From small businesses just establishing their presence, to household names, it seems that everyone is on Shopify. There’s a good reason for it, with so many amazing apps and capabilities making it easier than ever to start your own eCommerce business. One of these amazing features that has been flying under the radar is the Shopify Collective. Never fear, Fyresite is here to tell you everything you need to know about the Shopify Collective.

What is Shopify Collective?

Shopify Collective is a sales channel that allows eligible stores to be a retailer, supplier, or both. This allows a bridge between stores where products can be sold by another merchant. Customers will interact with one store and be able to view products from multiple in one seamless transaction.

Is My Store Eligible?

For your store to be eligible to use Shopify Collective as a retailer or a supplier, you must meet all of the following conditions.

You have to be a US based company who sells in USD. Your store must have Shopify Payments enabled. Last but not least, you must have made at least $50,000 USD in the previous 12 months.

Meeting all these conditions means that you can use Shopify Collective, and it’s free – regardless of the Shopify plan you are subscribed to.

How to Use Shopify Collective as a Retailer

If you’re looking to use Shopify Collective as a retailer, here’s how.

Install

After determining that your store meets the conditions for eligibility, you can then install the Shopify Collective – Retailer app.

There are a few different ways to do this. You can get the retailer app from the Shopify Collective landing page, receive and accept an invitation to join Shopify Collective from a current supplier, or by installing the app via a direct invitation from Shopify.

No matter which way you choose to find the app, you will install and log into your Shopify store. If you have more than one store, you will choose an eligible store that you would like the app installed to.

Curate Products and Connect With Suppliers

Now that you have registered as a retailer, you can curate products and connect with suppliers. Using the discover feature in the Shopify Collective app, you can view products and suppliers to connect with.

When searching for a compatible supplier, you will be able to view details about them. This includes their brand description, location, typical margin, average rating (based on verified reviews), where they ship to/from, shipping rates, and their social links.

Once you have found a supplier that you want to partner with, you can request pricing from them. If you reach an agreement, you can move onto the next step.

Sell and Profit

After buying the product from a supplier, typically for below retail price, you can import the products to your store. You can then add shipping (based on the shipping rates of your supplier) and add the products to the store for your customers to purchase.

How to Use Shopify Collective as a Supplier

Looking to use Shopify Collective as a supplier? Here’s how.

Install

If your store meets the conditions for eligibility, the first step is to install the Shopify Collective – supplier sales channel. There are three ways this can be done.

The first way is to click ‘get the supplier app’ through the Shopify Collective landing page. The second way is to accept either an invitation or a request to connect from a retailer currently using Shopify Collective. The final way is to install the sales channel via an invitation directly from Shopify.

Regardless of the method used, the next step is to install the Shopify Collective and log into your eligible Shopify store. If you have multiple stores, click on the one that you will be using this sales channel on, and click ‘add sales channel’.

Connect With Retailers to Distribute Product

After you have completed the steps to join the Shopify Collective as a supplier, you can now connect with retailers to distribute your products.

Retailers will find you via Discovery. In order to use Discovery, your store must have the Shop sales channel installed, meet the Shop merchant guidelines, have made at least $50,000 USD in the last 12 months, and have a high reply rate to the retailer messages that you receive.

Ship and Profit

Once you have come to an agreement with your retailer, you will fulfill the orders the same way you would orders coming directly from your store.

Common Questions About Shopify Collective

Still have lingering questions about how to use Shopify Collective? Here are the answers to some frequently asked questions.

Do I Have to Choose Between Being a Retailer and Being a Supplier?

No! As long as you’re an eligible Shopify store, you can be both a retailer and a supplier.

How Will My Customers Be Impacted?

Your customers will experience the same as they are when buying any other product from you. Retailers and suppliers both get the benefit of being discovered by customers, while the customer enjoys one seamless shopping experience.

Start Your Shopify Journey Today

Not currently on Shopify and wanting to take advantage of amazing features like Collective? Contact Fyresite or use our affiliate link today.