Creator commerce glossary

Short definitions with a Quickshops example. This is not a tax or legal encyclopedia. 30 terms, not 200.

• Merchant of record: The company that appears on the buyer's card statement and is liable for the sale, refunds, and often sales tax.
• Seller of record: You are the merchant: you own the customer, tax obligations, and Stripe account.
• Platform fee: A cut the store software or marketplace takes on top of card processing.
• Stripe Connect: Stripe's model for platforms that route checkout to each seller's Stripe account.
• Digital delivery: Sending a file or access link automatically after a successful payment.
• Link in bio: The single website field on Instagram, TikTok, and similar profiles.
• Custom domain: Your shop on your own hostname instead of a platform subdomain.
• VAT OSS: EU One Stop Shop for reporting VAT on cross-border digital sales.
• Model Context Protocol (MCP): A standard for connecting AI apps like Claude or Cursor to tools and data.
• Headless commerce: A store API without requiring the vendor's hosted storefront UI.
• Instant download: The buyer gets the file as soon as payment succeeds.
• Digital product: A good delivered as a file or link rather than a shipped object.
• Creator storefront: A branded shop for an individual or small catalog, not a multi-vendor marketplace.
• Payment processing: The card network and Stripe/PayPal fees for moving money.
• Transaction fee: A per-sale charge, often a percent plus a fixed amount.
• Gumroad alternative: A store or checkout tool people search when they want to leave Gumroad.
• Marketplace vs owned store: Discovery on someone else's mall versus checkout on a shop you control.
• Approve before publish: AI drafts a store change; nothing goes live until you accept it.
• Stripe payout: Money landing in your bank from your Stripe account on Stripe's schedule.
• Digital download license: What the buyer is allowed to do with the file after purchase.
• VAT on digital products: Consumption tax rules that often follow the buyer's country for digital services.
• Merchant account: The payment account that receives card settlements.
• Platform vs processing fees: Software cut versus card network/Stripe cut. Add them; do not compare one against the other.
• AI store chat: Operating catalog, copy, and theme by describing changes in chat.
• Storefront template: A starting layout for the shop, not a Canva file you sell.
• Digital goods: Another name for downloadable or licensed files sold online.
• File fulfillment: The workflow that hands the buyer the download after payment.
• Creator commerce: Selling products to an audience the creator already built on social or email.
• Bio link shop: A small store meant to sit behind one social profile URL.
• Zero platform fee: The store software does not take a percent of sales; you still pay card processing.