E-commerce companies can sell for as little as a few thousand dollars, up to hundreds of millions (if not billions) of dollars. If a reputable e-commerce commercial agent is used to advise on the sale, they will be able to advise you on any legal action that needs to be taken. It's essentially an eBay for online businesses and owners of established and successful e-commerce sites should approach it with extreme caution. Ecommerce Platforms is a review site that shows the good, the good, the bad and the ugly of online store builder software.
Branding is absolutely crucial for any e-commerce business; otherwise, the only way to compete is by offering the lowest price on a product. As a general rule, sellers should expect to spend at least a month working the same number of hours on after-sales support as on the operation of the business. Since profit agreements are based solely on projected revenues or profits, they carry a high degree of risk, particularly for the seller. Smart buyers sniff out this rookie mistake and negotiate these business owners, making them sell below the real value of the business.
Even if the e-commerce business is based on one of the major platforms such as Shopify, Magento, WooCommerce, etc., withholding carries risks for both the buyer and the seller, as either party may underestimate or overestimate the value of post-sale obligations. A recent Shopify study found that selling on at least one other platform increases your revenue by 38%, which can grow up to 190% if you successfully establish your brand in three online storefronts. You may now be wondering how all of this works in terms of how these businesses are valued and what it takes to sell an e-commerce business. If a company has consistently made profits or has shown steady growth over its useful life, then it will be a more valuable digital asset.
If you want buyers to pay a higher price for your business, it has to be working at all costs under your property. Usually, buyers with more financial resources can purchase e-commerce businesses from a single product, since the risk is not so high for them. In some ways, it's much easier to sell an online store, and in other respects, there are additional challenges. If you're going to hand this over to the new owner, it's a big selling point, especially in the retail space.
