When you’re an entrepreneur, when you run a business, you may at one time or another want to sell it.
Whether you want to stop or finance a new project, you can show potential buyers around your premises, and show them how they can be fitted out.
But how do you do this when your business is an online store?
It’s hard to show people around and promote your business.
Yet e-commerce is booming and attracting more and more entrepreneurs.
Rather than building an online store from scratch, it may be more worthwhile to purchase a turnkey e-commerce site, already equipped with all the necessary tools, and if possible with an established customer base.
Let’s take a look at the steps to follow, the criteria to respect and the precautions to take before selling an existing e-commerce website.
Why sell your website?
There are many reasons to sell your e-commerce site:
- Change your life or start a new professional project.
- Divest a less profitable site due to market saturation.
- Seize an opportunity and obtain a financial benefit with an attractive price.
- Not having enough time, funds or skills to manage an e-commerce site.
- …
Whatever the reason for selling your e-commerce site, it’s important to bear in mind that there will be both professional and personal consequences.
You also need to be aware that this sale may have repercussions for your customers and suppliers.
There are a number of legal obligations to comply with, and you’ll no doubt have to negotiate with the potential buyer(s).
Steps to selling your e-commerce website
Like all professional sales, there are rules to follow when selling an e-commerce site.
1- Estimating the value of your e-commerce site
Whether you’re selling a property or a business, you need to estimate its value as accurately as possible.
The same applies to an e-commerce site.
If you set the value too high, you won’t find a buyer.
If, on the other hand, you set it too low, you risk losing money.
Evaluating the real value of an e-commerce site can be based on criteria such as :
- Sales: naturally, the more you sell on the site, the more potential buyers will be interested.
- Site profitability: selling on your site is great, but making enough profit from it is even better.
A site can make a lot of sales and little margin each time, or on the contrary, sell little, but with a higher margin. - Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual traffic: the number of visitors is an indicator of a site’s popularity.
However, the rate of conversion of visits into purchases is also very important. - Number of customers: this shows whether the business can rely on a loyal clientele.
- Notoriety: the better known the site, the more it is listed in search engines, with positive customer reviews, the more it increases in value.
- Growth potential: it’s important to determine the site’s growth potential in terms of sales.
Is it in the process of taking off, or on the contrary, is it losing ground to the competition?
We need to identify the development avenues that will enable the site to ensure growth in activity and earnings.
It’s not always easy to estimate the real value of an e-commerce store.
There are tools and methods available, such as goodwill calculations.
This method takes into account certain elements such as human capital, the image of the site or brand, and specific know-how.
Not all of these elements appear in the site’s balance sheet, but they should be taken into account.
It is also possible, and even advisable, to call on the services of a chartered accountant or a business session consultant to determine the real value of an e-commerce site.
2- Preparing the website for sale
Just as when selling a physical business, it’s important to prepare the e-commerce site to make it more attractive to potential buyers.
Naturally, all accounting and financial data and information must be up to date.
The site must be up-to-date and secure.
You need to be able to prove that personal and customer data are properly secured and that the site complies fully with the law (RGPD in particular).
It’s also advisable to prepare an e-commerce site presentation file containing all the information a potential buyer would want to know.
This way, the buyer will have all the information they need to make a decision.
3- Finding buyers for the e-commerce site
Once the value of the e-commerce site for sale has been estimated and optimized, the next step is to find a buyer.
We need to circulate a sales offer to potentially interested targets.
Different channels can be used for this:
- Social networks linked to the e-commerce sector: forums, blogs, newsletters…
- Intermediaries: brokers, consulting firms, etc.
- Word of mouth: use your personal and professional networks, your contacts, your customers, your suppliers…
- Platforms specializing in the sale of e-commerce sites, of which the following are a few examples:
- Shopify Exchange: a platform for buying and selling existing Shopify stores.
- Flippa: international website marketplace with a huge catalog of sites for sale.
- DotMarket: French platform for selling content sites.
All sites for sale are audited to ensure that only reliable sellers are offered. - VenteDeSite.com: French website offering listings of websites for sale and putting buyers and sellers in touch.
4- Negotiating with buyers for the sale of the website
It’s important to answer all the questions that potential buyers interested in the site may have.
This reassures them and proves the seriousness of the company by justifying the valuation provided, and therefore the asking price.
In this way, you can provide proof of the results and performance of the site you wish to sell them.
You also need to be very careful to comply scrupulously with legislation.
It is advisable to use a notary or lawyer to finalize the transaction.
This is the best way to ensure that the sales contract complies with the various legal and tax constraints associated with this type of sale.
5- Transferring the e-commerce site to its new owner
Once the sale has been concluded at the agreed price and ownership of the e-commerce site has been transferred to the buyer, you still need to :
- Transfer site rights: domain name, hosting, software licenses, source code, database, associated social network accounts…
- Transfer not only product inventories, but also the various contracts signed with suppliers: products as well as online payment and delivery….
- Transfer customer data: be careful to comply with the RGPD and inform customers of the change of ownership.
- Follow-up and assistance for the buyer: the duration of this assistance, which will help the buyer to get to grips with the e-commerce site and everything that goes with it, must be defined in the transfer contract.
To conclude on selling an e-commerce website
Whatever the reason for selling your e-commerce website, it’s an operation that can’t be improvised.
Selling your website requires careful preparation, accurate evaluation and good communication to find buyers.
You also need to comply with a number of legal and tax obligations to ensure that the sale goes through legally.
With many years’ experience in the e-commerce sector, I’m here to support you throughout your project to sell your e-commerce site.
Please do not hesitate to contact me so that we can discuss your site and determine the best way to work together.
