How to Sell My Shopify Store

E-Commerce Setup

Ever since Shopify started in 2006, it has grown to become one of the most powerful eCommerce suppliers. Thousands of websites exist using Shopify as their key framework. Not only does it allow people with ambition to create a side income, but many large-scale companies operate using a Shopify store. With thousands of employees working for the company and many more Shopify stores around the world, success stories are easy to find.

But what about if you want to cash out?

Do you ever wonder, ‘How do I sell my Shopify store?’ If so, you are in the right place. Creating a Shopify store and making sure it runs effectively takes time and effort. So, too, does a sale. Your Shopify store is not something. You can just hand the keys over to someone else and move on with cash in hand. Like selling any other business, there are protocols to follow that can be challenging.

To help you understand how to sell your Shopify store, let us look at the process and what the recommendations tend to be. The process sounds easy at first glance, but it does not take long for complications to emerge. With this guide, you should hopefully be prepared for such a scenario so you can work around it. First, though, ask yourself this:

Should I Sell My Shopify Store?

The work and effort it takes to start a successful Shopify store is not to be sniffed at. Before you go ahead and begin the sales process, make sure you are 100% ready to commit to this process and don’t just want to pause it. Selling a Shopify store takes time, effort, and the knowledge that you cannot renege on the deal once it is completed.

As such, make sure you will not have any ‘seller’s remorse’ once the deal is complete.

Selling your Shopify store can be a valid process for many reasons, though. Some owners find they are too busy with other aspects of their lives, and finding the time to run a business no longer feels so appealing. Your life circumstances can change, too; you might land a job that takes up your free time, or you might simply lose your ‘fire’ for being a business owner. You might even need the cash.

Selling your Shopify store, if it is successful, can net you a healthy profit further down the line. You could use that to fund other business interests or even to buy something else in life, such as investing in property. Most of the time, though, people choose to sell their Shopify store because they want out of that industry. They might wish to pivot to a new industry and range of products entirely.

Others lack the time or have a changing situation that overshadows their ability and desire to run a business like this. Whatever the reasons you face for leaving behind your Shopify store, consider them carefully. Once the sales process begins to move forward, it can be tough to backtrack.

Selling Your Shopify Store: The Steps Needed for Success

To sell your Shopify store, you need to lay the groundwork. Like selling any other business, you need to consider numerous financial, administrative, and legal issues. 

Laying The Groundwork for A Shopify Store Sale

So, you have thought about the concept a little more and now decide to press on with a sale. Now, you need to prepare your store so it can be sold accordingly. Start with the backend side of your Shopify store. Make sure that everything is up-to-date and that all information is 100% correct.

The information to check includes your inventory and ensures that all store functionalities operate as they should. Update your Shopify store if anything needs to be adjusted before you begin negotiating a sale. Any buyer who finds your inventory is out-of-date, or your figures are incorrect will cancel the sale. You now need to have someone evaluate the business on your behalf.

You should also make a record of all billings and payment histories by exporting this information prior to the sale. You need this for future financial considerations such as tax returns. If you are using any kind of capital or credit program with Shopify, make sure you address this with Shopify first. The same goes if you have any billing or payments left over prior to the sale; make buyers aware of this. 

➡️ Need a technical audit for your Shopify site? Let’s talk.

Get A Full Valuation

Now, you need to have your Shopify store valued to get an estimate of what you could expect to earn from the sale. The most common method of valuation includes Discounted Cash Flow (DCF). DCF helps ensure that your business’s value is based on what the statistics say it could earn in the future. If your business operates on a positive cash flow basis, this is ideal.

Another common method includes Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, and Amortisation (EBITDA). However, this is mostly used for companies worth more than eight figures in value. For most Shopify stores that you sell, sticking with DCF seems to be the easiest way to get a fair calculation. An alternative to EBITDA is seller discretionary earnings (SDE), which helps calculate a valuation by multiplying annual net profits with the year’s profits generated.

Business valuations are complicated, and we recommend that you read this official Shopify guide to valuing your Shopify store.

Supplier & Employee Contracts

You have suppliers for your Shopify store, and you will need to notify them of an impending sale. Most suppliers will be happy to continue with the same arrangements with a new buyer, but we recommend informing your suppliers before the sale. 

If your Shopify store has employees managing and running it, make this clear to potential buyers. Give them a clear breakdown of the costs involved in keeping your staff on. At the same time, if you have any third-party contracts with payment providers and other service providers, make that clear to buyers. Be transparent about any agreements or contracts in place prior to the sale.

Finding A Buyer

The next step is to find a buyer who you can trust to go through the process amicably. There is no in-house platform for selling a Shopify store; this is like selling any other business. Your best bet for finding a trustworthy buyer will come through using websites such as Flippa and Acquire. These are two of the best markets on the internet for selling businesses like your Shopify store.

Be sure to review the requirements and information requested by each platform you consider using. Each will have its own services for things like business evaluation and legal requirements. There is also the factor of fees to consider; most middle-men platforms like the above will take a fee for the sale. 

Once you find a buyer who feels like a natural fit for your business, you can arrange the contract through the third-party sales service you both use. Be wary of anyone looking to cut out the intermediary. Unless you know and trust the person implicitly, we would never recommend this. Keep yourself safe during the transaction process; use trusted, easily observed platforms like the above for safety.

We recommend you hire a professional business lawyer to help you go through the end of the sales process. It might also be beneficial to involve your accountant, as they can help create the figures and financial data needed to make a sale possible. Be as thorough as you can when negotiating a sale. 

Transferring Ownership

Once you have a buyer in place and everything is agreed upon as required, you need to transfer the Shopify store to the new owner. Remember that if your Shopify store uses a bespoke domain, as many do, you need to transfer ownership of that domain to the buyer at the same time. 

Within Shopify, you need to go to the “General” tab of the “Settings” page when logged in as the Shopify store administrator account. Now, you need to change all the relevant details here (name, address, store phone number, etc.) to that of the new owner. Make sure you do the same for any bespoke domains you bought for your Shopify store. 

You will also need to change all billing information to reflect the new owner. That process should be easy to carry out, but you can review this Shopify guide to simplify it. If your Shopify store uses any kind of third-party apps that require details to be adjusted, make sure you do so before signing the business over to the new owner. The same goes for any third-party payment processors, such as PayPal. You will need to sign this over to the new owner at the same time as everything else.

Lastly, you need to transfer ownership of the entire Shopify store to the buyer. You can do this by going to the “Users and Permissions” section of the “Settings” tab in Shopify. Here, select the “Transfer Ownership” option and enter the new store owner’s email address. Enter your current password to confirm the transfer of ownership and wait for the new owner to accept via email.

You will now be restricted from viewing the same level of information about the store as you could beforehand. The new owner can then safely remove you from the system and take full ownership of the store. If you need more information about transferring ownership, Shopify’s official guide will assist.

Making The Right Decision

Selling your Shopify store is not a decision you should take lightly. The intensity of the work you put in to build your business should not be forgotten. Think closely about the pros and cons of managing a sale. Are you happy to walk away? Have you set a valuation that feels fair and would stand up when evaluated by an independent evaluator? 

Have you put the legal process in place? Did you follow the steps that Shopify laid out to transfer everything over? Make sure you follow these regulations as closely as you can. There is much work involved in transferring ownership, starting from preparing the groundwork to finding a buyer. Your service requires extensive work and attention to detail, after all.

Never commit to a sale unless you are 100% confident in your decision. Once you sell, there is no going back, so think about the pros and cons before you commit. If you follow the above steps, though, you should be able to avoid any mistakes in the sale process. Good luck!