Northeast Online Gift Retailer Sold for $75K, Offer Up 25%

About the Business

• Industry: E-commerce – Online Specialty Gift Retailer

• Location: Northeast

• Size: $250K–$500K in annual revenue, under $50K in cash flow, run part-time by the owners

• Sale price: $75,000

• Listing to signed LOI: 225 days

• Signed LOI to close: 75 days

The Challenge: Handing Off a Store Built for Growth

The owners were ready to retire and ran the store part-time from home. They wanted it to keep growing in the hands of someone who wanted to grow it.

225 Days to a Signed LOI: Keeping Two Buyers in Play

What happened at every stage

1. Valuation: Baton priced the business at about 2.5 times cash flow, with inventory, equipment, customer lists and the website included.

2. Buyer Outreach: Baton syndicated the listing to outside marketplaces, which is where the winning buyer found it. 170 buyers viewed the listing, 56 opened the data room and the owners met four of them.

3. Offer Selection and Negotiation Support: The first LOI came in at $60,000, and Baton countered on the owners' behalf. When that buyer stalled, Baton re-engaged a second interested buyer to keep two in play, and the first buyer came up to $75,000 in cash.

4. Diligence and Closing Support: To set how much inventory would be on hand at closing, the Baton advisor proposed a $40,000 minimum and both sides accepted it. The advisor set target dates on the first diligence call and held weekly check-ins through the close.

The Results

The buyer is a first-time buyer with a marketing and project-management background who runs the store hands-on full-time from rented space nearby. Through Baton's process, the business:

• Sold for $75,000, all cash at closing, in an asset sale

• Drew an offer that rose 25% from the first LOI

• Closed with no lender and no seller note, 75 days after the LOI

What's next for the owners?

The owners sold to retire, after the buyer shadowed them in person to learn order packing and their systems.

Advice and Lessons for Future Sellers

1. Keep more than one buyer warm. Re-engaging a second buyer helped move the first one from $60,000 to $75,000.

2. Settle inventory with a number. A fixed inventory minimum at closing gave both sides a clear target.

3. Online businesses travel well. A store run from home relocated easily to the buyer's own space.