5 Places to Find Dropshipping Businesses for Sale

If you’re unaware, dropshipping is an ecommerce model where sellers don’t hold inventory. When a product is sold, it’s purchased from a third-party supplier who ships it directly to the customer. This eliminates the need for upfront inventory investment, simplifies operations, and allows for flexible business management and product offerings.

Due to the popularity of the dropshipping model, there are many business opportunities for budding entrepreneurs to pursue. In this post, we will discuss the main benefits of buying a dropshipping business, where the best places are to buy them, and finish by giving you some actionable advice to find the perfect business opportunity.

Why buy a dropshipping business?

Buying a dropshipping business has many advantages compared to businesses with other financial and distribution models. Let’s discuss the top 4 advantages.

They require less capital

Dropshipping businesses don’t require as much capital to grow because you don’t need to procure and keep stock. Instead, you just have to focus on marketing your store and products. This makes it a great investment as you probably won’t have to raise outside capital, meaning you will retain full ownership of the business.

Operated from anywhere

Dropshipping businesses are operated completely online, meaning they can be run anywhere worldwide. All you need is an internet connection, your website, and supplier arrangements in place, and you can operate and grow your business. This makes dropshipping businesses an excellent choice if you want to work remotely.

Easy to scale

Dropshipping businesses allow you to sell various products without stocking them physically. This means you can experiment with different product categories and then scale up what works. Also, since you don’t have to hold physical inventory, you can handle larger sales volumes without major operational changes or investments.

Reduced risk

Other retail businesses have to stock inventory and run the risk of not selling all of it. On the other hand, dropshipping businesses only have to purchase products from suppliers once a sale is made. They also have an established and proven business model. This makes dropshipping a much less risky business than other business types.

Best places to buy dropshipping businesses

You have various options if you’re looking for a dropshipping business for sale. These include specialty dropshipping business marketplaces as well as more general business marketplaces. Each option on our top 5 list has been vetted to ensure they have an excellent reputation in the industry.

1. Empire Flippers

Empire Flippers is an online platform specializing in buying and selling online businesses. Empire Flippers has become a well-known name in the world of digital business sales, largely due to the size and sophistication of the platform. One major type of business they have listed is dropshipping businesses.

Empire Flippers conducts thorough due diligence on the businesses listed for sale to ensure the accuracy and authenticity of the information sellers provide. This includes verifying revenue and traffic data, assessing the quality of earnings, and evaluating the business’s overall health. This helps you find well-vetted opportunities and reduces some of the risks of purchasing an online business. Once a transaction is completed, Empire Flippers supports the migration of the business from the seller to the buyer.

2. Acquire.com

Formerly known as Microacquire, Acquire.com is a platform for buying and selling startups and more established businesses. One of their main categories is dropshipping businesses. When you join the platform and find potential businesses to acquire, you can access essential financial metrics about the company to help you make an informed decision.

Acquire.com serves as the bridge between buyers and sellers, streamlining the acquisition process to ensure a smooth transition. They currently have thousands of businesses for sale that have been vetted to ensure the information provided is accurate. If you’re looking for a high-quality dropshipping business to purchase, check out Acquire.com.

3. Flippa

Flippa is one of the world’s top marketplaces for trading online businesses, including dropshiping stores. The platform boasts many dropshipping websites with existing customer bases, traffic, authority, and revenue. This means you can purchase a business and work immediately to grow it.

Flippa listings can be viewed for free, but they require you to sign up to view more comprehensive information and to communicate with the seller. They currently have thousands of dropshipping businesses for sale, which range in price from a few hundred dollars to over one million dollars. This means there are opportunities for all budget sizes. If you’re looking to buy a business with great expansion opportunities, Flippa is a great place to find one.

4. Website Closers

Website Closers has an extensive inventory of established dropshipping businesses available for purchase, spanning various product categories. Every listing on the platform undergoes meticulous vetting, ensuring its accuracy and reliability to ensure you can trust the information given by the seller. To find businesses to buy, visit their website and input your search preferences. This will provide you with a list of results to start vetting.

You can contact the designated business broker if you find a compelling listing. This will allow you to inquire and scrutinize the business before making an offer. Website Closers streamlines the business’s acquisition process if the deal goes ahead.

5. Dropbuild

Dropbuild is a specialist dropshipping development company that builds websites on the Shopify platform. Dropbuild is very well regarded in the dropshipping industry and has successfully worked with thousands of entrepreneurs. They provide an excellent service for people wanting to launch a new dropshipping business with all the systems in place to succeed.

The company provides a very streamlined process for building your dropshipping business. You start by choosing your product niche and the products you want to sell. Their team will then design your store, add your chosen products, and create quality high-conversion video ads to help you promote your products. If you’re happy with the end result, you can make your payment and take ownership of your store.

Tips for buying dropshipping businesses

Dropshipping businesses present a great opportunity to grow your business and wealth. When deciding on which businesses to buy, there are some simple things you can do to protect your investment.

Check the supplier agreements

Since a dropshipping business doesn’t hold inventory, you rely on your suppliers to stock and distribute products once a sale is made through your store. If your supplier suddenly stops working with you, your whole business can fail. Before purchasing an existing dropshipping business, make sure you check that there are good agreements in place with the suppliers. 

Check the financials

Before bidding on a dropshipping business, you must do rigorous due diligence. This will involve thoroughly scrutinizing all financial records and business arrangements to ensure the numbers stack up. One of the most important metrics is the amount it costs you to make each sale and the resulting profit margin. If this doesn’t stack up, the business might not be worth buying.

Buy a business you can add value to

Identify your strengths and align them with a dropshipping business to which you can add value. Leverage your expertise; for instance, if you’re skilled in influencer marketing, target dropshipping businesses selling products that would benefit from well-executed influencer campaigns. This will help you grow the business quicker and with less investment.

Evaluate the market

It’s important to assess the position of the business in the market and to study competitors to identify inherent risks. Before purchasing, construct a strategy with risk-mitigation tactics to ensure you have the resources and skills to grow the business. You should also ensure the product the business sells will likely be in demand for a long time and isn’t a fad.

Check the terms of the sale

Before purchasing a drop shipping business, meticulously review contracts, licenses, intellectual property rights, and legal agreements linked to the business. This ensures a seamless ownership transition, shielding you from potential legal problems. For example, you may want the seller to agree to a non-compete clause to ensure they don’t start a competitor immediately.

The bottom line

Dropshipping is an excellent type of ecommerce business that provides owners with flexibility, reduced overheads, global accessibility, product diversity, and scalability. Regardless of the size of your entrepreneurial ambition, there are many great opportunities to pursue. Regardless of which marketplace or service you use to purchase a dropshipping business, you need to conduct comprehensive due diligence.