To protect their customers, Amazon requires sellers in restricted categories to go through an “ungating” process. Only once your application has been approved by Amazon are you allowed to list products in that category.
If you want to learn exactly how to get ungated on Amazon, you’ve come to the right place!
[This article was last updated on 27 October 2020]
First of all, getting ungated on Amazon can be a frustrating process. Amazon isn’t going to bend over backwards to assist you. If your application is unsuccessful, expect a generic response from them.
They won’t give you detailed feedback or provide you with step-by-step instructions on how to fix it. For example, if they’re not satisfied with an invoice you’ve submitted, don’t expect them to tell exactly what’s wrong with it.
It’s important to understand Amazon isn’t deliberately trying to make your life difficult.
As Amazon explained it to me, they have specific internal rules in place. They know exactly what’s wrong with applications, but aren’t allowed to divulge the exact details of their approval process.
If you’re a reseller who’s just getting started, there are certain steps you’ll want to take to get ungated. More about that in a moment.
Amazon Restricted Categories
“Gating” is Amazon’s way of protecting the integrity of their platform. Amazon wants to ensure that no Amazon seller sells low quality, counterfeit, or potentially harmful products to consumers.
Finding details on Amazon restricted categories can be cumbersome, especially if you’re not an existing Amazon seller.
For example, you can access a page where Amazon lists restricted categories. However, to view details on certain categories, you’ll need to log into your Amazon Seller Central account.
Amazon also doesn’t have one single page listing all their restricted categories. For example, dietary supplements are mentioned on this restricted categories page, but not on this Amazon Seller Central page.
To help you out, I’ve put together an up-to-date list of most Amazon restricted categories:
- Alcohol
- Animal-Related Products
- Automotive & Powersports
- Certified Refurbished
- Cosmetics & Skin/Hair Care
- Dietary Supplements
- Drugs & Drug Paraphernalia
- Electronics
- Explosives, Weapons & Related Items
- Fine Art
- Gambling & Lottery
- Grocery & Gourmet Food
- Handmade
- Hazardous & Dangerous Items
- Human Parts & Burial Artifacts
- Jewelry & Precious Gems
- Laser Products
- Lighting
- Lock Picking & Theft Devices
- Medical Devices & Accessories
- Medication
- Offensive & Controversial Materials
- Organic Products
- Pesticides
- Pet Food
- Plants, Plant Products, and Seeds
- Postage Meters & Stamps
- Subscriptions & Periodicals
- Surveillance Equipment
- Tobacco & Tobacco-Related Products
- Topicals
- Video, DVD & Blu-Ray
- Watches
- Warranties, Service Plans, Contracts, and Guarantees
NOTE: Many categories don’t require approval, although their sub-categories might. In addition, even if you don’t need to get approved, certain categories have “selling guidelines” you need to know.
Become an Amazon Seller
Before you can sell products on Amazon, you need to open a seller account.
You can use your customer account to start selling. Alternatively, you can create a new seller account with your business email address.
Amazon requires the following information from Amazon sellers:
- Business email address or Amazon customer account
- Chargeable credit card
- Government ID
- Tax information
- Phone number
- Your bank details where Amazon can send you proceeds from your sales
You’ll notice Amazon charges a monthly fee of $39.99 + selling fees. This is for a professional account.
You can sell on Amazon without having a professional account. If you scroll down the sign up page, you’ll see the following link:
As an individual seller, you don’t have to pay any monthly fees, but you’ll have to pay Amazon selling fees.
This is how Amazon explains their individual selling plan:
“The Individual selling plan is a pay-as-you-go plan that provides access to a basic set of listing and order management tools. Individual sellers can create listings one at a time by matching their products to existing pages or creating new pages in the Amazon catalog.”
Amazon’s pay-as-you-go rate is $0.99 per item. Based on this, if you have less than 40 sales per month, it might be the right plan for you. If you want to sell inside gated categories, though, you’ll need to get a professional plan.
For more information on how much it costs to sell on Amazon, have a look at their selling fees schedule.
7 Tips on How to Get Ungated on Amazon
Be wary of Amazon ungating services that “guarantee” to get you ungated in restricted categories.
There are no guarantees these Amazon ungating services will get you ungated on Amazon. You could end up paying for a service that fails to deliver and won’t give you a refund!
That’s why you need to work through the ungating process yourself.
If you follow the tips below on how to get ungated on Amazon, you should soon be selling in restricted categories!
1) Work With a Reputable Supplier
Before you can apply to get ungated on Amazon, you need to have a relationship with a reputable supplier. If you don’t have products or access to products you can sell on Amazon, there’s no point in applying.
It falls outside the scope of this article to cover how you can find the right supplier(s).
If you don’t already have a supplier, I do suggest you take a look at SaleHOO.
SaleHOO is a directory that lists 8,000+ pre-vetted suppliers. Finding a good supplier can be like searching for a needle in a haystack. SaleHOO can make this process much easier!
Supplier vs Manufacturer
Try to find a supplier who’s also the manufacturer of the products you wish to sell on Amazon. If you want to sell within gated categories, Amazon will ask you who the manufacturer is.
If your supplier is not the manufacturer, it can create problems with the Amazon ungating process. This is especially true if your supplier isn’t known to Amazon.
Tip: Ask your supplier if they’re the manufacturer. If not, ask them if they could give you a letter from the manufacturer that clarifies their relationship. Submit this letter to Amazon during your application process.
2. Start Off Selling in Ungated Categories
In my experience, it pays to start off selling in ungated categories. You’ll have a better chance to get approved for gated categories if you have a successful track record with Amazon.
As previously mentioned, “gating” is just Amazon’s way of protecting the integrity of their platform. If you’ve never sold on Amazon before, they’ll be more cautious if you want to sell in a restricted category.
The above comments don’t imply you can’t get ungated if you're new to selling on Amazon. However, if you have no account health history, it can be more difficult to get ungated. Having an account in good standing will benefit you.
The key metrics appearing on your account health dashboard are:
Customer Service Performance
Order Defect Rate (ODR) - Target: Under 1%.
Order defect rate consists of negative feedback, A-to-Z guarantee claims, and chargeback claims.
Policy Compliance
Target: 0 Issues.
- Suspected intellectual property violations
- Received intellectual property complaints
- Product authenticity customer complaints
- Product condition customer complaints
- Food and product safety issues
- Listing policy violations
- Restricted product policy violations
- Customer product reviews policy violations
- Other policy violations
Shipping Performance (Seller Fulfilled)
Late Shipment Rate - Your late shipment rate should be below 4%.
Pre-fulfillment Cancel - Target: Under 2.5%.
Valid Tracking Rate - Target: Over 95%.
Amazon sellers need to comply with Amazon’s requirements. Getting approved to sell in a gated category will be difficult if your Amazon account metrics are poor.
3. Have a Professional Looking Website
Amazon doesn’t always ask for your website details but having a website can help you get ungated. If you have a new seller account, you’ve not had the opportunity to prove yourself to Amazon. A professional looking website can boost your credibility!
Having your own website is always a good idea, regardless of whether you want to sell on Amazon or not. Remember, Amazon is only one sales channel, and you have no control over how they operate.
It’s never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket. Think of it this way… What would happen to your business if Amazon decides to close your account tomorrow? Being 100% dependent on a single platform is very risky!
You typically have two options.
Have an ecommerce website
Sell products straight from your website. You don’t have to worry about getting ungated and don’t have to pay Amazon any fees. In addition, you don’t have any competitors on your site like you have with Amazon.
Build a content marketing website
You don’t need to have an ecommerce website. Having a high quality website with helpful content and links to your products on Amazon is a great idea. If you optimize your site correctly, you can send free organic traffic to your products on Amazon.
Should Amazon ever decide to close your seller account, you have an established website you can turn into an ecommerce site. And if you decide to no longer sell your own products, you can turn it into an affiliate marketing site that sells other products in the same space.
Perhaps the single biggest advantage of having a website is it can help you build a relationship with your target audience. By capturing the details of visitors to your site,you can build up a database of prospects. This isn’t possible to achieve using only Amazon, as they don’t allow you to capture customer details.
NOTE: At BrandBuilders, we can supply turnkey ecommerce websites and premium quality SEO optimized content for your website. Contact us for more information on how we can help you succeed!
4. Sign up for a Professional Plan
In order to get approved to sell in a gated category, Amazon will expect you to sign up for a professional plan.
Here are the benefits of a professional selling plan, as mentioned by Amazon:
- No $0.99 Closing Fee for each item sold. You pay only a monthly $39.99 subscription fee, referral fees, and variable closing fees.
- Ability to collect U.S. sales and use taxes on your orders.
- Customize your shipping rates and services levels for all products (except Books, Music, Videos and DVDs).
- Manage your inventory using feeds, spreadsheets, and reports.
- Manage orders using order reports and order-related feeds.
- Access Amazon Marketplace Web Service to upload feeds, receive reports, and perform other API functions.
- Ability to offer Promotions and Gift Services.
- Eligibility for Featured Merchant status and listing placement in the Buy Box.
If you already have an individual sales account, you can