Sales Channel without checkouts or payments, just orders

We’re creating a (sales channel) app to support an external marketplace website that we run. The app allows Shopify merchants to add their products to the sales channel, which are then exported to our marketplace.

Next we need to get the orders placed on the external marketplace back into Shopify. We’ve been advised during our app listing review that we should be creating Checkouts by using permalink to a basket on the merchant’s shopify store, but we don’t really want to do this – the actual checkout will have already happened on our external marketplace, including payment. Can we jump to just importing completed Orders into Shopify?

The closest analogy would be a Shopify Amazon integration – the products are listed, sold, checked out and paid for on Amazon, and then the amazon orders are synced into Shopify. Our website is the Amazon equivalent: we handle baskets and payments. When you purchase on Amazon, you’re not redirected to a Shopify basket to checkout, but this seems at odds with what we’ve been asked to implement.

I can’t see a way of completing a Checkout without money changing hands. I would need to have a completed Checkout, paid for, without Shopify doing any payments, so no Stripe integration, no Card Vault, etc. – the payment has already been handled by our own website.

Can anyone advise on if we can skip Checkouts and go direct to completed Orders, while staying within the sales channel rules and passing app store verification?

Hi Sparkdev,

It’s possible this type of app might not be permitted on Shopify, as it sounds like it’s bypassing checkout, see our Prohibited App Types docs:

Apps that process payments outside of Shopify’s checkout - Shopify can’t guarantee the safety or security of an order that has been placed through an offsite or third party checkout. Apps that bypass checkout or payment processing, or register any transactions through the Shopify API in connection with such activity, are prohibited.

Would this describe the app you’re looking to build?

Hi Liam;

Unfortunately (for me) that does sound like what I’m trying to do, but how does that square with apps like this one?

CedCommerce Amazon Channel (Not singling them out specifically, but it’s so close to what I’m trying to achieve)

https://apps.shopify.com/amazon-by-cedcommerce

Amazon sales will be happening outside of Shopify, with finished orders being pulled in Shopify, in the same way I’m trying to have orders on our platform behave.

Did you found out any solution for this

Hey Sparkdev!

What did you end up doing for this?