Store termination

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

A Shopify store was terminated immediately after its first sale, with the platform citing suspected illegitimate commerce practices that violate their Terms of Service. The merchant had recently imported reviews from their Etsy store using a Shopify app and suspected this might have triggered the termination.

Community recommendations included:

  • Verifying that product details, policies, and imported reviews comply with Shopify’s TOS, particularly regarding authenticity and transparency
  • Removing imported reviews and preparing documentation (supplier invoices, ID) for potential reinstatement
  • Thoroughly reviewing Shopify’s Terms of Service and contacting support directly via email or live chat for follow-up

Resolution: The original poster’s store was reinstated shortly after submitting their appeal (13 days after initial submission). Another community member reported experiencing a similar termination without clear explanation, indicating this may be an ongoing issue affecting multiple merchants.

Summarized with AI on October 27. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
1

Hello, I created my website and after I got my first sale my store got terminated. I didn’t receive a specific reason, the email said:

"We have terminated ----- due to activity that is not, or that we suspect is not, a legitimate commerce practice. This type of activity damages consumer trust and is a violation of Shopify’s TOS. As a result, we will no longer host – on Shopify and your account has been closed. The full amount of your store’s pending payouts are typically held for 120 days by the processor.

If you believe this decision was made in error, you can submit an appeal. This will initiate a review process to determine if your store can be reinstated.

How the appeal process works

  • Submit your appeal with the required documentation
  • We will review your appeal and may request additional information if needed
  • We will reach out to you via email to let you know the outcome of your appeal

Ticket ID: 973abbdc-0cf9-435a-8721-ff33fbfe1b0b ".

This happened after I imported my reviews from my etsy store using an app from shopify. Rather than that, I do not know why our account may have been termianted. I submitted the appeal 13 days ago and still haven’t receive a response. Could anyone help me? My ticket ID is above this.

2

HI @reggies

In the meantime, verify that your product details, policies, and imported reviews are in compliance with Shopify’s terms of service especially the authenticity and transparency in particular. If it’s an import issue, try to remove imported reviews and prepare clean documentation such as, supplier invoices, and an ID. If a follow-up is required, they’ll be the ones u should bring to the store. It never hurts to keep your account prepared in case you are reinstated.

3

Hi @reggies

I notice Shopify actually mentioned the situation happening on your store and that may be the cause code why your store account is terminated:

We have terminated ----- due to activity that is not, or that we suspect is not, a legitimate commerce practice. This type of activity damages consumer trust and is a violation of Shopify’s TOS.

This is the URL mentioned by Shopify below and I suggest you should take some time fully reading the details to know about Shopify Terms of Service and then contact Shopify Support for further details about the specific section on your store.

https://www.shopify.com/legal/terms

If you still fail to receive their feedback, you can send email to support@shopify.com or contact Live Chat again to connect with a real person and ask for a follow-up after waiting several days. Thank you!

4

My store also got terminated, don’t know the reason and asked million times to resolve. Don’t know what’s going on.

5

I got reinstated right after I posted this. Thanks!