Shopify FAQ

Modified on Thu, Nov 9, 2023 at 1:31 PM

Frequently Asked Questions

Getting started with ResaleAI + Shopify

What is the first step to get started with Shopify?

First, you’ll set up your Shopify storefront. You can do this yourself, or contact one of the marketing vendors like PureDriven or J Miller, and they have packages to set up your Shopify store for you.

Next, you will start adding products to your Shopify store. This is where ResaleAI’s tool, CamRAI, comes in to help with product upload.

How will the ResaleAI integration work with Shopify?

To add a product in Shopify, you have to type in the product’s details, which can be tedious. Our tool CamRAI allows you to scan the DRS tag to pull in all the item’s details automatically, quickly add a picture, and send to Shopify. This will make adding products much faster.

We also have a set of collections we've can create for you to organize products on your site. This way all items added with CamRAI will be grouped appropriately automatically.

You can use our tools regardless of how you set up your site, or even if you have an established site with existing products and collections.

Soon we will add additional tools around order fulfillment in the store.

Our existing DRS integration will also be an important part of a successful Shopify store, including unified customer records, QuickBooks and Fivestars integration, and more.

How do I connect Shopify to ResaleAI?

Once you've created a Shopify account, you can connect ResaleAI and get going!

Follow these instructions to begin.

Shopify basics

What Shopify plan should I sign up for?

There are several options available, starting at $29/mo and $79/mo. You can review their features here to decide which works best for you.

There is also a "Lite" plan that does not give you any dedicated website for customers to view and shop your products, but does let you list items in a Facebook shop and handle payments. See details at the bottom of the pricing page linked above.

If I’m a multi-store owner, do I need multiple Shopify accounts?

Yes, to use our integration, you will need to have separate Shopify accounts for each store.

How do I organize the items listed on Shopify in my store?

Items in Shopify are grouped into "Collections". You can set up your own collections, or we have a set of collections we can add for you. We have a set of collections for each brand that includes most DRS subcategories. See the articles below for more information!

What payment methods are accepted in Shopify? Does Shopify have a fee for sales?

Shopify has a built-in payment processor that should be sufficient that allows the customer to use many payment methods (learn more). You can also connect third-party payment processors, but there are additional fees associated.

There is a fee for credit card transactions. Generally, the fee is 2.9% or 2.6% (depending on your Shopify plan) + $0.30 per transaction.

After a customer has purchased an item in Shopify, you will need to ring it up in DRS to remove it from inventory. You can select “Internet” for the payment type, and enter the Shopify order number so you can map the Shopify order to the DRS transaction.

Do I have to calculate taxes myself?

Shopify’s payment processing will automatically calculate the correct taxes for you. If your area does not have sales tax on clothing, you can override taxes if needed (see info here).

Store operations

If an item sells in-store, will it automatically become “unavailable” on the Shopify site? Or if a Shopify item sells, will it automatically be updated in DRS?

When an item sells on Shopify, it will immediately become unavailable for any other customers to purchase online on Shopify. But you will need to locate the item in the physical store, and ring it up in DRS to remove them from your inventory. We are working on additional order fulfillment tools to make this more efficient.

When an item sells in-store through DRS, our integration will be able to send an update to Shopify to mark that item as unavailable online. This is working now, but it processes in batches (so it isn't instantaneous). This will continue to evolve and become faster over time.

NOTE - For this to work, it requires the newest version of ResaleAI on every POS computer.

Where should I keep items posted on Shopify? Should I keep them on the sales floor, or store them separately?

This is up to your preference! Some stores are choosing to keep Shopify products on their sales floor, others are choosing to store them in a dedicated place.

We've heard of some stores putting a special tag on items that mentions "Available online" - this helps employees spot the pieces on the sales floor more quickly, and advertises the online store to in-store customers.

Others are using backstock bins to store Shopify products. As you upload the item with CamRAI, you can make a note of the bin number in the spot for "Location". Then you can review the location in ResaleAI when someone purchases it. so it's easier to find. If a bin is completely full, you could log it in to Backstock as "Shopify" so you know where the bin is located.

How do I set up free curbside pickup? Can we do curbside pickup and standard shipping?

Yes, you can have options for both curbside pickup and standard shipping.

In your Shopify settings, you will create a shipping rate that is always free, and name it "Curbside pickup" (or whatever you prefer). Then set up the desired amount for standard shipping.

When customers check out, they will see the options for both Curbside and Standard shipping and can choose which they prefer.

See this Shopify help center article for more information.

Can we offer free shipping for orders over a certain amount?

Yes, you can create many different shipping tiers. Refer to this Shopify help center article for more information.

In general, you can create shipping rates based on several conditions, such as the order's weight or the dollar amount of the order. You can specify how much shipping will cost under different conditions.

That means you can create a shipping rate called "Free shipping" with a cost of $0 to the customer when the order amount is greater than $99 (or whatever threshold you prefer).

You can also use this method to create flat-rate shipping tiers. You can even create different shipping zones and define what rates apply (for example, you may have one shipping zone for your state with a flat-rate price, and another shipping zone for out-of-state orders with a higher price).

How should I handle returns?

You are welcome to allow returns. This is entirely up to you and you would need to manually create the return in DRS once the items are back in your hands (either through curbside return-dropoff or through shipping). You need to decide if you would like your customer to pay for return shipping, or if the store will pay for it.

Will Winmark allow e-commerce through Shopify after the 180 days?

Currently, you must sign Winmark’s waiver to allow you to participate in e-commerce sales, which states it is only valid for 180 days or until they develop their own e-commerce platform. Stores participating in non-Winmark e-commerce would eventually have to discontinue the use of that program.

We do believe it will be possible to adjust our product upload tool and future e-commerce solutions to work with a platform Winmark develops, but will need to partner with their team once that is ready.

What types of items should we list on our site? Should we only list high-dollar items?

We think it makes sense to begin with higher-value items, so you can hopefully generate sales as quickly as possible. But we feel that you should aim to have a mix of products available, including higher and lower priced items. Customers may not be willing to pay for a single lower-priced item, but they can easily shop for many pieces to create an outfit. So it will be important to have a variety of categories and sizes. But what you upload is ultimately up to you!

Can we sell bundles or boxes through Shopify? Grouping items of a certain size or style?

You can create products of any kind. Normally a product would be a single item, but there is no reason you couldn’t create a custom bundle if desired.

You can upload a general picture to use, add a price point for the bundle, and add a detailed description of what that bundle includes. You would need to do this manually rather than in our product upload tool.