The Ecom Brokers Difference

Ecom Brokers is a leading specialist e-commerce brokerage. Based in the UK, we operate globally.

We are:

• Experienced e-commerce sellers, M&A specialists and accountants. We understand ecom sales from all perspectives
• Fairly priced. We believe you shouldn’t have to give away a massive chunk of your business when you sell it. But we’re not the cheapest either. You get what you pay for…
• Thought leaders in e-commerce sales, mergers, and e-commerce operations. We’ve been there and done it.

Ecom Brokers are award-winning professionals with a proven track record in actually doing what we say. With our own 7-figure ecom brands under our belts and decades of experience in M&A and accounting – we’re recommended by leading 8 and 9 figure professionals in e-commerce.

If you want us to represent you – please contact us. We only deal with a limited number of clients at any given time to make sure we’re 100% focused on your exit.

Ready to find out why using Ecom Brokers is preferable to selling directly to a buyer, and far better than using one of the overpriced ‘flippers’ or “cheap n cheerful” consultants? Read on…

Ecom Brokers vs Direct Sale

A buyer has approached you…or you approached a buyer. You may be considering selling directly to them.

But you shouldn’t. Because…

a) You’ll leave money on the table

When you go direct, you don’t get a high enough price and you don’t get the best terms. When we handle it for you, we get the best price to reflect the real value of your business because we market your business to all potential buyers. It’s far too much work to do yourself.

b) We can do it for you, and make you more money

You think you’ve worked hard on your business, poured your heart and soul into it. Now try selling it. It’s an enormous amount of work. Not only are you trying to set up the sale, but you’re trying to keep running the business at the same time.

Imagine all the stuff you do for your business, then add preparing it for sale, marketing it, and answering all the potential buyer’s questions (and there’s a LOT). Not fun.

You need the experts to do it for you. That’s Ecom Brokers.

c) We’re experts on ALL sides.

You absolutely know your business better than anyone. But we’re also e-commerce experts: we’ve built, scaled and sold international 7-figure brands. Add our 20+ years of financial experience and you’ve got the perfect combination. We’re not just brokers – we deeply understand the ecom game – which is vital when you’re looking for the right partners to sell your business. We’ll set you up to sell, find the buyer and get the deal done.

Ecom Brokers vs Standard Brokers

There are two types of ‘standard’ brokers. ‘Flippers’ and ‘Consultants’

Flippers

Flippers basically ‘list’ your business for sale on their website. Kind of like the eBay of businesses.

Essentially you agree to sell your business with them, they pull reports from your selling accounts and website and place a value on your business. Then they ‘list’ it. That’s it. They’re just middlemen. And their fees are crazy.

Consultants

Recently there’s been a rise in a ‘consultant model’. Typically, these ‘exit consultants’ will pull you in through a Facebook group or a podcast.

This ‘cheap n cheerful’ approach boasts that it has very low fees. That’s true. So low in fact that it would be impossible for a professional broker to actually do anything in terms of working on your deal.

This model typically involves the consultant simply referring your business to their list of buyers, and taking a referral fee (usually $25k-$50$k) from the buyer in addition to the percentage they charge you! Not cool.

It gets worse. The referral fee they take from the buyer comes from the same pot of money the buyer would have paid to you. A triple-whammy – you end up on your own directly with the buyer, you get a poor deal, AND you give away two chunks – the commission to the consultant and the kickback the consultant takes from the buyer.

Ecom Brokers vs FBA Marketplaces

In response to all three of the above disasters (direct sale, flipper brokers and ‘consultants’) – another model has emerged. Enter the ‘FBA Market’. This style of marketplace claims to have cracked the code. No broker fees, and yet you’ll still have a competitive environment in which the best deal wins. Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?  That’s because it is.

There are several problems with this model. Here are the big two:

First, you DO pay a commission. The buyers factor the fee they pay to the marketplace into their offer and chop it off what they would have paid you.

Secondly, the financials are farmed out to a third party. Is that going to be the bespoke hands-on service you’re looking for? With a full, in-depth assessment of the true value of your business (addbacks and all!) by accountants who deeply understand e-commerce?…

There is a better way

The Ecom Brokers Way

With Ecom Brokers, you’re not just getting a ‘middleman’ to connect a seller and a buyer. You’re getting e-commerce experts who will work with you to position and prepare your business for the best possible valuation, deal and exit.

We look after everything – we vet your business, filter out the right buyers for you, and can even arrange your M&A legal representation for the final negotiation and deal sign-off.

Simply put – when you use the wrong broker, or don’t bother with a broker – you are selling yourself short.

The best part? If your business isn’t in the ideal position to sell yet – we work with you to get it ready.

This could be with a view sell in 6 weeks, 6 months or even 2 years.

Neither the flippers nor the consultants do this. They’ll simply sell your business ‘as is’, which benefits them but not you.

With our experience on both the e-commerce operations side, and as accountants – we help you to get your business sorted from top to bottom. This both maximises the value and makes it as attractive as possible to a buyer.

Neither the flippers nor the consultants have the real lived experience on all sides that Ecom Brokers has. We’ve been there and done it. We’ve built, scaled, and sold our own multimillion-pound international brands, we’ve brokered deals, and we are experts on the finances!

Analysis and Positioning

We understand – You worked hard to grow your business. You deserve an honest broker who knows the process, has experience on all sides of the sale (seller, buyer, broker, accountant) and knows the market.

With our combined experience in running, scaling and selling our own brands; 20+ years of experience in M&A and as specialist e-commerce accountants we’re able to analyse your business and develop a deep understanding of your company’s strengths and opportunities.

Using our accountancy methodologies, we’re able to quickly add value prior to marketing your business to potential buyers. Whilst our ecom experience means we know the market and how to find the right buyer to take your business to the next level. Finally, by taking the time to understand your business this way – we can position your business for the best possible valuation, deal structure and exit, where flippers and consultants simply can’t.

Experience

Most of the flipper brokers and consultants are pretty good at what they do. But unfortunately what they do isn’t necessarily in your best interests. To get the best possible deal for e-commerce sellers you really need to have lived experience as a seller, an M&A expert and an accountant – we have all that.

Buyers

When ‘flipper brokers’ sell your business, they pull the data, pick a valuation and then throw your business at their buyer database and see what sticks.

The ‘consulting’ model involves emailing a list of buyers and ‘referring’ your business to them. Then mopping up both a referral fee from the buyer and a commission from you. Shady.

Here’s what we do.

After we deeply understand your business, we’ll put together a precise valuation. Then (and this part is critical) we’ll approach the right buyers for your business. This means buyers who are in the best position to take your brand forward. This is crucial, because (depending on deal structure) a significant proportion of your payment may rest on the success of the brand in the hands of the new owner for the next year, two years or more. We only present your business to carefully selected buyers.

Get Started

The best way to get started is to fill in our ‘Sell Your Business’ form – here.

We’ll be in touch to schedule a call and get the ball rolling. There’s no obligation and no hard sell. We’d love to have a thorough conversation with you and work out what’s best for you.

Pricing

We have an initial valuation consult call together – for free.

For a detailed valuation and vetting, we charge a fee of £500, which is waived if you choose to sell with us.

When the business sells, we take a commission of the price.

Our fees are fair (remember we’re e-commerce business owners too). We don’t take a massive chunk like the ‘flippers’, and we get you maximum value (unlike the ‘consultant model’). Because we do the work to get your business positioned to sell for the best possible price, to the best buyer – our service more than pays for itself.

Ready to sell your business for the best possible price? Click below to get started. No obligation, no hard sell. Just solid, professional advice.