Shopify vs a hosted dropshipping store
Compare Shopify with a hosted dropshipping store: who charges the customer, who fulfills, and when you need an account.
They solve different jobs
Shopify is a store you open and pay for, then connect to suppliers. A hosted store on Dropship Scout is a product page, cart, and Stripe Checkout on a link this app serves. You can research products before you open either one.
If you already take orders on Shopify, you can connect it later. The customer payment stays in Shopify for those orders. The hosted store is the path that does not require a Shopify account.
What does not change
The supplier still has to ship the variant you listed. The price still has to clear cost and fees. A research page about what to sell in a Shopify store is about the product, not about which checkout charges the card.
Questions
Does this page include live sales numbers?
No. These pages explain how to judge a product. They do not publish order counts, revenue, or ad results.
Do I need Shopify to use the idea checker?
No. The checker and the sample catalog are public. Shopify is optional after you have a product a supplier can fulfill.