As interesting as it is to build a new Shopify store, there are big reasons to consider Shopify stores for sale on marketplaces.
Before we get into it, building a new store is preferred, but it is not in everyone’s ability to do so. Hence, at times, buying a pre-built is the most sensible option.
Buying a Shopify Store is easy, and with the advanced metrics shared by marketplaces, you can make informed decisions.
In this quick guide, I’ll share the essential elements to assess when evaluating “for sale” Shopify stores and red flags to watch out for based on my own vetting experience.
So, let’s get into the details and help you find the right Shopify Store!
Top 6 Marketplaces To Buy Shopify Stores in 2024
Here is a quick overview of the top marketplaces where you can buy Shopify stires on sale.
| Sr. No | Marketplace | Why choose? |
| 1 | Empire Flippers | View key store metrics for free |
| 2 | Flippa | Trusted and largest online marketplace |
| 3 | Acquire | For buying new Shopify startup stores |
| 4 | WebsiteClosers | For detailed listing descriptions |
| 5 | FE International | To reach a global network of 80,000+ pre-qualified technology investors |
| 6 | BizBuySell | To buy Shopify stores that are in your budget |
Did you know? – To date, over 4.8 million online stores use Shopify. Read this interesting post on more such insightful Shopify statistics.
Bonus: If you are still very persistent on building a Shopify store from scratch, you can follow my guide that includes 13 steps to start a Shopify store.
Things To Consider Before Buying A Shopify Store
Buying a Shopify store that’s for sale is not as easy as it looks. There are a lot of boxes to tick before you actually buy a store. Common things to look at are financial stats, traffic, sources, types of businesses, and products sold.
Here are some important things to consider before buying a Shopify store elaborated:
- Financials – Review historical sales data, profit margins, costs, and other financial reports to gauge the store’s performance and valuation. This helps determine if the asking price is fair.
- Traffic Sources – Understand where the store’s traffic is coming from (Google, social media, email lists, etc.). This indicates how sustainable growth is after you take over.
- Current Inventory – Factor in the value of existing inventory and costs to continue reordering bestselling items. Make sure popular products are still available.
- Suppliers and Shipping – Learn about the current supply and fulfillment arrangements. Reliable suppliers and fast shipping are vital to maintain.
- Employees – Determine if current staff are staying through the transition or need to be replaced. Factor in hiring and training costs.
- Technical Assets – Review the store’s current tech stack and assess if they align with your ecommerce plans and goals.
- SEO Strength – Audit SEO elements like keywords, backlinks, and page speed to estimate ongoing traffic retention after the move.
- Customer Loyalty – Gauge brand strength and customer loyalty. For example, review repeat purchase rate, reviews, and engagement.
- Growth Potential – Consider future opportunities to improve the business by reaching new markets, adding products, increasing conversions, etc.
Doing thorough due diligence across these aspects ensures you gain a profitable, self-sustaining business that seamlessly transfers over with minimal disruption after purchase.
Types Of Shopify Businesses To Buy
There are a variety of prebuilt Shopify Businesses that are available for sale and are actually profitable.
1. Dropshipping Business
One of the easiest businesses to start on Shopify is a dropshipping business because it doesn’t require a lot of investment.
You only need to put your time and effort into it to earn from it. The dropshipping business model is considered to be the most beginner-friendly and popular business model.
In a dropshipping business, you partner with a supplier who will manufacture and deliver your products to your customers. Building a dropshipping business from scratch can be a lot of work, so it’s better to buy a growing business that is already generating revenue.
2. Print-on-demand Business
In a print-on-demand business, you print and deliver the product to the customer once they place an order with you. This is also a profitable business because you don’t have to manage a large inventory of products, and you only have to manufacture the product once the order is placed.
This reduces your upfront cost by a lot. Many print-on-demand businesses allow their customers to create customized products for themselves.
Have a look at these best print-on-demand websites that you can sell your products on apart from Shopify.
3. Retail Business
Many Shopify businesses use the retail business model to sell to their customers directly. But this requires a more hands-on approach, meaning they will have to manage the inventory and do the fulfillment.
This may save you some money, but it will increase the workload for you and your team.
4. Wholesale Business
Shopify supports many Wholesale businesses. In this type of business, instead of selling products directly to customers, store owners sell their products to other businesses.
The Wholesale business is just like a retail business where you would have to manage the inventory and take care of fulfillment yourself.
Top Marketplaces to Buy Shopify Stores (Reviewed)
There’s no fixed price for which you can buy an existing Shopify Store. You will have to analyze a store yourself to see if it’s profitable. Is it worth it? All of it.
But don’t worry. These online marketplaces are the places to be for a beginner or an expert to buy a prebuilt Shopify store.
Check out these websites that offer a range of e-commerce businesses for sale.
1. Empire Flippers
It First is an online marketplace specializing in selling profitable and established online businesses, including Shopify stores.
The platform offers a variety of e-commerce businesses for sale, ranging from dropshipping stores to private label brands.
This marketplace offers detailed statistical insights into each listing. You can see the revenue, traffic, profit, profit margins, opportunities, and reasons for sale for each of the listed websites.
Empire Flippers has a reputation for being a trustworthy and reliable marketplace, and they have facilitated the sale of many successful businesses over the years.
Key Highlights:
- Carefully reviewed websites from experts.
- Credible listings with added metrics to analyze.
- Detailed listing descriptions with opportunities, risks involved, work required, seller support, reason for sale, and other information stated transparently.
2. Flippa
Flippa is yet another popular online broker for buying and selling websites. The current listings for Shopify stores and websites that you can buy from Flippa are 1,371.
Every listing displays an asking price, a brief about the business, industry, monetization, site age, and the net profit it earns. This allows easy scouting of the listings and takes less time to find the perfect match for your needs.
Similar to Empire Flippers, Flippa also offers expert analysis of each website with metrics displaying traffic, revenue, description, financial statistics, the expenses borne by the business, Shopify performance data, Google Analytics, and Semrush insights.
Buyers can also use the platform to communicate directly with the sellers and negotiate the terms of the sale.
In addition, Exchange Marketplace by Flippa offers various resources and tools to help buyers and sellers with the buying and selling process, including due checklists, valuation tools, and transaction management tools. Overall, Exchange Marketplace by Flippa is a great resource for buying a Shopify store.
Key Highlights:
- Google Analytics and Semrush integration.
- Shopify financial performance data.
- Document attachments for critical information.
- Contact the seller directly to initiate a purchase
- Legal services are offered with a lawyer or contract.
3. Acquire
Acquire, previously known as MicroAcquire, is an online marketplace that facilitates the acquisition of small businesses, including e-commerce businesses such as Shopify stores.
The platform offers a range of businesses for sale, including startups, SaaS companies, and e-commerce businesses.
Acquire also provides detailed information about each business, including its revenue, traffic, profit margins, and other relevant metrics that can help buyers evaluate the business’s potential.
Acquire provides multiple resources and tools to assist buyers and sellers in the buying and selling procedure. These include a unique valuation algorithm and a purchase agreement verified by an attorney.
What I like about this online marketplace is its simplicity, with the financials and graphs displayed in one place, with a detailed profit and loss summary for each month, including the income, cost, profit, expenses, and net profit.
Key Highlights:
- Listings are displayed as per user acquisition criteria.
- Thoroughly vetted listings by an expert team.
- Access to all sizes of startups and communities of 3,000 premium buyers
4. WebsiteClosers
WebsiteClosers is a mergers and acquisitions firm that sells e-commerce businesses, including Shopify stores. They have a team of experienced advisors who offer valuation, due diligence, and negotiation services.
Compared to the other online marketplaces that you can buy a Shopify Store from, this platform offers very limited performance insights, and finding the business that meets your needs is not easy.
WebsiteClosers is known to be a reliable and trustworthy advisor and is a trusted resource for buying or selling an online business, including Shopify stores.
Key Highlights:
- Shows detailed business descriptions that do not require a paid subscription.
- Upfront cash flow information about the listed business.
5. FE International
It is one of the leading investment banks that provides merger and acquisition (M&A) advisory services to online businesses, including e-commerce businesses such as Amazon FBA and Shopify stores.
The company specializes in selling profitable and established online businesses and has a team of experienced advisors who help clients with the buying and selling process.
FE International also offers limited access to the business listed and requires you to schedule a call for further information and steps. The number of Shopify stores sold too is limited.
They have a reputation for being a reliable and trustworthy advisor and have facilitated the sale of many successful businesses over the years. Overall, FE International is a great resource for buying or selling an online business, including Shopify stores, but it may not be as easy.
Key Highlights:
- Business listing carefully and briefly explained.
- They have a global network of 80,000+ pre-qualified technology investors.
- Over 1,500 successful transactions were completed.
6. BizBuySell
BizBuySell is another marketplace where you can buy a successful Shopify business that is already generating revenue. To find a business on sale on this platform, you just need to select the Industry and City, Country, or State. It will show you all the online businesses that are on sale in that region.
Depending on your budget, you can find listings for offline and online businesses and choose the best option for yourself. All the listed businesses on this platform have been thoroughly vetted, and their financial and operational information is accurate.
If you find your desired Shopify store that is on sale, then you can connect with the business broker responsible for that particular listing and make inquiries. Once both parties come to an agreement, the payment gets processed through the BizBuySell platform to maintain transparency and security.
Key Highlights:
- Buy high-paying Shopify stores that are thoroughly vetted by experts
- Buy franchises of successful brands to start your own business
- Find established Shopify stores that fit your budget
How To Buy Shopify Stores?
When buying a Shopify store, there are generally two options: a private sale or an online marketplace.
While private sales may be quicker, finding Shopify stores for sale independently can be challenging.
On the other hand, using a marketplace or broker provides access to a vast selection of Shopify businesses for sale, making the process easier and more efficient.
Buying an existing Shopify store can be a great way to jumpstart your online business. Here are the steps to follow:
1. Decide Your Budget
Set your budget before looking to purchase a Shopify shop. Remember that the price of an existing store can differ considerably depending on elements like the store’s age, revenue, and foot traffic.
2. Find A Reliable Marketplace
There are several marketplaces online where you can find Shopify stores for sale, such as Shopify Exchange, Flippa, and Empire Flippers. Choose a trustworthy platform with a good reputation and a wide range of stores for sale.
3. Choose A Profitable Store
Find a store that is already making money and has a track record of success; verify its profitability and expansion potential by reviewing its financial records and traffic data.
4. Negotiate The Sale
After identifying an appropriate retailer, negotiate the transaction terms with the vendor. Consider communicating with a legal professional when reviewing the contract to make sure everything is legal
5. Transfer The Store
The seller will hand over ownership of the business to you after the transaction is complete. You must create and connect a new Shopify account to the existing store.
It’s essential to keep in mind that purchasing an existing Shopify store necessitates careful planning and investigation. To determine whether a store has growth potential and is a good match for its business goals, buyers should carefully examine its finances, traffic sources, and customer base. Buyers should also carefully discuss the conditions of the sale and, if necessary, seek legal counsel to ensure a safe and secure transaction.
Following these steps, you can buy an existing Shopify store and start your online business with a head start. If you don’t like the listings mentioned in the above marketplaces, then you can always start a Shopify store from scratch, and you can opt for Shopify’s 30-day trial for $1 to get started.
Things To Consider Before Buying A Shopify Store
Buying a Shopify store that’s for sale is not as easy as it looks. There are a lot of boxes to tick before you actually buy a store. Common things to look at are financial stats, traffic, sources, types of businesses, and products sold.
Here are some important things to consider before buying a Shopify store elaborated:
- Financials – Review historical sales data, profit margins, costs, and other financial reports to gauge the store’s performance and valuation. This helps determine if the asking price is fair.
- Traffic Sources – Understand where the store’s traffic is coming from (Google, social media, email lists, etc.). This indicates how sustainable growth is after you take over.
- Current Inventory – Factor in the value of existing inventory and costs to continue reordering bestselling items. Make sure popular products are still available.
- Suppliers and Shipping – Learn about the current supply and fulfillment arrangements. Reliable suppliers and fast shipping are vital to maintain.
- Employees – Determine if current staff are staying through the transition or need to be replaced. Factor in hiring and training costs.
- Technical Assets – Review the store’s current tech stack and assess if they align with your ecommerce plans and goals.
- SEO Strength – Audit SEO elements like keywords, backlinks, and page speed to estimate ongoing traffic retention after the move.
- Customer Loyalty – Gauge brand strength and customer loyalty. For example, review repeat purchase rate, reviews, and engagement.
- Growth Potential – Consider future opportunities to improve the business by reaching new markets, adding products, increasing conversions, etc.
Doing thorough due diligence across these aspects ensures you gain a profitable, self-sustaining business that seamlessly transfers over with minimal disruption after purchase.
Why Should You Buy A Shopify Store?
Buying an existing prebuilt Shopify store has multifold benefits. The main reason for buying a current Shopify store is to save the time required to make money.
The time you would invest in building a Shopify store from scratch can be used to build strategies and enhance an already set-up Shopify store.
Some primary reasons to buy an existing Shopify Store:
- Established Model
Buying a store from a marketplace instead of building one skips the whole process of setting up and establishing a store. With an old store you accept, a business model is already set up, and you only have to work on the weaker sections of it.
- Existing Brand Image
When you buy a full-fledged website earning healthy profit numbers, a brand image is already created, and you do not need to spend extra money to introduce your brand as new to the customers.
- Profit Assurance
While building a Shopify Store, a big reason to worry is whether it will work and if it will generate enough revenue to fetch profit. When buying a prebuilt from an online marketplace, you can clearly analyze a website’s revenue and net profit and stay assured of earning a sum out of it.
- Tapping Into Your Strengths
There can be certain businesses or e-commerce products that you are an expert in and have the confidence to fix related processes. Leveraging this expertise to buy an existing Shopify store that is weak in that area gives you massive growth opportunities and quick fixes.
- Saving Time
An existing store cuts down the time required to get it started. This is a great advantage to both beginners and experts, and the beginners can skip the hassle of setting things up from zero. Conversely, experts can avoid going through the basics every time and get a ready-made project to work on.
Pros & Cons Of Buying A Shopify Store
Here are some factors to consider when evaluating if it’s worthwhile to buy a Shopify store versus building one yourself:
Pros of buying a Shopify store:
- Faster startup – A developed store allows launching and selling quickly vs. the effort of building a new store.
- Pre-validation – An operating store has validated its product-market fit. Less uncertainty than untested ideas.
- Momentum – Existing traffic, customers, reviews, and operations provide instant momentum to build on.
- Turnkey operations – Inventory, suppliers, fulfillment, and employees are established.
- Improved valuations – An operating store typically garners higher valuations and selling prices.
Cons of buying a Shopify Store:
- Constrained flexibility – Less control over design, branding, and tech stack based on existing setup.
- Cost premium – Established stores demand pricing premiums, reducing potential ROI.
- Due diligence costs – Vetting stores require specialized skill and scrutiny to avoid issues.
- Dated platform – Some acquired stores may run on outdated or misaligned technology.
- Paying for mistakes – Stores may come with ineffective marketing or tech decisions you inherit.
Conclusion: Buy Shopify Stores From Empire Flippers Or Flippa Marketplace
That is all you need to know about buying a Shopify store for sale. Buying a Shopify store can be a great opportunity for entrepreneurs and investors looking to enter the e-commerce space or expand their existing portfolio.
Many marketplaces offer a wide range of Shopify stores for sale, as mentioned above. But we recommend these two marketplaces:
1. Empire Flippers: Known for their quality listings, diverse options, amazing customer service, and user-friendly dashboard.
2. Flippa: Best for buyers looking for small businesses to buy that are generating decent revenue.
Before making any purchases, conducting your research is crucial because not every business will be a good fit for your priorities. A Shopify store can only be considered a wise investment when approached correctly and carefully, and it is totally worth it!
With that, you are all set to buy a Shopify Store from an online marketplace rather than building one!
FAQs
The prices of Shopify stores vary on different factors, where some sell for as low as $50, and others fetch over $1 million.
When buying a Shopify store, you should look for data related to the business, such as revenue, traffic, profit margins, customer reviews, and any other relevant details that will help you evaluate the business’s potential.
Valuing a Shopify store can be challenging as many factors must be considered. The value of a Shopify store is based on its revenue, profit margins, growth potential, and other factors such as customer base, inventory, and intellectual property.
The amount of support you can expect from the seller after purchasing a Shopify store will vary depending on the seller and the terms of the sale. Some sellers may offer training and support for some time after the sale, while others may provide only minimal support.
Yes, once you purchase a Shopify store, you can customize it. You can change the design, add new products, and implement new marketing strategies.
Sometimes there may be risks involved in buying a Shopify store. It’s important to thoroughly research the business before making a purchase. Working with reputable sellers and brokers can also help mitigate the risks involved.
