Need validation for marketplace architecture using Shopify technology?

Shopify Apps
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Topic summary

Main topic: Validation of a marketplace architecture using a Shopify public sales channel app that onboards many Shopify merchants and processes checkout with Stripe.

Proposed architecture:

  • Public sales channel app built with Remix/React to let merchants select products to list. Webhooks (products, orders) flow via AWS EventBridge to the platform backend, which stores products and orders.
  • Storefront API permissions requested; mobile SDK used to handle cart/checkout. Product data served from the platform’s own DB rather than queried live.
  • Payments via Stripe: collect merchant company info to pre-populate Stripe KYB/KYC; split funds between merchants and the platform after checkout.

Key implementation notes:

  • Use of Storefront API to add products to cart and perform custom checkout with Stripe’s tokenized APIs.
  • Authentication currently via Shopify app auth; considering adding Auth0.

Open questions/uncertainties:

  • Whether Shopify imposes any surcharge/fees when using Stripe for custom checkout (beyond Stripe fees).
  • Whether any additional authentication is required beyond Shopify’s standard app auth for a sales channel app, and how/if Auth0 should be integrated.

Latest update: The app is clarified to be a public sales channel driving sales for Shopify merchants and taking a commission. No final resolution yet.

Summarized with AI on January 11. AI used: gpt-5.
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Hi Everyone, I am developing a marketplace. Since I am new to shopify technology, and I have done some research, tutorials and Shopify API documentations. can you please help me validate the architecture design to make sure I am on the correct track? much appreciated.

Purpose: we are buyer facing platform (marketplace). we will onboard hundreds Shopify merchants to sell their products on our platform using our Stripe checkout.

High level architecture:

  • Build a Shopify sale channel app
    • onboard merchants, including their company profile, company registration number etc… because we will need to do “Know your customer”.
      • we just need pre-populate all info required by Stripe KYB process. We will confirm with Stripe if we can skip this if shopify merchants use stripe already. The purpose is to gather merchant company profile
    • Request Stripe payment process
      • this is just a process we need to apply.
    • Merchants are able to select products to list on our platform for sale.
      • We will use re-mix, react, JavaScript to create the sale channel app. so merchants decide what products they want to list on our platform
      • We will also register the webhook to listen the product events, order events. This will go to our backend via AWS event bridge. We will save all products and orders in our platform.
      • Also request Storefront API permissions, so our platform will use mobile SDK to do checkout.
        - we will not query products using SDK because we already save all product in our database. the products will come from our backend APIs. because we will control how to display these products to our end users.
      • Basically this sale channel app is for us to sync data with Shopify merchants like products, and orders, etc…
      • We will use StoreFront API to add product into Shopify shopping cart and use our Stripe account to do custom checkout. we will use stripe credit card tokenized api to do the checkout.
        - is there any surcharge from Shopify side in this case? I know we will be charged by stripe (it is fine)
      • we will receive the order details (status update from the webhook in sale channel webhook via AWS event bridge).
      • Is there any addition authentication mechanism we need to implement on top of Shopify authentication for Sale channel app? (we use Auth0 in all other part, potentially we can leverage our auth0, but I am not sure if we need it).
      • after checkout, we will just split the fund to merchants and us using Stripe.

Sorry for lots of info. Is there any part I missed to make it work end to end for our marketplace platform? I want to confirm this before I go too far.

Thanks,

Regards,

Dean

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Thanks @Web3_rise , I think I may be bits unclear what my original intent was. I looked their guideline, and we are actually a public sales channel app. I think its just term marketplace confused. we drive more sales to Shopify merchants, and take a commission of it.

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