E-commerce
The sources agree. Your platform dependencies are still the risk.
E-commerce is one of the few sectors in our set where two independent publishers broadly agree on the range. That helps with benchmarking and settles very little about a specific business, because what a buyer prices here is dependency: on a marketplace, on a traffic source, on a supplier, and on the accounts that hold them.
The record
What your record already holds.
- Marketplace and platform account records, including standing and history
- Supplier agreements, pricing, and lead times
- Traffic and acquisition data by channel with cost history
- Product level margin and returns history
- Inventory records, ageing, and fulfilment arrangements
- Trademark, brand, and any intellectual property registrations
- Customer data handling and the terms under which it was collected
The questions
The questions worth answering.
- “What share of revenue comes through a single marketplace or channel?”
- “What is our account standing on each platform, and has it ever been suspended?”
- “Which supplier relationships are contractual, and which are purchase order to purchase order?”
- “What does customer acquisition actually cost by channel, and how has it moved?”
- “Are our trademarks and brand registrations held by the selling entity?”
- “How much revenue is repeat purchase rather than paid acquisition?”
Key-person risk
When someone leaves, the reasoning shouldn’t leave with them.
In many e-commerce businesses the owner holds the supplier relationships, the advertising judgment, and the account access that the business depends on. Transfer of platform accounts is governed by the platform rather than by the parties, and a buyer will want that understood before closing rather than discovered after.
High-stakes moments
When the record has to answer.
Platform dependency
A business concentrated on one marketplace carries a risk the buyer cannot control. Account standing, policy history, and any suspensions are examined directly.
Supplier concentration
Where one supplier provides most of the catalogue, the buyer wants to know what commitment exists and whether terms survive a change of ownership.
Brand and intellectual property
Trademarks and brand registrations must sit with the entity being sold. Where they do not, that is discovered in diligence and delays closing.
The published record
What the sources actually say, and what they do not.
Three independent publishers report on owner earnings and their figures sit close together. Our estimator leads with what e-commerce businesses actually sold for, drawn from the two transaction sources, and names every publisher in the record beneath it. One reports a band, one an average drawn from a large set of closed transactions, and one the middle half of businesses recorded as sold. The average falls near the upper end of the advisory band rather than in the middle, and the transaction band sits above the advisory band rather than below it, which is the opposite of the pattern this sector's neighbours show. Each scopes its figures to smaller businesses, so the agreement describes that segment rather than the sector generally.
2.0x to 3.5x owner earnings
ExitsHub. Applies to owner earnings method stated to suit businesses under $5,000,000 of revenue. updated 15 April 2026.
3.33x owner earnings, an average rather than a range
Sundance Financial. Applies to average of 339 closed transactions reported in 2025. updated March 2026.
2.6x to 4.0x owner earnings, the middle half of recorded sales
BizBuySell. Applies to website and ecommerce businesses reported sold on BizBuySell, 2021 through 2025. data through 2025.
Verelume does not average these publishers or choose between them. Where they disagree, the disagreement is the finding.
What diligence concentrates on here
- Revenue concentration by marketplace and by channel
- Platform account standing, policy history, and any suspensions
- Supplier agreements and whether terms survive a change of ownership
- Customer acquisition cost by channel and how it has moved
- Repeat purchase revenue against paid acquisition
- Trademark and brand registrations held by the selling entity
- Inventory ageing and fulfilment arrangements
What Verelume does not do
Verelume does not provide legal, tax, or intellectual property advice, and does not value a business. It helps your team find and understand what your own records say, with the sources attached, and flags where documents conflict or where a claim has no documentation behind it.
Related use cases
See what your e-commerce businesse's record can answer.
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