Buying and selling Shopify stores using the Shopify Exchange
July 5, 2017
Shopify recently launched the Shopify Exchange as a simple way to buy and sell Shopify stores.
Looking to try your hand at e-commerce? The Shopify Exchange could be just the thing to give you a jumpstart to have your Shopify store running in no time.
Looking to cash out and sell your Shopify store? The Shopify Exchange can help you find a buyer quickly so you can recoup your investment.
In today’s post, we’ll discuss the Shopify Exchange including:
- How do you list your store on the Shopify Exchange?
- Who can sell Shopify stores on the Shopify Exchange?
- What types of industries are available in the Shopify Exchange?
- Additional considerations when buying or selling an e-commerce store
How do you list your store on the Shopify Exchange?
Shopify store owners can list their store for sale on the Shopify Exchange by installing the Exchange - Sell your Shopify storeShopify app.
Then to list your store, you just need to enter a few details about your Exchange listing including:
- The title of your store
- The description of what your store sells
- The selling price
- Screenshots of your store
All revenue and traffic data for your store is verified and comes straight from Shopify.
Since all revenue and traffic comes straight from Shopify, this is a reliable way for buyers to compare stores in the Exchange.
Who can sell Shopify stores on the Shopify Exchange?
According to the Shopify Exchange FAQ, you are eligible to sell a store on Exchange if:
- Your store isn’t on the Shopify Plus plan
- Your store is eligible to use Shopify Payments, and if you use Shopify Payments then your account needs to be in good standing
- You have no active capital financing
What types of industries are available in the Shopify Exchange?
Shopify stores in the Exchange are categorized by industry. This makes it easy to find a store in a particular niche when browsing Exchange listings.
The current list of Exchange industries available are:
- Fashion and apparel
- Gifts and collectibles
- Sports and recreation
- Starter stores
- Health and beauty
- Services
- Electronics and gadgets
- Food and drink
- Home and furniture
- Art and photography
- Toys and games
- Pets
- Music
- Books and magazines
- Automotive
- Construction and industrial
- Stationary and office suppliers
With this broad list of industry categories, there should hopefully be some Shopify stores available in your target niche.
Additional considerations when buying or selling an e-commerce store
The Shopify Exchange makes it easy to buy and sell Shopify stores. However, you may want to consider a few additional items before buying or selling a store.
Does the store have inventory that is being included as part of the sale? If so, you’ll want to make sure the terms of this inventory are covered in the sale terms.
In addition, the Exchange includes verified traffic and revenue numbers but these numbers may not be enough to gauge a store’s health. You’ll want to also factor in actual profits for the store, after taking away expenses such as marketing, paid ads, cost of goods sold.
For example, if a store makes $100,000 in revenue that sounds pretty good right? However, if they spent $20,000 on cost of goods and $100,000 on paid ads, you may want to steer clear of that deal.
Shopify Exchange resources
Here are the Shopify Exchange links mentioned in this post:
In addition, the folks over at FEInternational put together a great guide for How to sell an e-commerce business. If you are looking to buy an e-commerce store that guide is definitely worth a read.
Summary
In this post, we discussed the newly launched Shopify Exchange. The Shopify Exchange makes it easy to buy or sell a Shopify store.
There are a variety of industries to choose from. There should be a store available in an industry that fits most peoples interests.
The Exchange provides verified traffic and revenue numbers are a nice, trustworthy way to compare Shopify stores. However, keep in mind these numbers alone are not enough to gauge a store’s profitability. You’ll want to be sure to consider a store’s profits in the final selling price for any Shopify Exchange transactions.
If you are looking to buy or sell a Shopify store, the Shopify Exchange may be just the ticket.