If you’re thinking about selling products on Shopify, it’s important to know what types of products and businesses are disallowed by the platform’s terms of service. Selling restricted products can lead to your account being suspended or banned from the platform entirely. Avoid being kicked off the Shopify platform by knowing which products you can’t sell when you start your own store today!
1. Pharmacy Items
We all know that pharmaceutical drugs are a dangerous game for small businesses and online sellers. Online shops can be forced to shut down, or even face jail time, if they’re found selling prescription-only products. While it might be tempting to sell painkillers and sleeping pills to people around the world, it’s simply not worth it. Your business could get in serious trouble with government officials, especially if you run an international eCommerce business and are shipping these items overseas.
Before you start selling anything, review each country’s pharmacy laws carefully-it will save you a lot of trouble later on down the road. Don’t forget about medical devices as well. Many medical devices like wheelchairs, knee braces, hearing aids and CPAP machines require certification before they can be sold in your shop. If you’re unsure whether your product requires certification, do some research before offering it for sale. These products fall under Shopify restricted products.
2. Prohibited Weapons And Dangerous Goods
The prohibited weapons and dangerous goods page include a list of items you can’t sell with your Shopify store. This includes replicas of weapons, ammunition, fireworks, paintball guns, illegal substances, animals that are banned or require special permits. Click here to check out what you can’t sell with your business. Remember that even if it’s not listed here as restricted or prohibited to sell online, you still need to ensure it is legal for you to do so where your business is located.
3. Tobacco, Vaping, And E-Cigarettes
While some states allow for-profit sales of tobacco, vaping, and e-cigarettes, most do not. Businesses must check their state laws to determine whether it is legal to sell these products. Even if you are allowed to sell tobacco, e-cigarettes, or vaping supplies in your area, it may be a good idea to refrain from doing so due to health and safety concerns and because there’s certainly no shortage of other goods you can focus on instead.
The risks associated with using nicotine delivery devices are real, and include both physical (disease) and psychological (addiction) dangers. As such, I recommend steering clear of selling any nicotine delivery devices through your store; doing so could lead to some uncomfortable conversations with customers or regulatory agencies down the road. Shopify restricted products include all tobacco, vaping, and e-cigarette products unless they comply with local law.
4. Cannabis (marijuana) Related Products
If you sell cannabis products, or any related products for that matter, you are restricted from using Shopify Payments. The decision to exclude these products from Shopify’s services was made after careful consideration by their Trust and Safety team, based on inputs from various regulators in Canada. We do not support merchants who sell or promote an illegal substance, as their merchant agreement states that we reserve the right to cancel your service at any time if it violates laws or regulations.
It is important to note that while selling cannabis products is currently illegal in most jurisdictions, there may be a number of legal uses of cannabis-related products (e.g., hemp seeds). As such, we encourage you to check with your local authorities before listing any product containing cannabis on Shopify.
5. Pornography & Sexually Explicit Material
While pornography itself isn’t explicitly forbidden in their marketplace, it does ban sexually explicit material, which includes depictions of nudity and sexual activity. In fact, as a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t sell any products or services that are illegal in your country or violate its culture. If you’re unsure whether your product falls into one of these categories, contact Shopify Support to ask them directly.
It’s also worth noting that if you do decide to sell adult content, it must be presented tastefully there should be no nudity on your storefront or within your marketing materials. This includes covers for books with adult themes, album art for music with mature lyrics, etc. Also, make sure that minors can’t access your store at all they should only see what they can purchase after they input their credit card information and verify their age via an SMS text message sent to their phone. This includes Shopify restricted products.
6. Fireworks
If you are thinking of selling fireworks, consider another product they are among Shopify restricted products. Fireworks require a special permit and aren’t regulated by Transport Canada or U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which means items could be confiscated when crossing borders if they don’t meet their requirements. Some cities and provinces may have additional restrictions that limit fireworks sales even further; make sure to check your local laws before deciding to sell them online (or anywhere else). Fireworks are inherently dangerous, so it’s best not to put yourself in a position where your customers could be harmed when using your products. Shopify can help you find other great products to sell instead.
7. Gambling-Related Software or Services
While most of what you sell online is up to you, there are some things that are against Shopify’s Terms of Service. They’re not always illegal, but they’re a good way to get your store shut down or banned from their platform if we find out about them. Things like malware and spyware, obscenity, defamation, and hate speech fall into these categories.
They’re against their Terms of Service in general – and we don’t like seeing that kind of content on their platform either. So when it comes to gambling-related software or services, we draw a line at anything related to real money gambling, sports betting, lotteries, etc. We allow things like virtual currency for use in games or virtual worlds (like Second Life), as well as fantasy sports leagues (where players compete based on statistics).
But keep in mind that even those activities can be restricted by law depending on where you live. So before selling any products related to gambling online through Shopify, make sure you check with local laws first. If it’s legal where you live and your business is located, then go ahead and list it! If it’s not legal where you live and/or your business is located-then don’t list it!
8. Infringing products
Shopify does not require sellers to have a brand. However, for branded products, if you sell on Shopify without authorization, it is possible that a complaint from the brand in question could lead to store closure.
Final Thoughts
Shopify only lets you sell certain products. While selling T-shirts, coffee mugs and other cool things is great, there are some items that you can’t sell on your Shopify store. If you attempt to add them to your cart, they won’t be available to purchase. They may seem innocuous, but there’s a good reason why these products aren’t available for sale through Shopify stores.
If you are just starting your business with Shopify, be sure to read their sales policies carefully. Also, as a Shopify newbie, these 7 plugins may be helpful to you.
