | no | none | Integer | Listed within this many days |
| establishedAfterYear | integer | no | none | Integer | Established after this year |
| keyword | string | no | none | Text | Keyword filter |
| listingIds | array | no | none | Listing id strings | Specific listings |
| hideListingsWithoutPrice | boolean | no | `false` | `true`, `false` | Drop listings with no price |
| hideHomeBasedBusinesses | boolean | no | `false` | `true`, `false` | Drop home-based businesses |
| includeRelocatableListings | boolean | no | `false` | `true`, `false` | Include relocatable listings |
| mustHaveSellerFinancing | boolean | no | `false` | `true`, `false` | Require seller financing |
| mustHaveRealEstateIncluded | boolean | no | `false` | `true`, `false` | Require included real estate |
| mustAllowAbsenteeOwner | boolean | no | `false` | `true`, `false` | Require absentee ownership |
| scrapeListingDetails | boolean | no | `false` | `true`, `false` | Merge listing-page fields and charge `listing-extra` |
| maxItems | integer | no | `0` | 0 or more | Item cap. `0` means no cap |
| proxyConfiguration | object | no | Apify residential proxy, country `US` | Apify proxy object | Proxy selection |

Minimal request:

```json
{
  "location": "California",
  "maxItems": 25
}
```

Advanced request:

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/california/travel-businesses-for-sale/"
    }
  ],
  "askingPriceMax": 1000000,
  "scrapeListingDetails": true,
  "maxItems": 50,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
  }
}
```

### Retrieve the data through the API

1. Start `datascrapers/bizbuysell-scraper` with the JSON input.
2. Wait until the run finishes.
3. Read items from the run’s default dataset.
4. Read `run-stats` from the default key-value store for record counts and timestamps.

```bash
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/datascrapers~bizbuysell-scraper/runs?token=$APIFY_TOKEN" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"location":"California","maxItems":25}'
```

```bash
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/$DATASET_ID/items?clean=true&format=json&token=$APIFY_TOKEN"
```

Other languages are on the Actor’s API tab: https://apify.com/datascrapers/bizbuysell-scraper

### Data quality and record handling

Financial fields are null when BizBuySell does not show them. Broker name and company are often null on the search card and may appear only after `scrapeListingDetails`. `detailFields` is a map of page labels and is conditional.

The Actor does not deduplicate across runs. Use `listNumber`. `maxItems` of 0 does not cap the run. A failed listing page leaves the card record and does not set `detailsScraped` to true. There is no historical snapshot unless you store the dataset.

The default proxy is Apify residential with country `US`.

`run-stats` includes `recordsScraped`, `listingDetailsScraped`, `scrapeListingDetails`, `runStartedAt`, `runFinishedAt`, and `maxItems`.

### Export and pipeline examples

| Destination | Recommended method | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| PostgreSQL or Supabase | Dataset API or a webhook consumer | Upsert businesses on `listNumber` |
| Google Sheets | Apify integration | Review asking price and cash flow |
| S3 or other cloud storage | Scheduled dataset export | Archive one file per run |
| CRM | Webhook consumer | Send broker and listing URL fields downstream |

### Pricing and cost examples

Billing is pay per event. The same prices apply to Free, Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Diamond.

| Event | Price on every plan | When it is charged |
|---|---:|---|
| listing | $0.001 | One business record. This is the primary event |
| listing-extra | $0.001 | Once when listing-page fields are merged for that record |

| Records | Listing-page fields | Estimated event cost |
|---:|---|---:|
| 1,000 | off | $1.00 |
| 1,000 | on for every record | $2.00 |
| 10,000 | off | $10.00 |

These are the default prices set for this account. They are placeholders and can be changed in the Actor pricing settings. Estimates do not include Apify platform usage, which is billed to the user in addition to event charges.

### Limitations and responsible data use

The Actor returns publicly available BizBuySell listing fields for the URLs or filters you submit. It does not guarantee every industry, state, or removed listing. Financials and broker contact values are missing on many cards. Listing-page text can change when the site changes.

Each run is a current snapshot. You are responsible for complying with privacy, contractual, and legal requirements for the records you collect and store.

### Dataset questions

#### What does one dataset item represent?

One BizBuySell business-for-sale listing. With `scrapeListingDetails` enabled, the same item also carries listing-page fields.

#### Which field should I use as a unique identifier?

Use `listNumber`. Fall back to `url` if the list number is null.

#### Are fields nullable or conditional?

Yes. Price, cash flow, revenue, EBITDA, and broker fields are null when the page does not show them. Listing-page keys exist when `detailsScraped` is true.

#### Can I retrieve the records as CSV or JSON?

Yes. Export the default dataset, or call the Dataset API. Counts for the run are in the `run-stats` key-value record.

#### How do I paginate large datasets?

Set `maxItems` above 0 to cap a run, or leave it at 0 for no cap. Page the dataset afterward with `offset` and `limit`.

#### Does the Actor return historical data?

No. Each run returns the listings available for that query at run time.

#### What counts as a billable result?

Each listing charges one `listing` event at $0.001. Each listing that receives listing-page fields also charges one `listing-extra` event at $0.001. Platform usage is separate.

### Related datasets from Data Scrapers

- [Clutch Scraper](https://apify.com/datascrapers/clutch-scraper) covers agency profiles that can be joined to a business name or website.
- [Europages Scraper](https://apify.com/datascrapers/europages-scraper) covers European company listings for a broader company dataset.
- [LinkedIn Company Scraper](https://apify.com/datascrapers/linkedin-company-scraper) covers company profile fields that can be matched on company name.
- [Glassdoor Jobs Scraper](https://apify.com/datascrapers/glassdoor-jobs-scraper) covers employer and job records when the workflow includes hiring data.

### Data Scrapers support

Need an additional field, record type, or export workflow? Contact Data Scrapers at stardustspotlight@gmail.com. Include a sample source URL, required fields, expected record volume, and preferred delivery format.

# Actor input Schema

## `startUrls` (type: `array`):

BizBuySell search result URLs (with filters already applied) and/or individual listing URLs. Example: https://www.bizbuysell.com/california/travel-businesses-for-sale/?q=bHQ9MzAsNDAsODA%3D — the encoded q= hash is preserved.

## `location` (type: `string`):

Location to search (state, county, or city), e.g. "California", "Texas County, MO", "Austin, TX". Used when not providing startUrls.

## `industries` (type: `array`):

One or more industries / sub-industries to filter. Parent categories (e.g. Travel) or children (e.g. Travel > Hotels).

## `grossRevenueMin` (type: `integer`):

Minimum gross revenue (USD)

## `grossRevenueMax` (type: `integer`):

Maximum gross revenue (USD)

## `cashFlowMin` (type: `integer`):

Minimum cash flow / EBITDA (USD)

## `cashFlowMax` (type: `integer`):

Maximum cash flow / EBITDA (USD)

## `askingPriceMin` (type: `integer`):

Minimum asking price (USD)

## `askingPriceMax` (type: `integer`):

Maximum asking price (USD)

## `realEstateMin` (type: `integer`):

Minimum real estate value (USD)

## `realEstateMax` (type: `integer`):

Maximum real estate value (USD)

## `daysListedAgo` (type: `integer`):

Only include listings added within this many days (e.g. 7, 30, 90)

## `establishedAfterYear` (type: `integer`):

Only include businesses established after this year (e.g. 2010)

## `keyword` (type: `string`):

Keyword phrase to match in listings (e.g. "franchise", "laundromat", "car wash")

## `listingIds` (type: `array`):

Specific BizBuySell listing IDs (list numbers) to fetch

## `hideListingsWithoutPrice` (type: `boolean`):

Exclude listings that do not show an asking price

## `hideHomeBasedBusinesses` (type: `boolean`):

Exclude home-based business listings

## `includeRelocatableListings` (type: `boolean`):

Include listings marked as relocatable

## `mustHaveSellerFinancing` (type: `boolean`):

Only listings that offer seller financing

## `mustHaveRealEstateIncluded` (type: `boolean`):

Only listings where real estate is included in the asking price

## `mustAllowAbsenteeOwner` (type: `boolean`):

Only listings that allow an absentee owner

## `scrapeListingDetails` (type: `boolean`):

When enabled, visit each listing page for full details (description, financials, employees, lease, broker phone, etc.). Charges the listing-extra event in addition to listing.

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

Maximum number of listings to scrape (0 = unlimited)

## `proxyConfiguration` (type: `object`):

Proxy settings for anti-bot protection. BizBuySell requires Apify Residential proxies with country US.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/california/travel-businesses-for-sale/?q=bHQ9MzAsNDAsODA%3D"
    }
  ],
  "hideListingsWithoutPrice": false,
  "hideHomeBasedBusinesses": false,
  "includeRelocatableListings": false,
  "mustHaveSellerFinancing": false,
  "mustHaveRealEstateIncluded": false,
  "mustAllowAbsenteeOwner": false,
  "scrapeListingDetails": false,
  "maxItems": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
  }
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

Dataset containing scraped BizBuySell listings

## `runStats` (type: `string`):

Key-value store record with scrape counts and timestamps

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "startUrls": [
        {
            "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/california/travel-businesses-for-sale/?q=bHQ9MzAsNDAsODA%3D"
        }
    ],
    "maxItems": 10,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": true,
        "apifyProxyGroups": [
            "RESIDENTIAL"
        ],
        "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
    }
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("datascrapers/bizbuysell-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/california/travel-businesses-for-sale/?q=bHQ9MzAsNDAsODA%3D" }],
    "maxItems": 10,
    "proxyConfiguration": {
        "useApifyProxy": True,
        "apifyProxyGroups": ["RESIDENTIAL"],
        "apifyProxyCountry": "US",
    },
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("datascrapers/bizbuysell-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "startUrls": [
    {
      "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/california/travel-businesses-for-sale/?q=bHQ9MzAsNDAsODA%3D"
    }
  ],
  "maxItems": 10,
  "proxyConfiguration": {
    "useApifyProxy": true,
    "apifyProxyGroups": [
      "RESIDENTIAL"
    ],
    "apifyProxyCountry": "US"
  }
}' |
apify call datascrapers/bizbuysell-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,datascrapers/bizbuysell-scraper"
        }
    }
}
```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/C9qCDim3acUsxD3FX/builds/zIaGdrW4dVdW27ImL/openapi.json