Look at their P&L.

You should be able to see the P&L of a business you buy. If you can't, then you should be wary and ask questions. The P&L statement is a financial document that looks at how much money is being made vs how much money is being spent over some time.

It will usually show things like:

• How much money was made in total sales (revenue) for each month / quarter / year
• How many customers were acquired over this same period of time
• What percentage of those customers returned (the ARPU, which stands for Average Revenue Per User).

Ask what the return rate is.

While it's important to know your customer's return rate, you also need to know how it compares to the industry average. For example, if your business's return rate is significantly higher than the industry average (which typically hovers around 15%), that could be an indication of quality issues or customer dissatisfaction with the product.

Similarly, if your return policy is more lenient than other businesses in your category (e.g., offering free returns without a receipt), then this will likely affect how customers perceive your company and may attract more returns than normal.

To ensure that you're on top of all aspects related to returns, ask these questions:

• What are my company's current and historical return rates? Are they within range? If not, why might this be happening?
• How does my company compare return policies and processes with others in our field? Am I offering better options for customers who want free shipping or no restocking fees? Do I offer customers any guarantees about their purchases beyond what's typical in our industry sector/category/niche market segment/sub-category...etc.?

Get the details on the website and its traffic.

Now that you know what to look for let's talk about how to get all of the details.

The first thing you should do when looking at an online fashion business is to examine the traffic on its website. The two most common ways of doing this are by using Alexa and Google Analytics (Google).

• Alexa is a third-party company that tracks web traffic and ranks websites based on their popularity. Its rankings can be helpful in determining how many people visit a site, but it does not provide detailed information about where those visitors come from or why they visited in the first place, which can make it difficult to determine if a site has high user engagement or if its popularity is due purely due to search engine optimization (SEO) efforts.
• Google Analytics provides more detailed information about user engagement metrics such as average time spent on site, bounce rate (how many people leave after viewing one page), revenue per visitor and conversion rate (percentage of visitors who convert into buyers). It also shows which pages drive the most traffic as well as which keywords send users to those pages.

Is it a drop-ship business, or does it have inventory?

A drop-ship business is a term used to describe an eCommerce business model where the seller does not keep any inventory but ships goods directly from one of their suppliers to the customer.

This means that all you need to do is find reliable suppliers and start selling! The supplier will take care of all aspects of manufacturing, packaging and shipping your products.

A drop-ship business is great because it allows you to earn profits immediately without investing in inventory upfront.

How much is the owner involved?

The owner should be involved in the business.

This is important because if you have questions or need help with anything, you can reach out to the owner and get answers from a real person. If you're new to running an online fashion store, having someone on hand who knows what they're doing can be very helpful!

The owner should be available to provide support to the new owner.

You'll undoubtedly want advice from your seller when it comes time for the sale of your online fashion business. You'll want guidance on pricing, marketing strategies, how much inventory is enough (and where), and more. This type of knowledge will make all the difference between success and failure as an online fashion entrepreneur!

Make sure you understand the product.

Make sure that you understand the product and market. You don't want to buy a business that has no future or a limited future because of changes in the market.

For example, if you're buying an online fashion business, make sure it's not just selling products from China. If it is, then when commodity prices change (and they will) your margins will suffer and perhaps even disappear entirely.

What is the company's social media presence like?

Social media is a good indicator of how a company represents itself. You can find out whether they have a Facebook page, Instagram feed, or even Snapchat account that you can check out. If they do not appear to have any social media presence at all, this could indicate that they are not serious about their business and may not be able to provide the level of service and communication you might expect from them.

On the other hand, if you see a lot of activity on social media (for example, Facebook likes or comments), this could also mean that your potential partner is engaging with customers and interested in what people think about them. This will give you confidence in knowing there will be some form of customer support available when problems occur during your partnership.

Learn about their competition.

The first thing you should do is learn about your competition. You'll want to analyze their pricing, website, social media presence and product offerings. Next, check out how well they're doing with marketing and customer support. Finally, delve into their return rate and P&L statements. After all this research, see if there are any obvious opportunities for improvement in any area of the business that might help drive success for you as well!

How much support will you get after you buy the business?

This is a question that should be answered in your due diligence. You may decide to buy the business, but it won't make your life easier if it doesn't have a solid customer support system. You don't want to have to figure out how everything works on your own.

What are their marketing capabilities like?

You should always ask for a marketing plan when searching for a company to buy from. A solid buyer's contract always includes an exclusivity clause, meaning that you will be the only business advertising their product or service in your market area. This is important because it protects your investment and allows you to generate more sales with minimal competition.

Another question you should ask is: does this company have a sales forecast? It's important that they can provide you with their current performance data so that you know exactly how much money they're making now and what their potential could be as part of your portfolio.

If there are no associated costs with listing products on various online outlets such as eBay or Amazon Marketplace (which there usually aren't), then this would be another element of their business plan worth considering closely before committing any funds to buy an online fashion business like yours!

Why are they selling?

The first question you should ask yourself is, "why are they selling?" There are many reasons why an online seller would want to sell their business:

• They have found a better opportunity.
• They have found a new passion.
• They have found a new job.
• They have found a new hobby.
• They have found a new partner, or they just got married!

Buying an online fashion business can be a good investment if you do your due diligence.

Here are some things you should look for when buying an online fashion business:

• Buy the right business for your skillset. If you love making hats and have no experience running a website or maintaining social media accounts, it would be foolish to buy an online hat store - even if that shop does have a loyal following! Make sure that the product interests you and meshes well with your other skills and talents, or else this purchase could end up costing more than just money in the long run.

• Understand the product(s). Before purchasing any online retail operation, ensure that you understand how they work and who their typical customers might be. It's important to know what makes these products different from others out there; otherwise, it will be difficult (if not impossible) to market them effectively later on down the line!

If you're thinking about buying an online fashion business, it's important to do your research. You should look at the P&L, ask about return rates and get all the details on the website traffic. Also, make sure that you understand the product, its competition and why they are selling. Before making any decisions, you need to be confident in what you are buying. After all, this could be your next big investment!

If you're looking to purchase an online fashion firm, go to Online Business For Sale. We have a comprehensive range of businesses for sale that may appeal to you. Our platform has a number of features for buyers, including lowering the risk of starting a new business and teaching people how to run their own company without any prior knowledge.