Shopify Collective: An Ultimate Beginner’s Guide To Success

“Unity is strength…when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” – Mattie Stepanek.

In the world of Shopify, collaboration with other brands can help you reach more customers and expand product offerings. But how? This is possible with the help of Shopify Collective.

In a nutshell, Shopify Collective allows businesses to collaborate with other Shopify businesses, where you can either be a supplier or a retailer (or a mix). Retailers help with selling the suppliers’ products while suppliers look after the backend of shipping and supplying the products.

In order to understand this better, we shall dive deeper and understand the nitty-gritty and workings of Shopify Collective.

Why Should You Use Shopify Collective

Shopify Collective essentially means selling products from other stores and reaping benefits together. By doing so, your store can benefit in many ways –

Using this can help in increasing customer cart sizes and improve returns.
Expand your product range without having to pay inventory costs. As a retailer, you do not have to manage the inventory, as the supplier fulfills the orders.
It is free to use for all eligible stores (only in the US or Canada).
Simple to use as it streamlines automatic order fulfillment by forwarding orders directly to the supplier.
Suppliers get more exposure by having their products sold in both their own stores and retailers’ stores.

How Does Shopify Collective Work

Let’s explore how does Shopify collective work with the help of an example:

You, the retailer, have a Shopify store that sells clothes online. Now, you wish to expand your product range without the hassle of creating new inventory. This is where Shopify Collective will help you find suppliers.

Next, you will look for a supplier who can provide the same kind of clothing. You use the Shopify Collective app to find the supplier. Once you find them, you discuss the retail prices, create an agreement, and import the supplier’s inventory into your Shopify store.

Now, it is time to make your first sale! A customer makes a purchase by selecting an item from the retailer’s store, but the order is handled by the supplier. The order is placed, and the supplier automatically ships the product to the customer’s doorstep.

A win-win situation – You purchased the supplier’s inventory at a discounted price and sold it at the retail price. This way, you both rake in profits!

Note: You can be both a supplier and a retailer at the same time. Read further to learn the process.

Who Can Benefit from Shopify Collective?

Anyone who uses Shopify can use this feature. However, it is best suited for the following business types.

Suppliers:

New Shopify Merchants

Kickstart your store by featuring a broader range of products
Leverage existing partnerships to build credibility and trust
Example: New beauty or skincare brands

Small and Medium-Sized Shopify Merchants

Expand product offerings without increasing inventory
Build partnerships with complementary brands
Example: Boutique clothing stores, specialty home goods retailers

Established Shopify Stores Looking to Diversify

Offer complementary products without additional storage concerns
Build collaborations with other Shopify merchants
Examples Established apparel brands adding accessories or lifestyle products

Retailers

Boutique Retailers

Expand their product range without holding excess inventory.
Partner with other brands for curated collections.
Example: A women’s fashion boutique that sells dresses partners with a jewelry brand to offer a curated collection of matching accessories without holding inventory.

Niche Market Retailers

Collaborate with complementary brands to offer more options to a targeted audience.
Strengthen relationships within their market niche.
Example: A sustainable home goods store teams up with a brand specializing in eco-friendly candles to expand their offerings for environmentally conscious customers.

E-commerce Startups

Reduce risk by sharing inventory with other sellers.
Access new products to test market demand.
Example: A new fitness gear retailer collaborates with a brand selling protein supplements to test demand without investing in extra stock.

Established Multi-brand Retailers

Collaborate with smaller vendors to introduce new or exclusive product lines.
Reduce time spent sourcing from separate suppliers.
Example: A large multi-brand fashion retailer partners with a smaller shoe designer to offer exclusive limited-edition footwear collections.

Retailers with Seasonal Demand

Use the network to source products that match seasonal trends.
Focus on products that complement existing inventory for specific seasons or events.
Example: A holiday decor store partners with a gift-wrapping supplies retailer to offer complementary products during the Christmas season.

Regional/Local Retailers

Collaborate with nearby businesses to promote regional products.
Leverage local supply chains for faster fulfillment.
Example: A local craft brewery teams up with a nearby artisanal snack maker to create beer-and-snack bundles available on both stores’ websites.

To expand your reach using Shopify Collective, you must understand Shopify markets and stay updated with the latest global trends.

Requirements For Shopify Collective

You can be the supplier, the retailer, or both. This section covers a general checklist that applies to both retailers as well as suppliers –

Cost – As mentioned earlier, Shopify Collective is free to use for all Shopify plans. However, it is only available in the United States.

Canadian Shopify businesses can also utilize this feature as long as the retailer or the supplier resides in Canada. Transactions can take place in CAD.
Shopify Payments – Must be activated.
Your store should have made USD $50,000 in the last 12 months.
As the merchant (especially supplier), you must abide by the Shop Merchant guidelines.

The guidelines talk about the following:

– Requirements for all products that a merchant can display in their store
– Products that are prohibited from selling.
– Understanding the INFORM Consumer Act, which requires online marketplaces, such as the Shop app, to gather, verify, and reveal specific information about high-volume sellers.
– Shopify maintains a safe environment through content moderation that is aligned with its policy, and as a Shopify merchant, it’s important to understand this process.

Understanding automatic payments – Automatic payments are a way of transferring money between supplier and retailer when both partners turn them on.

Once a customer places an order in the retailer’s store, the retailer receives the total payment. The retailer then owes the supplier a share of the amount, which depends on the product’s cost price and the shipping fees the supplier has set. This is also the recommended method of getting paid by retailers.

This is how suppliers get paid by retailers when a sale is made. Automatic payments have their own set of requirements that both parties must follow.
Installing Collective (Retailer) app & Collective (Supplier) sales channel – A supplier needs to install the Collective (Supplier) sales channel and retailer the Collective (retailer) sales channel [discussed in detail in the next sections].
An active Shopify plan.

Also Read: Learn about the differences between Shopify & Shopify Plus and Shopify Flow Examples.

How To Use Shopify Collective As A Supplier

As the supplier, you can either be discovered by retailers or invite them to join Shopify Collective.

The Discovery feature displays several suppliers ready to collaborate with retailers. This feature is available in the Collective app, which displays retailers who are a part of Shopify Collective.

Invitation is sent through email to the retailer you want to collaborate with. The email carries the specifics of your requirements, conditions, price list, shipping rates, etc. One sent, the retailer is prompted to download the Shopify Collective (retailer) app

Now, let’s explore the process of being a supplier in detail:

Install Shopify Collective Sales Channel: First, get the Shopify Collective sales channel for suppliers either through a retailer’s invite or from Shopify Collective’s landing page. Ensure you understand the requirements & considerations for using it.

Below is a screenshot from Shopify Collective’s landing page. To access this part of the webpage, scroll down to the bottom.

If you receive an email for an invitation, click ‘Install Shopify Collective.’ Then, click ‘Add sales channel.’

Accesing Shopify Collective as a supplier — Source: The ECOM BULL on YouTube

Discover Retailers

After the sales channel is installed, start finding and connecting with retailers using the Discovery feature. This feature helps retailers find you, view ratings on specific products, and send you an invite, all in one sales channel.

You can also display retailer margins and turn off invites through this feature.

To find them, follow these steps:

On Shopify admin, navigate to Settings > Apps and sales channel > Collective (supplier) > Open sales channel.
Under the Settings section, turn the ‘Discovery’ feature on so that retailers can access your business.

Discovery feature — Source: The ECOM BULL

Create a referral page for your storefront that helps retailers connect with you.

Next, click Add Navigation, and activate “Build for Distribution” in the footer menu.

If you wish to invite retailers to your business, ensure you have their email address. Hop to the next section that discusses how to invite a retailer.

Inviting Retailers To Your Business

Using the Discovery feature, you can help other retailers find you. However, if you wish to invite them personally, follow these steps:

On Shopify admin, navigate to Settings > Apps and sales channel.
Locate Collective (supplier).
Next, select Open sales channel, and in Collective (Supplier) sales channel, choose Retailers. Then, click Invite retailer.
Under that, enter the email address of the retailer you wish to invite.
Add active price lists. You can also enter a note in the invitation email.
Finally, click send.

The retailer will receive your mail and be asked to install the Shopify Collective app on their admin account. The installation bit is a way to accept your offer.

Once they install the app, they will immediately gain access to import products that you’ve shared with that retailer through the invite.

You can manage retailer connections in the Retailers section of the Collective (supplier) sales channel.

Accessing retailers under the Collective (Supplier) sales channel — Source: The ECOM Bull

Next, we will understand how you can set up price lists and share them with retailers.

Setting Up Price Lists

A price list is a list of products that have a discounted cost price. This list is shared with the retailers you’re collaborating with through Shopify Collective.

Note: You have full control over price lists. You can remove retailer access, add or remove products, and deactivate or delete a price list.

Also, make sure to add the products you want to share with retailers to your primary market in Settings > Markets > Primary market before creating a price list. Remember, if you change the location of your product inventory, your inventory and order sync will break.

Creating price lists lets you –

Provide access to retailers. A single price list can be assigned to multiple retailers.
Add a title, status, retailer access, and set retailer margin.
Add products to the price list & share it with the retailer.
Set price list status to active/draft. Active means the price list is available for importing or selling by assigned retailers. Draft means it is unavailable to the retailer for import and selling.

The price list details contain the following:

Product Information

Product title, product description, variants, cost, etc., get imported to the retailer’s Shopify business. Retailers can freely make changes to it, but cannot make changes to the compare-at price, product cost and cost price.

The product data that the retailer imports are –

price
inventory
product title
product images
product description
product variants
vendor (the supplier)
product type
product category
cost price
SKU (Stock Keeping Unit)
barcode
country (region of origin)
HS (Harmonized System) code
compare-at price

Note: Tags, collections, custom metafields, and discount codes do not import.

Syncing Product Info & Inventory:

Shopify Collective syncs product price, cost, and inventory with the retailers’ stores (other product data does not sync).

When someone purchases a product from the retailer, your inventory automatically gets updated in your store.

Note: Sync usually takes under 30 seconds but may take up to five minutes, so high order volume could cause overselling. To sync other info like images or variants, remove and re-add the product to the price list.

Out-of-stock Products

If your product is out of stock and ‘Continue selling when out of stock’ is on, the retailer can still sell the products. In that case, you must manually notify the retailer about the stock status and give an estimated shipping date.

Keep in mind the retailer can’t turn off ‘Continue selling when out of stock.’

Cost Price

The cost price is determined by subtracting the retailer margin from the retail or compare-at price. When setting up a price list, the supplier can apply a retailer margin to all products in the list. If a retailer wishes to adjust the retail price, compare-at price, or cost price, they must reach out to the supplier.

Any changes made to the retail price, compare-at price, or cost price in the supplier’s store will automatically update in the retailer’s store. One can create multiple price lists, but individual cost prices cannot be set for specific products within a list.

Example:

Supplier: GreenEarth Organics sets a retail price of $60 for their Organic Face Serum with a 30% retailer margin. The cost price for retailers is $42.

Retailer: Glow Haven imports the product and lists it at $60. They want to lower the retail price to $55 but cannot edit it directly. They contact the supplier, who updates the price. The new price automatically syncs to Glow Haven’s store.

Suppliers can create multiple price lists but cannot set individual product prices within a list.

Sale Prices

The supplier can use the compare-at price to discount products in retailers’ stores. If the compare-at price is lower than the product price, it will sync to the retailer’s store. How and where the sale price appears depends on the retailer’s theme.

Example:

Supplier: GreenEarth Organics sets a retail price of $60 and a compare-at price of $75 for their Organic Face Serum. This syncs to retailers like Glow Haven.

If GreenEarth Organics lowers the compare-at price to $50, the retailer’s store will reflect the discount automatically. The appearance of the sale price depends on Glow Haven’s website theme.

Discounting

Retailers can’t change the retail price, but they can apply discount codes like a 30% offer, which affects the retailer’s earnings and the customer’s price, not supplier’s. If you don’t want your products included in retailer discounts, it’s best to inform them beforehand.

To create a price list, you need to do the following:

On the Collective (Supplier) sales channel, locate Price Lists.

Creating price list — Source: The ECOM Bull

Next, select ‘ Create price list’ and add a title.
Then, on ‘Status,’ choose between active or draft.
Find the retailers you want to share the price list with. You can do this under ‘Retailer access.’
Under ‘Pricing,’ add the retailer margin.

Adding details to price list — Source: The ECOM Bull

You also have the option to add products to the price list. Finally, click save.

To share a price list with a Shopify collective retailer, follow these steps:

In your Shopify admin, go to Settings > Apps and sales channels, then click Collective (Supplier) and select Open sales channel.
In the Collective (Supplier) channel, click Price lists, then Create price list.
Add a Title (not visible to retailers), choose the Status (Active or Draft), and under Retailer access, select the retailers to share with.
In Pricing, enter the retailer’s margin, and optionally click Add products to select the products you want to include.
Finally, hit the Save button.

Order Fulfillment & Returns

Once everything is set, the retailer will begin selling the supplier’s products on their Shopify store.

When a customer purchases your product from the retailer’s store, the order is Fulfilled in both stores. This order can also be viewed on the Orders page in the supplier’s Shopify admin.

It appears with the retailer’s name, informing you about which retailer made the sale on the particular order.

Other things you can do while fulfilling orders include:

Manage returns – Retailers set rules and policies around managing returns. You can see how they want returns to take place.

– Returns automatically get created in the supplier’s admin account.
– Solved returns make it to the retailer’s store and get updated.
– Reasons for returns and labels get synced into supplier’s Shopify admin.
Refunding – When automatic payment is active (from both ends), a refund gets sent to the retailer after the supplier sends a refund request. If automatic payments are not active, then inform the retailer about the refund.
Cancel a Collective order – Retailer sends a request to cancel an order. In this scenario, if automatic payments is active, Shopify Collective automatically cancels the order when payment was not collected (payment pending) and when payment was collected but the order was not fulfilled within 14 days.

Note: When a supplier cancels the order, the retailer must also cancel the order from their end. This should initiate a refund from the retailer’s side. When this happens, the retailer sees that the order status has changed to Request declined.

Shipping Rates & Zones

Suppliers can set up shipping rates and zones according to different products and retailers.

Shipping Rates – Only 4 shipping rate configurations are available per zone. Suppliers can only opt for one per shipping zone–calculated at checkout (default), flat rate, manually invoice retailer, and don’t ship to this zone.

Shipping Zones – Only 3 options are available per price list–US, Canada, and International.

To set up shipping rates and zones, follow these steps:

On the Collective (supplier) sales channel, go to Price Lists > Create price list.
In that, go to the Shipping section and select a shipping rate type for every zone you wish to ship to. The following are the types –

Calculated at checkout: Different shipping rates, based on your shipping profile rules, will appear at checkout.
Flat rate: A set shipping fee will appear at checkout.
Manually invoice: If other options don’t work, you can send an invoice manually.
Doesn’t ship to a zone: Choose this if you don’t ship to a certain zone.
Configure the automatic payments. If it is off or the retailer does not have access, you can still choose any shipping rate.
Finally, click Save.

How To Manage Shipping Rate Conflicts?
As a supplier, if your products are in multiple price lists, Shopify Collective gives importance to the shipping rates based on the shipping rate type.

If a price list uses calculated rates, rates will be displayed at checkout, irrespective of the flat rate. This uses Calculated at checkout.

If there are different flat rates across price lists, Shopify Collective will display the highest flat rate at checkout. This uses Different flat rates.

You can also give free shipping on Shopify a shot to improve the buying experience of the customer.

How To Use Shopify Collective As A Retailer

Retailers are given set margins assigned by the suppliers and sell the supplier’s products at the retail price they set. Retailers buy products at the discount price.

For this operation, you need to install the Collective (Retailer) app from the landing page. Ensure you understand the requirements & considerations for using it.

Here’s how that will look once you scroll down on the landing page –

Now, let’s delve into the process.

Finding & Inviting Suppliers

Finding suppliers is straightforward. There are 4 ways you can find suppliers to collaborate with –

1. Discover Feature – Easily find suppliers and information about their inventory, margins, price list, shipping rates, etc, by searching for specific products on the app. Also, you need to request pricing to learn about their shipping charges and margins.

3. Invites from suppliers – Accept the supplier’s invite by clicking on ‘To review’ tab on the Collective (Retailer) app. Then, click Accept invitation that appears next to the supplier’s name.

4. Signup link onboarding – Share links that automatically connect suppliers to your business. The signup link card appears in the settings section of the app. Copy the link and share.

You can view your connections and see if automatic payments are active with them, date of connection, total order count, average order value, and total sales made.

Note: Ensure you understand the policies to set rules for suppliers and manage products, shipping rates, and returns on the Collective app. Choose how to import and sync products, handle unavailable items, display supplier shipping rates, and manage return processing, fees, declines, and refunds.

Importing Products

Once the connection is established, start importing the products. Before you start importing, you must follow these considerations set by Shopify –

A Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) is required for all products sold through Shopify Collective. You can edit the SKU at any time. Here are the scenarios:

– If a product already has an SKU from the supplier, that SKU will be imported into your store.
– If a product doesn’t have an SKU, Shopify Collective will automatically create one for your store.
You can apply discount codes, like a 20% welcome offer, to the imported products, which affects your profit margins but not the amount paid to the supplier. Use third-party apps to exclude Collective products from discounts.
Product variants cannot be edited, and you cannot choose which variants to publish.
You cannot duplicate imported Shopify Collective products. If you do, it will break the connection with the supplier.
Metafields in Shopify, tags, collections, and discount codes will not be imported from a supplier’s store to yours.
POS (Point-of-Sale) inventory levels are not synced from the supplier’s store to yours. Only online inventory levels will be shown as available stock in your store.
You can have a maximum of 100 product variants. If a product exceeds this limit, the inventory and pricing information may not sync properly.

Psst! Too many identifiers to keep tabs on? Don’t worry! Learn about product identifiers and how you can use them for your Shopify store.

Now, let’s delve into the process of importing products.

Import Suppliers’ Products Into Retailer’s Store

Go to the Collective (Retail) app and locate Suppliers.

Accessing suppliers in collective (retailer) app — Source: The ECOM Bull

Find the supplier you wish to import products from.
Go to the Available tab and choose the products you want to import.
You also have the option to select all.
Finally, click import products.

Importing Products from Supplier to retailer — Source: The ECOM Bull

Keep in mind if you wish to edit these imported products, you won’t be able to edit all the product information. You can only edit – product title, description and media. Others, when done, will revert back to the original.

Go global! Learn how you can sell globally on Shopify.

Display Products On Retailer’s Store

To do this, go to Products > Product’s name. The product gets added to the sales channel (under Publishing).

In that, find the three dots and click manage sales channel. Select the sales channel and app you want to include the product in. Then, save the changes.

Calculating Shipping Rates

There are three supplier shipping settings – flat rate, calculated at checkout, manually invoice, and doesn’t ship.

All these are set by the supplier. They also control different shipping rates for different products based on the price list they have created.

Now, the shipping rates and your customers’ checkout experience go hand-in-hand. There are three factors that dictate the shipping rates and delivery estimates at checkout:

Supplier’s pre-determined shipping rates.
Options the retailers direct in their shipping policies.
A custom Collective shipping profile where the retailer sets their own shipping rates.

You can choose to show all of your supplier’s calculated rates or just the lowest one, and you can rename the rates and transit time descriptions to match your own shipping terms.

There are certain scenarios where shipping rates may conflict. They are listed below and how Shopify Collective tackles them:

Shipping Rates For Products Carts With Multiple Suppliers

If a cart has products from both Shopify Collective suppliers and your store, shipping rates are combined based on your shipping profiles, showing a single rate. The customer always pays the lowest-cost shipping option when multiple suppliers are involved.

Split Shipping In Shopify Checkout

When split shipping is turned on, customers can see a separate shipping rate for each part of their order, helping them understand when each item will arrive and how much they’ll pay for shipping from different suppliers. By default, the lowest total shipping cost is chosen for all shipments.

When Automatic Payments Are Turned On By Both

When both stores have automatic payments enabled in Shopify Collective, the payment for flat rates and calculated rates is transferred from the retailer to the supplier.

Order Management As A Retailer

When the supplier fulfills an order, it gets fulfilled in your store too with the order fulfillment details.

Here’s how the entire order management process works:

Supplier fulfills the order – When the customer makes a purchase from the retailer’s store and they select a product from the supplier’s inventory, the supplier helps with fulfilling the order by shipping it to their doorsteps.
Capturing Payments – When payment is captured automatically, an automatic fulfillment request is generated by the supplier after the customer makes the payment.

If payments are captured manually by the retailer or through a sales channel that does not capture payments till an order is fulfilled, then the retailer has to request fulfillment of an order from the supplier(s).
Return orders – Shopify Collective offers return policies that let the retailers automate the returns on Collective orders with the supplier. These policies entail – return processing, return window and fees, declined and canceled returns, and supplier refunds.
Refunding – When automatic payments are active from both ends, funds are automatically transferred to the retailer after refund is initiated by the supplier.

When automatic payments are not activated, the supplier manually transfers the funds to the retailer.

Say No To Fraud!
Sometimes, pesky people can create fake orders that hamper the suppliers’ and retailers’ efforts.

To evade such malicious activities, Shopify Collective users can utilize Shopify Flow, which helps them with fraud checks, holds order fulfillment, and notifies merchants about fraudulent orders.

Shopify Flow’s automation in such cases can quickly lower the chances of fraud orders passing and can swiftly cancel them, too.

And that’s how retailers can successfully collaborate with suppliers with the help of Shopify Collective.

Being A Retailer & Supplier At The Same Time

The best part about using Shopify Collective is that you can be both a supplier and retailer at the same time. The process to do so is pretty straightforward. You don’t need any extra steps; just follow the steps we have explained in the previous sections.

We’ve laid it out again for better understanding:

Install the Shopify Collective App: Add the Shopify Collective (Retailer) app to manage retailer activities.
Connect with Stores: Suppliers invite retailers, and retailers invite suppliers to connect via the app.
Manage Products and Orders: Suppliers handle fulfillment and tracking, while retailers manage customer communications.
Set Up Policies: Set policies for products, shipping rates, and returns.
Import and Merchandise Products: Retailers import products from suppliers and add them to sales channels.

Common Challenges Faced When Using Shopify Collective

We have gathered the common pitfalls Shopify merchants face and how they can fix them:

Price Management Conflicts

Challenge: Retailers cannot adjust retail or cost prices directly and must depend on the supplier to make changes. This can delay promotional adjustments.
Solution: Suppliers should offer multiple price lists or provide retailers with flexible promotional schedules. For this, use a clear communication channel for price requests and updates.

Inventory Mismatches

Challenge: Retailers may face issues when suppliers update stock levels or discontinue products without informing them.
Solution: Suppliers should regularly sync inventory updates and notify retailers in advance of product changes. Retailers should use automated alerts for low or out-of-stock items.

Limited Product Customization for Retailers

Challenge: Retailers may want to adjust product descriptions, images, or titles to match their brand but are limited by supplier-provided data.
Solution: Suppliers should allow retailers to customize product content while retaining core details like pricing and SKU.

Retailers can update product metadata (SEO tags, collections) to reflect their store’s style.

Theme-Dependent Display Issues

Challenge: Sale prices and discounts may display differently across retailers’ stores due to varying themes.
Solution: Suppliers should provide guidelines on how sale prices will appear.
Retailers should test and optimize their theme’s display for pricing and discounts.

Communication and Collaboration Gaps

Challenge: Delayed or unclear communication can cause issues with product updates, pricing, and promotions.
Solution: Use Shopify’s integrated messaging or third-party collaboration tools to maintain timely communication. Establish clear guidelines for requests, updates, and issue resolution.

Product Synchronization Delays

Challenge: Product updates, such as new variants or images, may take time to sync across retailer stores.
Solution: Suppliers should schedule updates during low-traffic hours and notify retailers in advance. Retailers can refresh product feeds manually if urgent updates are needed.

Product Visibility and Categorization

Challenge: Products may not appear in the correct categories or collections in a retailer’s store, affecting sales and discoverability.
Solution: Suppliers should provide detailed product categorization and tagging.

Retailers can adjust collection filters and product tags to ensure proper categorization.

Supplier-Retailer Agreement Issues

Challenge: Disputes may arise over pricing, product availability, or responsibilities for returns and refunds.
Solution: Establish a clear agreement outlining pricing, inventory updates, and return/refund responsibilities. Use Shopify Collective terms of service as a guide for transparent policies.

Conclusion

So far, we have understood how Shopify Collective can be a boon for merchants looking to sell products while not holding inventory. The best part about using it is that you can be both the supplier and the retailer and create ties with multiple Shopify stores.

This way, you not only build connections but generate profits together. Isn’t that awesome? So, jump on the Collective wagon and start finding suppliers or retailers!

FAQs

How much does Shopify Collective cost?

Shopify Collective is free for eligible U.S.-based Shopify stores (even Canada). There are no subscription fees or hidden costs, but the suppliers set transaction fees and product pricing. Retailers only pay for the products they purchase from suppliers.

Can I use the supplier and retailer app at the same time?

Yes, you can use both the supplier and retailer apps simultaneously. This allows you to act as both a supplier and a retailer, meaning you can sell your products through other Shopify stores while also sourcing products from other suppliers to expand your offerings.

Is there a limit to collaborating on Shopify Collective?

No, there is no limit to the number of suppliers or retailers you can collaborate with. You can connect with multiple partners to diversify your product catalog and grow your business without restrictions.

How does the supplier and retailer invitation work?

To invite suppliers or retailers, you need to send an invitation through the Shopify Collective app or use the Discovery feature. Once accepted, retailers can import supplier products with pre-set wholesale pricing, while suppliers can manage product visibility and order fulfillment.

How are payments handled between retailers and suppliers?

Payments are managed automatically within Shopify. Retailers pay suppliers for products only after they’ve been sold and shipped, ensuring a streamlined financial process.

How does order fulfillment work in Shopify Collective?

When a customer orders a product imported through Shopify Collective, the order is automatically routed to the supplier, who fulfills and ships the product directly to the customer. This eliminates the need for retailers to manage inventory or shipping logistics.

Can I control which products are shared with retailers?

Yes, suppliers can create specific price lists and assign products to particular retailers, maintaining control over their offerings and pricing strategies.