Seven Signs It’s Time to Exit Your Amazon FBA Busines

This is a sponsored article submitted to us by Elevate Brands.

You grew your Amazon FBA business from the ground up, taking it from a seedling of an idea to a full-fledged operation. You won customers and reaped profits. You expanded your empire into brave new territories. You came, you saw, you conquered — but now, you’re ready to move on. Business owners choose to exit for a number of reasons, and when they do, they can be rewarded handsomely for their hard work. ( Pro-tip: It’s important to know what to expect when selling your Amazon FBA business so you can be sure not to leave any money on the table.) How will you know if the time is right for you to sell? It’s different for everyone, but we’ve pulled together the top reasons sellers give for exiting their Amazon FBA business. If any of these resonate, that may be an indication that it’s time for you to look for a buyer. After all, there’s a whole big world out there. What are you going to do next?

1. You’re ready for financial freedom. Maybe you’ve got your eyes set on retirement, or maybe you’re at the other end of the spectrum and want to be more present with your busy family. Maybe a new investment idea has been percolating that you’re ready to test out. Whatever the motivator, you’ve got that itch, and you’re ready for what’s next. Selling your Amazon FBA business can help finance your future, whether that’s the next great startup or a much-deserved slowdown.
2. The complexities of running an Amazon FBA business have become too much to handle. It’s a common tale: what started out as a one-person shop has grown into quite the operation, with manufacturing, logistics, marketing, vendors— the list goes on. Growth, of course, is a good thing, but often, managing all the fine details becomes burdensome. In that case, it may make sense to sell to an accomplished team who can propel your brilliant idea all the way to the moon.
3. You’re worried about single-channel risk. Diversify is the first lesson of investing, and depending on your financial goals, that may apply to running your Amazon FBA business, as well. Not all sellers feel comfortable relying on a single channel to distribute their product, and rather than put all their eggs in one proverbial online shopping cart, they opt to exit and move onto something else. An experienced buyer who specializes in the ins and outs of Amazon can take on that risk for you while giving you the payday you deserve.
4. Business is booming, but you aren’t ready or able to invest in a team. Managing a team isn’t easy. Hiring employees, handling payroll, weeding through healthcare plans and dealing with personnel issues can take a lot of time and energy that distract from running your Amazon FBA business — not to mention a lot of capital — and frankly, that sort of thing isn’t for everyone. If the business side is what lights you up, it may be time to sell so you can go back to focusing on what you love.
5. International expansion is complicated. You’ve mastered your domestic domain, and the next logical step is to tap into the seven billion or so people who live beyond our borders. Going global, however, is an immense endeavor for an Amazon FBA business. It requires a whole new vocabulary (sometimes literally), familiarity with complex legal and tax regulations, new partner and vendor relationships, varying compliance standards and, well, are you exhausted yet? That may mean it’s time to exit.
6. Competitive dynamics are hard to keep up with. Today’s world moves at the speed of light — or at the speed of the nearest WiFi network, at least. Customers are fickle, and consumer tastes and behaviors change frequently. Social media platforms swell with users only to lose them, seemingly arbitrarily. Category innovations and changing regulations require lightning-quick reflexes and adaptability. In short, competing in this ever-shifting landscape is tough. Selling your Amazon FBA business removes that pressure and allows you to change gears.
7. Let’s face it: You’re stressed out by Amazon. With a market cap of nearly $1.7 trillion (yes, that’s a T) dollars, Amazon is one of the most valuable companies of all time. Its immense scale and profitability mean that independent sellers don’t have much bargaining power when it comes to dealing with the ecommerce behemoth. Sellers who struggle with Amazon’s changing T&C, regulations and event listing algorithms risk getting delisted or having their products catastrophically drop in search rankings. It can be a lot to navigate, and some sellers opt to cash in on their hard work by selling their Amazon FBA business to an experienced buyer.

If you want to talk with us about the right time to sell your business or just to chat, find us at Booth 2115 at Prosper Show 2021.

About The Author:

Rob Bell, Chief Growth Office, Elevate Brands