Are you planning to expand your online presence via the lucrative marketplace of the US, i.e., Walmart, but you don’t know the fees and costs associated with selling? If you need answers to questions like – how much does it cost to sell on Walmart marketplace? What is the Walmart marketplace fee breakdown for sellers? How does Walmart pay its sellers when a product gets sold? This article breaks down all you need to know about selling on the Walmart marketplace. Let’s get started!
How much does it cost to sell on Walmart Marketplace?
Unlike some other platforms, Walmart does not charge listing fees, item setup fees, or monthly subscription fees for sellers. You are only charged a commission fee based on product category when you make a sale. This fee structure makes it relatively cost-effective to start selling on Walmart, with your expenses directly tied to your sales success.
Walmart Marketplace charges a referral fee based on the category of your product. These fees typically range from 6% to 15% of the item’s selling price. This fee is deducted from your selling price when you make a sale.
The following table represents the category-wise referral fees at Walmart Marketplace:
Source: Walmart knowledgebase
How much do I get after making a sale on Walmart Marketplace?
The referral fee that Walmart charges on sales varies based on the category of the product sold. The table provided details the category-specific referral fees (Walmart marketplace fees) applicable when your product is sold on Walmart.com.
As illustrated in the table above, for instance, if you sell a book priced at $10, you would pay a 15% selling fee to Walmart, i.e., you make $8.50. In contrast, if you sell a cell phone, the commission fee would be 8%. The amount you receive from the sale of your Walmart products is calculated by subtracting the referral fee from your total sales.
Total amount received = Total sales – Walmart Referral fee
You must also note that your payment on Walmart Marketplace is also dependent on the following factors:
- Shipped order notices received during your payment cycle
- Refunded orders processed by you or Walmart Customer Care
- Order adjustments (credits or debits), when applicable
- Any outstanding negative balance from a previous payment cycle
When does Walmart pay its sellers?
The payment frequency on Walmart Marketplace is generally bi-weekly (every 14 days). Walmart pays via Hyperwallet or Payoneer 14 days after the seller’s order gets shipped. However, for new sellers, the payment criteria differ. Until the new sellers meet the following criteria, their payments for each shipped order is delayed for 14 days.
- More than 90 days have passed since the seller’s first order was shipped
- The seller has received $7,500 in payments
For new international sellers on Walmart Marketplace, payments can be delayed up to 21 days if the above-mentioned criteria are not met.
Note: High return or chargeback rates and selling counterfeit or illegal items can result in payment suspension, delays, or permanent non-payment.
When can a seller’s payment get suspended?
Walmart can temporarily suspend seller’s payments. The following can be the reasons for payment suspension:
- High refund-to-sale ratio: The seller’s current refunds are higher than their current Walmart sales.
- A decline in sales: The seller’s present Walmart sales are lower when compared to previous sales figures.
- Low On-Time Delivery metrics: Sellers deliver a low percentage of orders on or before the expected delivery date(EDD).
- High refund rate: Customers returned a high percentage of orders in the last 14-30 days.
- Missing tax documentation: Sellers have not provided the tax documents to Walmart.
- The payment processor account is inactive: The payment processor account that sellers provided for receiving payments is inactive.
- Other Risks: Walmart identifies some other risks associated with the seller’s account.
How to avoid payment suspensions?
Sellers must comply with the following standards to remove a payment suspension from their account.
- Refund Rate: The refund rate must be below 10% for at least 30 days.
- Performance Metrics: Strictly adhere to the Seller Performance Standards.
- Tax Documentation: To avoid payment delays, deliver accurate tax documentation.
- Payment Processor Account: Be sure that the payment processor account is Active.
Pro tip: Walmart Marketplace Fee & Payoneer Account Connection
Walmart Marketplace has partnered with Payoneer to process payments for sellers. If you don’t have a Payoneer account, it is advisable to create one through Walmart Seller Central. Because, if you register directly on Payoneer, a fee of $1.50 every time you withdraw from Payoneer. However, in such cases, you can also reach out to Payoneer customer service to request a refund for this fee.
(Source – Walmart Marketplace)
How to sell on Walmart?
Once you fulfill the requirements to sell on Walmart, follow the steps below to become a seller on Walmart:
1. Fill up the marketplace application form.
Walmart’s onboarding process begins with an application for approval/account creation. For this, firstly fill out the Walmart marketplace application form, and wait for an approval email from Walmart.
2. Complete Registration
Secondly comes the Registration process, which consists of 5 sub-steps, including Account Creation, Walmart Retailer Agreement, Company Registration, Taxes (W-9), Payment Info, and Shipping Info.
3. Finish Partner Profile
Thirdly, you need to complete your partner profile which includes providing details of your Company, Customer Service, Contacts, Shipping, Return Policy, Privacy Policy, and Tax Info.
4. Set up items and Upload inventory
This is a critical step and needs to be completed carefully since, at this step, you need to set up your items and upload inventory from your store to the Walmart marketplace. Due care and attention from your end are needed here.
Now the question is- how to set up items and upload inventory on Walmart? For the same, you can do it on your own or opt-in for an integration solution. But choosing an integration solution is a wise decision as it comes packed with the following prominent features that will make it easy for you to sell on Walmart:
- The integration helps you perform time-taking tasks in seconds. With the bulk upload feature, you can select many products and upload them to Walmart in one go. And so, it helps you save on your time.
- It helps with the auto acknowledgment of orders. So you don’t need to monitor incoming orders all the time. The app does it all for you.
- You can seamlessly manage Walmart orders from your store itself. The integration app also notifies you about all orders so that you don’t miss out on any orders.
- It also presents the same inventory across both fronts(your store and Walmart marketplace) by synchronizing your store with the Walmart marketplace in near real-time.
- With the integration, you can also set up threshold inventory levels to avoid running out of stock on Walmart.
- The integration comes backed with 24/7 support services. Therefore, selling on Walmart from your store will be a hassle free task, as someone will always be there to help you out when needed.
5. Launch your account
Now the last step is to launch your account as a Walmart Seller. Click Ready to launch, and then click Confirm. This will notify Walmart about your marketplace application. The Walmart team evaluates your application form and will notify you about your application status.
“Pro Tip: Once your Walmart marketplace application gets approved, it’s recommended that you quickly install the Walmart Integration app. You must be wondering why? Well! When you install the app, a dedicated account manager will be aligned with you from CedCommerce to make your onboarding process seamless. The account manager will guide you on all the onboarding steps and will simplify the remaining steps for you. If you get stuck at any time while selling on the Walmart marketplace and need an expert’s help, he will be there to help you out.”