Can I sell my Shopify store?

Shopify has its own process for changing who owns a store, and that process is separate from selling the business. Shopify’s help page says that if a store is on a pricing plan other than Shopify Plus, the owner can change ownership in one of two ways. This page reports what Shopify’s page says. It takes no view on whether you should sell or what a store is worth.

The two routes Shopify describes

For a store not on Shopify Plus, Shopify describes changing ownership to a user who already has access to your store through the Settings Users page, or transferring ownership to someone outside your store through the Settings General page. After you start a transfer, Shopify says you can review its status on the Settings General page. Shopify gives Shopify Plus stores separate instructions and names Shopify Plus Support for help with store transfers, so confirm your plan before planning the steps.

What Shopify says to handle in the transfer

Shopify’s page lists several items. If you have not met your billing threshold when you transfer a store, the new owner is responsible for paying any outstanding bills. If you bought a custom domain for the store, you must transfer ownership of the domain to the new owner as well. If you use Shopify Payments, Shopify suggests exporting your payout history and transactions, and says you will need to contact Shopify Support if the business information on the Payments account must be updated. You or the new owner might also need to review staff permissions afterward.

The sale of the business is a separate agreement

The steps on Shopify’s page concern the store account. Shopify says store owners must conduct the sale of a store separately from the Shopify platform, and suggests contacting a legal professional to draft a contract of sale and checking whether existing contracts or obligations will be affected. A registered trademark moves separately: the Canadian Intellectual Property Office’s trademarks guide describes submitting documents for registering transfers of ownership. Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada explains that Canada’s anti-spam legislation requires businesses to obtain consent before sending commercial electronic messages, so a customer email list raises its own questions; see keeping a customer list you bought with a business. For the wider sale, read the guide to selling a Shopify brand.

• Which Shopify plan is the store on, and does the Shopify Plus route apply?
• Who holds the custom domain, and can it be transferred to the buyer?
• If you use Shopify Payments, have you exported your payout history and transactions?
• Which staff accounts should keep access after the change?
• Does the sale agreement name the trademark, the brand and the customer list, and who signs it?