Selling your store on Exchange Marketplace
Exchange Marketplace makes it easy and secure to sell your Shopify store online. Exchange has partnered with Escrow.com to ensure that listings, payments, and transfers are streamlined and hassle-free.
Topics on this page
Eligibility to list your store
Process overview
Exchange user requirements
Eligibility to list your store
Currently, only Shopify stores can create live listings on Exchange. If you own a Shopify store, you can sell it regardless of sales. There is no minimum sales requirement to list your store on Exchange.
Before you can list your store on Exchange, you need to meet the following requirements:
Only Shopify store owners can access and install the Exchange app on a Shopify store.
Your Shopify account needs to be on a paid or development plan. This includes Shopify’s Pause and Build online store plan.
Your store cannot be on the Shopify Plus plan. If your store is currently on Shopify Plus, you will need to contact Shopify Plus Support to discuss negotiating your contract and the possibility of downgrading to an eligible plan.
Your store cannot be on trial. You will need to pay your first subscription fee and then wait one day before you are eligible.
If you use Shopify Payments, your account needs to be in good standing. If your store has been removed from Shopify Payments, you cannot list your store on the Exchange.
If your store is using or has ever used Shopify Balance, you cannot list your store on the Exchange.
You cannot have active funding through Shopify Capital.
You cannot have any open issues with the Shopify Risk Team, Shopify Recovery Team, or Shopify Legal Team. You will need to resolve any open issues before you can list your store for sale.
All product listings are subject to the Shopify Terms of Service and Partner Program Agreement
Please refer to the Exchange Terms for all restrictions related to the Exchange Marketplace.
Process Overview
The process for selling a business on Exchange can be complex, depending on the business involved. But in general, the process follows these steps:
Make sure you meet the qualifications to list a business and have reviewed the Exchange Marketplace guidelines.
Install the Exchange Marketplace app.
Create a listing for your business and submit it for review.
Once it’s reviewed, publish your listing.
The buyer sends you a message.
You answer the buyer’s questions.
The buyer sends you an offer.
You accept the offer.
You create an Escrow transaction in the Exchange app.
Notify the buyer of acceptance of the terms and submit payment for the Escrow transaction.
You receive a notification that the assets are being transferred to the buyer.
The buyer marks all assets as received in Escrow.
The buyer enters the inspection period.
The buyer marks all assets as accepted in Escrow.
The funds are paid to you from Escrow and should arrive in your bank account within 5 business days.
The Shopify Accounts team will set up the buyer as the new store owner within 3 business days. The Shopify Accounts team will ensure that your billing and payment information is securely removed during this process.
You will receive a confirmation email once the store ownership transfer is complete.
Exchange User Requirements
Our goal is to provide a fair and secure environment for anyone who wants to buy or sell a business on Exchange. To achieve this goal, we have the following requirements and guidelines:
You need to be 18 years of age or older.
If you live in one of the following countries or regions that Escrow does not support, you cannot use Exchange:
Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Cuba, Cote d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe
Do not use Exchange Marketplace to promote products or services.
Exchange Marketplace does not support auction formats. Sellers need to set an asking price and keep it constant to avoid confusing buyers and creating a negative experience.
Do not ask for or include personal email addresses, phone numbers, or any other form of contact information on product pages or in any communications, and do not conduct conversations outside of the Exchange marketplace. Buyers and sellers should communicate only through Exchange.
Always let Exchange make changes to store ownership for you.
Exchange does not support searching for business partners. To list a store on Exchange, the entire store needs to be sold in its entirety.
All product pages should be unique and not copies of existing Exchange product pages.
Online store templates sold on Exchange need to be unique. To avoid issues caused by unhappy buyers, each store sold must not be a copy of another store.
Unlike regular development online stores created by partners, stores listed on Exchange are not eligible for commissions.
You may need to process a Know Your Customer request to confirm your identity.
Do not encourage any party to start payment transactions outside of Exchange’s payment process. If a transaction is completed outside of the Exchange Marketplace Escrow.com process, Shopify cannot assist you with any issues related to that transaction. Starting a new transaction outside of Exchange using Escrow.com is considered out of compliance with the authorized Exchange payment process. All official Exchange transactions will list exchange-payments@shopify.com as the agent on the Escrow.com transaction.
NOTE
Failure to meet any of these requirements and guidelines may result in you being permanently banned from using the Exchange Marketplace.
Topics related to this section
Listing your business on Exchange Marketplace
Transferring ownership of a business
Original details from Shopify Merchant Website:
Selling a business on Exchange Marketplace
Exchange Marketplace makes it easy and secure for you to sell your Shopify business online. Exchange has partnered with Escrow.comto ensure that the payment, listing and transfer processes are straightforward and painless.
On this page
Listing eligibility
Process overview
Exchange user requirements
Listing eligibility
Currently, only Shopify businesses can create livelistings on Exchange. If you have a Shopify business, however, you can sell it regardless of the number of sales.There is nominimum number of sales required in order to list your business on Exchange.
You need to meet the following requirements before you list your business on Exchange:
Only the Shopifystore ownercan access and install the Exchange app in a Shopify store.
Your Shopify account needs to be on a paid plan or adevelopment plan. This includes Shopify’sPause and Buildonline store plan.
Your business can’t be on Shopify Plus plan. If your business is currently on Shopify Plus, then you need to contact Shopify Plus Support and discuss the possibility of negotiating your contract and downgrading to an eligible plan.
Your business can’t be in its trial period. You need to wait one day after paying your first Shopify subscription fee to be eligible.
If you use Shopify Payments, then your account needs to be in good standing. If your business has been removed from Shopify Payments, then you can’t list your business on Exchange.
If you use or if you’ve ever used Shopify Balance on your store, then you can’t list your store on Exchange.
You can’t have active financing from Shopify Capital.
You can’t have any open tickets with the Shopify Risk team, the Shopify Recovery team, or the Shopify Legal team. Any outstanding issues need to be resolved before you can list your store for sale.
All listings need to adhere to theShopify Terms of ServiceandPartner Program agreement
Refer to theExchange termsfor all limitations pertaining to Exchange Marketplace.
Process overview
The process of selling a business on Exchange can be complicated, depending on the business involved. But in general, it follows these steps:
Ensure you meet the listing eligibility and have reviewed theExchange Marketplace guidelines.
Install theExchange Marketplace app.
Create a listing for your business and submit it for review.
After your review is approved, publish your listing.
The buyer will send you a message.
You respond to the buyer’s questions.
The buyer sends you an offer.
You accept the offer.
You create the Escrow transaction in your Exchange app.
The buyer is notified to accept the terms and submit payment to the Escrow transaction.
You are notified to transfer assets to the buyer.
The buyer marks all assets as received in Escrow.
The buyer performs their inspection period.
The buyer marks all assets as accepted in Escrow.
Funds are disbursed to you from Escrow and should arrive in your bank account within 5 business days.
The buyer is made the new store owner by the Shopify Accounts team within 3 business days. The Shopify Accounts team ensures that your billing and payment information is securely removed during this process.
You receive an email confirmation when the store ownership transfer is complete.
Exchange user requirements
It is our goal to provide a fair and safe environment for anyone who wants to buy or sell a business on Exchange. To help achieve You need to be at least 18 years old. If you live in one of the following countries or regions that Escrow does not support, then you can’t use Exchange: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cuba, C?te d’Ivoire, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Moldova, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Panama, Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Suriname, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Uganda, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Yemen, Zimbabwe
Don’t use Exchange Marketplace to promote a product or service.
Exchange Marketplace doesn’t support an auction format. Sellers are expected to set and adhere to their asking price so that they don’t confuse buyers and create a negative experience.
Don’t ask for or include a personal email address, phone number, or any other form of contact information in a listing or any communications, and don’t move the conversation off of the Exchange Marketplace. Buyers and sellers should only communicate through Exchange.
Always have Exchange make store ownership changes for you.
Exchange doesn’t support searches for business partnerships. A business needs to be sold in its entirety in order to be listed on Exchange.
All listings should be unique and not copies of existing Exchange listings.
Online store templates that are sold on Exchange need to be unique. To avoid issues with dissatisfied buyers, it’s important that each business sold is not a duplicated version of another one.
Unlike regular development online stores made by partners, businesses that are listed on Exchange arenoteligible for a commission.
You might be subjected to a "Know your customer" request, to confirm your identity.
Don't encourage either party to begin a payment transaction outside of Exchange'spayment flow. If a transaction is completed outside of the Exchange Marketplace Escrow.com flow, then Shopify can't help you with any issues that involve that transaction. Using Escrow.comoutsideof Exchange to begin a new transaction is considered outside of the authorized Exchange payment flow. All official Exchange transactions will haveexchange-payments@shopify.comlisted as the broker in the Escrow.com transaction.
Caution
Failing to meet any of these requirements and guidelines can result in you being permanently banned from using the Exchange Marketplace.
In this section
Listing your business for sale on Exchange Marketplace
Transferring ownership of your business
Article content source: Shopify merchant official website