You know what I\u2019m tired of hearing?<\/p>\n

“Lawyers are a waste of money”.<\/p>\n

Seriously.<\/p>\n

If I had a dollar for each time I’ve heard that statement over the past 6 months, I’d be a (very) rich man.<\/p>\n

Look:<\/p>\n

As an entrepreneur who has built a successful Amazon FBA business, I’m sure you dabble in most things.<\/p>\n

Whether it’s inventory management, product labelling and compliance, sales copy, marketing, PPC, product launches, customer services, and so on.<\/p>\n

There’s never a dull day with Amazon, right?<\/p>\n

Too true.<\/p>\n

But no matter how multi-talented you are, when it comes to selling your Amazon business<\/a>, you simply cannot proceed without the help of a lawyer.<\/p>\n

Okay, I know what you\u2019re thinking:<\/p>\n

Lawyers are expensive, and what happens if my deal falls through?<\/p>\n

I get it.<\/p>\n

Because if we’re being honest, both Richard and I both had similar reservations.<\/p>\n

But here’s the thing:<\/p>\n

If you don’t hire a lawyer, there’s a 99.9% chance that you will regret it, post-exit.<\/p>\n

In fact:<\/p>\n

I would go as far as to say that it would be the single biggest mistake<\/span> you could make throughout the entire history of your Amazon business.<\/p>\n

Am I making myself clear?<\/p>\n

Good.<\/p>\n

So know you know that you to have to hire a lawyer, the next question is when.<\/p>\n

The short answer:<\/p>\n

As soon as you receive a Letter of Intent (LOI)<\/a> from the buyers.<\/p>\n

Remember:<\/p>\n

An LOI sets out the buyers’ (aggregators<\/a>) intentions regarding the purchase of your FBA business.<\/p>\n

And whilst the terms of the deal can still be negotiated after signing the letter, we strongly encourage you to hire a lawyer before<\/em> you put pen to paper on the LOI.<\/p>\n

To put that in layman’s terms:<\/p>\n

Do not underestimate the value a lawyer can add to your sale at this early stage.<\/p>\n

Next up?<\/p>\n

Where do you find a decent lawyer?<\/p>\n

If you are in the UK, we highly recommend Tony Johnston from Jaswal Johnston LLP, who completed the sale on behalf of both Richard and myself (Martin).<\/p>\n

Tessa Trevelyan Thomas from Fladgate LLP is also an excellent lawyer, specialising in FBA business deals.<\/p>\n

For the USA and other worldwide sellers, it’s likely that your contract terms will be regulated in America.<\/p>\n

With this in mind:<\/p>\n

Paul Rafelson is already well known within the FBA seller community for spearheading the campaign against Amazon Sales Tax.<\/p>\n

Paul’s USA-based practice, Rafelson Law PLLC, provides legal services to US sellers exiting their business. Over the past 12 months, he has serviced more than $100m in sales contracts with Amazon aggregators<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Alternatively:<\/p>\n

A simple Google search<\/a> throws multiple specialist Amazon exit lawyers, based in the US.<\/p>\n

We’re unable to directly recommend anyone else here but, as with all things Amazon, the community should be on hand to assist if you post in the seller forums<\/a> and Facebook groups.<\/p>\n