BizBuySell Scraper

What does BizBuySell Businesses For Sale Scraper do?

BizBuySell Businesses For Sale Scraper extracts structured business-for-sale and franchise listing data from BizBuySell. Use it to collect listing titles, prices, category breadcrumbs, original listing dates, locations, broker details, financial signals, listing URLs, and detail text for market research, deal sourcing, lead generation, and monitoring workflows.

You can start with a BizBuySell search URL, a category URL, a franchise URL, or a location. The Actor saves one dataset item per listing, ready for CSV, Excel, JSON, Google Sheets, a CRM, or your own database.

Why use this Actor?

• Build a repeatable list of active business listings by niche, state, city, keyword, or category.
• Segment opportunities with category_full and category_final, for example restaurants, self-storage, routes, ecommerce, or manufacturing.
• Judge listing age with date_listed instead of the scrape timestamp.
• Collect broker names, companies, profile links, and phone numbers for outreach.
• Compare asking price, cash flow, EBITDA, gross revenue, inventory, FFE, lease terms, and franchise investment fields when the seller publishes them.
• Schedule runs, export the dataset, or pull results through the Apify API.
• Recover from temporary rejections: the Actor retries, then tries an equivalent route for the same public listings before it stops.

What data can you extract from BizBuySell?

Field	Type	Description
source	String	Source identifier, usually bizbuysell.
listing_category	String	Listing mode, such as business or franchise.
listing_id	Integer	Unique BizBuySell listing number.
site_specific_id	Integer	Site-specific listing identifier when available.
title	String	Listing headline.
url	String	Direct listing URL.
category_full	String	Full category breadcrumb, for example Industrial > Self-Storage.
category_final	String	Final category name, for example Self-Storage.
date_listed	String	Original listing date in YYYY-MM-DD format when available.
location	String	Listing location text.
state_code	String	State or region code.
price	Number	Asking price when published.
cash_flow	Number	Cash flow value when published.
ebitda	Number	EBITDA value when published.
gross_revenue	Number	Gross revenue when published.
inventory_value	Number	Inventory value when published.
ffe_value	Number	Furniture, fixtures, and equipment value when published.
year_established	Number	Year the business was established.
employees_full_time	Number	Full-time employee count.
employees_part_time	Number	Part-time employee count.
lease_rate_per_square_foot	Number	Lease rate per square foot when published.
lease_rate_duration	Number	Lease rate duration when published.
lease_expiration_date	String	Valid lease expiration date when published. Empty or Unix epoch values are omitted.
lease_terms	String	Lease terms text.
real_estate_included_in_asking_price	Boolean	Whether real estate is included in the asking price.
inventory_included_in_asking_price	Boolean	Whether inventory is included in the asking price.
home_based	Boolean	Whether the business is home based.
relocatable	Boolean	Whether the business is relocatable.
absentee_owner	Boolean	Whether absentee ownership is indicated.
listing_price_reduced	Boolean	Whether the listing has a price reduction marker.
recently_added	Boolean	Whether BizBuySell marks the listing as recently added.
recently_updated	Boolean	Whether BizBuySell marks the listing as recently updated.
hot_property	Boolean	Hot property marker.
image_url	String	Primary listing image URL when available.
image_urls	Array	Available listing image URLs.
broker_name	String	Broker or contact name.
broker_company	String	Broker company name.
broker_profile_url	String	Broker profile URL.
contact_phone	String	Public contact phone number when available.
summary	String	Listing summary.
business_highlights	String	Business highlights when available.
facilities	String	Facilities details.
growth	String	Growth details.
competition	String	Competition details.
reason_for_selling	String	Seller reason when published.
support	String	Training or support details.
financing_options	String	Financing details when available.
fetched_at	String	ISO timestamp for when the Actor collected the record.
search_url	String	BizBuySell URL used for the run.

Franchise records can also include fields such as cash_required, investment_minimum, investment_maximum, net_worth_required, franchise_fee, franchised_units, total_number_of_units, franchising_since, corporate_headquarters, ceo_name, average_unit_revenue, general_description, website, category_names, and location_filters.

How to use BizBuySell Businesses For Sale Scraper

1. Open the Actor in Apify Console.
2. Keep the prefilled search URL in startUrls, paste the BizBuySell search, category, state, city, or franchise URL you need, or clear it and set location.
3. Add a keyword when you want to narrow the selected URL.
4. Set results_wanted to the number of listings you want and max_pages to cap pagination.
5. Run the Actor.
6. Download the dataset or connect it to your workflow.

To search by location instead of a URL, clear startUrls (submit an empty list) and set location. API callers can also simply omit startUrls: unlike the Console prefill, it has no schema default, so omitting it does not force the national page. A custom URL always wins when both are present, and the run log tells you when the location value was ignored. If an older saved input contains only the national default URL plus a location, the Actor honors the location and logs the recovery.

Input Parameters

Parameter	Type	Required	Default	Description
startUrls	Array	No	- (Console prefill only)	BizBuySell search, category, state, city, or franchise URL. The first valid URL is used. Omit it to search by location.
keyword	String	No	-	Optional keyword filter applied to the selected URL.
location	String	No	-	US state, city, or City, ST. Used when startUrls is empty or still contains only the national default URL.
results_wanted	Integer	No	20	Maximum number of records to save.
max_pages	Integer	No	20	Maximum number of result pages to process.
proxyConfiguration	Object	No	{"useApifyProxy": false}	Optional proxy configuration. Residential proxies help with very large batches.
autoProxyFallback	Boolean	No	true	If direct requests are blocked, retry once with Apify Residential Proxy for the rest of the run.

Usage Examples

Basic business listing extraction

Collect the first business listings from the main BizBuySell search page:

{
    "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/businesses-for-sale/" }],
    "results_wanted": 20,
    "max_pages": 2
}

Location-only search

Omit startUrls and pass a state, city, or City, ST. The Actor resolves the value to the correct BizBuySell search path before collecting:

{
    "location": "alabama",
    "results_wanted": 100,
    "max_pages": 5
}

Supported forms include alabama, AL, Los Angeles, "Los Angeles, CA", "Los Angeles County, CA", and "Los Angeles Metro Area, CA".

Keyword-focused search

Narrow the main search page to restaurant listings and limit the run to a practical research batch:

{
    "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/businesses-for-sale/" }],
    "keyword": "restaurant",
    "results_wanted": 100,
    "max_pages": 5
}

Category or state URL

Use a specific BizBuySell URL when you already have a target market or business category:

{
    "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/california-businesses-for-sale/" }],
    "results_wanted": 150,
    "max_pages": 6
}

Franchise listings

Collect franchise opportunities from BizBuySell franchise pages:

{
    "startUrls": [{ "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/franchise-for-sale/" }],
    "results_wanted": 20
}

Sample Output

{
    "source": "bizbuysell",
    "listing_category": "business",
    "fetched_at": "2026-07-29T05:11:00.694Z",
    "search_url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/businesses-for-sale/",
    "seo_path": "/businesses-for-sale/",
    "listing_id": 2534561,
    "site_specific_id": 2534561,
    "title": "Established Restaurant Group with 2 Locations & Built-In Foot Traffic",
    "url": "https://www.bizbuysell.com/business-opportunity/example-listing/2534561/",
    "category_full": "Restaurants & Food > Full-Service Restaurants",
    "category_final": "Full-Service Restaurants",
    "date_listed": "2026-06-12",
    "location": "Sumter County, FL",
    "state_code": "FL",
    "price": 750000,
    "cash_flow": 376360,
    "year_established": 2008,
    "lease_rate_duration": 40,
    "broker_company": "Example Business Brokers",
    "broker_name": "Example Broker",
    "image_url": "https://images.bizbuysell.com/shared/listings/253/2534561/example-W768.webp",
    "image_urls": [
        "https://images.bizbuysell.com/shared/listings/253/2534561/example-W768.webp",
        "https://images.bizbuysell.com/shared/listings/253/2534561/example-W336.webp"
    ],
    "contact_phone": "(407) 555-0100",
    "recently_added": true,
    "listing_price_reduced": false,
    "summary": "Established restaurant group with repeat traffic and experienced management."
}

Tips for Best Results

• Use complete public BizBuySell URLs for state, city, category, or franchise pages.
• Start with results_wanted: 20 when testing a new search.
• Increase results_wanted and max_pages together when you need broader coverage.
• Use category_full, category_final, and date_listed for cleaner market segmentation and listing-age analysis.
• Use image_urls when you need listing images for review, enrichment, or gallery workflows.
• Some fields are absent when BizBuySell or the advertiser does not publish them.
• Empty values are omitted from dataset items, so missing fields usually mean the source listing did not provide that data.

Integrations and Export Formats

The dataset downloads as CSV, Excel, JSON, XML, or RSS from the Apify Console. Send results to Google Sheets, trigger a webhook after a run, or connect the Actor to Make, Zapier, or your own database through the Apify API.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I export BizBuySell data to CSV or Excel?

Yes. Apify datasets can be downloaded as CSV, Excel, JSON, XML, RSS, and other supported formats.

Can I scrape a specific state or category?

Yes. Use a state, city, or category URL in startUrls, or provide a location value when you do not pass a URL.

What is the difference between date_listed and fetched_at?

date_listed is the original listing date when BizBuySell publishes it. fetched_at is the timestamp for when this Actor collected the record.

Why is lease_expiration_date missing from some records?

The field is included only when a valid lease expiration date is published. Empty values and placeholder Unix epoch dates are removed from the dataset.

Why do some listings have fewer fields?

BizBuySell listings vary by advertiser, listing type, and category. The Actor keeps available data and omits empty fields to avoid misleading placeholders.

Can I run this Actor on a schedule?

Yes. Use Apify schedules to refresh a search hourly, daily, weekly, or at another interval.

Why was my location ignored?

A custom startUrls URL takes precedence. When the list contains a real search, category, state, city, or franchise URL, the Actor searches that URL and leaves location unused. Clear startUrls (or omit it from an API call) to search a state or city by name. If startUrls contains only the national default URL plus a location, the Actor treats it as an older saved input and uses the location instead.

Location values are resolved against BizBuySell's own region list, so AL, Alabama, Los Angeles, "Los Angeles, CA", counties, and metro areas map to the correct page instead of a guessed slug.

What happens when BizBuySell rejects a request?

The Actor retries temporary failures, rotates browser profiles and API hosts, and waits for cooldown windows instead of failing the page immediately. If a real block persists and autoProxyFallback is enabled, it retries once with Apify Residential Proxy for the rest of the run. When a later request still fails, the records already saved stay in the dataset and the run finishes with a warning. Only a run that collected nothing fails, and its message names the last HTTP status, route, and profile.

Why are some detail fields missing?

Listing detail pages are enriched separately from the search results. When a detail request cannot be completed, the record is still saved with the search data it already has, so listing id, title, price, location, broker, and URL remain available.

Is it legal to scrape BizBuySell?

Scraping public web data may be legal in many cases, but you are responsible for following applicable laws, BizBuySell terms, privacy rules, and your own compliance requirements.

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Support

For issues, missing fields, or feature requests, use the Issues tab on the Actor page in Apify Console.

Legal Notice

This Actor is designed for legitimate collection and analysis of publicly available BizBuySell listing data. Users are responsible for using the output responsibly and complying with applicable laws, website terms, and data usage rules.