Who should sell on Walmart Marketplace
Walmart Marketplace is best approached as a second or third channel rather than a first marketplace: the application process reviews your business and product catalog before approval, which rewards sellers who already have clean data, real reviews, and a fulfillment plan in place. See Amazon vs. Walmart Marketplace for a full comparison before applying.
How to apply
There is no instant self-serve activation. You submit a business application (legal entity, tax ID, and typically an EIN), and Walmart reviews your catalog and business profile before approving the account. Rejections are common on a first pass — incomplete business verification and a thin or low-quality starting catalog are the most frequent reasons.
Fees
Walmart markets "zero setup, monthly, or hidden fees" — sellers pay only a referral fee on completed sales, set per category, with a number of categories tiered by sale price. The table below is Walmart Marketplace's published referral-fee schedule (last updated by Walmart on March 9, 2026), verified against Walmart's own pricing page on September 6, 2026:
| Category | Referral fee |
|---|---|
| Apparel & accessories | 5% up to $15; 10% from $15–$20; 15% above $20 |
| Appliances — compact | 12% up to $300; 8% above $300 |
| Appliances — major | 8% |
| Automotive & Powersports | 12% |
| Baby products | 8% up to $10; 15% above $10 |
| Base power tools | 12% |
| Beauty, health & personal care | 8% up to $10; 15% above $10 |
| Books | 15% |
| Camera & photo | 8% |
| Collectibles (approved sellers) | 8% up to $2,500, 2.35% above $2,500 — trading cards, comics, coins & autographed items; 8% flat on other collectibles |
| Consumer electronics | 8% |
| Electronics accessories | 15% up to $100; 8% above $100 |
| Grocery | 8% up to $15; 15% above $15 |
| Home, kitchen, decor & garden | 15% |
| Indoor & outdoor furniture | 15% up to $200; 10% above $200 |
| Industrial & scientific supplies | 12% |
| Jewelry & precious metals | 20% up to $250; 5% above $250 |
| Luggage & travel accessories | 15% |
| Music | 15% |
| Musical instruments | 12% |
| Office products | 15% (12% on printer cartridges) |
| Outdoor power tools | 15% up to $500; 8% above $500 |
| Outdoors products & sports | 15% (8% on binoculars, telescopes & night-vision optics) |
| Personal computers | 6% |
| Pet supplies | 15% |
| Plumbing, heating, cooling & ventilation | 10% |
| Shoes, handbags, backpacks & sunglasses | 15% |
| Software & computer video games | 15% |
| Tires & wheels | 10% |
| Tools & home improvement | 15% |
| Toys & games | 15% |
| Video & DVD | 15% |
| Video game consoles | 8% |
| Watches | 15% up to $1,500; 3% above $1,500 |
| Everything else | 15% |
Total sales price for fee purposes includes the item price plus shipping, handling, gift wrap, and other charges. Confirm the current rate for your exact category on Walmart's own pricing page before setting prices — Walmart reviews this schedule periodically, and rates can move between reviews.
Fulfillment: Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS)
WFS is Walmart's equivalent of FBA: Walmart stores, picks, packs, and ships the order, and handles most customer service. Published fee ranges (verify current tiers before modeling): standard items roughly $3.45–$17.55 per unit depending on size/weight, with additional per-pound charges above weight thresholds; big & bulky items from around $155 plus per-pound charges over 90 lbs; storage around $0.75 per cubic foot per month, rising for inventory aged over 12 months. Compare this against Amazon FBA and third-party 3PL pricing in FBA vs. WFS vs. 3PL.
Seller performance
The Walmart Seller Scorecard tracks on-time delivery, order defect rate, and cancellation rate, among other metrics. Falling below Walmart's thresholds can result in listing suppression or account review, similar in spirit to Amazon's Account Health Rating but with Walmart-specific thresholds — see the cross-marketplace comparison in Account Health Metrics Explained.
Advertising: Walmart Connect
Walmart's retail media platform offers Sponsored Products, Sponsored Brands, and display formats. As on Amazon, most new advertisers should start with Sponsored Products — see How to Set Up Your First Walmart Connect Campaign.
Incentive programs
Walmart periodically runs new-seller incentive programs (reduced or waived referral fees for a limited window). These are genuinely time-bound promotional programs, not standing policy — confirm current terms and eligibility directly on Walmart's Marketplace site before planning around them.
APIs & integrations
Walmart's Marketplace API covers catalog (item setup), orders, and inventory, and is how most listing/repricing tools sync your Walmart catalog. See Understanding Marketplace APIs.
Sources
Walmart Marketplace, "Referral fee schedule for contract categories" (marketplacelearn.walmart.com), last updated by Walmart March 9, 2026; Walmart Marketplace pricing page (marketplace.walmart.com/pricing). Both fetched and verified September 6, 2026. WFS fee figures above are as summarized from Walmart's site at verification time; re-confirm exact current tiers before publication, since fulfillment fee schedules are reviewed continuously under this site's governance model.