How to Sell CBD on Shopify

How to Sell CBD on Shopify? Step by Step Guide

Expand Your Cannabis Brand by Selling CBD on Shopify

No matter where you are located in the world, if you would like to learn step by step how to sell CBD and hemp on Shopify and set up a successful Shopify CBD store to tap into the CBD market, then this article is for you. To sell hemp derived CBD products in your CBD store, follow the step-by-step instructions below.
How to Set Up a Shopify CBD Store Step by Step

How to Set Up a Shopify CBD Store Step by Step?

Step 1. Join Shopify CBD Sellers selling CBD products on Shopify by creating an account using the following link: https://www.shopify.com/sell/cbd Shopify offers a fourteen-day free trial, so you can get started on Shopify without using a debit or credit card.

 

  1. When you click the Shopify link above, you will be redirected to a Shopify login screen that looks like this:
Create an Account for Your CBD Shopify Store
On the Shopify page above, you enter your preferred email address and password for your new Shopify CBD store where you can sell CBD products.
2. Once you enter your preferred email address and password, Shopify would like to ask you a few questions to create a store that best fits what you want to do when selling CBD online. You will encounter the following questions from Shopify:
Lets Get Started Page on Shopify
Where Would You Like to Sell?
Where Would You Like to Sell on Shopify
Do You Want to Sell CBD Products Through Dropshipping?
Do You Want to Sell CBD Products Through Dropshipping on Shopify
Where Will Your CBD Business Be Located?
You could click Shopify’s drop-down if you are not in the United States and choose another country on Shopify when selling CBD products.
Where Will Your CBD Business Be Located

Once you have completed all the questions, you will be brought to your CBD Shopify dashboard.

New CBD Shopify Dashboard
Step 2. Carefully review and submit the Attestation for the Sale of Hemp and Hemp-Derived Products.

 

This CBD attestation form is only for Shopify owners in the United States of America. You must be signed in to your CBD Shopify account as the store owner to view this CBD attestation form in Shopify. Suppose you are not the store owner of your CBD Shopify account. In that case, the link above will automatically redirect you to the CBD Shopify admin page.

Why Do You Have to Fill Out the CBD Attestation for the Sale of Hemp and Hemp-Derived Products on Shopify?
Filling out the CBD form confirms that US-based CBD Shopify owners understand and intend to comply with Shopify’s requirements for selling hemp CBD on Shopify. In layman’s terms, Shopify would like to make sure you understand that you are responsible for the consequences of violating any cannabis laws and that Shopify is not responsible for you being penalized if you violate cannabis laws. 

 

Here is an example of the CBD attestation form you must complete to start selling CBD on Shopify.

CBD Attestation First Set of Questions
CBD Attestation Second Set of Questions
CBD Attestation Third Set of Questions
After you have completed the CBD attestation for the sale of hemp and hemp-derived products, you do not have to wait for the approval. The CBD attestation process is automatically approved, and you can move on to the next steps in creating your CBD Shopify store.

How to Set Up a Shopify CBD Merchant Account?

Step 3. Creating Your Shopify CBD Merchant Account to Setup Shopify CBD Payment

Shopify Payments is not available for selling hemp or CBD at this time. Although Shopify has partnerships with many third-party CBD payment gateways integrated with Shopify, which support the sale of hemp and hemp-derived CBD products.

 

Remember that third-party CBD payment gateways have policies, so you should contact the third-party CBD payment gateway of your choosing to confirm that your CBD business is eligible for their CBD policies. They take into account many factors when vetting your business for approval for selling and rates, such as:

  • Product type or types that you are selling.
  • Age of the business.
  • Transaction history.
  • Level of volume.
  • Product mix.
  • Much more.

Shopify does not guarantee approval for your business with these third-party payment gateways for your products. If you are not approved, you could use another third-party payment gateway for your products. You will have to manually integrate your third-party payment gateway for your products if they are not on the following list:

 

Can You Use Shopify CBD Payment Processors to Sell CBD?

You can use Shopify’s Point of Sale (POS) systems to sell hemp and hemp-derived CBD in-store or in person, following the same requirements as your CBD Shopify online store. However, you cannot use Shopify Payments even with Shopify CBD hardware that requires Shopify Payments. You must use an external credit card terminal from your preferred third-party gateway.

Examples of Successful Shopify CBD Stores

Here is what you could visually expect when using Shopify for your business to offer your CBD products for sale:

Cannuka is Selling CBD

Cannuka Shopify CBD Store

Sabaidee Has CBD Oil For Sale

Sabaidee Shopify CBD Store

Learn How to Sell Hemp from Rebotanicals

Rebotanicals CBD Shopify Store

How to Sell CBD Products Online Using Shopify?

Now that your CBD store is set up on Shopify for your products. You may wonder how you will drive sales for your products to your store and grow your CBD brand. Unfortunately, most advertising and marketing tactics online for CBD are banned or strictly prohibited. The following platforms ban or have strict guidelines for paid advertising of CBD on their platforms:

  • Google
  • Bing
  • DuckDuckGo
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Facebook
  • TikTok
  • Snapchat
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • and many more.

Organic search is one of the only advertising and marketing channels that are not banned or restricted for cannabis products. On search engines like Google and Bing, there are paid search results that make up 6% of all clicks, which look like this:

Paid Search Results
Then there are the organic search results which make up 94% of all clicks and over 50% of all traffic on the internet. The organic search results look like this:
organic search results
Suppose you were allowed to advertise cannabis products in the paid search results, which you are not if you sell CBD. The only way to gain exposure is to pay Google for placement in the paid search results. Over time advertising costs consistently increase, shrink your profit margin, and increase your costs for acquiring a new customer.

 

On the other hand, the only way to generate revenue and exposure from the organic search results for your cannabis products is to earn placement in the organic search results. The only way to earn placement in the organic search results is by using Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Over time your return on investment increases exponentially, your cost of acquiring a customer goes way down, and your profit margin increases.

 

The only downside to SEO and organic search is that it takes time to generate revenue and traffic. For this reason, only invest in SEO if you already have another revenue stream that allows for long-term investment into SEO.

 

Here is a visual comparison of SEO versus Paid Advertising:

organic seo advantage line graph

Frequently Asked Questions About Shopify

Can You Sell CBD on Shopify?

Yes, you can sell CBD on Shopify, but you must use a third-party payment processor to process payments. You can also use Shopify shipping to ship your CBD products anywhere worldwide, where CBD is legal as long as the applicable carrier allows it. 

Can You Dropship CBD on Shopify?

Yes, Shopify loves CBD drop shippers and supports them when starting a new CBD hemp shop on Shopify.

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