I started a store on Shopify about 8 months ago last summer. The store was designed around selling handmade candles and sculptures that me and my partner worked on for hours. We signed up for our first farmers market and proceeded to set up shop and had a pretty fantastic (but exhausting) day selling our goods to the local community. Shopify then decided to close my store without warning after I asked for a payout, they took my money and I have reached out over 10 times trying to get an answer but they have effectively stopped communicating with me and I believe are attempting to steal my funds. I am not sure if I should contact an attorney as the amount isn’t more then 300 dollars but it has effectively put my business to a halt and completely took the wind out of our sails. I am considering taking legal action myself. Please avoid doing business with these people as they steal from small businesses and don’t provide any answers.
Shopify does not simply close stores for no reason and steal your funds. Has Shopify sent you details as to why your store has been closed? This will usually be explained to you - and you can raise an appeal if necessary.
Unfortunately trying to fight this legally would cost you more than the $300 you have advised is currently on hold. Your best bet is to work with Shopify to resolve the issue and understand why your store has been closed.
Thanks for the help, this was pretty great as far as steps I can take to push this issue along further, I have a full time job outside of my Sculpture and Candle hobbies so its quite hard to keep up with all of the work this is taking just to get the money we are owed. I appreciate the time you took to give a detailed response.
I kind of find this response laughable, as in how would you know? Do you think every giant corporation always does everything by the book and has never screwed over a single customer? Honestly, why do you think they took away telephone support and make people like me jump through a million hoops just to get a non existent answer? Is it because they are always doing the right thing or is it because the harder they make it for us to get support the more likely we are to just give up? Whatever their reasons are it’s totally bogus, because they have ignored my requests for details time after time and time again. I have never interacted with a publicly traded company that acted with such a blatant disregard for professionalism or quite frankly the law as a whole. After reaching out ten times and being told ten times over my issue would be escalated you would think they would at least have an answer for me, so you can make your “Shopify would never do wrong by people” argument all day long but its unequivocally wrong because even if there was a chargeback or suspicious activity its WRONG to keep me in the dark for 8 MONTHS. It is WRONG to treat small businesses like they are DIRT.