- Q u e s t i o n s -

• 1. What does "Relocatable - Yes" mean on a Listing ?
   
• 2. Can you tell the date that an ad was first listed ?
   
• 3. Can I contact the Seller directly by Telephone ?
   
• 4. Where can I see the Financial Information on a business ?
   
• 5. How do I know if a business is really worth the money ?
   
• 6. The Seller is asking me many personal questions about myself !

- A n s w e r s -

• 1.  What does "Relocatable - Yes" mean on a Listing ?
  
  Generally it means that the business can be operated from anywhere in Canada - although some Sellers, for example, may decide to use this feature to simply indicate that the business building is "leased", and that the new Purchaser could lease a different building if they wanted to, in a different part of the same town.
   
  So .... If it's "Not Relocatable" - you know it has to remain in the same town and in the same building in order to maintain it's existing established clientele.  If you do want to relocate it elsewhere, you may loose substantial business activity initially until the business is re-established.
   
  If it's marked as "Relocatable" - then the Seller believes that the Purchaser could successfully operate the business from another location - perhaps in the same town, or perhaps from a location in another province.  The Purchaser should contact the Seller for further complete details.
   
  In my opinion: businesses like "Internet-based Sales" would be classed as completely Relocatable anywhere in Canada; while something like an "Equipment Rental" store would be Not Relocatable - although you could take the tools somewhere else to rent them; you'd have no established customers to start you off with income on your first day.
   
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• 2.  Can you tell the date that an ad was first listed ?
  
  The "Listing Number" for a particular ad is made up of "year-month-day" plus the number of the listing on that day.  In the form: "ymmdd###" - where 20 has been added to the month.  So: "63228002" is: 2016 / Dec / 28th / second listing of that day.   Note: value of 20 has been added to the month; like: December (12) becomes 32.
   
  The "Listing number" is shown on the ad's Details page near the top - or in a pop-up "ToolTip" when you hover your mouse pointer over the "More Details" button of the particular listing.
   
  That having been said - there is probably no significance at all to the particular date that an Owner listed his business For Sale with BusinessSellCanada.  The seller may have offered it prior to this thru a broker/agent or in the newspapers, etc.  Also, an older listing does not necessarily imply an overly anxious or more committed seller.  Some Sellers are just waiting for the right Buyer.
   
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• 3.  Can I contact the Seller directly by Telephone ?
  
  As you probably understand, premature disclosure of the fact that an established, active business is now For Sale can sometimes lead to a lack of confidence on the part of the existing customers and the employees. .... Therefore, private sellers often restrict the initial inquiries to an e-mail address. .... (To prevent clumsy prospective purchasers from phoning the business and asking the first clerk that answers the phone: "Hey - Is this business FOR SALE ???")
   
  So, please contact the seller initially by e-mail and introduce yourself and your qualifications - and give them a phone number (and a time) to reach you at.  Most sellers would be pleased to phone you back.
   
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• 4.  Where can I see the Financial Information on a business ?
  
  This is a For-Sale-by-Owner website.  The owner/seller writes their own ad and decides how much or how little information they want to make public.  As you can see, there's a description section in the ad called "Financial" but some sellers ignore it (in which case, it doesn't even appear on their final ad); some sellers say: "Available to Qualified buyers", which means: Ask me - and show me that you can afford to buy this business before I give out any confidential information; and then again, some sellers are happy to tell it all.
   
  Because this is web advertising; their ad can be seen by the general public, buyers, other sellers, their competitors, and also, their employees, and their customers.  Consider - would you personally continue to deal with a business that made a 1/4 million profit last year; or would you think that their prices must be too high or their employee wages were too low ?  Consider what you'd think if you were a current employee of that business; and just discovered the ad on the 'net.
   
  The short answer is - if you want to get more information on a business for sale - contact the seller (by his email) and ask him/her.
   
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• 5.  How do I know the business is worth the money ?
  
  ---   Here's what one Business Broker responded ...
   
  Business Brokers are set up to provide valuations on businesses.  Some business brokers will offer a separate valuation service for a flat fee to a buyer, regardless of whether or not the broker is involved in any other way in the transaction.
   
  Most Business Brokers depending upon the size of the business, include a valuation as part of the work they do when they take on the listing (usually a flat fee to the seller for a valuation).  For a smaller business, there might not be a formal valuation, but the figures for the business are recast by the business broker so what is presented to the buyer is an accurate picture of what the business is really making, etc.  But in either case, a buyer can really only determine whether or not the representations that are being made by the seller are accurate at the point when they've made a Conditional Offer, it is accepted by the seller, and the buyer goes into due diligence.
   
  For a small business, once a buyer has made a Conditional Offer and goes into due diligence, the buyer can hire an accountant to have a look at the numbers, books, etc. to provide the buyer with an accurate picture of what is there, along with an opinion of how to move forward.
   
  ---   A list of 'Business Brokers' can be found in the Yellow Pages of the phone book for major cities, or you might ask an accounting firm, or perhaps check with the "The Canadian Institute of Chartered Business Valuators" at: https://www.cicbv.ca/   [Find a CBV].
   
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• 5.  The Seller is asking me many personal questions!
  
  Buying and selling is a 2-way street with both the buyer and the seller trying to qualify the other person as being both legitimate and also qualified to buy or sell the business.  Sometimes, one side or the other becomes offended during this process and the discussions never really start.  Sometimes one or the other requires too much disclosure too early in the discussions; and again nothing comes of it.  That's a loss for both parties.
   
  Only you can decide how much information you are prepared to give at any given time in the discussions, and if the other party insists on more, you're free to walk away - and they may be loosing a viable buyer and you might be loosing out on a great business oppertunity.
   
  If you're being asked to fill out a standard form document like an NDA - answer the parts that you are comfortable with; and let the seller ask for more if it's needed.  Don't forget - the Internet is wide open with scams and "Third World" emailers posing as real people.  As a minimum, both the Buyer and the Seller need to reveal where they are currently located and to give a viable land-line telephone number where they can be reached.
   
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