For US Shopify stores, the last few years changed two numbers that sit between revenue and profit. The first is sales tax: where you have to collect it is no longer decided only by where you have an office or a warehouse. The second is landed cost: goods that used to arrive duty-free in small parcels no longer do. Neither change shows up in a revenue chart. Both show up in margin.
This article walks through both, with the arithmetic, and then explains the Founding 10,000 offer: a full year of ORVX Core, free, for eligible Shopify stores, to see what each order really leaves.
Every example and amount on this page is illustrative. It shows the method and is not a benchmark, a quote or advice.
Shopify sales tax thresholds: economic nexus since Wayfair
In South Dakota v. Wayfair, decided June 21, 2018, the Supreme Court upheld a state law covering sellers that deliver more than $100,000 of goods or services into the state each year, or make 200 or more separate transactions there, and it overruled the old rule that a seller needed a physical presence in a state before it could be required to collect that state's tax. States have since written their own thresholds, and they are not all the same, so the practical step is to check the rules of each state you ship to with your tax adviser (Source: Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School).
Sales tax is collected from the customer on top of the price, so in principle it passes straight through. In practice it touches profit in three places:
- Revenue reporting. Tax collected is not your money. A report that counts it as sales overstates revenue and margin.
- Refunds. When an order is refunded, the tax goes back too, and your records need to agree.
- Compliance cost. Registrations, filings and software are real costs that sit outside the per-order margin.
Shopify landed cost after the end of duty-free de minimis
Effective August 29, 2025, imported goods sent through means other than the international postal network that are valued at or under $800 and would otherwise qualify for the de minimis exemption are subject to all applicable duties. U.S. Customs and Border Protection confirmed that the suspension applies globally from that date (Source: The White House).
For a store that imports stock or ships from overseas suppliers, this moves the product cost line. The duty rate itself depends on the product and where it comes from, so it has to come from your customs broker or your own entries, not from a general figure.
Worked example: one product, before and after duties
As an illustration only, suppose a store sells a product for $48. Before the change, the unit cost was $16, shipping and packing $6, payment fees about $1.69 (2.9% plus $0.30), and the ad cost per order $10. Now assume duties and brokerage add $3.50 to each unit.
| Line | Before | After duties |
|---|---|---|
| Selling price | $48.00 | $48.00 |
| Unit cost | -$16.00 | -$19.50 |
| Shipping and packing | -$6.00 | -$6.00 |
| Payment fees | -$1.69 | -$1.69 |
| Ad cost per order | -$10.00 | -$10.00 |
| Profit per order | $14.31 | $10.81 |
In this example profit per order drops from $14.31 to $10.81, so the net margin moves from $14.31 / $48 = 29.81% to $10.81 / $48 = 22.52%. The gross margin on the product line falls from ($48 - $16) / $48 = 66.67% to ($48 - $19.50) / $48 = 59.38%. A store that keeps reading the old unit cost from its spreadsheet would still believe it is earning $14.31 an order.
To keep the old margin, the Product Pricing Calculator shows the price your new costs require. The Profit Margin Calculator checks one order at a time, and the Break-Even ROAS Calculator shows how much the higher cost lowers the ad spend each order can carry.
What to check in your own store
- Update unit costs for every product affected by duties, using the amounts on your actual entries.
- Make sure revenue reports exclude sales tax collected.
- Look at refunds as a share of revenue by product. They take back revenue and rarely return the shipping or the ad cost.
- Recalculate your break-even ROAS for the products whose costs moved.
- Review your Shopify sales tax by state for the states you ship to most, and confirm your registrations with a tax professional.
The Founding 10,000: what it is, honestly
ORVX's mission is to help growing brands see their real numbers. The Founding 10,000, which ORVX calls the $1.9M Commerce Initiative, removes the price of entry for a year: the first 10,000 eligible Shopify stores that activate ORVX Core get 12 months of Core at $0, with no credit card.
The $1.9M figure is arithmetic, not money paid out. It is 10,000 stores x $190 standard annual Core price = $1,900,000, the maximum value of the offered subscriptions at standard prices. It is not cash, funding, a grant or revenue, and it is not distributed to anyone. The 10,000 places are shared by eligible stores in every country, not allocated per country.
After the 12 months, Core is the standard $19 per month or $190 per year, and only if you approve it. Intelligence is not part of the offer and stays $39 per month or $390 per year. All ORVX prices are in US dollars. This is ORVX's own offer: it is not a government program, and Shopify does not fund it.
What US stores get with ORVX Core
- Real profit: revenue, product costs, gross profit, margin, expenses and net profit per order, product and collection, each traced to the orders behind it.
- Orders and products: Shopify orders, products, refunds and fulfilment, read from your store and kept in step.
- Reports for any date range, in your store's currency and time zone.
- Customers, each with their orders and what they are worth to the business.
- Inventory: stock on hand and the money held in it, product by product.
- Ad spend in your profit: spend from Meta and Google counted in net profit, with MER and AOV beside it.
- Integrations with Shopify and your ad accounts. ORVX only reads from your store.
- Alerts when something in your numbers needs a look.
Core does not include Ask ORVX, NOVA's recommendations, forecasting or the deeper customer, product and pricing intelligence. Those belong to Intelligence, which is unchanged. Core does not file taxes or calculate duties for you; it reports the costs you record.
How to claim it
- Connect your Shopify store. Install ORVX from the Shopify App Store, or connect your store to an orvx.ai account.
- Eligibility is checked. The store must be live, must not have used an allocation before, and places must remain. Development and test stores do not qualify, and stores with an active paid ORVX plan keep their plan as it is.
- Activate Core. Your 12 months start that day, and the end date is shown in the app from the first day.
Places are allocated in the order stores activate. The live count of places left is on the Founding 10,000 page, along with the full terms. Standard plans are on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Founding 10,000 offer only for US stores?
No. It is open to eligible Shopify stores in any country, and the 10,000 places are shared across all of them. Stores in the United States claim it the same way as everyone else.
Does ORVX file or collect sales tax for me?
No. ORVX reads your store's data and reports on it. Sales tax registration, collection and filing stay with you and your advisers.
Do I need a credit card to start?
No. Activating Founding Core needs no card and no checkout, and nothing is charged during the 12 months.
What happens when the 12 months end?
Nothing is charged automatically. You are reminded 30, 7 and 1 days before the end. To continue, you approve Core at the standard price yourself; if you do not, Core access ends and your data is kept.
Is this a government or Shopify program?
No. It is ORVX's own offer. It is not run by or with any government body, and Shopify does not fund it.
Does the $1.9M mean money is paid to stores?
No. It is 10,000 stores multiplied by the $190 standard annual Core price: the most that the offered subscriptions are worth at standard prices. No cash is paid to anyone.
Sources
- The $1.9M Commerce Initiative: terms and FAQ (ORVX, checked 26 October 2026)
- South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., 585 U.S. 162 (2018) (Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School, checked 26 October 2026)
- Fact sheet: suspending the de minimis exemption for commercial shipments globally (The White House, checked 26 October 2026)
- CBP ready to enforce end of de minimis loophole (U.S. Customs and Border Protection, checked 26 October 2026)
- Indefinite suspension of the de minimis exemption for merchandise arriving through all modes other than the international postal network (Federal Register, checked 2 November 2026)
- Adjusting imports of automobiles and automobile parts into the United States (Federal Register, checked 2 November 2026)
General information only: tax, duty and import rules change and depend on your situation, so check with an accountant or the official source before acting.