Why did I receive $25 instead of $11 profit from my dropshipping sale?

[skylarquist]

Hi there Shopify! I just started my store and to test run, I bought my product through the website I created within your platform. I am drop shipping my products. I am using CJ Dropshipping to do so. I linked up my products to CJ as well already. I purchased my product for 27 dollars whereas I am getting them from CJ for around 15 dollars. Today I have received 25 dollars from shopify in my bank account and I am curious as to why it was 25 dollars and not the 11 dollar profit I thought I would be receiving. Does this mean I still owe CJ dropshipping 15 dollars? If so, how do I pay them? I'm not complaining about the 25 dollars, but I just don't want to get into trouble that's all. Thank you for your time! 

[Summer]

Hey, @skylarquist! Welcome to Shopify Community!

I'd love to explain how things work when it comes to fulfilling dropshipping orders. Have you already placed an order with CJ Dropshipping? If you haven't done this yet, you need to do so to fulfill the order. The funds that you use to pay for it will be the payment you received from your customer.

Since the product cost (or the cost you pay to CJ Dropshipping) is factored into the product retail price (or the price you sell the product in your store), the amount the customer paid is inclusive of the amount that will cover the cost you need to pay to purchase the item from CJ Dropshipping. Shopify doesn't automatically deduct the product cost from the customer's payment as the order needs to be fulfilled manually by you. This is why you received $25 (which is $27 minus the fees associated with your payment gateway) instead of only $15.

Bear in mind that you also need to factor other costs into your price, so $11 may not be what you actually earn. Don't forget that there is also the cost of advertising your product or store, subscription fees, and other costs associated with running your store. If you didn't consider these when you came up with your pricing, it would be a good idea to reevaluate your product prices. This guide will help you do that and ensure you're profiting from your sales.

If you need further clarification about what I've discussed, please don't hesitate to reply here and I'll help you out!