Where to Sell Your eCommerce Business

Where to Sell Your eCommerce Business

Congratulations on your success! Perhaps the reason you are reading this is that you have a thriving eCommerce business, and you are ready to sell. Or maybe you were just curious, that’s great too. No matter where you currently are on your eCommerce journey, for most business owners there should be an exit plan.

Creating a successful business takes incredible amounts of time, effort, and money. And people don’t grow businesses just to give them away. You want to be properly compensated. When the time comes to sell your business one of the first questions to ask is, where?  So, where should a person sell their eCommerce business? And oftentimes, the simplest option is the best option. Let’s start there.

The First Place to Look is Just Around the Corner…

Trust is crucial for potential buyers. Those who know you and your business will be much less skeptical of your evaluation. Especially if they’ve been around your business for a considerable amount of time, they will understand its worth. And they may be the most excited potential buyers.

Consider talking to your friends in eCommerce, people in your networking groups, some of your employees, and maybe even a family member who is also in eCommerce. Just make sure you are 100% honest with them about your business if they are interested. You don’t want an angry second-cousin because you didn’t disclose one of your marketing expenditures. But don’t let this fear keep you from exploring options among those around you who might be interested. As an added bonus, selling to an employee gives them the advantage of already knowing the ins and outs of your business.

You may be hesitant about selling to someone you know, but remember that for some it is the quickest and easiest option. Selling an eCommerce business is no joke, it can require a tremendous amount of work. And it can be disheartening to entertain a multitude of potential buyers only to strike out again and again.

Platforms Exist to Sell Your eCommerce Business

There are plenty of sites that provide you with a great platform to sell your eCommerce businesses. If selling to people you already know is not an option, consider using one of these options:

Exchange Marketplace

This is Shopify’s own eCommerce marketplace. They are selling businesses that are hosted by Shopify, and they have the benefit of marketable information verified through Shopify. In fact, most of the information listed on their site comes directly from Shopify, which gives it an element of safety and credibility for potential buyers. If you are selling an eCommerce business that uses Shopify for hosting, consider this site to sell your eCommerce business.

Flippa

As one of the oldest platforms for selling eCommerce businesses, Flippa is a great candidate to sell your business. New businesses are listed for sale on their site every single hour according to their website. They charge between 5-10% of the sale price, higher-priced sales equal lower percentage fees from Flippa. However, if you list through a broker it will cost 15% on Flippa.

Biz Buy Sell

Admittedly, Biz Buy Sell is not geared specifically to sell eCommerce businesses, but it is a great source anyways. They advertise that they get 1.4 million visits per month. Obviously, that kind of traffic can help get your business sold. Also, they are currently offering free valuation reports, which is a nice bonus for sellers.

Graphic displaying where to sell eCommerce business.

An Alternative to a Traditional Sale

No matter how hard you try sometimes it doesn’t work out. At least, it may not work out at the price that you need to make it work. Some put in a decade, or more, of work into their eCommerce business only to be able to sell it for inventory value plus two times yearly profits (after taking out CEO salary). For those of you who want to maximize your ROI, consider forming a partnership with someone who will continue to grow your business. You may be able to collect revenue from your business indefinitely.

For information on partnering with us visit the page here.

Where to Sell Larger eCommerce Businesses

If you’re selling a million dollars a month on your eCommerce business, consider using a broker. Putting your site on an eCommerce marketplace is great, but a broker will help you sell your business as quickly as possible. Also, their fees may be negligible when weighed against the increased sale price that they may be able to bring you. Professional evaluations, the proper selling documents, and marketing your business in certain channels and networks are just the beginning of what they provide. Plus, they handle most of the necessary interactions with potential buyers.

In addition to the importance of brokers, another thought for selling larger eCommerce businesses is that your most likely buyer is another business. The majority of individuals are not willing to fork out the tens of millions of dollars that your business may be worth. It’s just a huge risk for them. Corporations, specifically those in eCommerce, will be much more willing to take on the risk of a purchase like this. They have the confidence that they can succeed in eCommerce, and they are more likely to have the resources to buy.

 

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