The flow in plain terms
A standard Shopify store assumes one thing: the shopper sees a price, adds to cart, and checks out. A request-a-quote (RFQ) flow breaks that assumption apart into a short back-and-forth:
- The shopper asks. Instead of buying, they click a “Request a Quote” button and submit what they want (products, quantities, and details like specs or a delivery address).
- The merchant quotes. The store prepares a price, which may include volume discounts, custom line items, or shipping worked out by hand.
- The shopper accepts and pays. They open the quote, agree to it, and pay through Shopify’s normal checkout.
The key point: quoting happens before the sale is fixed, not after. Price is the outcome of a conversation, not a number printed on the product page.
Why B2B, wholesale, and made-to-order stores use it
Some orders cannot carry a single public price. A wholesale buyer ordering 500 units pays a different rate than someone buying one. A made-to-order sauna or a custom AV rack has no shelf price until someone scopes it. For these merchants, a visible “Add to cart” button is the wrong call to action. It either shows a price that is wrong for that buyer or forces the buyer to email and wait.
An RFQ flow fixes this by giving the buyer a clear next step (ask for a price) and giving the merchant control over what that price is. It suits:
- B2B and wholesale, where pricing is account or volume specific.
- Made-to-order and custom goods, where each order is scoped individually.
- High-consideration purchases, where a buyer wants a formal quote before committing.
See /industries for how this plays out in specific categories.
How ShopQuotes runs it end to end
ShopQuotes implements every step natively, without theme code edits.
| Step | What ShopQuotes does |
|---|---|
| Ask | Adds a native “Request a Quote” button or popup to your storefront, with a form builder for the fields you need. You can also hide price and hide “Add to cart” on quote-only products. |
| Quote | Converts each request into a real Shopify draft order, so you build the quote with your normal products, discounts, and shipping. |
| Send | Delivers a branded “Live Quote” page by link, PDF, or email from your own domain (Gmail, Outlook, SendGrid, Resend, or any SMTP). |
| Accept and pay | The customer opens the Live Quote, accepts, and pays through native Shopify checkout. No off-platform payment step. |
| Track | Open, click, and conversion analytics on every quote, so you see what the buyer did after you hit send. |
Because the quote becomes a Shopify draft order and payment runs through Shopify checkout, the order, customer, and revenue all land in your admin like any other sale. There is no commission on orders.
RFQ form vs. a quote CRM
A basic RFQ app stops at the form: it collects the request and emails you. ShopQuotes treats quoting as a full workflow you can build, send, and track, which is why it positions as a CRM for quotes rather than a form. That distinction matters once you send quotes regularly and need to know which ones are being opened and which are stalling.
The Launch plan is free (up to 5 Live Quotes, unlimited quote requests, form builder, draft-order conversion, and analytics), and paid plans add email sending, PDF quotes, branded templates, and a custom quote domain. Compare tiers on /pricing or see how it stacks up on /compare.