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A certified valuer will listen to your situation and answer any questions you may have, at no cost.
From a homewares label run from a unit at Unanderra to a food brand shipping from a warehouse at Dapto or Port Kembla, an online business is valued on the profit a new owner could keep making once the founder steps back.
An online store or brand is generally valued against sales of comparable online businesses, as a multiple of maintainable earnings after the founder's work is paid for. What a buyer pays depends on how repeatable the revenue is, how reliant it is on one platform, supplier or marketplace, what the stock would really fetch and what fulfilment actually costs.
Triggers vary. A founder in Wollongong has had an approach from an aggregator and wants to know whether the offer is fair. Two partners who built a brand together disagree about a buy-out. A lender wants stock and trade valued before extending an inventory facility. A separating owner needs a figure at a fixed date. Or an accountant needs a market value for a restructure.
Online businesses are often priced on revenue, which says little about what an owner keeps. Advertising spend, returns, marketplace fees and freight can absorb a large part of sales, and a business that depends on one platform or one supplier carries a risk that a revenue figure hides. A valuation puts the focus on profit that could be repeated.
A certified valuer will listen to your situation and answer any questions you may have, at no cost.
The Market Approach carries the weight. Online businesses change hands through brokers and marketplaces often enough to give evidence of what buyers pay, usually as a multiple of adjusted profit.
We choose sales with a similar category, size, channel mix and growth pattern, and adjust for differences such as heavy reliance on one platform or a long run of falling margins. A business selling its own product differs from one reselling other brands' lines, and the shortlist reflects that.
Because revenue can change quickly, we read profit across several years and by channel. Where a business is part-way through rapid change, a discounted cash flow can show the timing of costs and gains, but the Market Approach remains the anchor.
Founder time, contractor work and unpaid family help are costed at market rates, and advertising, returns, platform fees and freight are checked against payment and platform reports. This step tests whether the profit is real.
Stock is valued at realisable value, with slow-moving and obsolete lines written down. Equipment is taken at what it would fetch, and the value above those assets is goodwill that rests on the brand, the customer base and the systems.
Disputes over what an online business is worth usually start at the profit figure, so each adjustment in our reports is set beside its reason. The usual ones are:
Small industrial units and warehouses in areas such as Unanderra, Dapto and Port Kembla give an online seller room for stock and packing, and the port and the road network give access to carriers. Sellers still compete nationally, so a Wollongong address does not by itself add to value; the business's customers, margins and systems do.
Where the stock is held and who ships it matters to a buyer. A business that holds its own stock and packs orders on site has a different cost base and risk from one that uses a third-party warehouse or drop ships from suppliers. Local customers are usually a small share of an online business's sales, so we also check how much comes from interstate and overseas, and how freight to those customers is priced.
National figures show where the pressure sits: the number of retail trade businesses was nearly unchanged in 2025 to 2026, up 0.1 per cent, while transport, postal and warehousing, the industry that stores and delivers online orders, grew by 4.9 per cent (Source: ABS, Counts of Australian Businesses, July 2022 to June 2026, released 18 August 2026). Retail is not adding businesses, while the logistics sector serving it is.
The report states the purpose, standard of value, valuation date and the records relied on, such as platform exports, payment reports and stock listings, and identifies gaps. It then covers each approach considered, every adjustment with its reason, and a reconciliation into a range with the weighting explained.
When the figure is contested, an opposing expert tests the profit before anything else and asks why particular sales were chosen. That challenge can come in a partner dispute heard in the District Court at Wollongong, in the Supreme Court of New South Wales in Sydney or in a property settlement before the Federal Circuit and Family Court of Australia, where the Expert Witness Code of Conduct in the court rules applies to the expert. Our reports follow APESB, APES 225 Valuation Services and are signed by a certified valuer who can defend them.
How much of the profit would survive if the main ad platform doubled its prices or the main supplier walked away? A valuer who has tested that has looked at the real risk.
An Indicative valuation suits a founder weighing an approach or deciding whether to sell. It is for internal decision-making and is not written for third party reliance. A Summary report is the usual choice for a sale to an unrelated buyer, a partner buy-out or finance. A Detailed report is needed for a property settlement, a shareholder dispute or any matter where another expert will review the work.
Depth follows the audience. If a lender, the ATO or a court could rely on the number, the full reasoning should be written down.
For internal decision-making. Useful for testing an offer, setting an expectation before a negotiation, or deciding whether to go to market. It is not written for third party reliance.
Sets out the approaches applied, the normalisation adjustments made and the reasoning behind the conclusion. The usual choice for a sale, an ownership change or a finance application.
Applies and reconciles all relevant approaches in full. The level required where a court, the ATO, a lender or another expert will review the opinion.
Talk your situation through with a certified valuer before you commit to anything, at no cost.