Operate Shopify Cross-Border

Objective

Build an evidence-based Shopify product launch and operating package from selection through fulfilment, while making unit economics and compliance gates visible.

Choose the Task

• For product selection, follow references/product-selection.md.
• For product-page, collection, SKU, market, and import design, follow the catalog workflow below.
• For landed cost, price, margin, shipping, and fulfilment, follow references/fulfilment-and-cost.md and use the calculator script.
• For privacy, consumer, product, claims, tax, duty, and market checks, follow references/store-compliance.md.
• For Amazon, TikTok Shop, Shopee, Lazada, or eBay listings, use $launch-crossborder-products.

End-to-End Workflow

1. Define the target market, customer, category, price band, positioning, traffic source, fulfilment origin, delivery target, and return strategy.
2. Evaluate candidate products using evidence supplied by the user or current reputable sources. Separate observed facts from estimates.
3. Reject products that fail compliance, IP, fragility, delivery, return-rate, margin, or evidence gates before investing in copy.
4. Verify supplier identity, samples, product specifications, packaging, lead time, MOQ, quality controls, test evidence, and brand rights.
5. Calculate landed cost and contribution margin with scripts/calculate_landed_cost.py.
6. Design handles, SKUs, variants, options, collections, tags, metafields, SEO fields, image order, and market localization.
7. Create product copy using only verified facts, plus FAQ, size or compatibility guidance, shipping expectations, returns, and warnings.
8. Prepare shipping profiles by origin, destination zone, weight or price thresholds, carrier, service, handling time, duty model, and exclusions.
9. Prepare fulfilment handoff fields: SKU, barcode, inventory location, customs description, HS-code candidate for broker confirmation, origin, unit value, weight, dimensions, battery or dangerous-goods status, and packaging.
10. Run compliance and launch QA. Do not publish or change a live store without explicit user authorization.

Product Selection Standard

Score demand evidence, gross margin, contribution margin, competition, differentiation, repeat purchase, content potential, shipping complexity, return risk, defect risk, regulation, IP, seasonality, supplier concentration, and cash-conversion cycle. A high sales estimate does not override weak compliance or unit economics.

Required Outputs

1. Product selection scorecard with evidence and uncertainty.
2. Supplier and compliance evidence checklist.
3. Landed-cost, price, gross-margin, contribution-margin, and break-even table.
4. Shopify catalog and import field map.
5. Localized product page, SEO, collection, merchandising, and creative brief.
6. Shipping profile and fulfilment SOP.
7. Returns and customer-service decision tree.
8. Market-specific compliance and policy gap list.
9. Pre-launch QA checklist.

Catalog Rules

• Use stable internal SKUs independent of the product title.
• Avoid unnecessary variants; use metafields for specifications that are not buying choices.
• Keep URL handles durable and language-neutral when possible.
• Separate factual product data, merchandising copy, SEO data, and operational fulfilment data.
• Preserve country-specific warnings, size systems, voltage, plugs, units, prices, and delivery expectations.

Resource Routing

• Read references/product-selection.md for evidence and scoring.
• Read references/fulfilment-and-cost.md before recommending prices or shipping promises.
• Read references/store-compliance.md before declaring a market launch-ready.
• Copy assets/shopify-product-intake.csv for merchant and supplier intake.
• Use scripts/calculate_landed_cost.py --help for unit economics.

Boundaries

Shopify configuration, carrier services, duties, taxes, product laws, privacy rules, and consumer rules change. Verify current official requirements. Treat HS codes, taxes, duties, product classifications, and legal conclusions as candidates requiring broker, accountant, or qualified legal confirmation. Do not assist with counterfeit goods, customs undervaluation, fake tracking, policy evasion, deceptive urgency, review manipulation, or hidden subscriptions.