If You Sell These Restricted Items on Walmart, Then Stop!
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Walmart is committed to ensuring the safety and trust of its customers and Marketplace Sellers. It’s imperative for sellers to adhere to the strict guidelines outlined by Walmart in its Seller Center. This includes complying with all applicable laws and regulations concerning your products.
To ensure that all listings on Walmart are safe and legal, it has released a list of products banned from Walmart. Do not publish any of the Products on the Walmart ban list under any circumstances, or else Walmart will take significant action against any such violation. The Categorization of all the Prohibited items on Walmart covers a broader spectrum. Thus, all products falling under these categories are ‘Restricted Items on Walmart.’
Categories of Prohibited Items on Walmart
All the products falling in the Walmart Ban List align with categories to address broader subjects. Thus, it is to make sure that the Walmart Banned List covers all aspects appropriately.
Walmart Ban List includes (Items with or without their names, belonging to these categories are banned from Walmart):
1. Alcohol
Walmart does not sell a variety of items due to its policies and guidelines aimed at ensuring customer safety, legal compliance, and maintaining its brand reputation. All kinds of alcoholic drinks find themselves on the Walmart Ban list for the most obvious reasons. Thus, Walmart doesn’t allow any form of alcohol, whether in the form of fluid or candies and powder. Walmart doesn’t even allow collectible, antique, and aged whiskey.
Additionally, if sellers want to list Empty bottles of alcohol for collectible or decoration purposes, they need to declare them as “empty” in the description exclusively.
2. Animals
All animals, insects, marines, or other forms of creatures, dead and alive, are classified as Walmart restricted items. Thus, you cannot sell Animal organs, corpses, etc., at Walmart. Animal Vaccines are also one of the restricted items on Walmart.
Furthermore, any product made from Bear, Bear Traps, Steel Jaw leg-hold traps, etc., Ivory products made from animal bones or products from the fur of Protected birds are prohibited since they are also on Walmart Ban List.
As well, Parts and Products derived from endangered animals and wildlife are restricted items on Walmart. And products from the hide of animals and natural fur are also on Walmart’s ban List.
Additionally, the sale of animal healthcare and welfare products is also prohibited on Walmart. So you cannot list any such products on Walmart that require a veterinary prescription.
3. Unauthorised Art
Moreover, any piece of art that is an unauthorized copy or reproduction and infringement of copyrights and trademark is prohibited on Walmart. It falls under the category of restricted items on Walmart.
4. Artifacts and Antiquities
Source: https://phys.org/
All Artifacts, Fossils, Geological Formations, Relics, Remains, Sacred items, Tribal items, Antiques (used products), and Burial items are a part of the Walmart Ban List.
5. Auto and Auto Spare
The sale of cars and other motor vehicles comes under the Walmart ban list. Car parts that are against the law or are illegal are also not allowed for sale on Walmart.
Walmart also bans any vehicle that requires registration, oxygen sensor simulators, or any product that deceives the pollution and emission control devices. Apart from this, Tollbooth systems are also unsuitable for Walmart Listings.
Additionally, Vehicle identification number plates and devices to conceal them from view are a part of the Walmart Ban List.
Sellers can also not list Mini Bikes and ATVs on Walmart.
6. Autographs and Collectibles
Since any object that contains either unauthorized pictures, autographs, and signatures or is in violation of Trademarks and copyrights are Prohibited items on Walmart. Thus, the products under this category need to have the correct authorization.
7. Baby products
Baby products, specifically those for babies up to 18 months old, come under the ban list on Walmart.
Additionally, any baby product that requires medical supervision or prescription is prohibited for sale on the Walmart marketplace.
8. Used/Expired Cosmetics
Cosmetics requiring a prescription, and medical supervision, containing ingredients that are restricted, and unsafe cosmetics are not allowed to be sold on Walmart.
Additionally, Open and Used Cosmetics and Expire dates overdue packs are a part of the Walmart Ban List. Since all Cosmetics require approvals from a specialist or failed FDA requirements are controversial due to the side effects, they were also banned from Walmart.
Additionally, Restricted Items on Walmart also involve Cosmetics that contain Controlled Substances or are under the testing stage.
9. Covid-19 products
Products claiming that they cure or prevent Covid-19 are also banned from Walmart. Unapproved Covid-19 test kits also come under the Walmart ban list.
10. Currency, Gold, and Precious metals
Walmart doesn’t allow publishing Gold Bricks, Counterfeit currency, bonds, money orders, securities, stamps, and equipment that would enable counterfeiting as a Walmart Listing. Credits, Notes, Liens, Portions, and shares of businesses, non-canceled collectible stock certificates, State and or federal assistance benefits are all on the Walmart Ban list.
Furthermore, Sellers cannot list physical or digital gift cards either.
Additionally, precious metals that are not incorporated into another product also come under the list of products banned on Walmart.
11. Dietary supplements
Dietary supplements that are not safe for use are not allowed to be listed on the Walmart marketplace. A dietary supplement that claims to cure or prevent infections, viruses, or diseases also comes under the Walmart ban list.
12. Digital Goods
Digital Products such as currency, eBooks, Games, Movies, Songs, etc., which need to be delivered physically, are banned from Walmart.
13. Drugs and Biomedicals
All control substances, medications, paraphernalia, illegal narcotics cannot be one of the products that sellers can list. Chemicals enlisted on “List I” by Drug Enforcement Administration, Products that are subject to regulatory and criminal laws, Prescription Drugs are also banned from Walmart.
Products containing Deer Anter Velvet, or ingredients from Sharks, Whales, Dolphins, etc., are also on the Walmart Banned List. Syringes with needles, Veterinary drugs, and devices, or products with specific dosage restrictions are prohibited items on Walmart.
14. Illegal Electronic equipment
Walmart also bans any or all electronic products that require FCC equipment authorization and haven’t got the right labels and declarations of authority.
Among the restricted items list on Walmart also falls the products that can alter existing games, devices, consoles, allowed frequencies, etc.
Any device that can work on a frequency not allowed by law, or tools that can unlock cell phones, are also on Walmart Ban List.
15. Unsafe Food
All food items that are not safe or contain adulterations, foods with drug claims, infant formula, Fresh food and perishables, inedible food decorations, etc., fall under restricted items in the art category.
16. Funeral items
Furthermore, any funeral-related articles like caskets, funeral urns, and grave markers are prohibited items on Walmart.
17. Hazardous substances
Apart from this, chemical substances or compounds for commercial and industrial purposes, products under EPA and other regulatory agencies, explosives, radioactive substances, fireworks, etc., are all prominent products on Walmart Ban List.
18. Certain Domestic products
Domestic products such as Padded baby crib bumpers, liners for cribs, magnetic products, etc., are also on the Walmart ban list.
19. Illegal products
The products that promote or allow unlawful activity, breach applicable laws, or contain viruses, trojan horses, spyware, or malicious software, are all on Walmart Ban List.
20. Infringing Products
Sellers cannot list any of the products that cause violation of copyrights and stealth of intellectual property.
21. Specific Jewelry
All jewelry items that do not go along with the laws or regulations cannot be among selling lists. Clarity-enhanced white diamonds or those that do not comply with Kimberly Process, loose gemstones, and controversial minerals are also on the Walmart Ban List.
22. Offensive products
The most apparent offensive kinds of products that depict explicit nudity, vulgarity, obscenity, sexually implicative (Adult or Child as a subject), etc., which you are probably never going to sell anyway, are some of the restricted items on Walmart.
Apart from this, products which explicitly glorify, support, encourage, or appear as insensitive towards subjects like animal cruelty, historical event, crime, stereotyping, hatred, disasters, violence, underage kids, etc., are unfit for selling on Walmart.
23. Illegal Plant and Plant Products
You cannot sell plants, products, and seeds of all controlled, illegal, or restricted by law on Walmart.
24. Restricted Items
All products that have restrictions on them, such as quality, quantity, or age, etc., are not fit for listing on Walmart. Products that abolish Walmart’s trust and safety guidelines, such as gambling products, military, and police-related items, adult products, custom contents, government-issued documents, etc., are also on Walmart Ban List.
Also, you cannot list products under the private label of Sam’s Club.
25. Software
All Beta Codes, Beta Keys, Beta Softwares, OEM Softwares, Recovery Software, etc., are on the Walmart ban list.
26. Tickets
Tickets for any event are also on the Walmart ban list, whether they are digital or physical.
27. Tobacco products
All tobacco products such as Cigars, Cigarettes, e-cigarettes, tobacco/nicotine products are under the category of “do not sell on Walmart.”
When it comes to Nicotine products, all products, even if they are collectible and antique, are on the Walmart Ban List.
28. Weapons
There are a few categories of Weapons that lie on the Walmart Banned List, such as:
Game Guns and Projectiles: Airsoft, Air guns, pellet guns, paintball guns, blow and dart guns, slingshots, ammunition paraphilia, etc. Grenades, Grenade launchers, chips and magazines, golf ball launchers, toothpick crossbows, accessories for enhancing the firepower, etc., are all banned from Walmart.
Firearms: Firearms, devices to enhance firearms, ammunition paraphilia, gun powder, firearm kits, or any other product corresponding to assault are not among the products you can sell at Walmart.
Non-Projectiles: Axes, machetes, marketed as weapons that can aid in a crime, blades for ammunition, brass knuckles, knives that are easy to hide, claws spikes, etc., are on Walmart Ban List.
29. Police and Military Grade Products
Any badges, real or reproductions along with concealed weapons permit, prop badges and uniforms, badge patches, etc. Law enforcement ID cards, pepper spray, mace, tear gas, etc., which Cops and Law Enforcement specialists use, are banned from Walmart for obvious reasons.
30. Medical devices
Medical devices that require a prescription or those restricted by the government cannot be sold on Walmart. Any such medical devices that can be operated by professionals only are also on the ban list of Walmart.
31. Unsafe Products
Miscellaneous Products, such as Infant’s neck floats or Solar eclipse glasses, etc., are among the items you cannot list.
Pre-Approval Restricted items on Walmart
There are products out there that you need to get pre-approval for before listing them on Walmart. Only specific sellers and brands can sell these products.
Categories such as:
- Fragrance
- Luxury Brands
- Softwares
- Cell Phones and Accessories
- Halloween and Select Seasonal Products
- Custom Contents
- Jewelry and precious metals
- Personal Protection Equipment(PPE)
Brand Restrictions
Walmart also partners with selected sellers for selling some specific brands. If there are offers on these particular brands from other sellers, they will be unpublished.
Custom Products on Walmart Ban List
Walmart expects sellers to check with them before they allow listing Custom products that may include all the products that require customer personalization on a product. The reason behind this is a logical one. Walmart intends to prohibit all stereotyping and discrimination, obscenity, or any other form of socially offensive act.
Baby and Grocery Item Restriction
Products concerning Baby or Groceries are under Walmart’s restrictions, which do not offer alternatives and competitive prices. Products delisted due to these reasons will not be back to Publish status no matter what. Also, the conditions for these restrictions change, and Walmart can act on it when they see fit.
Refurbished iPhone Restriction
With the wrong product ID, sellers cannot refurbish and sell iPhones. They have to use the correct Product ID to declare that this product is a Refurbished iPhone, else Walmart holds the right to delist the product.
Ink and Toner Restriction
Under this category, all Ink and Toner products are strictly under the “not to sell” Walmart division.
Product miss-categorized as banned from Walmart category
Sometimes if you receive a message from Walmart stating that your product has been delisted since this product falls under the prohibited list, and you realize that this is not true, you can appeal to get the product live again.
To Sum Up
To be a successful seller, you need a proper understanding of the guidelines laid down by Walmart regarding what products to list and whatnot. As far as the list of prohibited products is concerned, it is extensive. From alcohol to animals, from tobacco to softwares, and from hazardous materials to weapons, Walmart has banned several products that are not in compliance with its policies.
You need to go through all the points mentioned above carefully to understand the products that Walmart bans to avoid your Walmart products’ unpublishing or, worse, account suspension.
However, if you are selling or planning to sell on Walmart and need an expert’s guidance to assist you 24/7, reach out to CedCommerce, Walmart’s official channel integration partner. With a pro team of experts, you will get the answers to all your queries and hence, sell on Walmart effortlessly. If you have any questions about the laws or legal requirements, please consult with legal counsel. The regulations concerning your products include but are not limited to those related to restricted items. For further clarification or assistance, Please Contact Walmart’s support team.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
Question 1: How long does a ban last at Walmart?
Answer: The duration of a ban at Walmart can vary depending on the severity of the violation and other factors. In some cases, bans may be temporary, while in others, they may be permanent. If you’ve been banned from Walmart, it’s essential to reach out to Walmart’s support team for clarification and guidance on the next steps.
Question 2: What items are restricted at Walmart?
Answer: Walmart has a comprehensive list of restricted items that includes but is not limited to alcohol, firearms, tobacco products, illegal drugs, counterfeit goods, hazardous substances, and offensive materials. It’s crucial for sellers to familiarize themselves with Walmart’s Prohibited Products Policy to ensure compliance with the guidelines.
Question 3: What if you get banned from Walmart?
Answer: If you receive a ban from Walmart, it’s essential to review the reason for the ban and understand the specific violations that led to it. You can reach out to Walmart’s support team for further clarification and to discuss potential options for resolution. Depending on the circumstances, bans may be appealed or lifted after a certain period.
Question 4: What does Walmart doesn’t sell?
Answer: Walmart does not sell a variety of items, including illegal drugs, weapons, tobacco and nicotine products, counterfeit goods, hazardous substances, offensive materials, certain medical devices, and products made from endangered species. The specific list of items that Walmart doesn’t sell may vary based on its policies and legal regulations.