Shopify Collective: Supplier

Honestly this app has been a bit overwhelming. The automatic ads fill my inbox and forces me to scrub the retailers a lot. Getting the hang of it but it would be great if it didn't just automatically add retailers. Shopify needs a better vetting system for these sites.

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After using Shopify Collective as a supplier for approximately three months, I would like to share some feedback and suggestions that I believe could significantly improve the experience for both suppliers and retailers. ## 1. RETURN POLICY I believe suppliers should have the ability to establish and clearly display their own return policies within Collective. A supplier’s return policy should not be dictated by the retailer. Instead, retailers should be able to review a supplier’s return policy before choosing to work with that supplier and decide whether those terms are acceptable to them. Currently, retailers are able to set certain return parameters within Collective, which can create confusion. Retailers may assume that the return settings they select automatically govern their relationship with the supplier, even when the supplier has separately communicated a different return policy by email or through other means. Allowing suppliers to clearly establish their return policy within Collective would eliminate this ambiguity and help ensure that both parties understand and agree to the terms before conducting business. ## 2. RETAILER COMMUNICATION & EXPORT There is currently no convenient way for suppliers to communicate with all of their connected retailers at once. If I need to send an important announcement, policy update, product update, or other information, I have to manually copy and paste each retailer’s email address individually. This becomes extremely time-consuming as the retailer network grows. I would suggest adding two features: * The ability for suppliers to send an email or announcement to **all retailers or selected retailers** directly through Collective. * The ability to **export retailer information** into a CSV or Excel file, including information such as retailer name, store name, email address, telephone number, website, and other relevant contact information. These features would make retailer relationship management significantly more efficient for suppliers. ## 3. PRICE LIST ACCESS & PERMISSIONS It would be helpful to provide suppliers with more control over how retailers access individual price lists and products. For example, suppliers should be able to create different levels of access, such as: * Public price lists * Invitation-only price lists * Price lists that require supplier approval before access is granted * Price lists available only to selected retailers This would allow suppliers to better manage which retailers have access to specific brands, products, pricing structures, or collections. ## 4. EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS / UNSUBSCRIBE OPTIONS Because some of my price lists are public, I receive an email notification every time a new retailer connects or signs up. As the number of retailers increases, these notifications can quickly overwhelm a supplier’s inbox. I would appreciate the ability to customize or disable these notifications. Ideally, suppliers should be able to choose which Collective notifications they would like to receive by email. For example, notification preferences could include: * New retailer connections * New orders * Return requests * Retailer messages * Product or price-list activity Providing suppliers with more control over notifications would make it much easier to focus on the communications that actually require attention. ## 5. "CONTINUE SELLING WHEN OUT OF STOCK" / PRE-ORDER PRODUCTS Another issue involves products that are set to **"Continue selling when out of stock."** This setting can create significant confusion for retailers and their customers, particularly when the retailer's Shopify theme does not identify the product as a pre-order. Some of our products are intentionally offered for **pre-order** before inventory becomes available. In these situations, the product inventory may be set to zero while the **"Continue selling when out of stock"** option remains enabled so customers are still able to purchase the item. On our own website, the Shopify theme we use recognizes this setting and changes the **"Add to Cart"** button to **"Pre-Order."** This makes it clear to our customers that the product is not currently in stock and that they are placing a pre-order. However, this behavior does not necessarily carry over to a retailer's store through Shopify Collective. Depending on the retailer's theme, the product may simply display a normal **"Add to Cart"** button even though the supplier's inventory is zero and the item is actually being offered as a pre-order. As a result, the retailer's customer may reasonably believe that the item is currently in stock and ready to ship when, in reality, it is a pre-order item. The retailer then has to find another way to communicate the product's actual availability, and they may not even realize that additional communication is necessary. This can lead to: * Customer confusion regarding product availability * Incorrect expectations regarding shipping and delivery times * Increased customer service inquiries * Potential cancellations or disputes * Retailers unknowingly representing a pre-order item as being in stock * Confusion between the supplier and retailer regarding actual inventory status I believe Shopify Collective should provide a more standardized way to communicate the supplier's product availability status to the retailer. For example, Collective could include a specific **"Pre-Order" product status or setting** that is transmitted to the retailer along with the product information. Retailers could then clearly see that the item is a pre-order and either automatically display that status on their storefront or receive a warning that their theme may not display the pre-order status correctly. At minimum, retailers should be clearly notified when: **Supplier inventory = 0** **Continue selling when out of stock = Enabled** This would help retailers understand that the product may not actually be available for immediate fulfillment and that additional information may need to be displayed to their customers. Ideally, Shopify Collective would support a dedicated pre-order field that could communicate information such as: * **Pre-Order** * **Expected Availability Date** * **Estimated Ship Date** * **Backordered** * **Made to Order** * **Currently In Stock** This would provide much greater transparency between suppliers, retailers, and ultimately the end customer. Overall, I have found Shopify Collective to be a valuable platform, but I believe these improvements would make it substantially easier for suppliers to manage retailer relationships, establish clear policies, communicate efficiently, control access to their products, and accurately communicate inventory and pre-order availability. These changes would not only improve the supplier experience but would also help retailers provide more accurate information to their customers and reduce unnecessary confusion, cancellations, and customer service issues.