Amer’s Hot Take Gets Torched—And We’re Bringing Marshmallows

This week, Amer came in hot, waving the Shopify flag like a man who just discovered eCommerce yesterday. Naturally, the rest of the squad is here to tear him apart:

👑 Amer says Shopify is KING, and the rest of you peasants just don’t get it.
Why Shopify isn’t just a platform—it’s the platform.

🚪 Bryan says Shopify is a velvet prison, and Amer just threw away the key.
Shopify is great—until you realize you don’t own your business, Shopify does. Fees? Rising. Control? Shrinking. Agility? Gone.

🛑 John says Shopify isn’t winning—it’s extorting.
Shopify isn’t reacting to the market. It is the market. But instead of competing on innovation, they’re charging merchants rent just to exist.

📨 Jimmy says Amer should stop talking and send more emails.
Jimmy’s just throwing out a DGAF. Send. More. Emails.

This edition hits harder than Amer’s Shopify love affair. Read it, argue about it, if it feels a little too spicy… good.

The Rise & Fall of Subscription Models in eCommerce - EP37

In this ASOM Pod episode, the squad is diving headfirst into the world of subscription-based eCommerce—the good, the bad, and the absolute dumpster fires. From billion-dollar brands that turned subscriptions into cash-printing machines to those that crashed harder than a Black Friday website outage, we’re breaking down what actually works (and what’s just hype). Grab your headphones and check out the episode here.

Shopify is KING and you don't know a damn THING.

Shopify isn’t just building the future of eCommerce…they are eCommerce.

For the next 3-5 years, every serious brand will either be on Shopify or wishing they were. This isn’t a trend. It’s a takeover. Think America after WWII.

The foundation is set, the ecosystem to this day is expanding like a city with no speed limits, and Shopify holds the blueprint. Every update, every tool, every integration…it’s not just innovation, it’s insulation. Shopify isn’t reacting to the market. It is paving the highway for everyone who is in the market.

Every merchant, from basement hustlers to billion-dollar giants, is running the same play…because there is no better play. And if they are not, they are probably lagging like a 56K AOL connection.

And here’s the reality… brands sitting on the sidelines, especially enterprise ones, will regret every extra day they wait. 

Right now, they’re stuck in platforms that feel like an old flip phone…bulky, slow, and way too expensive for what they actually need. 

Meanwhile, Shopify is like Apple with the iPhone…brands can’t get enough of it.

The brands that don’t make the move? They’ll feel it. Really, really, really, really hard…

Every slow development cycle, every unnecessary tech hurdle, every dollar wasted on maintaining outdated systems…it all adds up. 

And by the time they realize it, their competitors who did move to Shopify will already be three laps ahead. It will feel like their competitors are on the autobahn in a Ferrari with Lewis Hamilton at the wheel. (If you get F1, that was a bit hard got me to type.)

Because Shopify doesn’t just win, it makes winning inevitable. 

The barriers? Gone. The headaches? Solved. The future? Ready at your fingertips.

Ecommerce isn’t a fight anymore. It’s a foregone conclusion. 

Shopify isn’t asking for space. They are the space,

And the only decision brands have left is whether they want to be part of it, or get left behind.

Betting Your Entire eCommerce Future on Shopify like Amer is Lazy.. And Dangerous!

Shopify is good. Maybe even great. But if you think handing your entire business over to one platform is some genius move, you’re not building a brand, you’re renting one.

The same "ecosystem" everyone brags about? That’s a velvet prison. The more you grow, the more you’re trapped. You become locked into Shopify’s fees, rules, and roadmap. Think you’re agile? Not when Shopify decides what tech you can use, how you can customize checkout, or when they jack up prices (again).

Trust me.. They will continue to jack prices up because they know they have all of us by the balls. 

Innovation? Shopify isn’t driving the future of ecommerce, brands are. The scrappy ones who actually control their own tech stack. Who build around their customer, not just around what’s convenient for Shopify. Shopify’s one-size-fits-all playbook works…until it doesn’t. 

Enterprise brands already know this, that’s why so many still sit on custom platforms. Shopify is for small to medium sized fish. If you want to become a trophy catch, you have no choice but to leave Shopify. They’re not slow or stupid. They’ve seen what happens when you tie your whole future to a single partner who can change the rules overnight.

The real winners in ecommerce over the next 5 years won’t just be the Shopify loyalists. It’ll be the brands who treat Shopify as one tool in their kit, not the whole damn toolbox.

Shopify is a highway. But smart brands? They’re building offramps.

P.S. I’m actually really excited to migrate to Shopify from Big Commerce. We hired Amer and his team over at Praella to handle that, however we are all attacking Amer this week.

Amer’s Rant This Week is Loud, Old, and Mostly Right.

Shopify is dominating. But let’s not pretend their playbook is just about innovation.

They are not just winning. They are extracting.

Shopify isn’t reacting to the market. They are the market. But instead of simply being the best option, they are making sure merchants have no other option.

Want to use a different payment processor? You can, but you will lose key features. That is not a choice. That is a tax. Shopify Payments is not just an option. It is a requirement if you want access to the full power of the platform. That is a problem.

Avalara? Getting sunset in April. Merchants still have options… they can go directly to Avalara, use Shopify Tax, or find another solution. But here is the catch. Every alternative to Shopify Tax is significantly more expensive than before or NOT a full solution (still have to pay Shopify Tax). Shopify is not just removing an integration. They are forcing merchants into higher costs, whether they stay or leave, and benefiting from it.

And this is where Shopify is setting itself up for disruption. We have seen this before. Microsoft with Windows. Facebook with organic reach. Apple with its walled garden. It works for a while, but the more a company forces users into compliance, the more they push people to look for an alternative.

Right now, no one is close to taking Shopify down. But the more they tighten their grip, the more inevitable that disruption becomes.

Because winning is not just about having the best product. It is about keeping trust. And when merchants feel like they are being squeezed instead of supported, that trust erodes.

Shopify’s moat is deep. But the more they take from merchants' bottom line, the easier they make it for someone to start digging their own path around it.

What the Fuck Do Those 3 Guys Above Me Know?

Blah blah blah. 

Send more emails. 

K thanks. Bye.

And that’s a wrap on this week’s unfiltered takes! If you’re hooked on our no-BS rants (or just love the chaos), be sure to hit that Subscribe button and let us keep your inbox spicy. 🌶️

And of course, don’t be selfish—share with your friends, coworkers, or anyone who needs a wake-up call from their boring newsletters.

Have an ASOM day ✌️