How Shopify Collective Works: Setup for Retailers & Suppliers
Sell products from other Shopify stores — no inventory, no subscription fee. Live in 38 countries and regions; partners must share a country and currency.
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Shopify Collective is free to use for eligible stores, with no subscription or setup fee, so the costs you budget for are your existing Shopify plan, standard Shopify Payments processing fees and the supplier's shipping rate on each order.
Retailers import products from other Shopify stores without buying inventory and keep the difference between the retail price and the cost price set by the supplier, a margin that Shopify documentation puts at typically 20% to 50%.
Suppliers get distribution without marketing spend and receive their cost price per unit automatically, with no extra fees.
Both stores need an active plan other than Pause and Build, Shopify Payments, and the same country and currency within the 38 supported countries and regions, and the channel handles physical products only.
The Short Answer
Key Takeaway: Shopify Collective is a free channel — no subscription or setup fee — where Shopify merchants sell each other's products. Suppliers publish price lists with a retailer margin built in; retailers import them and keep the difference. It needs an active plan, Shopify Payments and Network Intelligence; only Pause and Build is excluded.
Shopify Collective is Shopify's native merchant-to-merchant sales channel. A supplier creates wholesale price lists for their products. A retailer discovers those products, imports them to their store, and keeps the margin the supplier set — or adjusts the retail price. When a customer buys, the retailer collects the full price, the order goes to the supplier automatically, and the supplier ships directly to the customer.
Verdict by store profile
Your situation
Verdict
Why
You have traffic and an audience but a thin catalog, and you don't want to buy stock
Yes — join as a retailer
The channel costs $0, the supplier's price list sets your margin — typically 20–50% — and you can adjust the retail price, with no inventory to buy.
You're a DTC brand that already manufactures or stocks products and wants distribution
Yes — install the Supplier channel
Retailers sell on your behalf while you receive your cost price per unit, with no extra fees and no marketing spend.
You want a wider catalog and want your own products in other stores
Yes — run both roles at once
A single store can install the Collective app and the Collective: Supplier sales channel side by side.
You're on Pause and Build, sell digital products, or your partner is in another country
No — Collective won't work
It needs an active plan with Shopify Payments activated, physical products only, and both stores in the same country and currency.
“Shopify Collective lets you connect with other Shopify stores and sell each other's products in Shopify.”
Retailers — import and sell products from other Shopify stores, with no inventory to buy or warehouse.
Suppliers — share products via price lists, get orders automatically, and ship directly to end customers.
The entire system is free to use for eligible stores — no subscription or setup fee, and no extra charge for automatic supplier payments. Shopify's own Collective page promises “no high commissions” rather than zero, and none of its Collective help pages we read in September 2026 names a commission, so the costs you budget for are your existing Shopify plan, standard Shopify Payments processing fees and the supplier's shipping rate on each order. Collective is a partnership channel, not a plan feature: it works on any active Shopify plan — from Basic ($39/mo) to Plus; the only plan Shopify's requirements pages rule out by name is Pause and Build.
Selling wholesale from your own store is the other job, and Shopify's native B2B toolkit has been included on Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus since April 2026.
A single Shopify store can be both a retailer and a supplier simultaneously. Install the Collective app (for retailing) and the Collective: Supplier sales channel (for supplying) side by side.
Who Is Shopify Collective For?
Key takeaway
You're a Retailer if…
You're a Supplier if…
You want more products without buying inventory
You manufacture or stock your own products
You have traffic/audience but limited catalog
You want distribution through other stores
You want to test new niches with zero risk
You want more sales without marketing spend
You run a boutique, gift shop, or curated store
You're a DTC brand open to wholesale partnerships
Requirements & Eligibility
Key takeaway
Requirement
Retailer
Supplier
Active Shopify plan
✓ Any active plan (not Pause and Build)
✓ Any active plan (not Pause and Build)
Shopify Payments
✓ Fully activated, payouts active, payout currency = store currency
✓ Fully activated, payouts active, payout currency = store currency
Supported country
✓ One of 38 countries and regions
✓ One of 38 countries and regions
Same country & currency
✓ Must match supplier
✓ Must match retailer
ID verification
May be required
May be required
Tax setup
UK & EU: Shopify Tax, Basic Tax or a tax app (not Manual Tax), plus a verified VAT number if VAT-registered
Same for UK & EU; Canada: a tax app plus a verified GST/HST number
As of September 2026, Shopify Collective is available in the following 38 countries and regions — the same list for retailers and suppliers. The store's default currency must also be one of 18 supported currencies (USD, CAD, MXN, AUD, NZD, JPY, SGD, HKD, GBP, EUR, CHF, DKK, SEK, NOK, PLN, CZK, HUF, RON); it doesn't have to be the domestic currency of the store's country.
Americas & Asia-Pacific
United States
Canada
Mexico
Australia
New Zealand
Japan
Singapore
Hong Kong
Europe
United Kingdom, Ireland
Germany, Italy, Spain
Netherlands, Belgium, Austria
Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland
Portugal, Switzerland, Gibraltar
Poland, Czechia, Hungary, Romania
Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Slovenia
Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
Luxembourg, Malta, Cyprus, Liechtenstein
Not in a supported country?
The list above is the whole rule, and the absence of a country is an answer in itself. France is the one large European market Shopify leaves off it, so a French store can connect as neither a retailer nor a supplier — and the same holds for any market that is not named. Partnering across a border is not a way around it either: retailer and supplier must share the same country and currency. If your market is missing, the sourcing decision moves elsewhere — compare the alternatives in our Collective versus dropshipping apps breakdown, or look at overseas wholesale in our Alibaba and Shopify guide.
How Shopify Collective Works
Key takeaway
For Retailers
Key takeaway
As a retailer, you use the Shopify Collective app to discover products from other merchants and add them to your store.
1
Install the app
Install 'Shopify Collective' from the Shopify App Store. Complete ID verification if prompted.
2
Find suppliers
Browse the Discovery page to find suppliers in your niche. Send connection requests or import from public price lists instantly.
3
Import products
Select products from a supplier's price list. They appear in your store as draft products — edit titles, descriptions, and images as needed.
4
Check your margin
Products import with the supplier's retail price and a cost price set by the supplier's margin (typically 20–50%). Retail-price sync is off by default, so you can raise or lower the retail price — Shopify suggests agreeing on it with the supplier first.
5
Customer places order
When a customer buys, you collect the full retail price via Shopify Payments. Shopify automatically forwards the order to the supplier.
6
Supplier fulfills
The supplier ships directly to your customer. Tracking info syncs back to your store automatically.
For Suppliers
Key takeaway
As a supplier, you use the Shopify Collective: Supplier sales channel to share your products with retailers who sell on your behalf.
“You can sell your products through other retailers on Shopify by using the Shopify Collective: Supplier sales channel. Shopify Collective can help you reduce operational costs and risk, and drive more sales without investing more into your own marketing.”
Install 'Shopify Collective: Supplier' sales channel from the App Store. Complete ID verification if prompted.
2
Create price lists
Build wholesale price lists for your products — set the retailer margin (at least 5% on public lists), choose which products to share, and decide visibility (public or invite-only).
3
Connect with retailers
Use Discovery to find retailers or invite them directly. Approve connection requests from interested stores.
4
Retailer sells your products
Connected retailers import your products at your retail price less the margin you set, and may adjust the retail price. You receive the cost price per unit.
5
Fulfill orders
When a retailer's customer buys, you receive the order automatically. Ship directly to the end customer.
6
Get paid
Shopify transfers your cost price plus your shipping rate automatically when both stores turn on automatic payments.
How Shopify Collective Helps Build a Store Without InventoryLearn With Shopify walks through using Shopify Collective to source products from US-based suppliers and build a store with zero upfront inventory investment.
Product data, inventory levels, and variant availability sync automatically between supplier and retailer stores.
Automatic Order Routing
Orders are forwarded to suppliers instantly. Tracking numbers sync back to the retailer's store.
Automated Payments
Shopify splits payments automatically — retailer collects full price, supplier receives the cost price plus its flat or calculated shipping rate.
Trust & Safety
Both parties are verified Shopify merchants. ID verification, community guidelines, and eligibility checks protect the ecosystem.
Price Lists Explained
Key takeaway
Suppliers create price lists — curated selections of products with wholesale pricing. Price lists can be:
Public — any retailer on the Discovery page can instantly import products.
Private (invite-only) — only retailers who receive a direct invitation can access the price list.
Retailers see the cost price (what they pay the supplier — the supplier's retail price minus the margin set in the price list) and can raise or lower the retail price on their own store, since retail-price sync is off by default. The difference is their profit; the margin itself is the supplier's call, with a 5% floor on public price lists.
Order & Payment Flow
Key takeaway
When a customer buys a Collective product from a retailer's store:
The retailer collects the full retail price via Shopify Payments.
Shopify automatically creates an order on the supplier's store.
The supplier fulfills and ships directly to the customer.
Tracking information syncs back to the retailer's store.
Shopify transfers the supplier's cost price — and any flat or calculated shipping rate — automatically when both stores have automatic payments turned on.
With automatic payments on for both stores, Shopify handles the split, including the supplier's flat or calculated shipping rate, much as Shopify Payments processes card transactions. A supplier can still mark some products for manual invoicing, and those you pay outside Collective on terms you agree.
Margins & Revenue Model
Key takeaway
The Collective revenue model is simple: the retailer's profit = retail price − supplier's cost price, less any supplier shipping rate your checkout doesn't recover, where the cost price is the supplier's retail price minus the margin they set in the price list. Shopify's Collective help pages, read in September 2026, name no commission or platform fee on these orders beyond standard Shopify Payments processing fees; its marketing page says “no high commissions” rather than promising zero.
Weighing that against the margins you would keep sourcing the classic way? Our breakdown of dropshipping profit margins walks the same subtraction with app-based suppliers, where the fees Collective does not charge reappear elsewhere.
The figures below assume a US retailer on the Basic plan, whose Shopify Payments online rate is 2.9% + 30¢. A retailer on a higher plan pays a lower processing rate and keeps slightly more of the same order.
Metric
Amount
Customer pays (retail price)
$80.00
Supplier's cost price (35% retailer margin)
−$52.00
Shopify Payments fee — US Basic (2.9% + 30¢)
−$2.62
Your net profit per order
$25.38
Effective margin
31.7%
The example leaves out shipping: the retailer also pays the supplier's flat or calculated shipping rate, which the default Collective shipping profile adds to the customer's checkout. Offer free shipping on Collective products, or sell items the supplier invoices manually (checkout then shows free shipping by default), and the supplier's shipping cost comes out of your $25.38. The processing fee also applies to any shipping the customer pays.
Supplier benefit
Suppliers don't pay extra fees either. They gain additional sales volume through retailers' audiences without spending on marketing, ads, or customer acquisition. The only cost is fulfillment — which they'd handle for their own orders anyway.
Retailers and suppliers must be in the same country and use the same store currency to connect. Collective cannot bridge two countries, so overseas sourcing still means traditional wholesale import — our Alibaba and Shopify sourcing guide covers landed cost, Trade Assurance and 2026 tariffs. Selling wholesale from your own store is a different job entirely, and that is Shopify's native B2B toolkit.
The Bottom Line
Key takeaway
Shopify Collective sits in a unique spot: it's not traditional dropshipping, and it's not B2B wholesale. It's a free, lightweight, domestic partnership tool that any Shopify merchant can use.
The lowest-risk way to diversify revenue. Zero inventory investment for retailers, zero marketing costs for suppliers. No subscription or setup fee — the margin is yours after processing fees and the supplier's shipping rate.
Start selling products from other Shopify stores — no inventory, no risk, no subscription fee. Collective is live in 38 countries and regions, and retailer margins typically run 20% to 50%.
Yes, for eligible stores. The retailer app and supplier channel install free, with no subscription or setup fee, and automatic supplier payments carry no extra charge. Shopify's Collective page promises "no high commissions" rather than zero, and no Collective help page we read in September 2026 names a commission, so budget for your Shopify plan, standard Shopify Payments processing fees and the supplier's shipping rate.
Shopify Collective works on any active Shopify plan — Basic, Grow, Advanced and Plus. Shopify's requirement is simply that your store is on an active plan with Shopify Payments set up and payouts active. The one plan Shopify's requirements pages rule out by name is Pause and Build; Starter is not mentioned on them, and Shopify no longer offers Starter to new stores anyway.
Yes. A single Shopify store can act as both a retailer (importing products from other stores) and a supplier (sharing products for others to sell). You install both the Collective app (retailer) and the Collective: Supplier sales channel.
Unlike traditional dropshipping with AliExpress or overseas suppliers, Collective connects you with verified Shopify merchants in your own country. This means faster shipping (domestic, not 15–30 days), real brand partnerships, automatic inventory sync, and Shopify handles the payment splits automatically.
As of September 2026 Shopify Collective is available in 38 countries and regions: the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Norway, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein and 25 of the 27 EU countries. France and Slovakia are the EU absences — a French or Slovak store can join as neither retailer nor supplier. Both the retailer and supplier must be in the same country and use the same store currency.
Yes. Shopify Payments must be activated and fully set up on your store. This is a mandatory requirement for both retailers and suppliers. Your payout currency must also match your store's currency.
No. Shopify's documentation states the Collective app doesn't support digital products or gift card products, so the channel is for physical goods. Subscriptions and combined listings are a separate case: Shopify lists them among compatible features for retailers, but not on the supplier side.
The supplier handles all fulfillment. When a customer purchases a Collective product from a retailer's store, the order is automatically forwarded to the supplier, who ships directly to the customer. Tracking information syncs back to the retailer's store.
The retailer collects the full retail price from the customer via Shopify Payments and owes the supplier the cost price plus the cost of shipping. With automatic payments turned on for both stores, Shopify passes both to the supplier automatically. Products the supplier marks for manual invoicing are paid outside Collective instead.
Partially. Collective products can be added to your POS channel for purchase, and customers can place orders in-person. However, products are shipped to the customer's address by the supplier — pickup in store is not supported for Collective products.
The retailer margin is set by the supplier in their price list — Shopify's own documentation puts typical margins at 20% to 50%, with a 5% minimum on public price lists. You buy at the resulting cost price, and because retail-price sync is off by default you can raise or lower the retail price on your store, which changes your profit per order.
Yes. Shopify Collective is fully compatible with Shopify Flow for both retailers and suppliers. You can automate workflows like tagging Collective orders, sending notifications, or updating inventory thresholds.
Front-end developer specializing in Shopify since 2017. Experienced in building custom Liquid themes, optimizing storefront performance, and integrating third-party apps. Directs the editorial process behind Ecom Store Pro: sets its topics and the rules every AI-written page must pass before publication.
This page was written by AI. Separate AI agents that did not write it check its figures and claims against official sources and test its links and interactive tools. A human editor sets the site's editorial direction, topics and rules and checks that pages are complete and display correctly, but does not check their facts or edit their text. Details may change — always confirm critical data at shopify.com.
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