Shopify stores for sale: what you're actually looking at
Two very different products get sold under the same four words, at prices that aren't in the same universe. One is a template. The other is a business.
Search that phrase and the results share almost nothing except the wording. Working out which kind you're looking at is most of the decision.
We should say what we are before describing the landscape, because it shapes what follows. Ecomma buys ecommerce businesses and then operates them. We're one of the options below rather than a neutral referee, and we'll be as clear about where we're the wrong fit as where we're the right one.
The two things being sold
A prebuilt store is a Shopify theme with products loaded into it. It has never taken an order, so there's no traffic and no customer list. Whatever supplier connection exists came out of a directory rather than a negotiation. You're buying a few hours of setup work, and the price reflects that.
An established business has revenue you can verify and a supplier who knows the account by name. It sells on a multiple of its profit. What you're buying is the demand, not the storefront.
Both get listed under the same four words. Only one of them is a business.
What you're actually paying for
Ask what stops working the day the seller leaves. On a prebuilt store the answer is nothing, since nothing was working yet. On an established business it's the part you have to price: who knows the supplier, and who runs the Meta and Google ad accounts.
That question is also why the cheap end of this market disappoints people so reliably. A store with no customers isn't a discounted business. It's a different purchase.
Where to look, by what you're after
Prebuilt and starter stores. Shopify's own theme marketplace, plus the store-builder services. Low cost, and what you're buying is setup time.
Open marketplaces. Flippa lists everything from a few thousand dollars upward. Broad selection, and the filtering is yours to do.
Curated brokerages. Empire Flippers, Quiet Light, FE International, Website Closers. Each vets a business before listing and brokers it to close. You operate what you buy.
Software-first marketplaces. Acquire.com is where SaaS and tech-enabled startups trade. If you’re buying software rather than a physical-product brand, the buyer pool there fits better than a generalist ecommerce broker.
Direct buyers who operate. This is where Ecomma sits. We buy ecommerce businesses and run them. When we sell one on, our team keeps running the marketing and the operations for the new owner. 90% of buyers keep us operating after they buy. We've made 80+ acquisitions across the US, EU and UAE.
Where Ecomma is the wrong choice
You want to shop the whole market. We sell from our own deal flow. Flippa will show you more in an afternoon than we will in a quarter.
You want competitive bidding to set the price. One counterparty means a negotiation rather than an auction. Use a venue where several buyers see the same business.
You want to run it yourself. Our operating model is most of what we offer, so you'd be paying for something you don't need.
Common questions
How much does a Shopify store cost to buy?
A prebuilt store is a setup fee. An established business trades on a multiple of its annual profit, and that multiple moves on how much of the business survives the owner leaving. Supplier concentration and paid-traffic dependence do most of that work.
Are prebuilt Shopify stores worth buying?
As a shortcut past the setup, sometimes. As a business, no. There isn't a business in it yet: the store is the easy part, and customers are the expensive part that a prebuilt store hasn't got.
What's the safest way to buy a Shopify store?
Buy one whose numbers somebody reviewed with money at stake, and settle who operates it after close before you sign.
If you want a direct conversation
See what buying from Ecomma looks like, or read how the operating side works once you own it.
Speak to one of our investment consultants.
Sources and dates
Ecomma's figures come from ecomma.co, current at the time of writing. No third-party fee appears here on purpose: marketplace pricing changes and stale numbers circulate for years. Check each firm's terms on its own site. Written August 2026.