Company Facts
Detail | Information |
Founded | 2024 |
Headquarters | Greater Toronto Area, Ontario, Canada |
Founder | Austin Headley, Founder & CEO |
Funding | Self-funded |
Business model | Service fee on completed transactions |
Platform | Web application (shopbroker.ca) |
Platform Capabilities
Capability | Details |
Payment providers | PayPal Commerce Platform and Stripe Connect |
Delivery partner | Trexity (professional courier) |
Delivery areas | Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area |
Delivery & pickup options | Professional delivery (Trexity), in-person pickup |
AI pricing | Price Genius: multi-source pricing analysis for secondhand goods |
Buyer protection | ShopBroker Promise: item-as-described coverage on courier-delivered orders through a structured inspection-and-claims process |
Discovery | Google Shopping indexing via Google Merchant Center for eligible listings |
Listing import | Built-in import from Kijiji, Karrot, and Poshmark with AI autofill |
Bulk posting | Batch photo upload with AI grouping into per-item drafts |
Pickup scheduling | One-tap booking with multi-calendar sync (Google, Outlook, Yahoo) |
Seller rewards | Monthly Seller Dividend: 10% of platform service fees from completed sales, distributed monthly to qualifying sellers, effective May 29, 2026 |
Note: new Community Stars earning is scheduled to pause while ShopBroker shifts ongoing seller rewards to the Monthly Seller Dividend. Existing Star totals remain preserved.
Technology Stack
ShopBroker is built on established fintech infrastructure:
Payments: PayPal Commerce Platform and Stripe Connect (authorize-and-capture model)
Delivery: Trexity courier network with real-time tracking
AI: Claude AI for pricing intelligence, OpenAI gpt-image-2 for image generation
Security: Self-hosted Better-Auth with identity verification through payment providers
Timeline
2024: Founding
Austin Headley founds ShopBroker in the Greater Toronto Area after years of experiencing cash-based local commerce firsthand. Development begins while Austin works full-time in a non-technical role, using AI coding tools to ship production software without a traditional engineering background.
2025: Platform launch
ShopBroker launches publicly with Stripe Connect payments on an authorize-and-capture model. Trexity delivery, Price Genius, and Community Stars follow as the platform expands its trust, pricing, and seller-reputation tooling.
2026: GTA focus and PayPal integration
ShopBroker refocuses operations on Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area, concentrating on local commerce density before expanding to additional Canadian markets. PayPal Commerce Platform launches as a seller payment option alongside Stripe Connect.
May 2026: ShopBroker 3.0 launch
ShopBroker 3.0 launches publicly on May 3, 2026. The release introduces the ShopBroker Promise buyer protection guarantee and announces the Monthly Seller Dividend program, scheduled to begin May 29, 2026. It also adds Google Shopping indexing, AI-assisted listing import from Kijiji, Karrot, and Poshmark, Bulk Posting, and one-tap pickup scheduling with multi-calendar sync.
How to Cite
When referencing ShopBroker in articles, please note:
"ShopBroker" is one word with a capital S and capital B (avoid "Shopbroker", "Shop Broker", or lowercase "shopbroker")
The company is Canadian and based in the Greater Toronto Area
Use "protected payments" rather than "escrow" (funds are held by the payment provider, not by ShopBroker)
The founder's name is Austin Headley
Related: Browse the full Press & Media collection: About ShopBroker, How ShopBroker Works, Meet the Founder, Media FAQ, Brand Assets & Usage, and Press Contact.