When Shopify first launched I got an account, built a store and played around with their platform for a couple of months. I checked out their theme builder, the nifty back end and some of the unique features they offer. I like how easy it is to use and the web 2.0 feel the themes and back end have, not to mention you can use it for free. They do however charge a percentage of each sale which I believe used to be around 3%.

I say “used to be,” because Shopify has announced they are now offering several different pricing models and even a free trial for both existing and new merchants. In addition, they are getting ready to launch the first ever Shopify Marketplace where anyone can find, shop and buy from other Shopify powered stores.

The announcement came to me by email so here’s a snippet for you to see..

This week sees two major changes to Shopify. The most exciting for us is the release of the Shopify Marketplace, which will replace the present Shopify.com site. Starting in just a few days, users will be able to go to the Shopify Marketplace and find products from all participating Shopify stores. The other big change is the introduction of our new pricing model. We now have a number of pricing options available, all with lower transaction fees than the original 3% plan. Active users will have the option of staying with the old pricing model as long as they want, and inactive users will be moved to a free trial account automatically.

This is fantastic news for Shopify merchants and others who have been thinking of joining their program. The Marketplace will be free for all users, and gives the merchants the ability to have their products discovered by others right away. As soon as your store launches, your products will be listed and tracked by their Marketplace search engine.

The pricing update is also a really good step in the right direction. Now they offer 4 different tiered packages; trial, basic, professional and enterprise.

• The trial is free and they charge no transaction fees
• The basic is $24/month with 2% transaction fee
• The professional is $59/month with a 1% transaction fee
• The enterprise is $299/month with a .5% transaction fee

More information about the Shopify software can be found at their new location: http://shopify.info/

We will be adding the Shopify Marketplace to our Product Listing Guide once I get the email outlining how to get included, so look for it there in the near future.