Platform specific product restriction or products you can’t sell online on different platforms. Part 1

We live in an age of virtual reality where  practically everything may be purchased online. However, you might be shocked to learn about some of the restrictions and prohibitions imposed by various online marketplaces, payment processors, and delivery firms. 

Imagine that you’ve chosen to run your own online store. You start by picking a platform, design, and payment system. Two days later, when you start to work, the platform just kicks you off for no reason. This is an authentic topic I came across on the Reddit discussion board. 

A brief reassurance about main platforms, written with newcomers in mind. But if you have been around the block, just skip this non essential information. 

In order to facilitate the purchasing and selling of goods and services over the internet, companies need e-commerce platforms, which are digital solutions that allow them to set up and administer online storefronts. Product catalogs, safe payment gateways, order administration, and stock monitoring are just some of the capabilities offered by these systems. 

SAAS (Software as a Service) solutions like Shopify, Bigcommerce and other, self-hosted platforms like Magento or Woocommerce, and online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy or Ebay all provide e-commerce options for businesses. 

There are benefits to each kind that are well-suited to the various sizes and types of businesses. With the help of e-commerce platforms, companies may sell to customers all over the world and survive in the modern digital economy.

SAAS Products you can’t sell online on Shopify / BigCommerce. 

Shopify and BigCommerce are two most popular SAAS e-commerce systems worth checking out. There are obviously more, but these are the most important ones to focus on for the time being.

With SAAS, you can open and run your web shop with little fuss and no need for specialized IT knowledge. Benefit from an intuitive design, customizable templates, and easy integration with other tools.

These systems take care of hosting, protection, and upgrades so you can concentrate on expanding your company. SaaS solutions suit startups and growing businesses thanks to their scalability, reliability, and transparent pricing.

Shopify specific restriction or products prohibited to sell

Shopify

If you want to use Shopify to run your business, you should read their manuals carefully. I know from experience that repeating obvious things really irritates people.

I also know that almost 90% of users don’t read instructions and guides for a simple but important reason: it’s boring. I’d like to declare in all honesty that I include myself among them.

DesktopScroll to see the whole page

Well, I wasn’t unmotivated this time, because this is my job, and I looked over an important page like Shopify Acceptable Use Policy. Shopify’s Acceptable Use Policy defines prohibited activities and content, including anything illegal, harmful, or misleading.

It says that all rules and business norms must be followed, and intellectual property rights must be respected. The policy puts limits on dangerous business actions, making sure that everyone is treated fairly and that data is safe.

If you don’t follow these rules, your account could be suspended or closed. Keeping up with policy changes helps users follow the rules and enjoy a safe, reliable experience on the platform.

Blah, blah, but what exactly are the products you can’t sell online using Shopify?

If you read carefully and go to the page of restricted items  you find out that “Restricted Items” means only Certain Firearms and Certain Firearm Parts. The list contains a variety of forbidden or restricted products and firearm-related components.

DesktopScroll to see the whole page

These include automatic and semi-automatic firearms with detachable magazines, high-capacity magazines, bump stocks, trigger activators, and more.

Certain weapon components, such as barrel shrouds, thumbhole stocks, threaded barrels, and suppressors, are also included. Ghost weapons, including 3D printed guns, and firearms without serial numbers are also referenced.

Certain components, such as 80% or incomplete lower receivers and forward pistol grips, are also specified. The policy also restricts components such as 80% lower receivers and forward pistol grips to support safety and regulatory compliance.

Theoretically,  you can’t sell online using Shopify only these restricted items. But if you carefully read Shopify’s Acceptable Use Policy you will find next following things are not allowed:

1. Child exploitation: You can’t give goods or services, post or share materials that exploit or abuse children. This includes images or descriptions of child abuse, sexual abuse, or the sexualization of children.
2. COVID-19: Shopify allows COVID-19-related products and services only if they comply with its specific rules.
3. Harassment, bullying, slander, and threats: Shopify prohibits products, services, or content that harasses, bullies, defames, or threatens individuals.
4. 
   Hateful content: Shopify prohibits content that promotes hatred or violence based on personal characteristics, as well as support for groups that endorse hate or violence.
5. 
   Illegal activities: Shopify prohibits goods, services, or content that violate local laws or help others commit illegal acts.
6. Intellectual property: You can’t give goods or services, post or share materials that violate the copyright or rights of others.
7. Practices that are harmful or misleading: You can’t use the Services to send malware or host fake pages. Shopify prohibits actions or content that disrupt, damage, or interfere with its services, systems, or those of third-party providers. You can’t use the Services for false business methods or anything else that is illegal or misleading.
8. Personal, confidential, and protected health information. Shopify prohibits sharing personal, sensitive, or confidential information without proper authorization and using its services to process protected health information covered by HIPAA.

Act (“HIPAA”), any applicable health privacy regulation, or any other law that covers the processing, use, or disclosure of protected health information.

1. Restricted Items: You can’t sell or give away things that are or look like Restricted Items.
2. Self-harm: You can’t sell or offer services or materials that encourage people to hurt themselves.
3. Spam: You can’t use the Services to send business electronic messages that were not asked for.
4. Terrorist groups: You can’t give goods or services, post or share materials that back, pay, or encourage participation in a terrorist group, or make it seem like you do.

Shopify Pro

And now comes Shopify Markets Pro restrictions

There doesn’t seem to be anything difficult. Why are there so many posts on Google with long lists of things that can’t be sold on Shopify?

None of them is even close to the truth. As always, the truth is a bit more complex. And this inquiry takes us to Shopify Markets pro and items which are in the restricted items on this service, like alcohol, tobacco or CBD. 

DesktopScroll to see the whole page

Shopify Markets helps you identify, set up, launch, optimize, and manage international markets from one store. This solution builds on these features with additional tools for cross-border selling.

Powered by Global-e, Markets Pro also helps you expand and optimize international sales directly from your Shopify admin. It also helps you set up and manage sales in other markets. Shopify Markets Pro is available only to merchants based in the continental United States.

You have no idea what I’m talking about. Ok, let me explain.

Shopify is a simple platform where you can sell any products or services that aren’t listed in Shopify’s Acceptable Use Policy but Shopify Markets Pro is a service which helps USA merchants sell their goods abroad and has prohibited and restricted items listed in Prohibited and restricted items on Shopify Markets Pro.

Follow Shopify’s Acceptable Use Policy, as it guides the team when reviewing stores.
I’ve also read Quora and Reddit stories about Shopify stores shut down for selling unauthorized products.Mostly those were the dropshippers. 

As a store owner, these stories are upsetting, but Shopify strictly enforces its policies and may terminate non-compliant stores.

That’s why good advice, before you run your store on Shopify take the requirements of the platform seriously and if you have any worries, the best thing to do is ask directly the Support Chat on Shopify help center. 

Bigcommerce

Products you can’t sell  online on BigCommerce

When I started working on this article, I had no idea how much information I would have to look at. However, online information was limited, so I pieced together details from various sources to build a clearer picture.

I will now explain what I mean and what I am leading to. BigCommerce is a powerful and flexible e-commerce platform that makes it easy for businesses to set up and run online stores.

It offers a range of features, including customizable themes, secure payment methods, inventory management, and an easy-to-use interface.

DesktopScroll to see the whole page

BigCommerce helps businesses of all kinds build appealing and responsive online stores by putting a focus on how easy it is to use and how flexible it is.

The platform also puts a lot of emphasis on following legal and moral rules, while giving sellers the freedom to set their own store policies and products. 

However, the information provided in their standards is generalized and lacking in particular, which causes some discomfort, at least for me, a rational individual who appreciates specific rules.

DesktopScroll to see the whole page

BigCommerce’s Acceptable Use Policy is a collection of principles and standards that platform users are required to follow.

While this policy provides a framework for expected behavior, it might not provide an exhaustive list of specific products that are prohibited for sale on the platform.

Instead, the policy is designed to address broader categories of activities and behaviors that are considered unacceptable.

These are the most important parts of the policy in a simple words:

• Use only for things that are legal.
• No bad language or unsuitable material.
• You need permission to share private information and photos.
• Respect the rights of other people.
• No lying about transfer information.
• No making or spreading bugs or other content that causes trouble.
• Hacking and similar actions are against the law.
• No spam or emails you didn’t ask for.
• You can’t use a proxy anonymously.
• Child pornography should be illegal in every way.
• Don’t do things that are annoying or dangerous.
• Not helping to stop a violation is itself a crime.

The Acceptable Use Policy’s main goal is to identify and ban acts that are unlawful, damaging, or immoral.

BigCommerce, in keeping with its goal of giving merchants freedom, enables individual shop owners to create their own store rules and select the items they desire to offer.

This implies that retailers may adapt their product offers to their company objectives and target audience. This personalization, however, is limited by the necessity that the items offered on the platform comply with legal and ethical norms.

Merchants using BigCommerce are free to sell anything they choose, but they are also responsible for adhering to all applicable laws and regulations and conducting themselves in an ethical manner.

This is consistent with BigCommerce’s goal of fostering a secure and lawful online retail environment.

BigCommerce’s strategy, in short, achieves a compromise between giving merchants a degree of flexibility in picking their product selection and ensuring that the platform stays a secure and trustworthy area for both customers and sellers.

While the platform may not clearly have the list of  items prohibited to sell, its standards are intended to encourage legality, safety, and ethics in e-commerce transactions conducted via its marketplace. 

Self hosted platforms like Magento 2 and WooCommerce

Self-hosted e-commerce platforms, such as Magento 2 and WooCommerce, are powerful tools that allow you to create and manage your online store.

Unlike hosted platforms, where your store is hosted on a third-party’s server, self-hosted platforms give you more control and flexibility over your store’s setup, design, and features.

With self-hosted solutions, you have complete control over your online store, allowing for extensive customization and flexibility. Leverage the open-source nature of these platforms to tailor your website to specific business needs.

Enjoy a wide range of plugins and extensions to enhance functionality and integrate third-party services. While self-hosted solutions require technical know-how and responsibility for hosting and security, they are the go-to choice for large enterprises and businesses looking for total control over their e-commerce ecosystem.

Each of these platforms have pros and cons. If you want to learn more, you can read the articles on our blog. But I’m interested in something else about what they let people sell and what they don’t. And are there clear rules and lists of things that you can’t do?

Magento2

Products prohibited to sell using Magento 2

So, let’s get started with Magento 2. I want to draw your attention right away to the fact that there are at least two versions of this e-commerce platform – Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce. Magento Open Source is a free e-commerce platform that is based on open source code. You can change the original code to fit your needs because you have full access to it. 

Another branch is Adobe Commerce: This is the business version of Magento that Adobe sells. It comes with different license options and has more tools and help than the open-source version. It still uses Magento as its core, but it adds a lot of tools for business users. You can use it as a self hosted version or cloud version in Adobe servers.

In fact, these are two different branches of the platform, sharing the same code. Which one you choose between Magento Open Source and Adobe Commerce relies on things like the size of your business, your income, the features you need, how you want your store to grow, and your professional skills. 

Magento Open Source is a strong base for basic to fairly advanced e-commerce operations, while Adobe Commerce is a more complete option for enterprise-level businesses with more complex needs.

Well, here, of course, it is clear that if these are different branches of the platform it’s obvious that the rules for using them will be different. 

Adobe commerce prohibited and restricted items 

With this kind of approach, it always means that we support everything good and fight against everything bad. But you have to decide for yourself (and of course consult your lawyer) what this bad thing is based on the rules and morals of the country where you set up your store and the countries where your goods go. 

DesktopScroll to see the whole page

According to the brief two-page use policy, the following are prohibited activities on the platform:

• Illegal actions or material are examples of things that aren’t allowed. Any illegal activity, such as selling, sending, or making gaming sites or services available in any other way, or spreading, supporting, or helping with child pornography.
• Activities that are harmful or dishonest. Activities that could hurt other people, our business, or our image, such as giving or spreading fake goods, services, schemes, or marketing (like get-rich-quick schemes, ponzi and pyramid schemes, hacking, or pharming) or other tricks.
• Content that is illegal. Content that violates or steals someone else’s intellectual property or private rights.
• Content that’s offensive. Content that is malicious, obscene, abusive, invades privacy, or is otherwise offensive, such as child pornography, content about bestiality, or content that shows sex acts that didn’t happen with consent.
• Unacceptable data. Content or other computer technology like viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, or cancelbots that can damage, mess with, secretly capture, or steal any system, program, or data.

If the platform finds any kind of material or resource that breaks the policy or any other responsibility they have to the user for using the services or account, they can remove, block access to, or change that content or resource. 

Magento open source restrictions

Magento Open Source is an eCommerce platform that is flexible and can be changed in a lot of ways.

This lets sellers quickly bring to market the new, different experiences that customers want. As long as sellers have full control over their Magento setting, they can add new features to their online store whenever they want. 

DesktopScroll to see the whole page

However, it’s important to keep in mind that selling certain things may be limited or even banned by:

• Local, state, and federal laws: Each country, and sometimes each state or area within a country, has its own rules about how certain things can be sold. This can include rules about not being able to sell dangerous goods, fake items, guns, certain medical supplies, etc.
• Payment processors: Services like PayPal, Stripe, and credit card processors often have rules about what kinds of things and services they will take funds for. This can include making it illegal to sell adult material, guns, some vitamins, and other things.
• Shipping companies can limit or ban certain items. For instance, many companies won’t ship dangerous goods, items that go bad quickly without the right packing, or large, heavy items without charging extra.
• Third-party marketplaces or integrations: If you use Magento to sell on third-party marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, or Etsy, you’ll have to follow their rules, which might not let you sell certain things.
• And you should also not forget about the hosting on which your store will be located, there are also certain restrictions and prohibitions.

I’ll go into more detail about the limits of accepting payments, shipping services, and marketplaces below, but from my own experience, I can say that creating and selling a store on the Magento platform is first and foremost about working with and trusting the team that organizes and supports this process.

WooCommerce

Products you can’t sell online on WooCommerce 

WooCommerce is a popular add-on for WordPress, which is a content management system (CMS) that is used by many websites. It makes it easy for WordPress users to turn their sites into fully working online shops. WooCommerce has an easy-to-use design, so it can be used by businesses of all kinds, from small starts to large companies.

What you can’t sell on WooCommerce, and as always, make sure you understand and don’t forget to consult a lawyer. Since it is an open source tool, it doesn’t put any rules or limits on goods. But this is not accurate (joke).

DesktopScroll to see the whole page

According to the WooCommerce documentation platform  may be used to sell highly regulated and/or legally limited items. This includes the items mentioned below, which are not authorized on WordPress.com but are permitted to some degree on open source WooCommerce plugin, according to the rules.

• Guns or other weapons, as well as their parts, tools, and bullets
• Fireworks
• Material that is sexually explicit
• Adult services
• Controlled and highly controlled drugs, such as cigarettes, e-cigarette liquids, weed, and other goods made from hemp.
• When you use WooCommerce, you can sell alcohol in certain situations. 
• CBD sales are also allowed in some cases 
• Personal information
• Content that violates the intellectual property rights of anyone.

Let me explain that these limits don’t apply to you if you use open source code from the WooCommerce plugin. This means you can use the open-source WooCommerce to sell goods in list above, but you can’t:

• Use WooCommerce services that depend on a Jetpack connection, such as WooCommerce Payments, WooCommerce Shipping, WooCommerce Tax, or the WooCommerce Mobile App.
• Host your site on WordPress.com.
• Have a subscription to WooCommerce.com extensions and products.

In that case, if you use any of the above services, you may not be able to list goods and services on WordPress because you are doing so against the rules. 

I think it is clear, but there are some questions about CBD and Alcohol. WooCommerce has special conditions and restrictions for this group of goods. 

Let’s start with CBD. This product and the cannabis group are blocked because Woopayments are using the Stripe gateway, which doesn’t let these goods through. That’s why WooCommerce offers another specified payment gateway solutions: Square or Viva Wallet. 

If you ask about the hosting, then you can host your WooCommerce store with any hosting service that lets you sell CBD, such as WordPress.com or Pressable if you use Square or Viva Wallet to process payments.

What about alcohol? It depends on your location. If your business sells booze to people in Canada or the U.S., you need to contact support to get permission. The support team tries to review all requests for approval within 7 business days, but they reserve the right to accept or reject sellers at their personal judgment.

For sellers in other countries, you don’t need permission, but you do need to make sure that Stripe doesn’t ban alcohol sales in your area. If alcohol sales are allowed in your area by Stripe, you can use WooPayments to sell alcohol.

Final thought 

Whether you choose Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, or WooCommerce as your e-commerce platform, there is one important thing they all have in common: you need to carefully check each one’s limited policies. 

Each platform has its own rules and restrictions about what can be sold and how business is done.

The fine print of these rules can have a big effect on your online business. So, no matter what you choose, the most important thing for a smooth and successful e-commerce experience is to fully understand and follow these guidelines.