Shopify Collabs

The Collabs interface and overall app is very helpful and easy to use - however it feels extremely limiting in terms of how brands can search for and discover creators that fit what they're looking for.

Priority suggestions/wishlist from a brand using Collabs:

-Better/more demographic search filters (Age, Interests, Local Regions)

-Would love a "Top Suggested Influencers" page or tab that offers intelligent suggestions on creators we should reach out to

-Make it easy to see when creators are ACTIVE on Shopify Collabs or add a "Badge" to creators who are more active than others (this would be HUGE for brands using Collabs)

The Collabs app is great however it would be useful to see which influencers have already been invited to collaborate when browsing for new partners.

Caution from our experience:
We found that this app invoices our Shopify account for affiliate commissions, but only releases payments to affiliates once they’ve reached at least $25.

There’s no option to request payouts below this amount, so if an affiliate earns under $25, the funds remain stuck and unpaid. This became a problem when we looked at moving to a different affiliate platform, because any affiliates who hadn’t reached the $25 minimum would never receive payment — yet the amounts had already been billed to us through Shopify.

If the platform won’t pay affiliates under the threshold, it would seem fairer for those commissions to be returned to the business so they can be paid manually.

9/3/2024 Update - I had a very nice video call with a Shopify rep. They are genuinely trying to improve this app, which is giving us hope. We're updating our review to 5 stars in hope of a brighter future here!

I don't like writing 1-star reviews, but this app is useless. We spent serious time looking up applicable creators and offered them free $250 products, but had no responses.

Now we're just getting spammed by "beauty" influencers who have zero applicability to us.

It seems like Shopify didn't actually verify any of the creators. They either didn't sign up or are fake accounts looking for free things.

Collabs makes working with creators on a gifting/affiliate basis. Also great support team if you need it. Strong recommend esp for teams who don't have tons of hours to dedicate towards building their program.

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.

AWFUL APP, opens up the opportunity for scammers to use existing codes and basically steal from you without realizing so. We had a "creator" receive payments for multiple months, with zero notifications throughout. I only realized by luck once I looked at the Shopify bill in detail.

Shopify showed zero accountability despite many stores experiencing the same issue. Avoid at ALL COSTS, and do not count on Shopify to be able to dispute those payments.

You really have to stay on top of this or else you will encounter scam/fraud orders. We noticed that collaborators from the network were ordering from our website so that they would get commission. They would then submit a chargeback so that they would get their payment back. I didn't realize the chargebacks were coming from Collabs Network orders until I started matching the order numbers. So, be careful!

As with the other shop owners, we also sent creators free products so that they can use it to promote, but would never hear from them again.

Overall, we lost more money using this app than sales.

I installed this app about two years ago but never used it. Today, I randomly decided to check something in the app, and to my shock, I found that two people I never accepted as collaborators or invited (again, I NEVER used the app) had scheduled payments, taking a percentage of two of my orders! This is insane! If I hadn't checked the app by chance, they would have stolen my money without me even noticing.

This app is an absolute scam. Be very careful! I do NOT recommend installing it.

I contacted Shopify support, and the first line support had no idea what to do. They had to escalate the issue to the Shopify Collabs team. I still don't know what's going to happen, but this experience is beyond frustrating and concerning. Stay away from this app!

EDIT: the support team replied and I must say that your app is nothing short of a scam. Nowhere in the process of installing or using the app do you mention that people, even if they are not invited or have declined as collaborators, can still create affiliate links of their own. What is the point then? The entire purpose of this app is to allow control, and if I cannot control this, your app is worthless.

To make matters worse, support has informed me that the holding period has passed, meaning these unauthorized individuals are now going to take my money—just as I suspected. This is outrageous and reeks of fraud. Your app and the way it operates are simply disgusting.

I have only just activated this - and the idea is that I have given a Collaborator 10% off their first purchase and from there they will get 15% on every item sold. The items AOV is $250 plus. It remains to be seen if anyone will bite, however, I see I have nothing to lose and the process to get it set up and reach out to legit micro-influencers is easy. Let's see. I am new to this.