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+Shop Supplier Guide

Your Guide to becoming a +Shop Supplier, Account and Product Setup, Logistics, and Compliance 

 Table of Contents (Quick Links)

1. Getting Started & Account Setup

1.1 Welcome to +Shop & Operational Philosophy

MarketNation, Inc. (d/b/a +Shop and Shop with Purpose) operates a unique social-impact e-commerce marketplace. Our model enables individuals, nonprofits, schools, and influencers ("Shopkeepers") to deploy customized storefronts pre-stocked with approved products.

It is vital to understand that +Shop is the Retailer and Merchant of Record for all shopper purchases. +Shop owns the customer relationship and handles shopper-facing customer service. Your role as a Supplier is to provide approved products and execute zero-latency fulfillment support behind the scenes.

Every sale on the platform drives a distinct Social Impact mission. Purchases advance social good by routing platform margins to direct charitable donations (in nonprofit-mode storefronts) or verified commissions to mission-aligned curators (in for-profit-mode storefronts). As a partner, your products may appear across both environments.

1.2 Account Registration & Corporate Verification

Submitting an onboarding application does not guarantee platform approval. The +Shop team typically audits applications within 2 business days. To complete verification and activate your Supplier portal, please refer the following timeline of events:

Stage 1: Vendor Application & Account Setup

    • Step 1: Complete the Questionnaire Fill out the comprehensive +Shop Supplier Questionnaire. This baseline data helps our merchant success team evaluate your business model, catalog fit, and operational readiness to ensure your brand aligns with the +Shop ecosystem. Please allow up to 2 business days for verification.

    • Step 2: +Shop Compliance Review Our team manually audits your completed questionnaire. If your business satisfies our core marketplace criteria, an official invitation link will be dispatched via email to initiate your formal account creation.

    • Step 3: Establish Your +Shop Supplier Account Click the secure email link to create your credentialed +Shop Supplier Account. During this configuration layer, you will register your corporate bank information for electronic ACH transfers via Plaid.

    • Step 4: Final Supplier Approval Once your profile parameters are completely filled out, +Shop will issue a final administrative sign-off, officially designating you as an approved platform supplier and unlocking complete access to your +Shop Supplier Dashboard. Please allow up to 2 business days for verification.

Stage 2: Product Ingestion & Live Execution

    • Step 5: Author New Product Listings Navigate to the +Shop Product Hub inside your dashboard to build and populate individual item sheets. Input required metadata assets including SKU identifiers, wholesale price points, dimensional attributes, and supply chain origins. Alternatively, you may choose to upload products in bulk using our supplied CSV Bulk Inventory Template.

    • Step 6: Submit for Product Approval Route your drafted listings to the automated validation queue. +Shop compliance mechanisms review the submission to verify that all regulatory criteria, safety metrics, and platform taxonomy alignment factors have been fully satisfied. Please allow up to 2 business days for verification of product submissions.

    • Step 7: Product Final Quality Review After receiving initial validation, use your dashboard to conduct a thorough final quality audit via the +Shop Product Hub. Manually review your products for data thoroughness, verifying that formatting copy scripts, product specifications, structural variations, and media imagery render exactly as desired on both desktop and mobile.

    • Step 8: Ready to Sell Your products are officially launched! Approved items are now live across the designated +Shop consumer product feeds and are active for consumer transactions, algorithmic curation, and shopkeeper storefront distribution.

1.3 User Roles, Governance & Access Controls

The legal account owner is the individual or corporate entity that electronically executes the supplier agreement. The owner is legally responsible for all actions taken by employees, contractors, or team members invited into the workspace. To secure operational data, you must utilize granular user profiles inside the Supplier Portal:

  • Admin Access: Reserved for officers with permissions to modify corporate banking nodes, tax inputs, and legal agreements.
  • Operational Access (Coming Soon!): Permissions designated for warehouse managers to confirm orders, print slips, and manage tracking inputs.
  • Catalog Access (Coming Soon!): Restrained to product metadata entry, image updates, and stock adjustments.

1.4 Supplier Dashboard Overview

The +Shop Supplier Portal serves as your authenticated command center for all backend e-commerce operations. The workspace is architected into four core functional segments to help you manage listings, track logistics, configure developer tools, and audit financials.

🌐 Core Commercial Operations

    • Supplier Dashboard [Link]: Your Home for selling on +Shop (primary operational landing page). Provides a high-level, real-time telemetry matrix displaying active order volumes, revenue run-rates, and cumulative social impact metrics at a glance.
    • Products [Link]: The central management engine for your catalog. Use this node to create individual entries, edit approved product fields, monitor metadata validation states, and audit structural variations.
    • Orders [Link]: The active transactional ledger. Allows fulfillment teams to view, sort, filter, and audit all processing, pending, completed, or cancelled shopper purchases.
    • Inventory [Link]: Your live supply-chain buffer. Real-time control interface to manually inspect, edit, and adjust your active Available-to-Sell (ATS) stock levels on a per-product basis to prevent stockout events.

📦 Bulk Operations & Fulfillment Logistics

    • Bulk Imports [Link]: The mass-ingestion management tool. Download templates and execute high-volume catalog creation or rapid batch inventory syncing via standardized CSV data formats.
    • Fulfillment [Link]: Your logistical rule repository. Contains your live outbound shipping configuration summaries, carrier network matrices, and strict platform compliance packaging guidelines.

💳 Ledger Management & Analytics

    • Payouts [Link]: The single source of fiscal truth. Track historic disbursement cadences, audit your real-time processing balances (Earned-Pending vs. Available), and export historical financial statements.
    • Analytics (Beta / Coming Soon) [Link]: Advanced performance telemetry reporting. Delivers programmatic insight into sales trends, customer behavior indicators, category velocity, and operational performance scorecard patterns.

🛠️ Developer Integrations & Account Controls

    • Webhooks [Link]: Programmatic event hooks. Configure automated HTTP POST notifications to transmit real-time transactional payloads to your third-party software applications when critical supplier system events fire (e.g., new orders, carrier shipments, or product approval modifications).
    • API Tokens [Link]: External system connectivity center. Securely issue long-lived, encrypted bearer tokens to bridge data exchanges directly between your ERP middleware, custom applications, or shipping systems (e.g., ShipStation, Celigo).
    • Settings [Link]: Administrative management console. Control legal entity registration details, update ACH bank transfer routing coordinates, fulfill compliance tax requirements, and adjust user role permission metrics.

2. Product Catalog & Inventory Management

2.1 Content & Technical Product Listing Guidelines

Every item submitted must feature comprehensive metadata before entering our processing queue. Listings must be completely accurate, lawful, safe, and free of materially misleading claims. Your submissions must explicitly include:

  • Product Name, Brand, SKU, and globally recognized identifiers (UPC, EAN, or ISBN).
  • Exhaustive specifications, material breakdowns, dimensions, colors, sizes, etc.
  • Detailed ingredient structures, safety care instructions, legal warnings, and product warranty terms.

Once a product listing goes live, modifying primary variables like the Wholesale Price is programmatically locked within the portal to protect active orders. To request any changes, please contact +Shop Supplier Support.

2.2 Digital Asset & Photography Standards

Customers buy with their eyes. Content assets must represent the exact condition of your physical stock. Images must be high-resolution, sharp, properly lit, and clearly display product variants.

  • Primary Images: Must show the physical item against a neutral background.
  • Prohibition: Images must not contain promotional text overlay, external web URLs, or unapproved watermark labels.

+Shop reserves absolute unilateral discretion to remove, reject, or pause any product listing due to poor image quality, reputational concerns, or platform mission alignment.

2.3 Bulk Catalog Imports via CSV/Excel Data Templates

Suppliers with expansive inventories should download the standardized structural template from the Bulk Import tab in the +Shop Supplier Portal. When configuring bulk variations (sizes, colors, weights):

  • Map individual rows with explicit unique SKUs and correct parent-child structural hierarchies.
  • Ensure that every row contains localized country of origin attributes and mandatory regulatory certifications.
  • Save documents strictly as UTF-8 encoded files before executing a +Shop Supplier Portal upload to eliminate formatting script syntax conflicts.

2.4 Real-Time Inventory Synchronization & API Integration

To protect consumer trust, suppliers must maintain consistent stock parameters. If you integrate via API hooks, your systems must process structural ledger states accurately. +Shop registers data fields for product quantities using the QTY field.

Merchants experiencing unexpected stock depletion, backorders, or item discontinuations must manually wipe or scale down values to 0 instantly within the Supplier Portal or via API to block incoming transactions.

2.5 Prohibited, Brand-Restricted, & Regulated Commodities

Submission of a prohibited item constitutes an immediate material breach of your platform agreement. Pure dropshipping models—where the supplier does not physically own, handle, or control inventory—are strictly prohibited.

🛑 Absolute Product Prohibitions

You are barred from listing or shipping any items that are:

    • Counterfeit, replica, or infringing upon third-party intellectual property rights.
    • Illegal, expired, subject to safety recalls, or lacking required labels.
    • Age-gated, legally restricted, or highly regulated without explicit prior written authorization from +Shop legal compliance.

2.6 Product Compliance & Required Certifications Policy

To protect consumer safety and maintain platform alignment, certain high-risk, sensitive, or heavily regulated categories require structural verification before product listings are approved. If your catalog contains products in any of the categories below, you must submit the specified statutory certifications via the Compliance Node of your Supplier Dashboard.

1. Foods, Beverages, & Consumables

To guarantee public health safety and prevent foodborne illnesses, the Foods, Beverages, and Consumables category is heavily restricted. All ambient, shelf-stable items, specialized beverages, ingredients, snacks, and pet products require prior clearance.

      • Mandatory Facility Credentials: All domestic and foreign facilities must submit their active 11-digit FDA Food Facility Registration (FFR) number. Suppliers must also present a valid DUNS Number matching their FDA filings exactly.
      • Manufacturing Safety Plans: Prove compliance with 21 CFR Part 117 by uploading current Good Manufacturing Practices (cGMP) documentation, alongside HACCP or HARPC safety hazard analysis models.
      • Digitized Labeling & Allergens: You must upload high-resolution files of your packaging showing the standard FDA Nutrition Facts panel, net weight breakdown, and explicit allergen disclosures in accordance with the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA).
      • Shelf-Life SLA: At the exact moment your warehouse hands a package to the shipping carrier, the product must possess a minimum remaining shelf life of at least 45 days (or 30% of its total operational shelf life) before its expiration or "Best By" date.
      • Lot Tracking: Suppliers must maintain a warehouse management system capable of tracing individual lot numbers for every order to handle potential product recalls seamlessly.

2. Children’s Products & Toys (Ages 12 & Under)

The Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) strictly regulates items intended for infants and children. This is typically the most heavily audited category on any marketplace.

      • Required Certification: Children’s Product Certificate (CPC).
      • Mandatory Testing: Products must undergo physical safety and chemical testing (for lead, phthalates, and choking hazards) at a CPSC-accepted third-party laboratory. The test report must be submitted alongside the CPC.
      • Fulfillment Labeling: Packages and products must feature permanent tracking labels detailing location and date of production.

3. Cosmetics, Skincare, & Personal Care

Topical cosmetics and personal care products absorb directly into the skin and face rigid regulatory scrutiny regarding ingredients and manufacturing facilities.

      • Required Documentation: FDA Facility Registration Number and proof of compliance with the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act (MoCRA).
      • Testing Requirements: Certificate of Analysis (CoA) demonstrating passing laboratory results for microbial contamination and heavy metal thresholds.
      • Packaging Compliance: Clear digital photographs of the physical packaging displaying the complete ingredient panel and necessary allergen warnings.

4. Dietary Supplements & Over-The-Counter (OTC) Topicals

Ingestibles and health topicals are treated as high-risk vectors due to potential consumer health anomalies.

      • Required Documentation: FDA Food Facility Registration and explicit Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Certification matching the production plant.
      • Verification Assets: A third-party Certificate of Analysis (CoA) from an accredited ISO/IEC 17025 laboratory confirming ingredient identity, purity, and lack of contaminants.
      • Prohibition Alert: Structure/function claims on packaging must include the standard FDA disclaimer box. Listings featuring illegal medical claims (e.g., "cures illness") will be instantly terminated.

5. Electronics, Batteries, & Power Supplies

Uncertified electrical items pose severe fire and shock hazards.

      • Required Certifications: Underwriters Laboratories (UL) or Intertek (ETL) Safety Standards Compliance (e.g., UL 62368-1 for audio/video/data electronics).
      • Lithium-Ion Batteries: Items containing standalone or embedded lithium-ion batteries must provide a UN 38.3 Test Summary ensuring the battery cell safely passed international transport safety testing.
      • Radio Frequency: Wireless devices (Bluetooth, Wi-Fi) require an official FCC Grant of Equipment Authorization.

6. Medical Devices & Personal Safety Equipment

This covers everything from standard wellness products (like pulse oximeters and thermometers) to physical barrier items like respiratory masks.

      • Required Documentation: FDA 510(k) Premarket Notification Clearance or appropriate FDA Establishment Registration documentation.
      • Safety Apparel/Gear: General safety products (e.g., adult helmets, safety glasses) require a General Certificate of Conformity (GCC) based on reasonable testing programs.

7. Pesticides, Herbicides, & Eco-Friendly Claims

Any product that claims to kill, repel, or mitigate pests—including antimicrobial kitchen sponges, UV sterilization lights, or natural bug sprays—falls under strict federal environmental rules.

      • Required Documentation: EPA Registration Number or EPA Establishment Number.
      • Environmental/Eco-Claims: Products using terms like "biodegradable," "compostable," or "100% organic" must present valid supporting certifications (e.g., USDA Organic, FSC certification, or ASTM D6400 testing standards) to prevent deceptive "greenwashing" infractions.

Quick Reference Table:

Category

Regulatory Oversight

Primary Document to Upload

Toys & Baby Gear

CPSC (Consumer Product Safety Commission)

Children's Product Certificate (CPC)

Electronics (Wall-Powered)

OSHA / NRTL Labs

UL or ETL Certification Report

Wireless / Bluetooth

FCC (Federal Communications Commission)

FCC Grant of Equipment Authorization

Supplements & Health Items

FDA (Food & Drug Administration)

GMP Certificate + Independent Lab CoA

Disinfectants & Repellers

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency)

EPA Registration / Establishment Number


3. Order Fulfillment & Shipping Service Level Agreements

3.1 End-to-End Order Transaction Lifecycle Overview

Every order routes through a rigid procedural sequence inside the +Shop system. The graphic below highlights the state engine loop governing your payouts:

[Customer Order Placed] ➔ [Order Confirmed by Supplier] ➔ [Packed & Tracking Logged] ➔ [Carrier Transit] ➔ [Delivery Validated] ➔ [Return Window Closes] ➔ [Funds Released]

Your calculated share of the sale resides in an un-payoutable Earned-Pending state throughout fulfillment, transit, and the duration of the consumer return window. Balances move to Available only after the order is delivered, valid tracking is confirmed, and the return window closes cleanly without a refund or chargeback dispute.

3.2 Dispatch SLAs & Order Cut-Off Time Restraints

+Shop demands fast, reliable shipping fulfillment. Unless an alternative corporate handling arrangement has been formally approved in writing by +Shop operations, the platform default timeline rules apply:

  • Order Confirmation (Coming Soon!): Suppliers must review and confirm incoming orders within 1 business day of receipt.
  • Standard Shipping Handoff with Valid Tracking: Orders must be securely packed, handed over to a reliable carrier, and updated with a valid tracking number within 1–2 business days.

Repeated oversells, missed handling deadlines, or delayed updates will trigger account reviews and negatively impact your platform merchant standing.

3.3 Packaging, Branding, & Labeling Policy

Shipments must look completely professional. You are acting as the fulfillment arm of +Shop. All shipments must comply with these structural rules:

  • External Box Architecture: Use clean, neutral packaging. There must be no competitor markings or external corporate branding on the boxes.
  • Direct Solicitation Prohibition: You are strictly barred from including physical invoices, pricing sheets, marketing coupon inserts, QR codes, discount flyers, or external URLs designed to redirect shoppers away from +Shop.
  • Data Protection: Customer names and addresses are shared solely to execute delivery. No list-building, marketing retargeting, or off-platform customer solicitation is permitted.

3.4 Logistics & Shipping Carrier Integrations

Within your portal dashboard settings, link your preferred carrier network tools. You are required to utilize stable, traceable, commercially viable commercial carriers (such as UPS, FedEx, or USPS). Your approved shipping compensation structure operates as follows:

  • Supplier Share Configuration: The platform pays you your pre-configured Wholesale Price + your approved Shipping & Handling (S&H) cost.
  • Platform Margin Logic: +Shop sets the final customer Retail Price. The platform margin belongs entirely to +Shop to fund operations, charity donations, and network rewards. Your payout remains fixed to your set wholesale and S&H parameters, unaffected by +Shop's retail pricing adjustments.

3.5 Valid Ship Tracking Upload and Verification

Logging a valid tracking number and carrier name into the portal is your most vital fulfillment duty—it is the single mechanism that updates the shopper.

  • Verification: Tracking entries are monitored by programmatic tracking scrapers.
  • Violation Warning: Submitting fake tracking details, placeholder values, or dead codes to mask warehouse delays is a material breach of contract that will result in the immediate suspension of your portal account.

4. Returns, Refunds, & Customer Service

4.1 Reverse Logistics Routing & Customer Returns Matrix

+Shop manages all customer-facing communications, ticket routing, and final refund approvals. Customers contact +Shop directly; they are instructed never to reach out to you.

  • Standard Return Window: The default consumer return window is 30 days from the validated date of carrier delivery.
  • Financial Impact: If an order is canceled or returned, your account ledger reduces accordingly.

The matrix below shows how your share of a sale is handled during a refund event:

Timeline of Refund Event

Allocation of Supplier Share

Refund issued before physical item dispatch

Reversed. No earnings are credited to your ledger.

Refund issued after dispatch, within the 30-day window

Reversed. Earned-Pending balance is reduced.

Refund issued after financial disbursement has occurred

+Shop recovers funds via offset against future payouts, a balance hold, or direct invoice.

4.2 Warehouse Dispositioning & Product Quality Audits

When a return parcel is routed back to your warehouse facility, your receiving team must inspect the inventory and log the product status within the portal. You are financially responsible for the complete cost of returns, customer refunds, replacements, and reverse shipping charges if the return is due to supplier error.

⚠️ Supplier-Owned Liability Triggers

You own the costs if a refund is caused by:

      • Defective, unsafe, contaminated, expired, or non-compliant items.
      • Products physically damaged due to inadequate supplier warehouse packaging.
      • Incorrect SKU variants, missing items, or unapproved product substitutions.
      • Items that materially mismatch your catalog descriptions or listing imagery.
      • Shipping Delays due to the Supplier

4.3 Escalated Ticket Responding & Customer Communication SLAs

While +Shop acts as the front-line shield for client support, technical inquiries regarding product performance, missing components, or warranty terms require backend supplier assistance.

  • SLA Window: You must respond to internal +Shop partner evidence requests within a 24-hour timeframe.
  • Consequences: Delayed or ignored communication prevents +Shop from defending customer claims, leading to an automatic refund to the shopper at your expense.

4.4 Chargeback Indemnification & Claims Disputation Workflow

If a shopper files a formal credit card dispute or chargeback with their issuing bank, +Shop will notify you via email or via automated systems (API, flat file, etc.).

  • Evidence Collection: You must cooperate in good faith and supply physical evidence, including certified carrier tracking sheets, proof of delivery signatures, or packaging logs.
  • Financial Allocation: If the bank rules in favor of the consumer due to delivery failures, defective goods, or processing errors, the chargeback liability follows the standard refund logic.

5. Payments, Fees, & Financials

5.1 Platform Marketplace Fee Architecture & Commission Schedules

+Shop offers a transparent pricing structure. The platform does not subtract hidden transaction costs, onboarding fees, or listing line charges from your payout.

  • Fixed Supplier Share: Your payout is always equal to your configured Wholesale Price + Approved S&H (minus any returns or chargeback reversals).
  • Platform Operations: +Shop covers all underlying credit card payment gateway processing fees out of its own margin. If +Shop introduces new fee categories or changes to any existing fees affecting your share, the platform must provide 7 days advance notice.

5.2 Disbursement Cycles & Electronic Payout Mechanisms

Settled funds move from your internal Available balance into active distribution channels based on your selected timeline configuration. You can choose from three payout options in the portal:

  1. Monthly Payout Cycle: Available immediately to all approved merchants upon initial account verification.
  2. Bi-Weekly Payout Cycle: Available immediately to all approved merchants upon initial account verification.
  3. Weekly Payout Cycle: Unlocked automatically after your account remains active and in good standing for a minimum of 3 consecutive months.

The default minimum payout threshold is $50. If your current Available balance is lower than $50 at the end of a cycle, the balance rolls forward to the next payout date.

5.3 Banking Node Setup, KYC Controls, & Security Verification

All financial disbursements are processed in US Dollars via ACH bank transfers. To ensure your account is verified:

  • In your +Shop Supplier Portal, navigate to your Settings - Payout Setup to connect your bank account via Plaid.
  • Input your corporate routing and bank account coordinates carefully.
  • Verify that your company name matches your uploaded corporate tax documentation exactly.
  • To secure your data, +Shop encrypts your payout details and displays only the last 4 digits of your account numbers within the dashboard interface.

5.4 Financial Statement Reconciliation & Fiscal Year-End Tax Extraction

You are fully responsible for managing your own corporate taxes, including income taxes on your platform earnings.

  • Tax Documentation: You must submit a valid W-9 or W-8 form before receiving your first payout. +Shop will withhold disbursements if your tax documentation is missing or invalid.
  • 1099-NEC Reporting: +Shop generates and files Form 1099-K or 1099-NEC for all US-based suppliers who reach the standard IRS reporting threshold (currently $600 per calendar year).
  • Sales Tax Administration: Because +Shop acts as the Merchant of Record, the platform collects and remits all applicable US marketplace facilitator sales taxes. If a state tax authority contacts you regarding sales tax on a +Shop order, route the inquiry to +Shop Supplier Support.

6. Performance Metrics & Compliance

6.1 Supplier Scorecard Performance Metrics Explained

+Shop continuously tracks merchant operational health. Your account is graded across several key indicators to ensure compliance with our core logistics metrics:

  • Late Shipment Rate (LSR): The percentage of orders that fail to ship and log tracking within the mandatory 1–2 business day window.
  • Order Cancellation Rate (OCR): The frequency of supplier-initiated cancellations caused by stockouts or inventory management errors.
  • Order Defect Rate (ODR): Orders that trigger negative customer experiences, items damaged in transit, or missing parts.

6.2 Corrective Action Plans & Account Sanction Escalations

+Shop reserves the right to suspend accounts, pause listings, cancel open orders, or withhold payments if a supplier breaches platform standards or fails to meet logistics timelines.

If your metrics experience severe degradation or breach safety boundaries, your portal features will be restricted. To restore your account to active status, you must submit a formal Corrective Action Plan (CAP) detailing how you will resolve your warehouse operational issues.

6.3 Suspension Formal Dispute & Account Reinstatement Appeals

In cases of serious compliance failures—such as shipping counterfeit items, misusing shopper personal information, or repeatedly failing fulfillment standards—+Shop will terminate your account immediately upon notice.

To appeal an account suspension or restriction:

  1. Submit a formal appeal detailing the technical root causes of your logistical failures.
  2. Provide documentation showing the permanent adjustments implemented within your warehouse facilities to prevent future issues.
  3. Account Balances at Termination: If your account is permanently terminated, any available balance will be paid out during the next standard cycle. However, your Earned-Pending balance will be held securely until all open orders are delivered and the consumer return windows expire to cover potential refunds or chargeback liabilities.

Technical Support & Legal Notices

For daily operational assistance, API integration troubleshooting, or listing updates, please reach out via +Shop Chat or contact +Shop Supplier Support. Legal notices must be sent to the corporate address listed within your Supplier Portal dashboard.