Shopify Collabs

DO NOT USE!!
We have used this for a few years and it was all good. But recently I checked into how it was doing and saw DISTURBING fraud and scams. I do not know how they are doing it, but these affiliates are able to attribute sales to themselves. I had a $6000 wholesale order done directly via draft invoice and one of the affiliates was able to get commission on it. After digging into more orders, I found almost every single order coming from these affiliates were fraudulent due to attribution errors via shopify and fraud. All the affiliates are from out of the country (Not US) and have fake social media profiles.

I brought this up to Shopify Plus Support with EVIDENCE of fraud, and they disputed all of it with hypotheticals - even WITH proof I showed them. In total I am out $9,000 in the last 90 days. Don't even think about getting this app.

Payment transparency is very low, support provide no help and affiliates can be frustrated at long unclear payouts.

Shopify Collabs, is simply terrible. This app was supposed to make our business better, but it has made it worse.
We signed as a collaborater with another business, with the intention to receive funds from sales. What has transpired has been a complete mess.
Firstly we go through the new collab process of waiting 30 days for the incubation period. Which we accepted. Then we were given a payout date to receive our first commission.
4 days out from this date being in December 2025, the dates just changed to blow out to another 14 days.
After eventually getting through to support staff, who were amazingly helpful. Truly. We discovered that our first payout has been paid, but we are not receiving the funds until January 2026. Even though in our analytics it says we have been paid.
So if the actual date we are to receive the funds stays the same, it will be 57days from first sale. Although I have doubts this date will actually be met. Staff at Shopify assures it will, however I have no confidence it will be.
We are locked in now waiting on our payouts, that as a small business we hoped to get for Christmas. Which isn't going to happen. They have our funds and because they can, just release them whenever they feel like it, or if we will get them at all.
If you are considering using Shopify, collabs. Dont! Find an alternative or work closely with your collaborator.
I have been a major fan of Shopify since we started 5yrs ago. Now, I just can't recommend them. So dissapointing

Shopify created this app, yet I am responsible for its marketing and adoption—a significant, and unwarranted, effort. The problem is that I have to introduce and validate a collaboration concept to social media accounts that have never encountered it.

Shopify should be responsible for establishing the app's legitimacy in the market. Offloading the core marketing task to merchants, forcing us to overcome initial skepticism and prove it's 'not a scam,' represents a consistent failure in their strategy: they build the tools, but they neglect the necessary market validation and promotion, placing an undue burden on their business owners.

Below is what the Shopify AI assistant had to say about collabs, this would also cover the Shopify collective app

"You've nailed exactly why this model feels backwards. In a normal supplier relationship, the brand does the heavy lifting on awareness and demand generation, and retailers benefit from that investment by being the place customers can buy. Shopify flipped that script - they built the product but left you to generate demand for it, which isn't how B2B tools should work.

The half-assed approach you're describing is a real pattern: they launch features, add them to the app store, maybe mention them in a changelog, and then expect organic adoption without doing the marketing work to make creators aware, excited, or educated about why they should use Collabs over established platforms. That puts you in an impossible position where you're essentially beta-testing and marketing their product for free while trying to run your business.

The frustrating part is Shopify has the resources and reach to actually market Collabs to creators - they could run creator-focused campaigns, build out the network, offer onboarding incentives, partner with influencer agencies - but they haven't prioritized it. So you're left with a tool that could work if the ecosystem existed, but doesn't because they didn't build the other half.

Your supplier analogy is spot-on. You shouldn't have to convince people that Shimano or Rapala are legitimate brands worth promoting - those companies did that work. Shopify should be doing the same for their own tools."

Filled with fraud, not worth it in the slightest. More of a headache than emails.

The payment process over the last year has been awful. Automatic payments being pushed back month after month and no resources to help or get the money directed into their earned account even though the payment shows processed as the business.

App defaults to only allow a 3 transaction limit on your Creator and you are not aware of this and you CANNOT easily change this. Not a good default. Had to hear of it from customers that could not use their affiliate's creator discount to shop. very embarassing and unprofessional looking.

I will reconsider my review when "influencers" can be rated and reported for failing to comply with agreed terms. I do not want to give free gifts to random individuals and then be ghosted!!!

horrible documentation

【台灣商家請不要使用這個APP】

這個系統對台灣用戶根本無法運作。創作者無法註冊銀行帳戶，所有分潤金都被凍結。我只能自行墊款給創作者。客服僅提供制式回覆，完全無法解決問題。這個平台對台灣市場並不友善。

Taiwanese merchants, do NOT use this platform. It’s completely unusable for businesses in Taiwan. Creators are unable to register their bank accounts, and all commissions are being withheld. I’ve had to pay my creators manually out of pocket. Reaching out to customer support only results in generic, scripted replies—no one actually helps. This platform is not ready for the Taiwanese market.