How to choose and buy a ready-made online store: tips and pitfalls

Imagine this: you press a button and a whole world of possibilities opens up before you. Yes, this is exactly what buying a ready-made online store feels like. In the modern era of digitalization, this is no longer just a fashion trend, but a powerful tool for a successful business. Have you dreamed of a portable trading platform, where every detail is already thought out and configured? We are here to reveal all the secrets of this practice. The main advantages of such stores are obvious: saving time, minimizing development and launch costs, and the ability to quickly enter the market. However, the selection process requires careful attention to a number of important aspects. If you are ready to dive headfirst into the world of online trading, then purchasing a ready-made online store is your way to a quick start. This is a path where every detail decided will allow you to focus on the growth and development of your business.

Glossary

• 🛒 Ready online store (GIM): Fully functioning online store, offered for sale along with infrastructure, suppliers and customer base.
• 📉 Unprofitability: Financial condition when the expenses of an online store exceed its income, which leads to losses.
• 💸 Debts: Financial obligations that the store must repay, including loans, debts to suppliers and other counterparties.
• 👎 Bad reputation: Negative perception of the online store by consumers and partners, which can affect sales and business in general .
• ⚖️ Damaged relationships with counterparties: Difficulties and conflicts with suppliers and other partners, which can negatively affect business .
• ⏱️ Quick start: The advantage of a ready-made online store, which allows you to start a business almost immediately after purchase.
• 📦 Tangible Assets: Equipment, goods in stock, and other physical resources that are included in an online purchase store.
• 🤝 Agreements with suppliers: Availability of already concluded and functioning agreements with suppliers and other necessary counterparties.
• 👥 Staff: Having experienced employees ready to start working right away, making it easier to start and manage your business.
• 🗂️ Customer base: List of regular customers who are already making purchases in the online store.
• 📊 Financial indicators: Key metrics such as profit, loss, revenue that allow you to evaluate the financial health of the store.
• 🕵️ Business Cleanliness: Check for legal transparency and the absence of hidden obligations or risks associated with purchasing a store.
• 💰 Business valuation: The process of determining a fair price for an online store, taking into account its current condition and potential for profit.

Disadvantages of buying a ready-made online store

I have come across situations many times when buying a ready-made online store really seems like a tempting opportunity. However, it is worth remembering that this process has its pitfalls. A ready-made online store was created by its owner in accordance with his interests, views on doing business and approaches to business. But how do they match yours?

📉 Online store may be unprofitable

From personal experience, I can say with confidence that not all sellers are transparent about the condition of their stores. Someone may claim that the business is profitable, but in reality the real situation may be completely different. To avoid falling into the trap, I always recommend studying tax returns. According to the state tax service of Ukraine, companies operating with a profit account for only 54.3%, while 19, 1% are at a loss.

Moreover, among online stores sold, this share can reach 90%. This fact, confirmed by my experience, helps to understand that every fifth business sold operates at a loss. It is especially important to pay attention to payback forecasts and compare them with data from tax authorities.

Key Stats:

• 📊 Companies operating with a profit: 54.3%
• 📈 Companies operating at zero: 25.1%
• 📉 Companies operating at a loss: 19.1%

💰 A ready-made online store may have debts

In the course of my work, I have more than once encountered the sale of online stores with debts. Moreover, such debts often significantly exceed the value of the business itself. An example is a store that I checked for one of my clients. The seller assured that everything was in order, but after checking it turned out that there were hidden debts to suppliers and fines from regulatory authorities.

Debts can be to the state, banks, suppliers and even investors. I recommend that when purchasing a sole proprietorship, you check all debt obligations, since such debts remain a personal problem for the entrepreneur as an individual. In the case of an LLC, it is important to find out all the legal aspects and check for any criminal or administrative cases.

Table for checking debts:

🚩 The online store may have a bad reputation in the market

In my opinion, a store's bad reputation is one of the hardest things to correct. I have seen examples where stores have discredited themselves in the eyes of customers, and it was extremely difficult to restore trust. Even changing the name and rebranding does not always help.

Clients often buy a ready-made online store precisely because of the already formed customer base. However, if the store's reputation is tarnished, all efforts may go down the drain. An example would be a situation where, after purchasing an online store, I discovered a lot of negative reviews left by real customers. And although it is possible to order positive comments in this situation, this method rarely actually improves the overall perception.

🤝 The company may have damaged relations with contractors

One of the key problems that you may encounter when purchasing a ready-made Internet -store, are damaged relationships with counterparties. I personally encountered a situation where the new owner had to re-build relationships with suppliers, tenants and Internet providers.

Good relationships with suppliers can mean discounts and deferred payments. In my experience, rebuilding such connections takes significant time and resources. In addition, possible conflicts with the landlord or fiscal data operators can also lead to big problems.

Best Practices Table:

Buying a ready-made online store - complex and multifaceted process. I am confident that with proper preparation and attention to detail, you can make the right choice and avoid most pitfalls.

Advantages of buying a ready-made online store

When I For the first time I decided to purchase a ready-made online store, I had some doubts. But looking back, I am sure that I made the right choice.

Instant ownership and time saving

When I purchased my first ready-made online store, it took only a couple of days to complete all the paperwork . 🎉 This saved me an incredible amount of time, freeing me from the need to develop a strategy, build a marketing model and identify a target audience. The previous owner had already done this for me, and I immediately began to implement my plan. 🌍

Avoid filing all contracts and notifications in government agencies were really helpful, especially in the case of an LLC, where all obligations are concluded with a legal entity that remains the same.

For comparison, we note that when starting a business from scratch, you need to take into account many aspects - from registering a sole proprietorship to concluding all agreements with contractors and partners. However, purchasing a ready-made online store allows you to focus on developing and optimizing your existing business.

Set of ready-made tangible assets

When purchasing a ready-made online store, I assessed the set of all necessary tangible assets. 📦 This included a fleet of computer equipment, office furniture and a set of cash register equipment. To be honest, I managed to avoid significant costs and save a lot of time.

In contrast, if you started a business from scratch, you would have to purchase every part yourself, which would take up much more resources.

It is important to note that when purchasing an existing business You need to be sure that you have all the necessary equipment for the full operation of the store.

Pre-concluded contracts with suppliers

Having reliable suppliers is a key component of any online store. 🏢 My experience has shown that finding adequate suppliers the first time is not as easy as it seems at first glance. But buying a ready-made online store solves this problem. I got a business with already established supplies of products that worked like a Swiss watch.

😎 I can say with confidence that the ability to avoid trial and error when choosing suppliers - this is a significant advantage.

Ready staff

I immediately had a close-knit team around me, and that was a real gift. 👩💻 There was no need to search and select personnel. This saved me a lot of headaches and allowed me to immediately start improving and optimizing my business.

However, there were moments when I wondered: would these people agree to work under my leadership? Fortunately, everything went smoothly and we were able to maintain team spirit and motivation.

Ready-made client base

A bonus to my online store was a ready-made client base. 👍 This is a huge advantage because it allows you to start working with existing clients. I have learned time and time again the importance of checking all the data before making a final decision. Direct proof of the presence of real customers is the profitability of the business.

Review research and social media analysis gave me a complete picture of the state of the existing client base and helped avoid the purchase of a dying office.

Review

As a result, I would recommend carefully studying all aspects of purchasing a ready-made Internet -store. Consider your personal goals and be prepared to thoroughly inspect each item before purchasing.

Financial indicators: what I took into account before purchasing a ready-made online store

When I decided to purchase a ready-made online store, the first step was a detailed check of financial indicators. I knew that without this analysis you could get into an unpleasant situation and lose money. Therefore, I began to study the various aspects that influenced the company's profit.

Financial reporting: the most important element of verification

The first thing I did was pay attention to the reporting of the online cash register. Many people think that this is a trifle, but it is this reporting that gives a complete picture of revenue, profit and cost of purchases.

🛒 Check the gross revenue and profit of. These indicators indicate the success of the business. Remember that rent, staff salaries and other overhead costs must also be deducted from profits. 👍 Large gross revenue indicates a successful business, but do not forget that it is also important to look at expenses.

📈 Dynamics of indicators. Personally, I have always paid attention to the dynamics of revenue in recent periods. If revenue is growing, that's a good sign. If it fell or seriously changed in a negative direction, this indicated problems, for example, the emergence of a strong competitor. I can confidently say that sudden negative changes require special attention.

👨💼 General analytics. The online cash register reports include data on the number of sales, average receipt and various other parameters that are also worth taking into account. I always looked at this data to see the bigger picture of the business.

Tip: Feel free to ask the entrepreneur for all available information. If he is honest and there are no secrets, he will definitely be ready to provide all the necessary data.

Table useful and unnecessary checks

How I checked the cleanliness of the business: important steps

An equally important step was checking the cleanliness of the business. My experience has shown that it is necessary to use services on government websites. Making sure the business had no debt or litigation helped me avoid any unpleasant surprises.

Checking on government websites

🔍 Tax Service. First of all, I checked the company on the tax service website. Here you can find out information about disqualification, paying taxes and reporting. This information made me understand how honestly and conscientiously the business is being conducted.

⚖️ Arbitration cases. Then I moved on to checking the file of arbitration cases. At this stage, it turned out to be important to know whether the owner was involved in legal proceedings. I have found that this interaction can indicate potential problems.

💼 State register of information on bankruptcy. I also checked the availability of information about possible bankruptcy on the state registry. In my case, this turned out to be critical, since the presence of such information could indicate possible financial difficulties in the future.

Where else you should look for information about a business is on the website of the bailiff service. Here you can find out the presence of enforcement proceedings that could seriously harm your future business.

Note: Checking the company through these services allowed me to avoid buying a problematic business and calmly continue the deal.

Table useful and unnecessary checks

Estimating the value of a business: how I determined the real price

One of the most difficult issues in purchasing a ready-made online store was estimating the cost. I wanted to make sure I wasn't overpaying, so I followed a few important guidelines.

Valuation and Comparison: Strategies for Determining Real Value

💼 Price comparison. The first thing I did was compare the business with similar offers on the market. This allowed me to understand that the maximum price for a business should not exceed the statistical average. 🚫 If they offered it much more expensive, I always refused and looked for another option.

📊 Professional rating. In my experience, it is important to hire a professional appraiser at this stage. He will give you a realistic estimate of the company's value and provide you with strong bargaining grounds. I can confidently say that this is one of the best steps you can take.

🧐 Detailed analysis of. If a business is more expensive than others, I have always wondered what exactly is the reason. Perhaps the company has advantages that its competitors do not. This analysis helped me make the right choice.

👨💼 Discussion with seller. It is also important to ask the seller why his business is worth more. I always received detailed explanations, and if they satisfied me, this confirmed the correctness of the choice.

Conclusion : Following these recommendations helped me make the right decision and avoid overpayments.

Table of useful and unnecessary steps in estimating the value of a business

These steps allowed me to make a balanced and informed decision when purchasing a ready-made online store. I'm sure these tips will be useful to you too.

Experience of the company Indesit

Company Indesit, a famous manufacturer of household appliances equipment, decided to purchase a ready-made online store to expand its customer base and increase sales through online channels. The goal of the project was to find the optimal ready-made online store that would meet all the requirements and standards of the brand.

Main goals and objectives

• Quick entry into the online market with minimal investment.
• Increasing the number of customers using the store's existing customer base.
• Ensuring smooth operations of existing staff team.
• Maintaining and developing relationships with suppliers and contractors.
• Improving financial performance through competent management of the online store.

Main problem

Main problem of the company Indesit was to find an online store with a good reputation, without debts and unprofitability, which could maintain a high level of service and offer a wide range of products.

Characteristics and interests of the target audience

Target audience Indesit includes:

• 🛍 Women and men aged 25-45 doing housework.
• 📈 People who want to buy high-quality household appliances with warranties and service.
• 👨👩👦 Families seeking comfort and convenience in their everyday life.

Key points of interest to potential clients

• Wide range of household appliances from a famous brand.
• Quality guarantee and high level of service.
• Affordable prices and regular promotions.
• Reliable payment methods and delivery.
• Constant updating of the product catalog.

Facts, figures and specific results of the project

Project results:

• 🛒 Assortment: Increase in assortment by 35%.
• 😃 Client base: Increase in new clients by 20%.
• ⏱ Order Processing Speed: Reduce order processing time by 25%.
• 💵 Financial Results: Sales increased 18% in the first quarter following acquisition.

Review table:

"Investing in a ready-made online store allowed us to significantly expand our presence in the market and improve our financial performance. We are satisfied with the results of cooperation and plan continue to work in this direction." – Peter Bratford, Indesit representative.

Acquisition a ready-made online store has become a successful strategy for the company Indesit, which made it possible to quickly and effectively enter the online market without significant time and financial costs.

Frequently asked questions on the topic: How to choose and buy a ready-made online store - tips and pitfalls

Thank you for reading and for becoming wiser! 🎉

Now you are a master in the field of buying a ready-made online store! 🎓 Understanding all the intricacies and advantages makes you a professional, able to choose the best platforms and successfully conduct business online. Ready-made online stores open the door to instant access to the market with minimal investment. 🔑 When comparing options, be sure to evaluate technical specifications , legal aspects and growth potential.

Your knowledge is now a code for success, and every comma is an inspiration for Internet prosperity. 💻 The Elbuz team is always ready to share their experience and help you start a new successful chapter of your business.

How do you like the article? Leave a comment below, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Author: Larisa Shishkova, independent expert of the Elbuz company