Listing teardown · Ecommerce
Empire Flippers listing #97493: Supplements ecommerce business teardown
Short answer: a first-pass read of the live listing “$18.8K Per Month Amazon FBA Business in the Supplements Niche”, asking $138,956: 1 red, 5 yellow and 3 green flags from the checker's rules. Every figure comes from the public listing page; nothing here has been verified with the seller.
How to read this. Flags are questions to answer, not findings. A red flag means the listing's own figures or text need an explanation before you spend money on diligence; it does not mean anything is wrong. Sellers often have good answers. Listing details can change after the date above.
Snapshot (as listed)
| Asking price | $138,956 |
|---|---|
| Stated multiple | 2.2× annual SDE |
| Average monthly revenue / profit | $18,824 / $5,261 |
| Latest month revenue / profit | $8,934 / $3,693 |
| Payback (ask ÷ monthly profit) | 26.4 months on the average; 41.7 months on the last 3 months |
| Reported margin | 28% |
| Age | about 29 months |
| Monetization | Amazon FBA |
| Owner hours (seller-stated) | 5 a week |
| Top traffic channels | n/a |
Red flags
- Recent profit below the period average (-37%). Last-3-month average profit $3,336 vs 12-month average $5,261. If the lower level persists, payback at the asking price is longer than the 12-month average suggests.
Yellow flags
- Volatile monthly profit (CV 1.02). Monthly profit ranged from a loss of about $8,600 (Feb 2026, the highest revenue month at about $46,100) to about $13,000 (Oct 2025), and was about $1,200 to $5,100 a month from Jul to Sep 2026. The listing attributes much of the variation to elevated ad spend during product launches. Ask for monthly P&L with ad spend split out, and what spend the last three months assume.
- No retention figure shown for Subscribe & Save orders. The listing says Amazon Subscribe & Save accounted for about 20% of sales over the past 12 months. Ask for the number of active Subscribe & Save subscribers and monthly cancellations for 12 months.
- Platform the listing relies on: Amazon (FBA). The listing describes an Amazon FBA business with products shipped from a single supplier in China, and discloses that changes in manufacturing costs can affect margins and that an FBA account suspension could hurt the business. It also says the Seller Central legal-entity section is locked to the United States, so a quick transfer needs a US legal entity; unlocking it could delay the migration, and if it cannot be unlocked the buyer may reverse the deal. Ask about past account health issues and supplier terms.
- Customer/revenue concentration not disclosed.
- Generic reason for sale, and three details to confirm. The reason given is "The Seller would like to explore other opportunities." The listing description says the business was first monetized in May 2022, while the marketplace data shows first revenue in May 2024. It says the business sells two products and also mentions complementary products. And the seller intends to keep the right to sell non-gummy supplements after the sale, including some ingredients the business currently offers, as an exception to the standard non-compete. Ask the seller to confirm all three.
Green flags
- The listing shows connected data providers: Amazon Seller Central. These reduce, but do not remove, the need to reconcile figures to bank deposits.
- Seller states about 5 hours a week of owner time (to confirm against the task list).
- Post-sale support is offered: The seller is willing to offer 60 days of support via Zoom meetings and screen sharing, including training on PPC, weekly tracking methods, Amazon Seller Central tools, and general business operations.
Context
- Asking multiple 2.20× is below the typical range. EF for-sale asking multiples (2026-10-06) for Amazon FBA: p25 2.21×, median 2.6×.
Questions to ask the seller
- What drove the last 3 months below the 12-month average, and what do month-to-date numbers show?
- Explain the low months (refunds, annual-plan timing, one-off costs?).
- Monthly logo and revenue churn for the last 12 months (cohort table if possible).
- What would happen to revenue if Amazon changed its policy/API tomorrow? Any past incidents?
- What share of revenue comes from the top 1 and top 3 customers (or traffic/affiliate partners)?
- Why sell now, and what would you do with the business if it doesn't sell?
- Provide a month-by-month P&L for the last 24 months with every cost line.
- What exactly transfers (domains, code, accounts, trademarks, email lists, contractor relationships)?
- Has the business ever had a platform ban, penalty, chargeback spike or security incident?
What to verify
- Store and payment-processor reports (Shopify/WooCommerce, Stripe, PayPal, marketplaces) reconciled to bank deposits
- Landed cost per SKU, ad spend and refunds month by month, so the margin can be rebuilt
- Inventory on hand, its valuation and whether it is included in the price
- Supplier, 3PL and contractor agreements and whether they are assignable
- Ad-account history (CPA, ROAS) and analytics by channel for the listing's 12 months
- Trademark, domain and marketplace-account transfer requirements
Payback at the asking price: 26.4 months on the stated average profit, 33.0 months if profit is 20% lower, 44.0 months if 40% lower. This is arithmetic on the listing's figures, not a valuation or a bid suggestion.
Seller statements to check against evidence
Quoted from the listing. Each is a reasonable thing for a seller to say and worth confirming with documents.
- “The business has demonstrated strong financial performance, with year-over-year revenue growth exceeding 10% and healthy profit margins well above 25%.”
- “The products are also well suited to recurring purchases through Amazon Subscribe & Save, which has accounted for approximately 20% of sales over the past 12 months.”
- “The business is highly passive, with the Seller dedicating fewer than five hours per week to operations, primarily monitoring account performance, account health, and inventory levels.”
- “This represents an attractive opportunity for Buyers seeking an established supplements business with streamlined operations and meaningful growth potential through geographic expansion, further PPC scaling, and continued growth in Subscribe & Save customers.”
Risks the listing itself discloses: Changes in manufacturing costs can affect the margins of the business Amazon can suspend or cancel your FBA account due to a breach of its terms of service (ToS).
Questions about this listing
What should I ask the seller of Empire Flippers listing #97493?
What drove the last 3 months below the 12-month average, and what do month-to-date numbers show? Explain the low months (refunds, annual-plan timing, one-off costs?). Monthly logo and revenue churn for the last 12 months (cohort table if possible). What would happen to revenue if Amazon changed its policy/API tomorrow? Any past incidents? What share of revenue comes from the top 1 and top 3 customers (or traffic/affiliate partners)? Why sell now, and what would you do with the business if it doesn't sell? Provide a month-by-month P&L for the last 24 months with every cost line. What exactly transfers (domains, code, accounts, trademarks, email lists, contractor relationships)? Has the business ever had a platform ban, penalty, chargeback spike or security incident?
What flags does Empire Flippers listing #97493 raise?
1 red and 5 yellow flags from FirstPass Memo's 37 published rules, using only the public listing: Recent profit below the period average (-37%); Volatile monthly profit (CV 1.02); No retention figure shown for Subscribe & Save orders; Platform the listing relies on: Amazon (FBA); Customer/revenue concentration not disclosed; Generic reason for sale, and three details to confirm.
Is this teardown a recommendation to buy or not to buy?
No. It is informational screening of public listing data. Flags are questions to answer, not findings, and nothing has been verified with the seller.
Sources
- Empire Flippers listing #97493, public listing data read 30 October 2026.
- FirstPass red-flag rules, the 37 published rules used for the flags above.
Related
FirstPass Memo is independent and buyer-paid. Not affiliated with, paid by or endorsed by Empire Flippers or the seller. Informational screening only, not investment, legal, tax or valuation advice, and not an audit. Figures are the seller's and marketplace's, as listed on the date above. If you are the seller or broker and something here is out of date, email hello@firstpassmemo.com and we will correct it.