Pros and cons of Shopify please

Personally I like Shopify. I use it to run my public-facing webstore and even though I don’t know a thing about programming in #liquid (or however you identify the language) it is pretty easy overall.

It is pretty easy to start out with. I have the legacy basic plan for which I pay ~$312/year, perfect for me. I think that gives me a couple features above the current basic plan because of when I started, and so as long as I don’t pause the plan I get to keep them.

As @papy said, it’s all about 3rd party apps to get other things going. I am fully MFN, though I did do FBA at one point mixed with MFN. For MFN only it is pretty simple. I create all my listings in Shopify first, then find a related offer page on Amazon. I use Marketplace Connect (app) for syncing inventory between Shopify, Amazon, Tiktok, and ebay (and when it syncs to ebay and TikTok it will publish the whole listing/description for you). It used to be a standalone app but I guess Shopify bought it recently so it’s less third party and more premium service.

The customer support via forums is a little better than Amazon, but I tend to not need as much help there as I do on the River of Despair. 3rd Party app support is typically who I have to reach out to because it’s an app that might be causing the issue, and generally I have found them to be immediate and very helpful. There is a lot of help available for paid hire if needed for Shopify in general but I have never needed that level (yet!). Apps also generally come with 7 day or 14 day free trials, or free services for under X orders per month (YMMV).

I love being able to purchase most of my shipping directly through Shopify each night for orders coming in from ebay, Amazon, Tiktok, and the online store all in one screen. The minor issue is that you don’t have access to cubic mail pricing from USPS. So when that’s an issue I just buy direct from the marketplace or through Pirateship. They do offer access to cubic but they upcharge for it - annoying, but nothing deal breaking.

The one thing I have to say, if you do MFN, is that you need to create your SCAN sheet manifests manually and you MUST do it by 11:59pm (EST) or you lose that info. Not sure why they don’t automate it like Amazon, and it’s been an irritation on more than one occasion, but if you do FBA or you can remember to do these things better than me, it’s not terrible.

I am not a brick and mortar (yet), but I have access to basic PoS as well. I bought their cheapest card reader (swipe, tap and dip) and it has worked perfectly for doing small in-person events running my “register” with my ipad.

Hope this helps, but feel free to ask any other questions and I will see if I can be any help!

So, shopify does not advertise your website for you. For this we established a Google Merchant account and linked it to our website.

You will need a small advertising budget.

Overall, I like Shopify. As others mentioned, the need for Apps is a thing. My Apps cost about $48 ta month. I find Shopify’s shipping / handling settings / interface clunky at best.

Although I haven’t changed my store’s design since 2017, you have many pre-made designs available for your store.

Hi–

A day late and $1 short

I had a Shopify store but closed it due to the expense of add-ons. I tend to keep my inventory at low levels, so anytime it went to 0, it upped inventory by 999.

I later bought a course and built my own website. I find it easier to manage than Shopify. It proved expensive because not all free plugins are created equal.

Ouch!