A Guide to Amazon Restricted Products and Categories

Wait, I Can’t Sell What on Amazon?

When most people look at Amazon’s massive catalog of over 200 million products it would lead them to believe that you could sell absolutely anything on the site. Most people probably couldn’t even imagine that there were 200 million products available in the first place. Well, even though Amazon boasts an enormous amount of products there are still some things that even they refuse to sell. There are also Amazon restricted products and Categories that are restricted to only allow certain sellers to sell them. Knowing these products is especially important to be successful with your Amazon business.

Amazon Banned Products

Banned items on Amazon are exactly what they sound like, items that you can’t sell under any circumstance on Amazon. These items are often items that you would not be able to sell legally in the U.S., whether it is on Amazon or anywhere else. For instance:

• You are not allowed to sell illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia on Amazon’s marketplace.
• You are also not allowed to sell firearms.

Also, you always want to make sure that the items you are buying to resell on Amazon have not been recalled as Amazon will not allow you to sell recalled products.

Confederate Flag

One of the more controversial products that were banned in 2015 was the Confederate Flag. This caused a big commotion in the media and also left sellers of the Confederate Flag in a troubling predicament.

Alcohol

Amazon has specific regulations regarding the sale of certain products and categories, including alcohol. While there are exceptions for wine, sellers must adhere to federal, state, and local laws, as well as Amazon policies. Prohibited listings encompass alcoholic beverages, liquor licenses, products targeted at customers over 21, and those containing raw alcohol. Compliance with these guidelines is essential for sellers to avoid penalties and maintain their presence on the platform.

Animals and Animal products

One of the other Amazon categories that are restricted are animals and animal products. Permitted listings include live shellfish and crustaceans, live insects for agricultural use, and products resembling prohibited animal parts if clearly labeled as faux. Animal parts like shark teeth jewelry are permitted unless otherwise restricted. Prohibited listings include animal feces, most live creatures, illegal wildlife products, and parts from federally endangered species. Understanding these distinctions ensures compliance with Amazon’s policies and helps sellers navigate the complexities of restricted categories, fostering a smoother selling experience on the platform.

Automotive and Power Sports

Automotive and power sports are another set of Amazon categories that are restricted. Amazon’s Fine Art category necessitates sellers to adhere to specific guidelines and acquire approval before listing. The category prohibits certain types of artwork, including three-dimensional pieces and textiles. Additionally, artworks without a named artist, mass-produced pieces, and reproductions are also restricted. Other restricted items include promotional posters, giclée prints, and products related to art that aren’t artworks themselves. Adhering to these guidelines and providing accurate listings enhances discoverability and sales in the Amazon Fine Art category.

Amazon Restricted Products and Categories

Now to address the question that is on every Amazon reseller’s mind, “ What categories do I need approval to sell in?”

While there are over twenty categories that require approval to sell in, we will take a look at a few of Amazon’s Restricted products that are most popular among resellers.

Beauty

Amazon’s beauty category is a very popular category among Amazon resellers. This category includes things such as Makeup, Perfume, and Skin Care products. Approval in this category can be very lucrative for those creating their own Beauty products or those who are looking to utilize Retail Arbitrage.

Clothing

The Clothing category is among the largest categories on Amazon. With such a large category of clothing, there is an equally as large opportunity to make money selling everything from shirts to shoes. This category is restricted mainly to deter counterfeiters from selling.

Grocery

Amazon’s grocery category has turned into a great moneymaker for many resellers over the last few years. In this category, you can sell just about anything with a long shelf life. While this category is restricted with good reason, it is far from the hardest category to get approved for selling and has a lot of upside for your bank account.

Health & Personal Care

The Health & Personal Care category opens the doors to a lot of profits for resellers. In this category, you can sell everything from paper towels to diapers. These types of products are constantly on sale and tend to be easier to ship to help keep your costs down and profits up.

Check out the rest of Amazon’s restricted categories.

Amazon Restricted Products

Not only does Amazon have Restricted Categories, they also have Restricted Products that require approval to sell. These items tend to be highly counterfeited and high fraud risk items. While there is an extensive list of brands that require approval here is a short list of some of the most popular ones you are likely to come across.

1. Apple

2. Lifeproof

3. Microsoft

4. Beats By Dre

5. Levi’s

Check out this extensive list of restricted brands.

How to get approval on Amazon Restricted Products?

Some of the products fall into Amazon categories which are restricted or prohibited to sell. To still go ahead and sell the products, the seller needs to get approval for those categories by following a process on Amazon.

1. You need to login to Seller Central and from the inventory lab, select “Add A Product”.
2. The next step is to find the Application Form Search for the product you plan to sell. Click on the “Listing Limitations”.
3. The final step is to “Request Approval”.

You need to provide the required documents based on the category and products you are requesting approvals for. Once everything is done, Amazon will go through and review the application and give the decision of accepting the request or refusing the approval.

Conclusion

Now you have a great idea of the Amazon Restricted Products and Categories that are banned and restricted on Amazon. This knowledge will come in handy and help you avoid wasting money on sourcing products that will be hard to get approved to sell.

Do you want to be able to sell products in these restricted categories? In our next article, we are going to take a look at the benefits of getting into restricted categories and how to get approved for them!

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