I'm trying to sell my e-commerce business and have been talking to a few potential buyers from online marketplaces. Every single one of them wants screenshots of analytics, payment processor statements, supplier invoices, and even screen recordings of my backend. It feels like I'm spending more time proving my business is real than actually negotiating. Is this normal? And how do you avoid getting burned by people who just want to farm data?
Due Diligence
Why finding an online buyer takes a lot of screenshots and proof
It is unfortunately very normal. Most serious buyers will ask for proof before they make an offer because there are a lot of fake listings. The amount of screenshots can feel excessive, but they are trying to verify revenue and traffic without giving them full access to your accounts.
Agree with TundraMoss. Also, if someone is asking for a screen recording of your backend, make sure you you blur or redact any customer names, emails, and payment details. You can show the dashboards without exposing sensitive info.
How many buyers have you talked to? I found that once I started asking for proof of funds first, the tire kickers disappeared.
About six so far. Only two have been willing to sign an NDA before asking for screenshots. The rest just want the data upfront.
Six is not a lot. It can take dozens of inquiries to find one real buyer. The screenshots are part of the process. I would set up a data room with redacted documents and only share the link after a basic qualification call.
The problem is that screenshots can be faked. Buyers know that, so they keep asking for more. It becomes a cycle. The best way to break it is to offer a live screen share where they can see the dashboard in real time, but they cannot download anything.
I sold a Shopify store last year. I had to provide screenshots of Stripe payouts, Google Analytics, and supplier invoices. It was annoying but the eventual buyer was the one who asked the most questions. The others were just collecting info.
Maybe I'm naive but why not just give them read-only access to analytics? That's less work than taking screenshots all day.
Read-only access can still expose customer data if you're not careful. And some platforms don't offer granular permissions. Screenshots with redactions are safer for the early stages.
How much revenue are we talking about? If it's a smaller business, buyers might be more suspicious because there's less history to verify. Larger businesses can afford proper audits, so the screenshot requests might be fewer.
Low six figures annual revenue. Not huge, but enough that I don't want to waste time with people who are just browsing.
At that level, you're going to get a lot of inexperienced buyers. They don't know what to ask for, so they ask for for everything. It's a filtering process. Just be patient and keep a standard packet ready to send after they prove they're serious.
Have you considered using a broker? They handle the verification and screenshots for you, so you don't have to deal with it directly. Costs money but saves sanity.
I'd also add that you should watermark every screenshot with the date and the buyer's name. That way if they leak it, you know who did it.
Watermarking is good. But the main issue is trust. Buyers don't trust sellers, sellers don't trust buyers. The ones who are willing to sign an NDA and show proof of funds are the only ones worth your time.
OP, I would also ask them what specific metrics they need and why. Sometimes they just want to see that you're responsive. If you answer quickly and professionally, they may move forward without demanding every single document.