When should you sell?

When is the best time to sell your Amazon FBA business?

Deciding when to sell your Amazon FBA business is a complex question with no easy answer. Selling too early means potentially leaving money on the table, while waiting too long could lead to issues that devalue your hard-earned progress.

The impact of this decision will resonate through your personal life, emotional well-being, and relationships. It’s the culmination of years of grit and determination; quite naturally, you’ll want to achieve a good return for your efforts. 

But the market values businesses on performance, not the sweat and tears poured into them. And markets (and life) are unpredictable. You may plan to sell in a year, but events outside your control could nudge you towards an earlier sale at a price lower price than anticipated.

After selling our own company, we debated whether we had timed it right. Our business was growing, so waiting could have meant a higher valuation. But then the acquisition market shifted, and business multiples fell, making our decision seem fortuitous, even if it was more luck than good planning.

While we can't pinpoint the perfect time for you to sell, we can guide you through the factors to consider when making your decision. This module aims to help you balance risk and reward, enabling you to make an informed, confident choice about when to sell your Amazon FBA business.

Factors that influence your sale timeline

Many factors will help to determine when you should sell your business. We can split them into two primary groups: personal and business factors.

Personal factors include your goals, physical and emotional health, and whether you are prepared to sell. The business factors can be divided into those in your control (to some degree at least), like your company’s performance and valuation, and those outside your direct control, like the state of the economy.

Let's take a closer look at the personal factors.