5 Websites to Buy Existing Dropshipping Businesses in 2024
Starting an ecommerce business in a dropshipping niche can be a daunting task. It takes significant time and monetary investment to build a website or Shopify store, establish social media accounts, sell products, and build a following. It can take even longer to build brand awareness, establish a reputation, and start seeing profits. This is why some business owners buy established dropshipping businesses instead of starting new businesses from scratch.
Buying an established business can be a great way to start dropshipping with a fully functional operational framework, a loyal customer base, and an immediate revenue stream. This can significantly reduce the risk and time associated with launching a new business, as the foundational work of building brand recognition, sourcing your own products, establishing supplier relationships, and developing marketing strategies has already been done. Additionally, an established online business often comes with valuable assets such as a well-optimised website, strong SEO rankings, and possibly even social media followings, which can drive organic traffic and sales and get the ball rolling from day one. However, it requires careful consideration of the initial investment, potential inherited issues, and the ability to sustain and grow the business using a dropshipping model.
Many websites have made it their business to curate existing dropshipping businesses for sale. These websites allow you to purchase a reputable, well-established business from a credible source. In this blog, we’ll explore the top-rated websites for buying and selling dropshipping businesses, as well as what you should be looking for when buying an online store.
Acquire
Acquire (formerly known as Microacquire) is a platform designed for buying and selling online businesses. Founded in 2020, it has established itself as an accessible marketplace where buyers and sellers can connect and exchange ecommerce businesses. The site covers a wide variety of businesses, including online stores with a dropshipping business model. For sellers, Acquire provides expert guidance to help businesses sell easier, faster, and for more. They can assist with marketing, buyer vetting, fielding questions and inquiries, evaluating offers, starting escrow, and transferring assets between owners. They also offer an acquisition guarantee, meaning they find the right buyer, or you pay nothing. Sellers can list their business and sell in as little as 30 days. For buyers, Acquire will help you get matched with startups in your industry, instantly connect with founders, and even procure financing (US businesses only). You can examine a business’s performance metrics, such as P&L summaries, acquisition data, customer churn, and overall revenue to ensure you’re investing in a profitable business. With a streamlined acquisition process, Acquire makes buying a business an accessible, reliable, and safe experience.
Pricing: Acquire offers three different plans for buyers to suit various budgets. Their free Basic plan allows you to see public listings of all startups. The Premium plan at $390 per year lets you see vetted listings from verified sellers with up to $250K in revenue, streamline your acquisition process with their guided workflow, and build, sign and send LOIs and APAs. The Platinum plan at $780 per year allows you to contact startups of all sizes and gives you priority customer support from a dedicated team of experts. For sellers, listing fees range from $25-$100 and they take a percentage of the closing fee. This percentage ranges from 4-6 per cent, depending on the business’ selling price.
Empire Flippers
Empire Flippers is a highly rated, curated marketplace for online businesses. Their overall listings are quite limited compared to other sites. However, the sites for sale come from well-established, profitable, large online businesses. A comprehensive vetting process offers buyers higher-quality listings, and the higher price points allow the website to provide premium services and customer support. Businesses must meet strict criteria to be considered for the platform, including a minimum monthly net profit of $2,000 over the past 12 months, at least 3 months of traffic data, and no evidence of manipulated rankings or fake social media followers. Buyers must also go through a verification process to see detailed information on listings that interest them, a process that involves providing identification and proof of funds. Unfortunately for buyers on a budget, you’ll be hard-pressed to find websites selling for under $100,000+, meaning you’ll need significant upfront investment. Sellers will also have to compete with long wait times for listings - if you’re looking to sell quickly, you may be better off looking elsewhere.
Pricing: Empire Flippers doesn’t charge listing fees or subscriptions, but their fees depend on the site selling price. Sales under 700,000 have a 15 per cent success fee. From $700,000 to $5,000,000, the fee is 8%. For $5,000,000 and above, the fee is 2.5 per cent.
Flippa
Flippa is a platform that allows you to trade various digital assets, including dropshipping stores. Founded in 2009, Flippa is one of the largest and most well-known platforms in this space, catering to entrepreneurs, investors, and business owners looking to acquire or sell digital properties. A fully functioning premade dropshipping store sells on Flippa from between $400 to over $1 million, giving you a wide range of stores to fit any budget. One unique feature is their partnership with SEMrush, giving you access to site traffic analytics for any interesting stores. It also integrates with Google Ads, allowing you to view a store’s advertising profits. With so many listings available, Flippa makes it easy to find any website at any development stage, whether you’re looking for an under-monetised easy win or a well-established, successful business. However, Flippa’s curation process appears less robust than its competitors. While they have some restrictions, they do not have a minimum revenue or profit requirement, leading to a high volume of listings that vary in quality. New buyers should take their time choosing a business, ensuring they do their due diligence to confirm the business earns what they claim and generates a suitable amount of traffic.
Pricing: Flippa has various seller plans, starting at $29 for a 60-day term and basic reach and ending at the M&A Broker package at $1499 for 9 months with a certified M&A broker. They also charge a sliding success fee, starting at 10 per cent for businesses asking for $10K or lower and dropping to 3 per cent for businesses asking for $50M or more. Buyers can choose from two plans. The Free plan lets you view all listings, use their legal document viewer and negotiate deals. The Premium plan at $49 per month gives you additional access to instant deals, first access to new deals and listings, and essential performance data including traffic insights and valuation comparisons.
Investors Club
Investors Club is a members-only marketplace built for buying and selling verified and vetted online businesses. It aims to provide a high level of service and transparency to both buyers and sellers. For sellers, the platform offers a no-fee listing policy and charges a 7 per cent success fee only after a website sells, which is lower compared to many other marketplaces. Buyers benefit from detailed due diligence reports, free escrow services, and website migration assistance, enhancing the security and ease of transactions. Additionally, Investors Club uses a membership model where buyers can access premium features, including early access to listings and in-depth reports. This platform is particularly suited for those looking for quality listings under $100,000, making it a preferred choice for smaller-scale investors.
Pricing: Investors Cub has three memberships available. The Free plan only lets you see business summaries with basic information. The Verified plan (also free of charge) allows you to view more detailed business information but does not grant access to due diligence reports, P&L reports and seller interviews. The Premium plan gives you instant access to listings, detailed reports, and premium support for $79 per month.
Side Projectors
Side Projectors is an online marketplace designed for developers and entrepreneurs to buy, sell, and showcase side projects. Born from a hackathon project in 2013, Side Projectors has developed into a thriving community of side hustlers who are passionate about building and maintaining side projects. The platform caters to a community interested in discovering unique projects, finding co-founders or collaborators, and turning unused or abandoned ventures into profitable opportunities. This includes a variety of dropshipping stores. Sellers simply need to submit their store URL and then fill out the project submission form with all the required information. The site moderators will review the project and its listing description before publishing, at which point the project will be available for sale. Buyers can find a wide range of projects and view information on their average monthly revenue, average monthly site visitors and the average hours spent on the website, and average downloads per month (where applicable). While the site acts as an excellent marketplace and community to find potentially lucrative side hustles, buyers are expected to do their own due diligence, perform background checks and arrange their own legal services. While the marketplace may be a potential goldmine for the right investor, it does not offer the same protections as other names on this list.
Pricing: Side Projectors is free to use and does not charge any hidden fees or commissions. However, they offer a membership plan for $3 per month that removes ads from the site, allows you to set up project email alerts, receive and send direct messages to other members, and receive a membership badge on your profile.
What to look for in an established dropshipping business
When buying an established dropshipping business, it's crucial to conduct thorough background research to ensure you make a sound investment. Here are some key factors to consider when purchasing a business:
Financial performance
Review the business's financial statements, focusing on revenue trends, sales, profit margins, and expenses. Look for consistent growth and stable profit margins. Ensure the business has positive cash flow and isn't reliant on external financing to stay operational.
Customer base
Understand the target audience and their buying behaviour. High customer loyalty and repeat purchase rates are positive indicators that the business is worth investing in. Analyse the traffic sources to ensure they are real and sustainable. Ideally, you’ll want to see diversified traffic streams from organic search, paid ads, and social media. If it looks like the business may have purchased followers or reviews, walk away. These strategies may give businesses a temporary boost, but they are never sustainable and are often very evident to potential customers.
Product and supplier relationships
Secure, long-term relationships with reputable suppliers and manufacturers are essential for the success of your dropshipping business. Check the reliability and reputation of your potential store’s dropshipping suppliers. Evaluate the range of products offered, their prices and their quality. Do they import products, or are they made locally? Finally, ensure they repeatedly meet customer expectations and have a low return rate.
Operational processes
Examine the business’s order fulfilment process, including delivery times, costs, and customer service procedures. Can you easily access your supplier's inventory levels? Do they offer fast shipping? How do customers access their order details? You’ll also need to examine existing returns and refunds policies, both for the business and their suppliers.
Marketing
A strong marketing strategy indicates a well-recognised and respected brand. Marketing analysis can show how well the brand is perceived by customers and its competitive edge in the market. Review the existing marketing strategy, including social media presence, email marketing, and advertising campaigns. Understanding which marketing channels and tactics are used can help you determine their effectiveness and how they can be optimised or expanded.
Website and SEO
You should evaluate the website's design, user experience, load times, and mobile compatibility to ensure the site is accessible and easy for customers to use. Additionally, you should assess the website's SEO health using tools such as Google Analytics, Google Business Profile, Screaming Frog, and PageSpeed Insights. A well-functioning, user-friendly website enhances customer satisfaction and conversion rates and ensures a high rank on search engines.
Legal and compliance
When buying an established dropshipping business, ensuring legal and compliance aspects are in order is critical to avoid future legal complications and ensure smooth operation. First, verify that the business possesses all necessary licenses and permits required to operate in Australia, such as an ABN. Ensure that all intellectual property (such as trademarks, patents, and copyrights) is correctly registered and will be transferred to you upon purchase. Review existing contracts with suppliers and third-party service providers to confirm their validity and transferability. Lastly, check that the business adheres to consumer protection laws, including transparent terms of service, return policies, and data protection regulations. For more information on your legal obligations, visit our blog Is Dropshipping Legal in Australia?
Growth potential
Finally, examine the potential for growing and scaling the business. Research market trends and industry growth to ensure the business operates in a promising sector and profitable niches. Conduct market research and consider the opportunities to expand your dropshipping products, enter new markets, or enhance marketing efforts.
Summary
Buying an existing dropshipping business is a great way for new entrepreneurs to enter the market with an established revenue stream, operational processes, and a positive reputation. It can save you time, money, and risk compared to building your own store from scratch. However, it’s important to do your due diligence when buying a business, particularly if you intend to grow or expand. Seek out reliable marketplaces where you can find promising, high-value web domains, and ensure the information provided about the businesses is current and accurate.
Has this blog left you wondering: how does dropshipping work? Visit our Learn Centre to find out how Dropshipzone helps suppliers and retailers use the dropshipping business model to build successful dropshipping websites without prohibitive upfront costs. All you need is an internet connection and the drive to build a successful ecommerce store. Start dropshipping today with Dropshipzone.
