You’ve decided to sell your products on Walmart.com. You’ve done your research and understand how to sell on Walmart Marketplace. Now comes the big question: “If I’m just selling on Walmart Marketplace, what is Walmart’s merchandising fee?”
The good news is Walmart Marketplace seller fees have an advantage over other sites like Amazon. There is no annual fee. Also, there is no product listing fee. Instead, Walmart simply charges suppliers a referral fee for each item sold.
How Much Does It Cost to Sell on Walmart?
As stated above, when a third-party seller lists their item(s) on a site like Amazon, there is usually a listing fee. Walmart charges no listing fee or annual fee to its Marketplace sellers. A referral fee is charged to the seller for each transaction.
How is a referral fee different from an annual fee or a product listing fee? The Walmart Marketplace referral fee is simply a percentage of your item’s selling price (based on category). Walmart Marketplace fees are only applied when your items are sold; not bad for getting to use Walmart’s large platform and customer base for your product!
Walmart Marketplace Fees at a Glance
Walmart Marketplace selling fees are percentages that vary by category. Depending on what category your item falls into determines the referral fee you will be charged when your item sells.
As of 2023, percentage rates by Walmart category are as follows:
|
Product Category |
Referral Fee Percentage |
| Apparel & Accessories | 15% |
| Automotive & Powersports | 12% except 8% for Auto Electronics |
| Baby | 8% for items $10 or less 15% for items greater than $10 |
| Beauty | 8% for items $10 or less 15% for items greater than $10 |
| Books | 15% |
| Camera & Photo | 8% |
| Cell Phones | 8% |
| Consumer Electronics | 8% |
| Electronic Accessories | 15% portion of price up to $100 8% portion of price greater than $100 |
| Indoor & Outdoor Furniture | 15% on the first $200
10% over $200 |
| Décor | 15% |
| Gourmet Food | 15% |
| Grocery | 8% for items $10 or less 15% for items greater than $10 |
| Health & Personal Care | 8% for items $10 or less 15% for items greater than $10 |
| Home & Garden | 15% |
| Industrial and Scientific | 12% |
| Jewelry | 20% portion of price up to $250 5% portion of price greater than $250 |
| Kitchen | 15% |
| Luggage & Travel Accessories | 15% |
| Major Appliances | 8% |
| Music | 15% |
| Musical Instruments | 12% |
| Office Products | 15% except 8% for Calculators |
| Outdoors | 15% except 8% for Hunting Trail Monitors |
| Outdoor Power Tools | 15% for items ≤ $500
8% for items > $500 |
| Personal Computers | 6% |
| Pet Supplies | 15% |
| Plumbing Heating Cooling & Ventilation | 10% |
| Shoes, Handbags, & Sunglasses | 15% |
| Software & Computer Video Games | 15% |
| Sporting Goods | 15% |
| Tire & Wheels | 10% |
| Tools & Home Improvement | 15% except 12% for Base Power Tools |
| Toys & Games | 15% |
| Video & DVD | 15% |
| Video Game Consoles | 8% |
| Video Games | 15% |
| Watches | 15% portion of price up to $1,500 3% portion of price greater than $1,500 |
| Everything Else | 15% |
Again, the Walmart Marketplace referral fee is only applied to the individual item once the item sells. For example, a jewelry supplier may list a ring that sells for $100. After the ring sells, Walmart would charge the supplier a $20 referral fee based on the 20% category rate from the chart above.
The Walmart category breakout seems clear enough, but some items can be questionable (ex: is a watch considered “jewelry” or an “apparel accessory”?). If you have questions about how your item should be listed, contact the Walmart.com advisory team at 8th & Walton.
How Are Sellers Paid on Walmart?
Now that you understand how you’ll be paying Walmart for its platform use and tools, the next question is, “How does Walmart pay the Marketplace seller?”
To pay its sellers, Walmart uses Payoneer (payoneer.com) to process payments on Walmart Marketplace.
When to Create a Payoneer Account
If you already have a Payoneer account, you can link to Walmart directly during your setup process. If you don’t have an existing account, it will be better NOT to set one up prior to registering on Walmart Marketplace. Here’s why:
Once you’re accepted to sell on the Walmart Marketplace, you have access to the Seller Center. In the Seller Center, you can begin the registration process for a new Payoneer account. By beginning this registration process new from the Seller Center, there will be no Payoneer fees for any money transfers to you from Walmart.
If you were to create the Payoneer account first and then link to Walmart Marketplace, there is a fee automatically attached to money transfers. You can contact Payoneer’s support team for a refund, but you would need to do it each time you have a transaction. Best practice: register for Payoneer from the Seller Center to save time and money!
How to Create a Payoneer Account
If you do not already have a Payoneer account prior to being accepted to sell on Walmart Marketplace, here’s how to get started:
- From the Walmart Seller Center, click on “Create an Account.” Again, if you already have a Payoneer account, you can link directly.
- Payoneer will ask for your business details. Enter your information. The system will redirect you back to the Walmart Seller Center.
- Your status in the Walmart Seller Center will say “inactive” if your registration is “pending.” You will receive a confirmation email after your account has been successfully set up. At this point, your status will automatically change to “active” and you are ready to receive payments.
- Once the seller has completed registration in the Walmart Seller Center and selected Payoneer, money transfers will go to the seller’s bank account associated with Payoneer. When money is transferred into the account, Payoneer will not assign any transfer fees for the deposits.
After Creating Payoneer Account
After a seller has created their Payoneer account from the Seller Center, it’s important to set up administrator access. Only company-designated administrators can view or update the financial settings on the account. If a seller wants to appoint more than one administrator, the Payoneer account can only link to one Partner ID. This simply means that all administrators will need to access Payoneer using the same credentials.
Who Handles the Fulfillment?
One of the biggest differences in being a Walmart supplier versus a Walmart Marketplace seller is in the handling of fulfillment (or shipping the purchased product to the buyer). As a Walmart Marketplace seller, you can take responsibility for your own warehousing and shipping. Walmart will provide Marketplace sellers with the Walmart.com site to sell their products; fulfillment can be strictly left up to sellers.
One service Walmart offers to Marketplace sellers is Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS). After becoming accepted as a Marketplace seller, you have access WFS to set up products. This allows you to ship your inventory to a Walmart facility. From there, Walmart will store, pack, pick, and ship your orders.
Whether or not a Marketplace seller chooses to participate in WFS, Walmart will still monitor all fulfillment accuracy and customer satisfaction. Walmart.com shoppers are asked to provide feedback on the products they purchase from Marketplace sellers and their overall satisfaction with the experience (communication, delivery, etc.).
Sales Tax on Walmart Marketplace
When it comes to sales tax on items purchased from Walmart.com, one thing to keep in mind is the customer. Many customers adding items to their cart at Walmart.com are unaware that some of their items are sold by Walmart Stores and some may be coming from Marketplace sellers. This means that your customer may not see or understand the tax charges when adding your product to their cart.
If you are selling items on Walmart Marketplace, it is your responsibility to understand, collect, and remit sales tax for each item you sell. How you indicate sales tax in your Marketplace listing is at your discretion. You may list the sales tax separately from your item price or incorporate it into the price.
To keep up to date with Walmart’s tax requirements and changes to policies, reference the Marketplace Retailer Information Page.
Also, ensure your seller information is accurate for customers. They have the option to view your details when purchasing your items and may seek you out for future purchases.
Pricing On Walmart Marketplace
Seller fees and sales tax are two things to consider when setting a price for your item(s) on Walmart Marketplace. Walmart prides itself on being a low-price leader and expects Marketplace Sellers to offer fair prices on their goods. When setting the price for your products, here are some best practices to keep in mind:
Lowest Price Wins the Buy Box
When a seller lists their items on Walmart Marketplace, the goal is to win the Walmart Buy Box. Winning the buy box almost guarantees the sale.
Although many factors contribute to winning the Walmart Buy Box, the biggest one is price. If you have a lower price than your competitors for the same item, you have a better than 80% chance of winning the Buy Box. Be diligent about monitoring your competition and keeping your costs low to drive down your price.
Keep Product Pricing Consistent
If you are selling your item on more sites than Walmart.com, do not charge a lower price for your item on the other sites. Not only is Walmart monitoring your item’s performance on Walmart.com, but on other sites as well! Walmart checks competing online retailers to ensure it is the low-price leader. If it finds that your item can be purchased on a competing site for less money, Walmart will take action against your Walmart.com listing.
Walmart taking action means removing your listing from Walmart.com. Marketplace sellers need to be aware of two pricing rules Walmart uses to determine if a third-party listing should be removed from the site:
- Price Parity Rule: If a customer can purchase the same product from the same seller on a competing website, Walmart will remove the items automatically from Walmart.com.
- Price Leadership Rule: If a customer can purchase the same item at a significantly lower price from a competing website (even if the seller is someone other than the Marketplace Seller), Walmart will remove the item from Walmart Marketplace automatically.
If a Marketplace seller’s items get removed from Walmart.com, the company will inform the seller. Notifications are sent through the “Manage Items Report” section of the Seller Center. The seller can then work to fix the pricing issue and have their items relisted.
Analyze Your Cost Variables
The goal in retail is to make money. Walmart may ask you to lower your asking price, or you may have to in order to win the Buy Box. In any case, maintaining a good profit margin is still necessary when a price has to be lowered. Now is the time to look at the costs behind that asking price. Cutting back on costs will improve your profit margin from the back side. When looking at the costs factors, make sure you are going over:
- Item development costs
- Fees on Walmart Marketplace
- Money lost on returns
- Labor charges
- Shipping fees
- Customer service charges
- Additional overhead expenses
Is Walmart Marketplace Worth Selling On?
The short answer is YES! As we’ve mentioned above, the absence of an annual fee guarantees you only pay Walmart if your products are selling. This is a great advantage over other online selling platforms. Other advantages include:
Walmart.com Site Traffic
This is a huge factor to take into consideration: Walmart’s tremendous site traffic. Your referral fee is getting your item exposure in online searches on Walmart’s massive platform. Whether a search on Walmart.com or an organic search from Google, your item can be ranked alongside the national brands as an equal alternative for a nominal selling fee.
Promotion From Walmart
Support from Walmart in promotion and tools is also a key factor. For promotion, Walmart is constantly driving customers to Walmart.com through its apps, additional services, and marketing of a wider selection. With more customers taking advantage of Walmart’s Pickup and Delivery services, growing site traffic gets your product in front of new potential customers.
Tools and Resources
When it comes to tools for Marketplace sellers, Walmart goes to great lengths to set you up for success. You’ll receive access to reports, scorecards, and dashboards to give you insight into your customer, your performance, and fulfillment insights. Again, Walmart is providing the Marketplace seller a tremendous amount of data for the referral fee.
Walmart Seller FAQ
What are the seller fees on Walmart?
There is no annual seller fee to sell items on Walmart Marketplace and no fee to simply list your items. Walmart charges Marketplace sellers a referral fee, which is a percentage of your sale based on your item category (see table above).
Is it hard to sell on Walmart?
Selling on Walmart is not difficult, provided you understand basic online business practices and can meet Walmart’s minimum qualifications to become a Marketplace Seller. The minimum qualifications include:
- Business Tax ID(s) (SSN not accepted) or Business License Number
- Supporting documents that verify your Business Name and Address
- History of marketplace or eCommerce success
- Products with GTIN/UPC GS1 Company Prefix Numbers
- Catalog that complies with Walmart Prohibited Products policy
- Fulfillment through Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS) or another B2C US warehouse with returns capability
How long does Walmart seller approval take?
After submitting your application to become a Marketplace Seller, Walmart reviews your information and may get back to you if they need further information. From the time you submit your application until you are approved can take as little as two weeks or as long as a month.
Can I sell on Walmart as an individual?
As seen in Walmart’s minimum requirements above, Walmart Marketplace is for small businesses. If you are an individual meeting the minimum qualifications, you have a good chance of selling on Walmart Marketplace. However, Walmart Marketplace is not a simple selling site as is eBay or Craig’s List.
How much can a seller make on Walmart?
Making money as a Marketplace seller has so many variables (competition, margin, item cost, volume, etc.). However, one thing working in your favor is having your product in front of so many shoppers by listing it on Walmart.com. According to Statista, Walmart.com received over 400 million page visits a month in 2021. More eyes on the product means more potential sales!
The Bottom Line
What is your goal for listing your items on Walmart’s Marketplace? Is it to expand your assortment to a wider customer base? Or do you have a larger goal of being in Walmart’s brick-and-mortar stores one day and want to start building your relationship online?
Walmart desires to work with suppliers at all levels in their retail journey, and the tools unlocked from listing on the Walmart Marketplace benefit all.
If you still have questions about Walmart Marketplace fees, item setup, selling on Walmart.com, or other e-commerce issues, we’re here to help! Your experts at 8th & Walton support small and medium-sized Walmart suppliers to improve their online presence and build a better partnership with their Walmart merchant team.
To find out how we can support your business, simply submit the form below:
