If you’re searching for a Shopify Exchange Marketplace alternative, you may have got wind of the news that Shopify closed down its marketplace business on November 1^st, 2022. But not to worry, there are a couple of good Shopify Exchange Marketplaces where you can buy or sell your Shopify store and other ecommerce businesses.

Source: Shopify Exchange Marketplace

This article will show you the best marketplaces and brokerages where you can buy and list your ecommerce store for sale. Let’s dive in.

What was the Shopify Exchange Marketplace?

The Exchange Marketplace was a free platform launched in 2017 by Shopify for store owners and business enthusiasts to buy and sell Shopify ecommerce stores. Shopify store owners could list their businesses for sale and easily attract interested buyers. One good thing about the platform was that when Shopify store owners listed their stores, the listing was integrated with their Shopify account so buyers could access the business’s real numbers such as traffic, revenue, etc. – so much for due diligence.

However, some parts of the business didn’t reflect well on Shopify, such as the lack of a proper vetting process to determine the actual value of the stores. This made it difficult for buyers to know if they were getting their money’s worth. Also, running a marketplace is an entire business on its own, and it seemed to interfere with Shopify’s core business of providing ecommerce tools for merchants to build their online stores.

So if you’re an ecommerce store owner looking to sell your business or a buyer looking for some of the best deals, we’ll explore other marketplaces where you can buy or sell online stores.

6 Best Shopify Marketplace Alternatives to Buy and Sell Ecommerce Stores

These are some of the best Shopify Exchange Marketplace alternatives where you can buy Shopify and other ecommerce stores as well as other types of businesses.

1. Microns.io

Source: Microns.io

Microns.io is our very own platform and one of the best marketplaces for buying and selling online businesses – while it may seem like we’re being biased, we aren’t. We sold 40 startups in 2023. One feature that makes us special in the business marketplace landscape is our support for the sale of small businesses as opposed to doing only large deals like the other alternatives on this list. You can find listings as affordable as $300 and as expensive as $900,000, all making some form of revenue.

Source: X

We don’t only support the sale of newsletters, web and mobile apps, micro-startups like micro-SaaS businesses. Shopify and ecommerce stores are some of the most popular acquisition deals on our marketplace, making us a great Shopify Exchange alternative. We also vet the businesses listed on our platform to ensure metrics are accurate and there are no scam listings: however, we advise buyers to do their due diligence.

You can feel safe with our Escrow service, Transfer by Microns, designed for the secure transfer of funds from buyer to seller. And we’ve recently won Product of the Day on Product Hunt.

2. Flippa

Source: Flippa

Flippa is the oldest and one of the largest online marketplaces for the exchange of online businesses. There are over 5000 stores and other business listings on the platform. They’re known for the buying and selling of SaaS startups, domains, websites, content businesses (like blogs), and other online businesses.

They also provide a paid due diligence service which gives buyers analytical reports on competitors, business financial health, risk assessment, and traffic. Sellers can use their free valuation tool to evaluate their business. However, their charges and commission may be seen as too high when compared with other alternatives like Microns.

READ: Microns.io vs Flippa

3. Empire Flippers

Source: Empire Flippers

Empire Flippers is one of the best marketplaces and Shopify Exchange alternatives where you can sell your business. Unlike Flippa, they carry out a high level of due diligence and vet businesses – this is because they serve as both a brokerage and marketplace.

Also, you can buy other businesses than ecommerce stores – businesses sell very fast because they have high-net-worth buyers. They support the acquisition of content businesses, tech startups such as SaaS startups, Amazon FBA, and Amazon KDP, etc.

Only businesses doing at least $100,000 in revenue are listed on the platform, so small businesses aren’t allowed, and their commissions are quite high due to the quality of their services.

READ: Microns.io vs Empire Flippers

4. FE International

Source: FE International

FE International is like Empire Flippers in that they offer brokerage and M&A advisory services to people looking to buy businesses. They also vet businesses to determine the accuracy of the numbers provided by buyers – this has earned them a sales success rate of around 94%.

They also support the acquisition of Shopify and other ecommerce stores, tech companies, and other businesses. However, like Empire Flippers, they only support large-scale deals due to the quality of their service. Buyers can’t reach out to sellers to negotiate a deal: all the deals are handled by FE International.

READ: Best Profitable Micro-SaaS Ideas

5. Acquire

Source: Acquire

Acquire, formerly known as MicroAcquire, is another good platform for buying and selling Shopify stores: however, most of the acquisitions on the platform are tech companies, especially SaaS startups and Shopify apps. The average acquisition deal costs over $500,000.

They offer fast transactions and provide some due diligence, but buyers are advised to do their due diligence. While they’re not an advisory firm, they provide a service (much like a marketplace) where you can gain access to legal practitioners, accountants, M&A advisors, etc.

Acquire charges both a subscription fee for buyers and a commission for sellers.

READ: Microns.io vs Acquire

6. OpenStore

Source: OpenStore

OpenStore is another great platform for ecommerce store owners to sell their stores. Unlike many of the other marketplaces on this list, OpenStore is solely dedicated to buying Shopify stores making over $500,000 per year in revenue.

OpenStore doesn’t buy your business to sell it; rather, they purchase the store and run it by themselves as their brand selling your products. As mentioned, this platform is only for sellers. If you’re a buyer, you’ll stand a better chance of buying your dream ecommerce company on the other marketplaces on this list.

READ: Best AI Micro-startup Ideas

Conclusion

So there you have it: the best Shopify Exchange Marketplace alternatives. If you’re a buyer, sign up today to explore our listings. And if you’re a seller, do list your store – we’ve got lots of interested buyers.