SBA guidelines for purchasing an e commerce business

searcher profile

March 05, 2021

by a searcher in San Diego, CA, USA

My partner and I are currently searching for an e commerce site to purchase, and would like to utilize SBA financing for the deal. So far, most of the listings I've come across on the brokerages specifically state that the deal is not SBA qualified. I wondered if someone with experience in e commerce acquisitions, or who is an experienced SBA lender could help clarify what exactly I should be looking for to ensure that we would be able to take advantage of an SBA loan for the purchase.

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commentor profile
Reply by a lender
from Eastern Illinois University in 900 E Diehl Rd, Naperville, IL 60563, USA
Hello Adam. We have done quite a few ecommerce businesses as well over the years, and we have not had an issue qualifying them for SBA financing. The biggest issue is that not all SBA 7A lenders will do ecommerce businesses, so you have to find one that will. Usually the reason a deal won't qualify for SBA has nothing to do with the company itself but more about how it is structured. So long as the purchase is structured the right way, it should qualify. We would be more than happy to look at anything you are considering and provide guidance on how to get it qualified. We are a Commercial Loan Brokerage shop and have over 40 national SBA lenders we work with, and have plenty that do ecommerce. You can reach me at redacted Thank you.
commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from Cornell University in Boston, MA, USA
Yes. It would help to have better information on a broker before committing to an expensive due diligence process. Right now, the pressure is on the broker to cater to the seller. It would help if they had an incentive to be through and transparent in their dealings with sellers.
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