Ultimate Guide to Walmart Seller Fees in 2023
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What sets Walmart apart from Amazon or eBay is its relatively straightforward listing and pricing structure. Whether you want to list as a new seller or have been one for some time, this article will cover everything you need to know about Walmart seller fees.
Does Walmart Require a Sign-Up Fee?
No. Straight up, Walmart requires no sign-up, listing, subscription, set-up, or account fees at all, except when you use their internal fulfillment service. This is in contrast to Amazon which requires you to set up individual and professional plans for a certain fee before you can start selling.
Walmart charges a “referral fee or percentage” instead, otherwise called a marketplace fee, depending on which category your product belongs. This serves as a percentage commission paid to Walmart, which you pay only after you have successfully made a sale.
The marketplace seller fees range between 3% to 20% for different categories. Be sure to list your product in the right category and be familiar with the referral percentage your product entails, as this is one of the many factors that will affect your pricing.
How Much Are Walmart’s Seller Fees for Each Product Category?
Here is the complete list of Walmart’s product categories along with their referral fees, arranged from lowest to highest. Take note that the same products will incur different referral percentages according to the total or specific portion of your sales.
| Product Category | Referral Percentage |
|---|---|
| Watches | 3% on a portion of more than $1,500 in sales |
| Jewelry | 5% on a portion of more than $250 sales |
| Personal computers | 6% |
| Camera & photo | 8% |
| Consumer electronics | 8% |
| Cell phones | 8% |
| Major appliances | 8% |
| Video game consoles | 8% |
| Beauty products | 8% for less than $10 sales |
| Baby care products | 8% for less than $10 sales |
| Electronic accessories | 8% on a portion of more than $100 sales |
| Groceries | 8% for less than $10 sales |
| Personal & health care products | 8% for less than $10 sales |
| Tires & wheels | 10% |
| Automotive & powersports | 12% |
| Musical instruments | 12% |
| Base-powered home improvement & tools | 12% |
| Apparels & accessories | 15% |
| Beauty products | 15% for more than $10 sales |
| Baby care products | 15% for more than $10 sales |
| Books | 15% |
| Electronic accessories | 15% on a portion of less than $100 sales |
| Indoor & outdoor furniture | 15% on first $200 sales, then 10% for more than $200 sales |
| Gourmet foods | 15% |
| Groceries | 15% for more than $10 sales |
| Home & Garden | 15% |
| Personal & Health care products | 15% for more than $10 sales |
| Kitchen items and tools | 15% |
| Travel accessories and baggage | 15% |
| Music | 15% |
| Outdoor equipment and items | 15% |
| Office products | 15% |
| Pet care supplies | 15% |
| Sunglasses, shoes, and handbags | 15% |
| Sports goods | 15% |
| Video games & software | 15% |
| Home improvement & tools | 15% |
| Games & toys | 15% |
| DVD & video | 15% |
| Video games | 15% |
| Watches | 15% on a portion of less than $1,500 sales |
| Others | 15% |
| Jewelry | 20% on a portion of less than $250 sales |
There are times Walmart charges an incorrect referral fee for a product. When this happens, you can set up your product under a category that you believe seems the closest.
Selling products that have a lower percentage fee but will have a higher conversion rate allows you to save on the marketplace fee. If you’re looking to sell products with the lowest referral fee possible, consider those under the personal computer category, as they are charged only 6 percent regardless of your total sales.
For this, you can try using tools like Jungle Scout to help you determine which products to sell in the marketplace that will have a better margin rate.
What Other Fees Does Walmart Impose?
Aside from the Walmart marketplace fee or referral percentage, here are some other fees you have to, which affect how you price your product:
Sales Tax
Once registered, you are held responsible for sales tax in all charging US states, territories, and protectorates, excluding the exempted states, although the tax configuration is not compulsory when you’re still setting up your Walmart account.
You can choose to either include the sales tax on the price or show it separately. Either way, you can check how your sales tax is collected on your behalf under Walmart’s analytics section on your developer portal, specifically under the Statement Period.
You can also check the tax code sheet under Walmart’s Seller Help Central, although it doesn’t provide recommendations on which tax code to apply. It’s best that you work with a tax expert on this matter.
Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS)
While you can handle all the order needs from fulfillment to returns, if you think you can’t stick to shipping your products on time or have no scalability and efficient systems, the marketplace offers Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) where Walmart takes care of the storage, packing, and shipping. You pay for monthly storage and fulfillment fees.
The cost, especially for storage, is determined by the weight and dimension of your item. You can also avail of Walmart’s fixed monthly storage fee, which looks at the volume of the product and the storage period. To get the exact calculation, use the Walmart Fulfillment Services Pricing calculator.
When you use WFS, please note that Walmart doesn’t handle customer service and exchanges. In case of returns, Walmart will be transferring the responsibilities and fees to you if the fault is on your side. For instance, you shipped defective, damaged, or incorrect products or they have missing parts.
What Other Expenses Are Walmart Sellers Responsible For?
Referral fees, sales tax, and whether or not you pay for Walmart Fulfillment Services will have to be considered for the pricing of your product. Aside from these, you have to take into account these other expenses for the pricing, which Walmart sellers handle themselves.
- cost of goods sold (COGS)
- cost of setting up the business
- customer service charges
- labor cost
- overhead cost
- return cost (if you don’t avail of WFS or you do but you’re at fault)
Walmart also comes with a Buy Box program that features the lowest-priced items that comes with an Add to Cart button, which greatly helps them stand out from other similar product listings. In fact, the marketplace’s slogan is “Lowest Prices Every Day” with the tagline “Save Money. Live Better.” Not adhering to Walmart’s pricing policy will put your product listings at risk of being suspended or completely removed.
Here are some quick tips to make a better margin for your product while adhering to the marketplace’s pricing guidelines:
- Price your product in a relatively similar range across all channels or websites.
- Consider all the fees listed above in your pricing.
- Offer competitive prices.
Does Walmart Impose Fees for Non-US Vendors?
Foreign or non-US vendors can now sell on Walmart. The usual fees apply to them. Like all the other American merchants, they only need to meet Walmart’s seller criteria and once registered, they pay the same fees and price accordingly. They will need to provide the following documents in Walmart’s seller application form:
- Business license
- Proof of experience or success in eCommerce for more than a year (e.g., good store ratings)
- Product catalog in compliance with Walmart’s Prohibited Products Policy
- Information on your products, including categories, catalog size, etc.
It will take two to four weeks for Walmart to verify your information, accept the application, and send you a Retailer Agreement to sign.
The Simplicity of Selling on Walmart
Walmart is an established brand that customers already trust. Selling on Walmart is best for both established and beginner merchants who want to grow their eCommerce reach, and there’s no need to pay any upfront fees for setting up a seller account.
