My store Paralleled imported officially licensed goods from China and I had some cheaper toys that came from a different source that drew Shopify’s attention and received this email (summerised):
Austin here from Shopify’s Trust & Safety team. We noticed that your store, happyhoarder.myshopify.com, is selling branded or trademarked products. For example:
If we don’t receive the requested documentation and completed attestation by Dec 31, 2022, we may disable your account.
Austin
Trust & Safety | Shopify
I was given notice on 30th Dec, because of the time difference I was given less than 24 hours on New years eve to provide receipts of purchase.
I removed all unlicensed products, but kept the Official trademarked products in store and gave a thoughtful and kind reply detailing Parallel import is legal in NZ and bullet pointed our government websites links in an organised explanation on the subject to keep my supplier’s information private (also just couldn’t be bothered because I had better things to do like celebrate with my family).
However I received no response in same thread. Instead sent a new email thread (summerised):
“Thank you for your response.
If you are unable to provide the requested documentation you will need to remove the branded or trademarked product(s) from your Shopify store and admin. We ask that this be completed no later than January 4, 2023 to prevent any further action on your account.
Thank you for your cooperation,
Austin
Trust & Safety | Shopify
I had paid for a Full year subscription and this is the 1st time I required Shopify support, thinking ahead if I run into issues after building a large client based on Loyalty programs this would put me in a terrible position.
I replied to the email detailing I have voluntarily closed my Shopify store.
Here is the response…
Austin here from Shopify’s Trust & Safety team.
We have reviewed your account and determined that it is in violation of Shopify’s Terms of Service. As a result, we are no longer able to host your store, happyhoarder.myshopify.com, or your custom domain, happyhoarder.myshopify.com, on our platform.
At this time, public access to your storefront has been disabled. You will continue to have access to your admin for 7 days if you wish to export your store data. On January 16, 2023, your account will be closed and you will have no further access to your store or its data. If you require assistance downloading your content, please contact support here.
Any pending payouts should be transferred to the bank account on file in 2-3 business days.
Shopify’s Terms of Service can be found here and our Acceptable Use Policy can be found here.
If you have any questions, please reply directly to this email.
Thank you,
Austin
Trust & Safety | Shopify
In summary:
I think E-commerce platforms have been life changing for lots of people and I feel it’s only one staff member that seems like it’s their last week on job has being leaving bad customer experiences, so hopefully those staying on the platform won’t run into such issues;
like.. given less than 24 hours on New years eve to sort and not actually reading any replies
But more importantly, your Shopify payouts and Shopify store could be closed in a day.
Meaning you would have to send the goods as the store is selling as normal for customers but you might not be able to get your Cost of goods sold back and all monies paid in advance for subscriptions and addons.
Hope you guys got a little heads up to navigate similar situations from this and enjoyed the read ![]()
PS.
Does Shopify keep your money stuck in Payouts and refund any remaining months you have in paid Subscription and Addons?