Frequently Asked Questions ​

Do vendors have access to the customer's email address and phone number? ​

Yes. Vendors have access to the email address, phone number and delivery address. Here is a sample of a (fake) order in Garnet:

Note that we understand that some vendors have automated tools that might send customers confirmation or fulfilment emails which is not ideal. That's why for automated integration, we obfuscate the email address.

How can I create a communication channel between my customer and my vendor? ​

When a customer makes an order, the vendor can access the customer's details. It is helpful to arrange the delivery and resolve any out-of-stock or delay without including the marketplace.

However, on purpose, the customer cannot access the vendor's contact details. Indeed, at Garnet, we experimented with different marketplaces, which cost more support time and effort.

Here are our takeaways:

• 40% of the support request are addressed to the marketplace. Requests usually concern total or partial cancellation, which leads to refunds. Customers tend to contact the vendor first, leading to many email forwarding.
• 50% of the support request is for delivery status. Vendors have many tracking numbers and tools they tend to refuse to answer.
• Vendors are only sometimes the best people to handle support. Some will give inaccurate or wrong information, leading to extra work for the marketplace or unexpected bad reviews.

We recommend marketplaces reduce support requests by:

• creating a return and cancellation policy on their website on a dedicated page and linking it in their emails and FAQ.
• insanely sharing the tracking link page to ensure customers can find it easily.
• using support tools to filter and assign requests to your team or to redirect to your website policies.

How Garnet charge? ​

Garnet is integrated with Shopify Billing API. When you are paying for Shopify, there will be an extra line in your invoice that includes Garnet's charges.

An important comment is that Shopify adds your local taxes on top of application charges. So Garnet charges are tax excluded.