What Exactly Is a Turnkey E-commerce Store?
A turnkey e-commerce store is a fully built online shop. It’s set up to run from day one.
The term “turnkey” means you just need to turn a key to start operations.
Most of these stores use popular platforms like Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce.
They come with a domain, website design, product listings, and sometimes basic marketing tools like email integrations or social media pages.
Some sellers may even go ahead and offer extra features like:
SEO-ready product descriptions
Customer support systems
Dropshipping setups (when your store sells products that are shipped directly from a supplier, so you don’t hold any inventory)
You can easily find turnkey stores on popular marketplaces like Flippa and Empire Flippers, or even private listings on social media or niche forums.
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Why People Buy Turnkey E-commerce Stores
The biggest reason people buy a turnkey store is speed. It helps you save time.
Think about it:
If you were to start an e-commerce store from scratch, you’d have to build a website from scratch, and that alone can take weeks, even months.
Not to forget that you’ll also require technical skills to develop the website (or money to hire someone who has the skills).
With a turnkey store, however, you skip all this setup!
The ready-made store gives you a head start so you can start learning how to market and sell right away.
That’s appealing, especially for beginners!
Another reason why you should consider a turnkey store is that it’s a lower-risk way to test a niche.
Let’s say you want to sell pet products. Instead of building a full site to find out if it works, you can buy one that’s already running.
Trust me, this can save you time and effort if the niche turns out to be unprofitable.
What You Should Watch Out For
Turnkey stores can look good on the surface but harbor problems under the hood.
That’s why we always advise you to do your homework before you buy any turnkey websites.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the most common issues you should be on the lookout for:
Many sellers use the same website design and products for multiple stores. You might wonder…is this a bad thing? It is when you think about your shop looking like dozens of others. In other words, there’s nothing unique about your store, and this can make it harder to stand out and rank on Google.
Also, most turnkey stores don’t come with traffic or sales. Such sites are not proven businesses; they’re simply empty shells with “potential”.
Expert's Tip: If a store claims to make money, ask for proof. Request access to analytics dashboards, bank statements, or ad performance reports. If the seller can’t show that, walk away.
How Much Do Turnkey Stores Cost?
The price of a turnkey e-commerce website on sale varies a lot.
You can find basic turnkey stores for as little as $100 on sites like Fiverr or online forums. These usually come with generic designs and no traffic.
On the other hand, you might see stores listed for $5,000 to $50,000 on websites like Empire Flippers or FE International.
These higher-priced sites usually have proven income and a track record.
According to a 2024 report by Flippa, e-commerce businesses with verified profits sell for 24 to 36 times their monthly net income.
So, if a store is making $1,000 in profit per month, it could cost between $24,000 and $36,000.
Pros and Cons of Buying A Turnkey Store
Let’s look at what you gain—and what you risk—when you buy a turnkey e-commerce store.
Pros:
You skip the setup process.
It can be cheaper than starting from scratch.
You get a chance to start learning immediately.
Cons:
Many stores have no proven sales.
You still need to do marketing, customer service, and operations.
Some sellers resell the same design or product bundles over and over.
Just because a site is ready to run doesn’t mean it’s ready to succeed.
You’ll still need to build traffic, create ads, respond to customers, and most importantly, track your finances.
We Help You Buy / Build, Manage and Scale E-commerce Brands for an EXIT
E-commerce Simplified for Busy Individuals – We handle the buying, building, and scaling, so you can focus on what matters.
Growth-Focused Strategies – From sourcing to marketing, we drive growth and prepare you for a profitable exit.
Expertly Managed Exits – We build a high-value brand designed for a Lucrative exit.
How To Choose the Right Store
We’ve just mentioned that not all turnkey e-commerce websites are ripe for taking.
So, how do you ensure you choose the right one that packs high growth potential and gives you real value for your money?
It’s pretty simple…
First, set your budget and skill level. If you lack marketing experience, you’d want to avoid high-priced stores that demand aggressive ad spend. Or be ready to hire an expert to do it for you.
Next, you’ll need to verify the site's performance. Check mobile-friendliness and load speed, as slow sites lose customers (and convert poorly). Free tools like Google PageSpeed Insights can help you check a site’s speed.
Then, research the niche demand. You don’t have to be an expert to do this. Just use Google Trends data to get an idea if people regularly search for the products you’re selling.
Request proof of sales. Yes, if you’re buying a business that’s already earning, ask the seller for screenshots of Shopify or WooCommerce dashboards, payment processor statements, or ad platform reports. If they hesitate, walk away.
Lastly, you’d want to test suppliers if the store you buy uses dropshipping. You can even go ahead and order a sample product to get a firsthand experience of their shipping time and quality. Even better, contact the supplier to see how well they respond to customers.
Next Steps: What To Do After You Buy One
Owning the store is Step One; running it is Step Two. The real work (turning the key) begins once you acquire a turnkey store.
You’ll need to put effort into your new store to help it grow and start generating revenue (or increase revenue, if it’s already earning).
And there are proven ways to achieve this:
Firstly (and probably the most important), we advise you to set up or review marketing channels. You can choose to launch ads on Facebook, Instagram, or Google, depending on where your target audience spends most of their time.
Also, consider building an email list; email marketing has repeatedly proven to yield strong returns for e-commerce businesses.
Look for reliable suppliers. If your store already has a supplier(s), then make sure they’re reliable. You can even go ahead and order a product from them to test shipping times and quality.
You’ll also need to handle all your customer service promptly. This is crucial given that a single bad review can discourage new buyers and damage your reputation. If you’re into dropshipping, be sure to monitor orders and supplier performance closely.
Make sure you track EVERYTHING. After all, how will you know if you’re making progress with your efforts? Use tools like Google Analytics to watch your site traffic. Use tools like Shopify reports to check what’s selling.
Finally, you’d want to test different product descriptions, ad creatives, and price points. Use performance data to guide your decisions. With time, you should be able to optimize for higher profit margins.
Overall, buying a turnkey e-commerce store is NOT a magic fix. It still takes work to turn into a profitable venture.
But if you put in the time and learn as you go, your turnkey store can turn out to be a great way to enter the e-commerce business space.
Conclusion
If you want to get into e-commerce without starting from scratch, a turnkey store might help. But keep in mind that buying a turnkey e-commerce website can turn out to be a smart shortcut—or a waste of money. It depends on what kind of store you buy, who you buy it from, and how much work you're willing to put into it to make it successful.
Just make sure you understand what you're buying. Look for signs of real value: working systems, verified income, and seller transparency.
Need help buying a turnkey e-commerce store? We’re here to help you. With years of experience running countless e-commerce stores, we can help you spot the best deals and perform due diligence to ensure you acquire a business with massive growth potential. Afterward, we'll help you manage your store and grow it for up to 2- 4x your initial investment—setting you up for a profitable exit. Curious to know how this works? Simply head over to our Acquisition Partnership program page to learn more.
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