Ecommerce values track trailing profit and buyers discount volatility hard, so timing and stability matter more than in most sales. The preparation that pays is the work that makes next year's revenue look like this year's to somebody who has never met your customers.
Get quotes to sell my business
When to sell
After a run of stable or growing months, in stock, with no open platform issues. Waiting for one more peak season often produces a stock out or a policy problem instead. Buyers price the last twelve months rather than your plan, so the best window usually arrives earlier than it feels.
The four discounts
Traffic concentrated in one paid channel. Supply concentrated with one factory, or a supplier agreement that does not transfer. A platform account that cannot be transferred. And a brand with no demand outside the marketplace, no email list and no organic search. Each is reducible with months of deliberate work.
What the sale costs
The specialist platforms publish, which is rare in this trade. The published US figures on this site run from 5% to 15% depending on price band and how much of the process the platform runs, and inventory is normally valued separately at cost for saleable stock.
What diligence asks for
Analytics access rather than screenshots, advertising spend by campaign, profit and loss by month reconciled to the bank, inventory by unit with landed cost, supplier invoices and any trademark registrations. Buyers rebuild the numbers themselves, so exports that agree with each other and with the bank are what makes an ecommerce sale move quickly.
Questions people ask about sell my ecommerce business
How is the price calculated?
A multiple of trailing profit, with the multiple set by stability, brand strength and supply security. Inventory is usually a separate line at cost.
Do I need a specialist broker?
At the smaller end the marketplaces reach the buyers. For a larger brand with strategic buyers, a broker who will approach them by name earns the fee.
What kills these deals?
Account health problems, an unresolved intellectual property complaint, or inventory records that cannot be reconciled. All three are checkable before marketing.