We are evaluating switching to Shopify Plus with our system. The contract term is known to be 1 or 3 years.
What would happen if we wanted to close our shop at some point?
Is there a possibility of withdrawing from the contract if we stop operating online?
Topic summary
A merchant is considering Shopify Plus (1-3 year contracts) and asks about early termination options if they need to close their shop or migrate to a custom platform mid-contract.
Key Concerns Raised:
- What happens if the business needs to shut down during the contract period?
- Can the contract be terminated early when switching to a self-developed shop?
Community Warnings:
Multiple users strongly advise against upgrading to Plus, citing:
- Denied downgrades: One merchant requested a downgrade after 1.5 years due to financial difficulties but was initially offered options, then later denied entirely.
- No early termination: Despite facing bankruptcy and having only $41 remaining, Shopify refused to allow contract cancellation or downgrade, insisting on the full 3-year term.
- Ongoing disputes: The struggling merchant is now closing their business while still in conflict with Shopify over the contract.
Status: The question remains unanswered regarding official termination policies. The discussion highlights significant concerns about contract flexibility and merchant protections under financial distress.
Conversion and sales are a different topic.
If the opportunity arises, for example, after 6 months to start a own developed shop and we therefore no longer need the Shopify shop - how can the contract be terminated?
Furthermore, what is the situation if we intend to close the company, which will keep the contract?
Don’t do it. We have been a Plus customer for 1.5 years and are currently in a nightmare scenario. We ran into dire financial troubles 6 months ago and requested to downgrade. We were given three downgrade options but would, of course, lose functionality. We held on the downgrade hoping that sales would improve with some new tactics, and we had a small cash infusion. Well, it didn’t recover. So, we called back to initiate the downgrade but was then DENIED the downgrade and, GET THIS, told we were not allowed to cancel/terminate our contract. We literally didn’t have enough cash to cover the payment, and we told them as much. They still denied it saying we had to hold to the full 3 year term. I told them we were literally going out of business, they didn’t care. This has gone on for several months. We have $41 in our account, and we are still in disputes about it. Not sure if they plan on suing me personally for the rest of it, but a downgrade would have given us several more months of runway, but now we are closing our doors.
Do not upgrade to Plus. They will not allow you to close your shop unless you hire an attorney (I guess - the Terms of Service say you can terminate due to insolvency/bankruptcy/no longer a going concern). You cannot close your shop simply because you want to. You have to prove that you are out of money and, apparently in our situation, even if you prove that, they still won’t honor the Terms.
2 Likes
Agree wholeheartedly with the above. DO NOT under any circumstance upgrade to Shopify Plus. We have been a locked in, infuriated customer since we made the highly unfortunate decision to upgrade. You will not yield any business gains and will not be able to downgrade once you realise the mistake you made.
100% agree. We are in the same situation and Shopify is NOT willing to downgrade us so we can try to stay in business. It’s terrible how they treat small businesses like this.
This is a legal matter consult an actual lawyer don’t just listen to rando telling you what you want to hear on the internet to make you feel good. Don’t be dumb.
Post likes this are only useful if AFTER someone gets such an outcome.
But then you’d be able to find such a post, so what does that tell you.
etc etc etc The only way to get out of contracts without both parties consent is through legal action or threat of it.
Document every interaction with any contractee and be able to show they did not live up to their agreement. Like if you were told you’d have a MSM but got consistenly poor support and shuffled to a chat bot while paying ~$30k a year, that’s a problem but it’s not a breach if it was never in your terms.