Selling an Ecommerce Business

Most ecommerce businesses sell for a multiple of annual owner earnings, but the multiple moves a lot based on ad dependence, how concentrated revenue is in a few SKUs, and how much cash inventory soaks up. Brands with clean contribution margins, steady in-stock performance, and transferable accounts usually earn higher multiples. You can get a quick baseline estimate with Rejigg’s free valuation calculator.

No. You don’t need a broker to sell an ecommerce business, and paying 5–10% of your sale price rarely pencils out when the real work is packaging clean proof and running a disciplined process. Rejigg gives you vetted buyers, digital NDAs, direct messaging, a secure data room, and offer tracking. Sellers list free and stay in control. Start with the preparation guide.

Inventory is usually priced separately from the main purchase price and based on usable units you can actually sell. Buyers look at aging by SKU, sell-through, seasonality, and whether any stock is stranded, damaged, or obsolete. Core replenishment SKUs often price close to landed cost, while slow movers get discounted. A clean aging report, organized like a due diligence checklist, speeds up negotiations.

A clean ecommerce sale often takes 2–4 months from “ready to list” to closing. It can run longer if inventory is messy or if ad accounts, trademarks, and domains are still tied to personal logins. Diligence takes time because buyers need to verify contribution margin, returns economics, and transfer steps. Rejigg keeps NDAs, document sharing, buyer Q&A, and offers in one place so you lose fewer weeks to back-and-forth. See the due diligence and closing guide.

Sometimes. Ecommerce can be tougher for SBA lenders than service businesses because cash flow can swing with ads and inventory, and there usually isn’t much hard collateral. Buyers who do get SBA financing typically show clean books, stable earnings, and a clear plan for funding inventory and managing channel concentration. You can model payments early with the SBA loan calculator.

Most buyers want a monthly profit and loss statement for at least 24 months, plus a balance sheet and a reconciliation that explains why dashboards don’t match cash. They will also ask for exports that support your story, like channel sales, ad spend, refunds, fees, and inventory purchases. If you use QuickBooks, Rejigg’s QuickBooks integration can pull financials and help build a clean data room without spreadsheet chaos.

Common add-backs include one-time expenses that won’t repeat after the sale and owner-specific costs that aren’t required to run the brand. In ecommerce, that often includes personal travel, one-off photography, a single site rebuild, non-recurring legal work, and owner pay above a reasonable replacement cost. Add-backs usually hold up when you can show the invoice and explain why it won’t happen again. Store the backup in your Rejigg data room so diligence stays factual.

An earnout means part of the price gets paid later if the business hits specific targets. In ecommerce, buyers propose earnouts when they worry about ad volatility, platform risk, or a hero SKU cooling off. If you consider one, keep the metric simple and tied to how you run the business, like contribution margin dollars with a clear calculation. Rejigg’s offer comparison dashboard lets you review earnouts side by side with cash at close and timing.

Working capital is the money the business needs to operate day to day, like inventory on hand, bills you owe suppliers, and pending refunds. In ecommerce, buyers think about whether the business has enough cash to place POs, keep ads running, and handle returns without stalling. This gets negotiated because “normal” inventory levels vary a lot by category and season. The negotiation guide walks through how to set a clear position.

Most deals separate inventory from the purchase price and pay for it based on counts near closing. That’s usually fair because inventory swings by season and by how aggressive you are on ads. A buyer doesn’t want to overpay for slow movers, and a seller doesn’t want to give away healthy stock. The clean approach is agreeing on the valuation rules, doing a count, and then trueing up. Rejigg keeps the methodology and reports in one diligence workspace.

A Shopify transfer is usually smooth when the store, domain, and key apps are owned by the business and billed to a business card. The snags are often theme licenses, app contracts, and admin permissions that were set up under a personal email years ago. Buyers will also ask about email and SMS tools if they drive meaningful revenue. A written asset map and a transfer checklist reduce last-minute surprises. Rejigg can host that checklist in a secure data room and release access in stages after NDAs.

At a minimum, the buyer needs control of the selling account, admin access to advertising, and Brand Registry tied to the correct trademark owner. Two-factor authentication control matters more than people expect, since it can block a transfer even when logins look fine. Buyers also ask for account health history and any past warnings or suppressions because those issues can repeat. Rejigg’s data room is a good place to store the ownership map, screenshots, and a step-by-step transfer plan.

Most buyers reconcile platform dashboards to payouts and bank deposits, then rebuild net sales after refunds, discounts, and platform fees. They also look for timing quirks, like refunds posting in a different month than the original sale or reimbursements arriving irregularly. From the diligence calls we see on Rejigg, sellers who share a simple monthly reconciliation early move faster and avoid late price cuts. Rejigg lets you share exports securely and track questions in one place.

Buyers typically ask for trademark filings, supplier contracts, contractor agreements, and any agency contracts that affect ad account ownership or creative rights. If you sell regulated products, they will also want product liability coverage and any required testing or certifications. Domain ownership and rights to design files, molds, or packaging artwork can matter, too. A secure data room speeds this up because you avoid email attachments and version confusion. Use the due diligence and closing guide as your checklist.

Many ecommerce transitions land in the 4–12 week range, but it depends on what you personally do today. If you handle reorder calls, manage ad swings, or run Amazon case work, buyers may ask for more time or structured training. A good plan spells out weekly routines, key contacts, and the metrics you watch to catch problems early. Rejigg keeps the transition plan and training docs organized in one deal workspace. See transitioning after the sale.

Email and SMS lists typically transfer with the business, but buyers will confirm consent, sender reputation, and that the accounts are owned by the company. They also look at how much revenue email and SMS produce without nonstop discounts, since that shows true repeat demand. Ownership and access matter as much as list size, especially when tools were set up under a founder’s login. Rejigg lets you share high-level metrics first, then grant deeper access after NDAs.

A non-compete is an agreement that you won’t launch a directly competing brand for a period after the sale. Buyers ask for this in ecommerce because customer data, suppliers, and ad learnings can be reused quickly. The right scope and length depend on the category and how broad your product line is, so it’s worth pushing for language that matches what you actually sell. Track non-compete terms alongside price and earnouts using Rejigg’s offer tools in negotiate a deal.

Seller financing means you get part of the price over time, usually with interest, instead of all at closing. In ecommerce, it often comes up when buyers want to preserve cash for inventory buys or they want protection from ad volatility. It can expand your buyer pool, but you take on credit risk, and the brand can change quickly if the buyer runs it poorly. Rejigg’s deal tracking helps you compare offers with and without a seller note, including schedule, interest, and default terms.

Staged disclosure is usually the safest approach. Share summaries first, then deeper exports only after the buyer is vetted and has signed an NDA. Avoid emailing raw files, and avoid granting full admin access early, since that can create real risk on Amazon and Shopify. Rejigg supports this by pre-vetting buyers, collecting NDAs digitally, and giving you a secure data room with permission controls. Start from finding buyers and keep sensitive materials gated.