When will a public application be accepted as a Saleschannel?

Andre_Lohmann
Shopify Partner
3 0 0
Hi there,

the (currently private) application I build needs to use the headless Checkout API, as it needs to commit e.g. custom prices to the checkout. The storefront api is lacking this kind (and some others) of functionality, so it is sadly not a good fit. Anyways, my application is no typical Marketplace nor a platform to sell the merchants products. It’s more a different kind of sales channel website, where the merchant can sell his products to a special group of users in a special way (while it is still website driven). I‘m highly interested in publishing this app to the AppStore, but to fulfill the requirement of using the Shopify Checkout, I need to fall back to the headless Checkout api. How high is the risk, my application will be denied to be classified as a Saleschannel or how strict are the Shopify rules in case of classifying and app as a Saleschannel app, when it is not a Marketplace or Platform connector?
http://www.smartformer.de - App Development at its best
Replies 4 (4)

Ryan
Shopify Staff
499 42 120

Hi @Andre_Lohmann,

 

The rules for being listed onto the Shopify App Store, including the specific sales channel requirements (section 13) are available in our help center here.

 

To answer your other questions I would need a bit more info, how would you be using the checkout API? Just to create web checkouts and redirect the customer there? Or would you be performing payment processing yourself? 

 

Regards,

Ryan

Ryan | Shopify 
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Andre_Lohmann
Shopify Partner
3 0 0
My solution will offer some kind of a second custom Store Frontend with a
custom presentation of the Products especially for the buyer. It will also
implement it's own checkout, while payment will be reduced to invoice
(that's where I need the Checkout API for). I don't want to give too much
in information here (cause its public), but we can initiate a presentation
of the current (private app) solution and talk about the vision for the
public app, I have.
http://www.smartformer.de - App Development at its best
Andre_Lohmann
Shopify Partner
3 0 0

Also chapter 13. is very unspecific:

 

A sales channel app lets merchants publish their products from their Shopify admin to your platform, whether they're selling online, on mobile apps, or through social media.

 

I'm currently not offering a Platform or Marketplace. Each Merchant, that installs my app gets its own additional storefrontend with its own (Sub)Domain and a custommizable view.

 

My only argument is, that for the merchant, it can be seen as an additional sales channel, but not in the way Platform or Marketplace like Amazon, Ebay, Facebook, Pinterest can be, where all merchants are presenting on the same Platform.

 

So still my question is, how strict are the requirements from shopify side, in case of Platform or Marketplace concept, to allow the usage of the checkout api? In terms of the Admin Interface (with the use of polaris e.g.) I can fulfill all these requirements.

http://www.smartformer.de - App Development at its best
Ryan
Shopify Staff
499 42 120

Sounds a little bit like a mobile app builder if you are building a custom storefront, but not necessarily mobile only.

 

To my knowledge the only restriction is that you cannot bypass the Shopify checkout, it must be used to process payments.

 

You can DM me additional details and I can look into it, but the requirements are all listed on the previous page I linked for all different types of app categories.

Ryan | Shopify 
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