There are many reasons why an e-commerce business owner would decide to sell a Shopify store. Many find themselves ready for new challenges after their Shopify stores gain traction. Selling Shopify stores not only offers an additional payout but also frees up time and resources to pursue other endeavors.
Unsure how you can cash in on your successful Shopify business? Make sure you have the right knowledge before you sell the store you have painstakingly built.
Buying an e-commerce business
Before finding out how to sell Shopify store, you might wonder who would want to buy one. Some aspiring entrepreneurs prefer to buy a store that is already up and running, compared to building a store from scratch. The reasons for buying stores are abundant.
A reliable stream of income
For one, buying a Shopify store that is already generating revenue ensures a consistent stream of income.
Lucrative side hustle
Running a Shopify store is also a profitable side hustle that has been proven to work, fitting in flexibly with all types of work styles, schedules, and preferences.
Hassle-free business setup
Setting up a Shopify store independently comes at a low cost. There are also millions of resources available on the web for free, from which best practices can be learned. For those who want a hassle-free experience and wish to get right to business, this can be a great choice.
How to sell Shopify store?
Before actually committing to selling your Shopify store, there are several steps you must complete to ensure a smooth transaction.
1. Aligning with the right buyer
It’s important to find the best buyer for your Shopify store. Aligning expectations is key to facilitating a successful sale.
Before listing your store for sale online, you should take some precautions to ensure a hassle-free and successful exchange. Firstly, ensure all the information about your store is presented neatly and coherently to potential buyers. Such information will vary from store to store, but the potential buyer should have a good understanding of what they’re committing themselves to buy.
Thereafter, once you have been in touch with qualified and interested buyers, you can start working out some rough details. You might start with determining an appropriate asking price. Then, you can address any concerns they may have and deal with any last-minute details. Other important matters include creating a profit and loss statement, as well as setting up billing and payment information.
Once you have settled on a potential buyer whom you think is perfect for the sale, you should arrange a time to go over the sale specifics.
2. Review your processes before deciding to sell your Shopify store
No one likes buying defective items or services, and the same principle should apply to selling in Shopify stores. Before you list your store and connect with buyers, do a review. Are your processes optimized? Are there gaps in any areas? Have you run into delivery issues in the past?
Once you have run your internal review and identified gaps, work on improving these processes. A high-performing store is likely to attract higher quality buyers and a better asking price.
3. Get your finances in order before you sell your Shopify store
As with any other business, finances are key when selling Shopify stores. Make sure you gather all important data and reports before handing your business off to the next owner. If it helps, try to invest in reliable accounting software that can automate painful, laborious tasks for you. This will make it easier to read through and understand profits and losses.
4. Get everything in writing
Selling Shopify stores involves lots of processes, money, and time. Be sure to get everything in writing – conversations, contracts, agreements, and terms of service. This will ensure you leave a paper trail in case of any matters which arise in the future.
Sell Shopify store
So you now understand how to start the process of selling a Shopify store. What’s next?
Deciding how you would go about facilitating the sale is essential. This will likely impact the quality of buyers you attract. In turn, this can affect how much you can earn from the sale. That is why you must decide where to sell Shopify stores. Whether you choose a marketplace or business broker, there are a variety of ways to do so.
Where can I sell Shopify store?
If you’re keen to find out where can you sell your Shopify store, you can opt for either a marketplace like Flippa or a business broker.
Using a marketplace to sell Shopify stores
The first option is to use a marketplace. While some may argue that you can source and liaise with buyers directly, it is quite challenging to manage all aspects of the sale on your own.
In these cases, one might consider the benefits of using a marketplace. A marketplace provides security and an ease-of-mind, with frameworks to protect both buyers and sellers.
There are several websites where you can sell a Shopify store. These are Flippa, Microacquire, and WebsiteClosers.
1. Flippa
Touted as the #1 marketplace to buy and sell Shopify stores, Flippa may be a good option if you want to sell your Shopify store easily, on a reliable platform used by many globally.
Flippa has a large community of ecommerce website buyers and sellers. Many of them actively use Shopify. This means that if you list your store on Flippa, it will almost certainly receive a lot of attention. This is an important step towards finding a good buyer. Flippa is especially popular among knowledgeable buyers who are constantly on the lookout for new deals in various categories. These categories include e-commerce, content and advertising, apps, SaaS, and Services.
2. Microacquire
Made for startup acquisitions, Microacquire is another marketplace where you could list, sell and buy Shopify businesses. Microacquire’s unique selling point is having no fees and ensuring complete anonymity for all transactions. You could get your Shopify store sold for a high asking price as soon as 30 days.
Given Microacquire’s positioning and appeal to serious startup buyers, you are likely to attract high-quality inquiries on this site. Hence, it is perfect for owners who want to get their stores sold as quickly as they can. Here, you can assess the financial health of a business by examining ARR, CAC, MRR, and more.
3. WebsiteClosers
WebsiteClosers is one of the most trusted options on this list. It has helped many businesses, large and small, successfully sell Shopify stores. WebsiteClosers has notably helped sell websites worth up to $500 million. They are well-connected with buyers who are serious about e-commerce and can help with a valuation before you sell your Shopify store. However, if you are considering using WebsiteClosers, it is worth considering that they are better suited and able to help businesses with a proven track record and consistency.
Using a business broker
If you are keen to try an alternative route, you can contact a business broker to sell a Shopify store. A business broker would know how to sell your store. It is also easier to find a local business broker that is trusted and reliable, with experience dealing with various types of businesses.
For starters, you might be wondering what a business broker is. A business broker is usually a company or person helping people with the buying and selling of businesses. These brokers would usually have a niche they specialize in. You could identify and work with a business broker which specializes in helping with buying and selling Shopify stores.
However, if you decide to go with a business broker, be prepared to pay higher prices. This could be a downside, especially if the broker winds up doing an unsatisfactory job and harming your sale.
On the other hand, bigger Shopify stores with a strong base of customers and high revenue levels may benefit from using a business broker. This is because an experienced broker can help manage the process and streamline it. In comparison, using a marketplace may incur higher levels of risk, though the costs will be lower.
Sell Shopify Store, how much can I get for it?
Any smart business owner would want to maximize the asking price when selling a business. That is why you should understand what goes into the cost of a Shopify store. This will help you determine the best possible price.
When selling a Shopify store, several components are included in the deal. Such parts include the domain name of the store, any marketing channels and accounts on social media platforms, current employees and their details, as well as past reports on revenue, profits, and losses.
Here is the formula you need to remember if you want to calculate how much your e-commerce store is valued:
Average net profit of your Shopify store over 12 months * Multiple = Valuation
To break this down, you can determine your Shopify store’s valuation when you multiply the average net profit over the previous 12 months by a multiple. The multiple is usually somewhere around 20x to 50x.
For those wondering, the average net profit is the profit earned over the previous 12 months. This is the amount earned after minusing all incurred expenses. These may include the production and operating costs and taxes paid.
Knowing this formula would enable you to calculate your Shopify store’s valuation. This will help you determine what you can sell your store on exchange or sell at the right valuation.
Conclusion
In conclusion, selling a Shopify store can be a great way for established Shopify store owners to get rewarded for their long-term efforts in brand building, customer acquisition, and adopting best e-commerce practices. This will help with addressing how to sell your Shopify store.
Before you decide on how to sell a Shopify store, set your foundation right. Using well-loved business intelligence tools like Koala Inspector for selling Shopify stores, you can unlock better opportunities for a lucrative sale. Simply use the Koala Inspector on any competitor store. This will give you the chance to peek into insights that are usually hidden. You can detect competitors’ Shopify themes, apps, ad campaigns, and more. You can also find out which of their products are selling well.
Using this data, you can act by improving existing processes. These changes will make your store more appealing to buyers who have the purchasing power to acquire your store.
With Koala Inspector, you no longer have to wonder “can I sell my Shopify store for a lucrative amount”? You will be able to give your Shopify store the tools and resources it needs to grow and flourish into a successful, desirable purchase for buyers. Now that you know how to sell Shopify stores, go forth and succeed in the e-commerce world!
