Hiring an Amazon Business Broker to Sell Your Business

The Amazon marketplace is growing at an unprecedented rate, creating opportunities for entrepreneurs who build successful Amazon businesses. If you’re an FBA business owner, now is a great time to explore the possibility of selling your Amazon business. Working with an Amazon business broker can help you create a successful exit strategy. 

In this article, we cover everything you need to know about working with an Amazon business broker, including: 

• Who should consider working with an Amazon business broker 
• How a business broker can help you get the best price for your business
• What to consider when hiring a business broker
• How much working with a business broker costs and if it’s worth the investment 

When to sell your Amazon business using a broker 

There are two main approaches you can take when selling your Amazon FBA business:

• You can work with an Amazon business broker to sell your business
• You can sell your Amazon FBA business directly to a buyer 

Should you consider working with an Amazon business broker?

When you work with an Amazon business broker, you can be confident that you’re selling your Amazon FBA business for maximum value. Another main advantage of working with an Amazon broker is that they share your FBA business listing with a large number of buyers.

Amazon business brokers also accompany you through every step of the sales process. Not only will they give you an honest valuation of your business, they help you sort through offers from potential buyers and make sure all of the boxes are checked during a due diligence period. 

Their knowledge can be an invaluable resource. 

Selling your Amazon business directly

There are different ways to sell your business directly to a buyer, including:

• Selling your FBA business to a buyer you already have a connection with 
• Working with an Amazon aggregator to sell your business
• Listing your business for sale on an online marketplace 

Closing the deal with a buyer you know

Maybe you’re a seasoned ecommerce business owner and you’ve spent years building up a network of fellow Amazon sellers. There’s a possibility that you already have connections with many Amazon business owners who would be interested in purchasing your business. 

Working with an Amazon aggregator 

Another possibility when it comes to selling direct is working with an Amazon aggregator. Amazon. The growing popularity of Amazon aggregators is one of the top trends affecting Amazon businesses today. Aggregators often pay cash for your business, close the deal quickly, and cut out business fees. However, they often undervalue your business in the hopes of getting a good deal. 

Whether you sell to a buyer you know or work with an aggregator, you avoid paying commission to an Amazon business broker. However, even if you’re an established Amazon seller, you’ll still have access to a relatively small pool of potential buyers to choose from. And you might be missing opportunities that you don’t know exist outside of your circle of influence. 

If you only interface with one aggregator, there’s no external pressure for them to make you an offer that honors the hard work and dedication you’ve put into building your business. Listing your business for sale with a reputable business Advisor almost always leads to a better purchase price and more favorable deal terms compared to selling your business directly to an aggregator. 

Listing your business for sale on an online marketplace 

If you don’t have a connection to a potential buyer and you don’t want to work with an Amazon aggregator, you could also list your business for sale on an online marketplace. This is a great option for small business owners (worth less than $100,000). The downside to this option is that buyers who browse these marketplaces don’t always have the funding or the skills to purchase your Amazon FBA business. 

You might have already decided that you’d like to sell your business directly. You can still benefit from receiving a professional valuation of your business from an Amazon business broker. When you’re confident in the value of your business, you’ll be able to confidently negotiate offers and deal terms. 

When you work with an Amazon business broker, they’ll also help by identifying high-leverage opportunities to increase the value of your Amazon business. As an Amazon seller, you can utilize that information to improve your business before you decide to sell. 

What an Amazon business broker does

There are many benefits of working with a business broker, including: 

• An accurate valuation of your Amazon business
• Knowledge and experience of what potential buyers are looking for in an FBA business
• Access to the broker’s large pool of potential buyers
• A safe and secure sale of your Amazon business

Working with an Amazon business broker ensures an accurate valuation

Like many online businesses, your Amazon FBA business is valued using the SDE Multiple Method. This method involves two parts: the SDE and the multiple. 

SDE stands for seller’s discretionary earnings—the pre-interest and pretax profits your online business makes before you take into account noncash expenses, one-time investments, your owner benefits, and any unrelated discretionary expenses or income. In simple terms, SDE is the total amount of money your ecommerce business generates for a single owner. 

After you know what your SDE is, you multiply that number by the multiple. So if your ecommerce business generates $200,000 in SDE and is valued at a 4x multiple, it’s worth $800,000 ($200,000 x 4 = $800,000). 

Understanding the Four Pillars of Value

When you go through the valuation process with Quiet Light brokerage, a knowledgeable business broker looks at every aspect of your Amazon business to determine where your business stands in regard to our Four Pillars of Value. These pillars include: 

• Growth
• Risk
• Transferability
• Documentation

Working with a business broker can ensure you calculate your SDE accurately and land on a purchase price that honors the Amazon business you’ve spent your time and talent building. 

Amazon brokers can also identify opportunities to increase your business value. Past and current growth trends in your business have an impact on how potential buyers perceive its value. Discovering new ways to grow your business can attract a higher sales price in the future. This is especially true if you’re planning on landing a successful exit 6-12 months from now. 

Amazon brokers can also help you navigate deal terms. When Amazon FBA business owners sell their business directly, the deal terms with a potential buyer are often centered on how their Amazon business will perform in the future.

That type of deal structure puts most of the pressure on you as the seller. When you work with an Amazon broker, they help you structure a deal that benefits you as the seller instead. 

Amazon business brokers know what their buyers are looking for

Seasoned Amazon business brokers have worked with other Amazon FBA business owners in the past to sell their business. They know what potential buyers are looking for when buying a business and they understand the ins and outs of owning an Amazon store.

This experience allows a broker to present your business in a way that grabs the interest of buyers looking to purchase a successful Amazon business. Their expertise lends to a clear and trustworthy presentation of your business on the marketplace. 

A huge pool of quality buyers gets the chance to purchase your Amazon business

Connecting with a buyer is a crucial part of the sales process. When you work with an Amazon broker, they have access to a pool of quality buyers who are interested in purchasing businesses just like yours. 

When multiple buyers are interested in your Amazon business, it can increase the pressure on the offer price. That’s great news for you as an Amazon seller. 

You get peace of mind when selling the FBA business you’ve spent time building 

Amazon business brokers close deals and build relationships. They’ve cultivated relationships with buyers and they’re knowledgeable about what is happening with the ecommerce business marketplace. 

That experience translates to peace of mind for you as an Amazon business owner looking to sell. You don’t have to navigate the complexities of due diligence by yourself or run the risk of accidentally skipping over an important step that impacts the deal. Instead, an Amazon broker guides you through the entire process, from preparing to sell to closing the deal. 

What to look for in an Amazon business broker

If working with a broker to sell your Amazon FBA business is the right move for you as a business owner, it’s important to hire the right business broker. 

When you contact a broker to discuss the potential sale of your business, here are some questions to ask and mistakes to avoid:

• How will they value your Amazon store?
• Do they have connections to potential buyers interested in FBA businesses? 
• Are they experts in brokering FBA business sales?
• Do their business goals align with yours? 

How do they value your Amazon store?

One of the first steps of working with a business broker is a business valuation. How does this broker go about valuing Amazon businesses? Are they asking questions specific to your Amazon FBA business so they can accurately and honestly evaluate your business? Or are you having to bring up topics like your Amazon seller account  and other details about your Amazon store that they don’t know to ask? 

After the valuation is complete, what number do they share with you? Does it seem inflated or unrealistic? If you question their valuation, do they quickly shift their narrative to agree with you or do they explain their reasoning in a way that honors your business experience? 

A qualified Amazon business broker will help you set realistic expectations for the sale of your Amazon FBA business. While inflated valuations can seem flattering, you don’t want to work with a business broker who exaggerate.

Are there potential buyers in their network interested in FBA businesses? 

A large pool of quality buyers is a top benefit of working with a business broker. Can this business broker share with you what their buyer pool looks like? Have they spent time building relationships with potential buyers who are interested in investing in an online business model, particularly FBA businesses? 

Experienced business brokers spend time building relationships. It could be that they’ve brokered a FBA sale before and the same buyer is the perfect fit to buy your business. This connection is one you might not have discovered if you sold your own business directly. 

Are they experts at brokering FBA sales? 

When looking for a business broker, it’s important to find someone who has experience closing deals for FBA business owners. This experience will benefit you as a seller.

What kind of deals are in this broker’s portfolio? Are you the first Amazon seller they’ve worked with? Is their portfolio mostly focused on online businesses, or are a majority of their deals with traditional business owners who own brick-and-mortar stores?

Do their business goals align with yours? 

The best business broker for you to work with is one whose business goals align with the plans and dreams you have in mind when you think about selling your Amazon FBA business. 

Keep an eye out for a broker who worries about how much commission they’ll make when they close the deal. You’re looking for a broker who cares about educating about how to grow the value of your Amazon store. 

Hiring a business broker to sell your Amazon business

There are many reasons to consider hiring a broker to help you sell your Amazon business. Our experience here at Quiet Light shows that Amazon sellers who work with an experienced business broker often get maximum value, better deal terms, and access to qualified buyers who are excited to purchase a business just like yours.

Is paying an Amazon broker fee worth it? 

Paying fees to work with an Amazon business broker could be one of your main objections. After all, you’ve invested your time and money into your Amazon business. Seeing a portion of that profit go to someone else can be challenging. 

However, the increased value that you receive when you successfully close a deal far outweighs the broker fee. Experienced Amazon business brokers can reduce the stress of selling your business, which is a massive benefit to you as a seller. 

Working with Quiet Light to sell your Amazon business

At Quiet Light, our goal is to help you understand your Amazon business and provide personal guidance based on our experience. We want to help you make the best possible decision for you and your business. 

If you’re interested in learning more, the next step is to give us a call to receive a free valuation. During that process, you’ll see what areas of your business are strong and what areas, with a little attention, could be easy places to gain value. 

When you reach out to Quiet Light, we’ll:

• Provide you with an honest valuation of your Amazon business
• Identify anything in your business that could be decreasing its value
• Help you identify ways to increase the value of your business 

Our team of business Advisors at Quiet Light have all bought or sold online businesses. We know the ins and outs of the selling process, and we’ve also been in your shoes. If you want a free, no-obligation valuation, please reach out and we’d love to talk with you.