Red flags when someone offers to buy your company's data
Inbound offers for operational data are landing in owners' inboxes. Most are legitimate. Some are not. Six signals that separate a real buyer or agent from a bad deal, and the question that exposes each one.
If your company has more than a few dozen desk staff and a few years of history, there is a reasonable chance someone has already emailed you about licensing your data. The market for operational records is young, the buyers are well funded, and a crowd of intermediaries has appeared between them and you. Most of those emails are legitimate. Some are not, and the difference is usually visible in the first exchange if you know what to look for.
Here are six signals, in the order they tend to appear, each with the question that exposes it.
1. Any money asked from you upfront
A listing fee, a preparation fee, a valuation fee, a retainer, a fee to be introduced to buyers. The legitimate versions of this business are paid when a license closes, out of the proceeds, and not before. A buyer pays for data; an agent earns a success fee; neither needs your money to start.
The question: what do I pay, and when? The only acceptable answer is nothing until you are paid.
2. They want the data before they give you a number
A request for a database export, a bulk upload, system access, or a large sample before any price has been discussed is backwards. Buyers price from a one-page manifest, an inventory of what records exist, where, and over how long, and only later review a small de-identified sample under a signed agreement. Anyone who needs the data first is either not a serious buyer or is collecting data without paying for it.
The question: can you price this from a manifest? If the answer is no, stop.
3. The buyers are not named
Top labs. Tier-one AI companies. Our network of partners. If an intermediary cannot or will not tell you which buyers will see your manifest, you cannot evaluate the deal, and you cannot check whether the intermediary is being paid by them. Named buyers also let your counsel read the contracts behind the names.
The question: which buyers, by name, before I commit to anything?
4. The fee is not published, or is paid by the other side
Two versions. The first is an agent whose fee is per agreement and never written down until the end. The second is an introduction service that is free to you because the buyer pays it. The second sounds better and is usually worse: an intermediary paid by the buyer is working for the buyer. There are also arrangements where the intermediary is paid by both sides, which combines the problems of each.
The question: who pays you, how much, and is any part of it paid by the buyer? A seller-side agent should answer with a published schedule and the word nobody.
5. The offer expires in days
A 48-hour deadline, a price that drops if you consult anyone, a bonus for signing this week. A buyer with a strong number does not need to stop you from checking it. Deadlines like these exist to prevent the one thing that reliably raises the price of a dataset, which is a second buyer.
The question: what happens if I take two weeks? If the answer is that the offer goes away, let it.
6. Vague on de-identification and deletion
Ask what happens to customer and employee information before training, who verifies it, and when the supplied copy is deleted. A legitimate buyer has a method and will put it in the contract. A bad one says they handle all that, or uses the phrase 100 percent anonymized, which no competent party will put in writing because it is not achievable.
The question: show me the de-identification clause. If there is not one, there is not a deal.
Two more, briefly
Guaranteed dollar amounts. Any figure described as guaranteed before a buyer has seen a manifest is marketing. Real offers are ranges, labeled indicative, and binding only after sample review.
Pressure to sign exclusivity with the intermediary. A long exclusive engagement with an agent locks you to their buyer list and their timeline. A short, non-exclusive letter is the norm for a seller-side agent that expects to earn the mandate rather than hold it.
Why the good ones look alike
Legitimate buyers and agents converge on the same shape for a reason: the shape is what protects the data and the seller. Price from a description, not from the data. Name the parties. Publish the fee. Give the seller time to compare. Put privacy and deletion in writing. None of that is a courtesy. It is what makes the asset licensable more than once and keeps the seller out of trouble with their own customers and staff.
Run this against us
We are a new seller-side agent, and this list applies to us as much as to anyone. So here is how we answer it.
No upfront fee of any kind; a success fee only, on a published schedule, paid by you out of proceeds and never by the buyer. Pricing from a one-page manifest, with a first offer within 24 to 48 hours of a complete one, indicative and buyer-benchmarked. Every buyer named before you decide anything. A two-page, non-exclusive engagement letter. De-identification and deletion in writing with every buyer, and a chain of custody in which your data never passes through us. No timelines designed to stop you from talking to anyone else.
If any intermediary, including us, fails one of the six, the fix is the same: ask the question in writing, and treat a non-answer as the answer.
Questions worth asking
Is it a red flag if the company that approached me is one I have never heard of?
Not on its own. Most buyers of operational data are specialist labs and data companies rather than household names, and most seller-side agents are new, including us. What matters is whether they will name the buyers they work with, publish their fee, explain their chain of custody, and give you time. An unfamiliar name that answers all four plainly is fine. A familiar name that dodges them is not.
What should I do if I have already sent a sample to someone?
Ask them in writing what was shared, whether it was de-identified, who has access, and when it will be deleted, and ask for written confirmation of deletion if you decide not to proceed. Then stop sending anything further until there is a signed agreement that covers the sample. A legitimate buyer will answer quickly and confirm deletion. Treat silence or vagueness as the answer, and bring in your counsel.
How do I check a seller-side agent, including you?
Run the same six questions. Is there any upfront fee or retainer? Do they want data before a number? Are the buyers named before you commit? Is the fee published and paid only by you on close, with no undisclosed payment from the buyer? Does the offer have a sensible timeline? Are de-identification and deletion in writing? Our answers are on the pricing, how-it-works, and privacy and custody pages, and we would rather you check them than take our word for it.
Measured from a complete data manifest. A first offer is a process target, not a guarantee; buyers decide eligibility, price, and terms. Indicative value ranges mentioned on this site are illustrative, not quotes. Nothing here is legal advice; have your own counsel review any agreement before data moves.