Restricted categories and approval requests
Some categories need a one-time approval on your account before you sell in them. Which ones, how to apply in “Restricted categories”, and which documents to attach.
In this article
A restricted category is one you may sell in, but only after showing you sell genuine, permitted products from a reliable source. Approval is given once to your account, covers every category under the approved one, and applies both to new products and to adding your offer to an existing product.
The restricted categories today
| Category | What supports your request |
|---|---|
| Cosmetics and perfume | Product registration with the municipality or the food and drug authority. |
| Vitamins and supplements | Registration with the health authority. |
| Health care | Product registration with the competent authority. |
| Medical supplies | Product registration with the competent authority. |
| Food | A food licence. |
| Beverages | A food licence. |
| Baby food | A food licence. |
| Child car seats | A conformity certificate. |
| Toys and games | A safety and conformity certificate. |
| Batteries | A safety data sheet (MSDS), as batteries are dangerous goods in transport. |
| Mobile phones | Type approval from the telecom authority. |
| Jewellery and watches | Proof of authenticity. |
| Hunting and shooting | A licence. |
| Religious and ceremonial items | Supplier invoices, and a note explaining what you sell. |
The list is data our team updates, and it can differ by country. What counts is what the check shows for your product.
How you know a category is restricted
When you send a product in a restricted category without approval, it's refused with a reason saying the category needs a one-time approval for your account, and a “Request approval for this category” button opens the request on the right category and country. In the Excel results, the same link shows under the refused row.
Applying
- Open Restricted categories, or press “Request approval for this category”.
- In “Category”, search for the category and pick it. You can pick a parent category: approval covers everything under it.
- Under “In which country?”, pick one country or “All my countries”.
- Add an optional “short note” (up to 500 characters): what you sell and where you buy it.
- Press “Add a file” and upload the documents: at least one and up to 5 files, PDF or pictures, up to 10 MB each.
- Press “Send the request”.
What to attach
- Purchase invoices from your supplier showing your name, the supplier's name, the products and the quantities.
- An authorization from the brand owner or its distributor if you sell a brand you don't own.
- The certificates and registrations listed for the category in the table above.
Documents are stored encrypted and only the review team sees them. Don't put phone numbers, emails or links in the note: it's refused and our team is alerted.
After you send it
- Your request shows in “My requests” as “Under review”, then “Approved” or “Refused” with “Our note”.
- You can't send a second request for the same category and country while the first is under review.
- Approved categories show under “Categories you're approved for”.
- Once approved, send the product again: a listing that was refused isn't re-sent automatically.
- If your request is refused, read “Our note” and send a new request with the missing documents.