How a Hardware Store Sold at 7x EBITDA with No Inventory Count

Episode 39 of The Buyer & Seller Podcast digs into the story of a mid-sized hardware store in Ohio that closed at 7.1 times EBITDA despite having zero physical inventory count in its final financials. Lucas and Luna walk through how the seller's messy books — inventory tracked by memory, handwritten purchase logs, and a garage full of unopened pallets — nearly killed the deal. They explain the workaround the buyer and seller negotiated: a 'sale or return' inventory mechanism that capped the seller's risk while giving the buyer confidence. Along the way, they cover why inventory valuation is the single most common post-close dispute in Main Street acquisitions, how the earn-out structure saved the deal, and what any business owner can learn about bookkeeping before listing. If you own a product-based business and think 'close enough' inventory tracking is fine, this episode is for you. #HardwareStoreSale #InventoryValuation #EBITDAEarnings #MainStreetMAndA #BusinessBrokerTips #SellerFinance #EarnOutStructure #DueDiligence #InventoryCount #PostCloseDispute #OhioBusiness #RetailExit #FexingoBusiness #BusinessPodcast #BuyerAndSellerPodcast #BusinessBrokerage #PrivateBusinessSale #ExitPlanning Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo