API for vendors listing on a single Shopify marketplace

[intointo]

Hello

I currently run a shopify-based online marketplace selling second-hand luxury vintage products and accessories.

Our product is a mix of owned and consignment stock, of which the latter is the focus for this question.

We source our consignment inventory from various independent shops around the world, and in order to make this a more efficient process, we are considering implementing a third party SAAS that allows independent shops to list their products on multiple marketplaces at once (e.g. ebay, vestiare collective). Essentially these independent stores (e.g. your local vintage store) can upload product information on a page, select which malls to sell on, and the SAAS takes care of listing on each store and ensuring that inventory is reflected in a timely manner (e.g. if a sale is made on one marketplace, then the inventory is taken down on all other marketplaces).

Our goal is to be a marketplace that is linked to this particular SAAS (called Worldswitch), and my question is as follows:

• Is it feasible to have an API integration between a Shopify-based Marketplace and Worldswitch, in which each product information and sales data is linked specifically with each independent store?
• Given that Worldswitch has done API integration with Shopify based stores before, how difficult would it be to do an integration with our shop?
• Will there need to be additional backend engineering or does existing Shopify Plus allow for such an integration to take place? Either way, what are the resources and time required to set this integration up?

Thank you very much.

[Liam]

Hi Intointo,

Based on your description, it seems like a very feasible approach to have an API integration between a Shopify-based Marketplace and Worldswitch. Shopify's APIs are designed to allow for this type of integration where inventory and product information is transferred between other platforms.

The complexity of the integration would depend which specific features you require, how your data is structured, and the capabilities of Worldswitch's API. If Worldswitch has done API integration with Shopify-based stores before, they likely have familiarity with Shopify's API documentation and capabilities, which could make the integration process smoother.

In terms of Shopify's capabilities, you may want to consider using Shopify's GraphQL Admin API for interacting with your store's backend and the Storefront API for buyer-facing integrations. Shopify also offers a Bulk Operations feature that may be useful for handling large amounts of product data.

I'd recommend taking a look at the linked docs to see if you can access the information and features you need. 

Hope this helps!