HOW TO SELL AN AMAZON SELLER ACcOUNT?
There are plenty of Amazon sellers who, after years of hard work, made their small business a large business and think about an “exit”. This can have different reasons: the business is running extremely well and you want to cash out. Or you find out that it isn’t going to be as good as expected so you want to quit. Whether you belong to the first or second group, in both cases it might be interesting to find out if it pays to sell your Amazon account. Indeed, the account is an asset that can make a lot of money!
We have seen up close how selling an Amazon Seller Central Account (also known as ASCA) works. In this article we share these experiences.
HOW MUCH IS YOUR AMAZON ACCOUNT WORTH?
Of course, this is what it’s all about. For how much can you sell your account? The most important thing here is that you have your numbers in order. Every investor/buyer of your account will at least ask for the following:
- Past 12 months turnover
- Past 12 months costs
- What products do you have?
- What is the ratio of paid ads / organic traffic to realise sales?
- Do you still have stock? And for how long?
And be interested in the following:
- Do you also have a web shop that sells?
- Are the supplier contacts transferable?
- Does the company own trademarks?
USING FLIPPA TO DETERMINE THE VALUE
The value of your Amazon account can be determined by the data above. You may not exactly know how to calculate this. Fortunately, there are multiple websites that can help determine the value. We recommend using Flippa. Flippa acts as a broker where you as a seller can offer your account and where there are plenty of buyers to take over your account. Through the Valuation Tool you can at least get a first indication of the value of your account. Open the tool and answer the questions. These questions include the level of your sales, cost level, key parts of your business (Marketplace if you sell on Amazon), year of establishment and whether your business is growing. Afterwards, you will get an assessment of the value of your business.
Tip: On Flippa, you can use different packages to quickly sell your Amazon account or entire company. This allows them to put you in newsletters, on the homepage, or make a video about your business. Practice shows that FBA accounts are fairly scarce and popular on Flippa and are found anyway if you are patient. However, a campaign certainly doesn’t hurt. If you manage to sell the company for a good amount, the costs will be compensated.
ORDER LISTING
If you agree with the value of your business, you can start putting your listing online on Flippa. It is important to pay close attention to this and do not leave any part underexposed. Of course, first of all you want to leave a good impression on potential buyers, but the value of your business also increases if you give a complete picture of what buyers can get.
If you have a web shop, Instagram or Facebook account in addition to your Amazon account, please name this. As well as the number of followers and website visitors (think data from Google Analytics) you have. Every detail can increase the value of your business and make your business more attractive. Good photos of your products and an enthusiastic description of the business increases the chances of sale.
Of course, in the end your numbers and what growth trend your business has are the most important things. Buyers want to know the current profit margins and whether there is still growth potential. This will always be the decisive factor to buy a business or not.
WHO ARE YOUR BUYERS?
The beauty of a platform like Flippa is that you have access to the whole world to sell your account. Especially if you have an attractive listing, you’ll be amazed at how many people actually respond. We saw passing by potential buyers from Russia, Pakistan and the United States. Buyers see an Amazon account (especially if it’s older) as a useful way to make a good start on Amazon, or have qualities to take the business to a next level.
We recommend talking to seriously interested parties on the phone to provide more information and show your account. This creates trust on both sides and increases the chances of bidding. Especially if you’re an avid Dragons’ Den watcher, this part of the process will appeal to you.
Ultimately, potential buyers will have to bid to make their interest definitively known. Chances are, of course, that the one with the highest bid will be eventually the winner. Then the transfer can be made in order!
HOW DO YOU GET PAID?
Of course, this is not an insignificant question. As a buyer, you want to make sure that when you transfer money, you won’t get scammed by the seller. As a seller, you don’t want to transfer everything perfectly; and then see the buyer running off without paying. Especially when you’re doing business around the world and talking to people you have never seen before, it’s important to ensure trust in a way.
Fortunately, there is a way. This is possible when both parties agree to make use of an Escrow payment. After agreeing on the sale price, the seller creates a transaction in Escrow.com. This transaction will be linked to the buyer. Both parties will need to provide data to demonstrate that they are real persons/companies. That way, Escrow can make sure the risk of fraud is nil.
LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Hopefully this has shown you that it is possible to sell your Amazon Seller Central Account. Especially if you do not plan to do anything more with it, it might be worth it! Are you questioning any part of the process? Let us know. Maybe we can help you!
TIP: TRANSFER YOUR ACCOUNT TO SELLER CENTRAL
It has not always been possible to transfer your account to another company. You could only register one account per company. Today, Amazon is less strict regarding this and there is even a possibility to convert your account to another company. To do this, go to settings > account info. Then click ‘Transfer Account’:
And follow the steps you see in the image. In principle, you need to make sure your information is removed. Think of deleting your company name, credit card and bank details, and contact information. Once you’ve done this, you can transfer the account to the buyer. The buyer will then have the opportunity to fill in his or her details to complete the transfer perfectly.
