Regardless of what the books tell you, deals can be found on these sites.
I sold a business on Craigslist, and I bought one that is thriving on BizBuySell.
There are diminishing returns/opportunities as deal size increase.
Craigslist and BizBuySell

by a searcher from Brigham Young University
More on Searchfunder
Searchfunder is an online community and toolkit for searchfunds. Over 80% of those involved in searchfunds maintain a Searchfunder.com account to help them network, problem solve challenges, and keep up with the industry.
We maintain partnerships with database providers that make searching more effective, efficient and affordable along with features that help searchers find deals and investors and vice versa.
We maintain partnerships with database providers that make searching more effective, efficient and affordable along with features that help searchers find deals and investors and vice versa.
Aside from the question of deal flow, BBS exposes the unaware to the universe of possibilities with buying businesses. Someone's first time on BizBuySell is eye opening and exciting.