Should I Buy a Store on the Shopify Exchange? 2 New Rules for Anyone Building an E-Commerce Brand
Note:
We love Shopify (and use it for several properties across the MindfulMarketplace.com platform) — BUT, many of our readers and subscribers are looking for a shortcut, or a “hack” for quickly making money with an ecommerce brand, and think that buying a “pre-built” store is the smart strategy (and shortcut) for making it happen.
The truth? There ARE some great deals to be had on the Shopify Exchange. But, there are far more BAD deals (and deceiving deals) that folks who aren’t familiar with online marketing metrics, and the various ways one may seek to deceive a potential buyer, even with “real” numbers.
This video outlines a few things you ought to be mindful of, when negotiating with a Shopify seller on the Exchange.
Rule #1?
Always ask good questions — why did XYZ store do 20K in sales in June, but only 300 bucks in August? (don’t laugh…..there are plenty of stores with these sorts of metrics, and many sell for HIGH dollars that are cringeworthy to see)
Or, if there is a brand new store with 20K a month in sales that’s consistent?
Rule #2.
Ask how much of that traffic is ORGANIC search traffic, (free) vs paid PPC (or FB) campaigns, where once the ads stop….so does the traffic, and so do the sales. (a very common tactic is to LOSE money on PPC for a few months on a brand new store, show large sales/transaction numbers, and “flip” the store for a lot of money, to an unwitting buyer, on breakeven, or losing campaigns.
Our best advice?
It’s usually best to START your own brand on the Shopify platform, and build it from scratch.
There are always exceptions, of course. But as a rule, you are best served launching your own thing, controlling what you create, and building your brand, rather than buying one.
🔥 http://goodkarma.link/shopify — Launch your Shopify store for free! Thinking about buying a store from the Shopify Exchange? A quick list of 6 questions you ought to ask in advance, to save yourself hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of upfront costs that are un-neccessary, un-needed and quite frankly, a complete waste of money.
Originally published at themindfulmarket.com on September 7, 2018.
