Shopify Ecom

For Shopify Merchants

Shopify Ecom FAQ

Short, verified answers to the questions Shopify merchants ask most — citing official Shopify documentation.

237 FAQs
Payments & payouts
What does a customer see while a Shopify order is "Payment pending"?

A placed order and a shipment-tracking status page; no page we read shows payment status there, and manual gateways send no pending-payment email.

Updated September 15, 2026

Taxes & duties
Why isn't my December order on this year's Shopify 1099-K?

Shopify Payments counts the UTC posting date, not the order date — a December 31 order posting January 1 lands on next year's 1099-K.

August 18, 2026

Taxes & duties
Does Shopify charge VAT or GST on app charges?

Only where Shopify is required to tax your account charges — and even there its help page says app charges might be included, not will.

Updated August 19, 2026

Plans & getting started
What is the difference between a frozen and a suspended Shopify store?

Read together, Shopify's terms and help pages describe one unpaid-bill event: 28 days to a freeze, then 60 more before it may terminate.

August 18, 2026

Apps, channels & AI
How many people actually use the Shop app?

No page we read counts Shop app users: Shopify captions 250M+ for Shop Pay or Shop + Shop Pay, and calls its 150M+ global shoppers.

Updated September 15, 2026

Orders & customers
Why is my Shopify order stuck on "Payment pending"?

Payment pending means the money hasn't arrived yet — and Shopify's pages name different actions that might be blocked.

Updated September 13, 2026

Taxes & duties
Does Shopify charge VAT or GST on its own fees?

It depends on your country and tax number — and Shopify taxes your subscription and your Shopify Payments fees under separate rules.

Updated September 12, 2026

Payments & payouts
Which countries can you actually sell with Shopify?

Shopify blocks a named list of countries and regions; Shopify Payments covers 40 countries and regions — everywhere else needs a third-party gateway.

Updated September 7, 2026

Shipping & fulfillment
What are your options if Shopify doesn't support your carrier?

If your carrier isn't on Shopify's list, you buy the label through your own account, an app, or another carrier — not through Shopify Shipping.

Updated September 15, 2026

Payments & payouts
How long does Shopify Payments verification take?

Shopify publishes no timeframe for the account review itself on the pages we read — only up to 24 hours to check documents you upload.

Updated September 13, 2026

Shipping & fulfillment
Can you use your own carrier account on Shopify?

Yes — UPS, FedEx, USPS, Canada Post and Australia Post connect on Advanced and Plus; Grow adds it for a fee; Shopify lists others as not available.

Updated September 12, 2026

Selling internationally
Should you turn off Shopify's automatic hreflang tags?

Only if you already manage hreflang yourself — Shopify warns that turning the automatic tags off otherwise can hurt your SEO.

August 10, 2026

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