{"id":9051,"date":"2023-07-07T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-06T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.repricerexpress.com\/?p=9051"},"modified":"2025-02-07T15:43:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-07T15:43:52","slug":"amazon-restricted-categories","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.repricerexpress.com\/amazon-restricted-categories\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon Restricted Categories – How to Get Approval"},"content":{"rendered":"

Selling on Amazon<\/a> is a popular way to start an online business but does require plentiful research which takes considerable time and effort. So, after hours of hard work researching viable products, imagine your disappointment if you were to discover that your in-demand, low competition and highly profitable product happens to fall into one of Amazon’s restricted categories.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You may think it’s a better plan, in that case, to leave Amazon restricted categories well alone and avoid the hassle, however, if you are an Amazon seller prepared to go the extra mile, the sales opportunities are enormous!<\/p>\n

Remember that other sellers may be put off by the thought of the extra work involved in getting approval for an Amazon restricted category<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The reason for this is that you will need to jump through some pretty large hoops if you want to sell in an Amazon restricted category, and this will deter many would be sellers \u2013 but actually, this is the key. You can grab an opportunity for success here, where many others simply won\u2019t bother!<\/strong><\/p>\n

What are Amazon Restricted Categories?<\/h2>\n

\"what<\/p>\n

Amazon restricted categories are exactly that. Entire categories that have Amazon \u2018gatekeepers\u2019.<\/p>\n

Often referred to as \u2018gated categories\u2019<\/strong> restricted categories are decided upon by Amazon for reasons that differ between each category, and as you might guess, only Amazon itself is privy to those determining factors.<\/p>\n

The good news is that Amazon no longer restricts entire categories which was its previous practice, and instead applies restrictions only in some sub-categories and sub-niches. This is why, if you look at the list of restrictions, you’ll see what appears to be a relatively small list of restricted categories, yet a long list of restricted products.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important not to confuse the restricted categories with restricted products<\/a>. You might potentially wish to source a product which appears to fall into a restricted category, but if the product itself is not actually restricted, you may be able to list your product in an alternative category with a little imagination and creativity!<\/p>\n

If you think about it, often products can fit within more than one category. For example, a hula hoop could drop into toys and games which is a seasonally restricted category, but it could also be sold via the sports and outdoors category, which is not restricted! So, that\u2019s the first consideration you should make as you may not need to get approval for a category when an alternative will work just as well for your product.<\/p>\n

The bad news is that if there are no potential alternative categories that will work for your product, and you need to sell within a restricted category, until you apply for and receive approval directly from the powers that be at Amazon you can\u2019t get in!<\/p>\n

Which Categories Are Restricted on Amazon?<\/h2>\n

To give you a heads-up and an idea of what you might be up against before you start your product research and sourcing, these are Amazon\u2019s currently gated categories, as listed by Amazon.com:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • Collectible Coins<\/li>\n
  • Personal Safety and Household ProductsEntertainment Collectibles<\/li>\n
  • Fine Art<\/li>\n
  • Toys and Games (Holiday Selling Requirements Apply)<\/li>\n
  • Jewellery<\/li>\n
  • Join Amazon Handmade<\/li>\n
  • Join Amazon Subscription Boxes<\/li>\n
  • Made in Italy<\/li>\n
  • Music & DVD<\/li>\n
  • Automotive & Powersports<\/li>\n
  • Services<\/li>\n
  • Sports Collectibles<\/li>\n
  • Streaming Media Players<\/li>\n
  • Video, DVD & Blu-ray<\/li>\n
  • Watches<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    If you want to see which categories you have been approved to sell within, simply log in to your Seller Central account<\/a> and do the following:<\/p>\n

      \n
    • Click \u2018Inventory\u2019<\/li>\n
    • Select \u2018Add a Product\u2019<\/li>\n
    • Click \u2018Selling Application Status\u2019<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

      This will show you all the categories in which you are approved to sell.<\/p>\n

      Why Do Amazon Have Restricted or Gated Categories?<\/h2>\n

      You\u2019ll notice that all the restricted categories listed above are all niches with high potential profitability<\/a>. This is precisely why Amazon wants to ensure that sellers are pre-qualified before products are listed.<\/p>\n

      As the number of Amazon sellers increases<\/a>, the danger of illegitimate sellers and shoddy products rises too. So, by placing category restrictions, Amazon can monitor standards and ensure that genuine products are being sold by trustworthy and reliable sellers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

      This protects customers so that they can buy with confidence, and Amazon avoids risk to its reputation through the sale of counterfeit or inferior quality products.<\/p>\n