How to Sell on Walmart Marketplace - Unfiltered Guide for 2026

Walmart Marketplace is growing fast. With 120+ million monthly shoppers, low seller fees, and growing trust in its “Fulfilled by Walmart” program, it’s becoming the second most important channel after Amazon. But Walmart plays by its own rules.

Note: This article is focused on Walmart Marketplace. If you’re trying to break into Walmart’s physical stores instead, I’ve written a separate guide on how to get your product into Walmart. It covers retail buyers, vendor agreements, and in-store distribution.

In this guide, we’ll cover:

• Who can sell on Walmart and what the approval process looks like
• How pricing, fulfillment, and returns actually drive visibility
• The tools and programs (like WFS, Sponsored Products, and the Pro Seller badge) that separate winners from everyone else
• Common mistakes that get sellers unpublished or suspended—and how to avoid them

Think of it as your playbook for Walmart’s trust machine: price integrity, delivery speed, and frictionless returns. Get those right, and you’re already ahead of most sellers.

P.S. If you’d rather skip the slow learning curve, let CrossBridge run the entire setup and operations for you. Schedule a strategy call and we’ll map out your Walmart growth plan and help you implement it.

Walmart Stores vs Walmart Marketplace: Two Very Different Games

When people say “I want to sell in Walmart,” they usually mean two very different things.

Walmart Marketplace is the online platform. You sell as a third-party seller, just like on Amazon. You control your listings, your pricing, and your fulfillment (or you can use Walmart Fulfillment Services). Customers shop on Walmart.com, but you’re the one behind the sale.

Walmart Stores are the traditional retail side. That’s where you sell truckloads of product directly to Walmart as a vendor, and Walmart resells them in-store. Getting into that system means pitching buyers, negotiating margins, and surviving Walmart’s vendor compliance machine. It’s higher volume but also higher risk.

Here’s the key: Marketplace is the easier entry point. It doesn’t require a retail buyer’s approval. It lets you test the waters, build reviews, and prove you can handle Walmart’s performance standards.

And if you do well? Marketplace often becomes a stepping stone. Strong Marketplace sellers get noticed and sometimes invited into in-store programs. Even without an invite, the Marketplace gives you proof points to take to buyers later: sales data, customer reviews, and fulfillment history.

So think of Marketplace as your on-ramp to Walmart as a whole. It’s faster, more accessible, and a lot less capital-intensive than shipping pallets into Walmart distribution centers on day one.

Who Can Actually Sell on Walmart

Walmart isn’t looking for hobby sellers. They expect real businesses with the paperwork to prove it.

• U.S. sellers need an EIN and a W-9. International sellers need local registration documents and a W-8. Everyone needs a way to get paid in U.S. dollars, usually through a domestic bank account or an approved service like Payoneer.
• There’s also a logistical bar: every seller must provide a U.S. return address and a U.S. customer service number. For overseas brands, that almost always means working with a 3PL to process returns and setting up a toll-free line for support.
• And then there’s the product catalog. Walmart only accepts new products. ****Alcohol, tobacco, firearms, perishables, or supplements making health claims are non-starters. If an item could hurt Walmart’s reputation, it won’t even make it to the shelf.

These filters might sound strict, but they thin the herd. By keeping standards higher, Walmart’s marketplace is less saturated than Amazon’s, so if you do make it in, your listings have more room to breathe.

The Application Process, Step by Step

Once you’re confident you meet Walmart’s requirements, the actual application is handled entirely through the Walmart Marketplace Seller Center portal. It’s free to apply, and you’ll be asked for:

• Your business info (EIN or international business registration)
• Tax forms (W-9 for U.S. companies, W-8 for international)
• Bank account details for payouts
• A U.S. customer service phone number and return address
• A sample of your product catalog, including categories and UPCs

The form itself doesn’t take long to fill out, but the review process can. Some sellers get approved in a few days; others wait a few weeks. Walmart checks your paperwork, your product types, and often your reputation on other platforms.

Most rejections come from small mistakes: like a business name that doesn’t match across documents, or unclear answers about how you’ll handle returns. Double-check everything before you submit.

Once approved, you’ll get a welcome email with login details for Seller Center, and that’s when setup begins.

Getting Approved Is Still Harder Than You Think

Even if you qualify on paper, Walmart doesn’t rubber-stamp applications. They turn away plenty of sellers who don’t meet their internal bar. The reason is simple: Walmart is protective of its brand.

They want customers to trust a third-party seller just as much as Walmart itself.

That’s why credibility matters so much. Walmart quietly checks your track record on other platforms. If your Amazon or Shopify store shows clean metrics—fast shipping, low cancellations, solid reviews—your odds improve dramatically. If you’re new with no history, expect a tougher road.

Applications can also get tripped up by sloppy details: mismatched tax documents, inconsistent business names, or vague answers about fulfillment plans. Walmart reads those as red flags. And unlike other marketplaces, there’s no second chance in the application form itself - if you don’t look ready, you’re rejected.

So yes, approval is possible, but it isn’t automatic. You need to come across as established, reliable, and able to deliver the Walmart-level customer experience from day one.

What Happens After You’re Approved

Getting that approval email feels like a milestone, but it’s really just the beginning. Approval only opens the door; now you need to set up your account in Seller Center, Walmart’s control hub for everything from listings to payouts.

Walmart has published various mini-courses and tutorials that will turn you into a PRO in no time!

https://marketplacelearn.walmart.com/academy

Here’s our quick checklist:

1. The first order of business is payments and paperwork. You’ll link your U.S. bank account (or Payoneer/Hyperwallet if you’re international) and re-confirm your tax details so Walmart knows where to send your payouts.
2. Next comes shipping and returns. Walmart requires you to ship nationwide within 3–5 business days unless you use Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), which unlocks two-day or even next-day delivery in some regions. You also need a U.S. return address on file. If you don’t have one, that’s where a 3PL partner comes in.
3. Finally, there’s your seller profile, the public face customers see. This includes your business name, a short description, and contact info. Many sellers skip over it, but a polished profile signals legitimacy. It can mean the difference between a shopper trusting your listing or bouncing to a seller they recognize.

Walmart may even ask you to publish a test listing before your catalog goes live. This small step helps them make sure your setup, pricing, and fulfillment promises all match their standards. Pass that check, and your full catalog is ready for launch.

Your First Listings (and Why They Matter More Than You Think)

Most sellers think the hard part is getting approved. In reality, your first listings will make or break your momentum.
Walmart’s search and recommendation system is ruthless: it rewards clean data and punishes sloppy entries by hiding or even unpublishing your products.

Here’s the big difference from Amazon: Walmart cares less about keyword stuffing and more about structured data. When you fill in attributes—size, color, material, pack count, shelf life—those fields feed Walmart’s filters and search rankings. Skip them, and your product may never show up when customers narrow their search.

Walmart also requires GTIN/UPC codes for almost every listing. If you don’t already own UPCs, get them directly from GS1. “Borrowed” or fake codes are one of the fastest ways to have your items suppressed.

Images matter too, but Walmart’s rules are stricter than most sellers expect. The main photo has to be on a pure white background with no logos, watermarks, or text overlays. Lifestyle shots are allowed in secondary slots, but Walmart’s buyers expect the clean catalog-style look to come first.

And then there’s content. Titles should be short, factual, and easy to scan. Think: “Organic Dog Treats, Chicken Flavor, 16 oz Bag” — not “Best Natural Dog Treats for Your Beloved Puppy.” Descriptions can expand, but Walmart wants clarity over creativity.

👉 Here’s the kicker: many new sellers don’t realize Walmart can unpublish your listing automatically if they think your price looks off compared to other sites. That means even a perfect product page can disappear overnight if your pricing doesn’t line up. (We’ll cover that in detail in the pricing section.)

Pricing: The Rulebook Is Stricter Than You Think

On Walmart, pricing isn’t just strategy—it’s policy. Walmart built its brand on “everyday low prices,” and they enforce that promise by policing seller listings. If your price looks wrong compared to the market, Walmart can and will unpublish your product without warning.

Here’s how it works.

Walmart tracks what they call a Reference Price.

It’s not just Walmart.com—it’s pulled from competitor sites, historical pricing, and even Walmart’s own stores. If your price is higher than the reference, Walmart might suppress your listing. If it looks suspiciously low (say, a mistake or bait price), Walmart can also take it down to prevent cancellations. You’ll see those warnings in your dashboard, and you can appeal or submit proof if Walmart’s reference is inaccurate.

The Buy Box—the coveted “Add to Cart” slot—ties directly into this. Walmart’s algorithm favors the seller who combines the lowest price with reliable fulfillment. That means even if you’re just a few cents higher than a competitor, you might lose the Buy Box. And without the Buy Box, your visibility tanks.

Here’s the kicker most sellers don’t realize: Walmart compares across channels. If your Amazon or Shopify store lists the same item cheaper, Walmart expects you to match or beat it. It’s called price parity, and ignoring it is one of the fastest ways to get delisted.

So how do you stay safe?

• Watch your cross-channel pricing. Don’t let Amazon discounts undermine you on Walmart.
• Use repricing tools carefully. Walmart’s rules are less forgiving than Amazon’s; an aggressive repricer can backfire.
• Build in margin for WFS. Fulfillment fees affect your landed cost—ignore them and you risk pricing yourself out of the Buy Box.

In short: on Walmart, you don’t just set prices—you play within Walmart’s rules. The sellers who win understand the system, not just the math.

Fulfillment: Speed Is King (and WFS Gives You the Crown)

If pricing decides whether your product shows up, fulfillment decides whether it sells. Walmart has made it crystal clear: fast, reliable shipping is the single biggest driver of visibility on the Marketplace.

You’ve got two main paths: ship it yourself or use Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS).

• Seller-fulfilled means you handle storage, packing, and shipping from your own warehouse or 3PL. This is something CrossBridge can help you set up and run. It gives you more control, but Walmart still expects you to hit tough service levels—nationwide delivery in 3–5 business days, low cancellation rates, and on-time tracking updates. Miss those marks, and your account health suffers.
• WFS, on the other hand, plugs you straight into Walmart’s logistics engine. You ship inventory to Walmart’s fulfillment centers, and they handle the rest: storage, pick-pack, shipping, customer service, and returns. Products fulfilled by WFS automatically qualify for two-day delivery, and in some metro areas, even next-day. Walmart data shows those tags can boost sales by 50% or more.

But WFS isn’t just about speed—it’s also about economics.

Walmart claims WFS runs about 15% cheaper than competing fulfillment options, and for most products, that holds up. The hidden catch is storage. Inventory that sits more than 30 days racks up extra fees—an extra $1.50 per cubic foot on top of the base $0.75. That means you can’t treat WFS like a long-term warehouse. You need to send product in on a smart cadence, keeping just enough stock to move quickly without collecting dust, and we can help you build and execute this strategy.

The best sellers use a hybrid approach. They put fast-moving products into WFS to capture the two-day badge and keep slower-moving or bulky items self-fulfilled to avoid storage penalties. That balance keeps costs down while signaling to Walmart that you can deliver at speed where it counts.

At the end of the day, Walmart doesn’t care how you fulfill—only that customers get their orders on time, every time. But if you want to play the algorithm in your favor, WFS is the shortcut.

Golden Nugget: The WFS Storage Trap

On paper, Walmart Fulfillment Services looks cheap… until you mismanage inventory. Here’s what that actually looks like with numbers:

• Base storage fee: $0.75 per cubic foot per month
• Extra storage after 30 days: +$1.50 per cubic foot

Let’s say you ship in 500 units of a product that takes up 0.10 cubic feet each. That’s 50 cubic feet total.

• If you sell through in under 30 days, storage costs = $37.50 (50 × $0.75).
• If inventory sits for 60 days, that same stock now costs = $112.50 (50 × ($0.75 + $1.50)).

That’s 3x the cost just because inventory sat too long.

This is why top sellers don’t “fill up” WFS like a warehouse. They send product in on a rolling cadence, keeping fast movers stocked and letting slower items ship from their own 3PL.

Quick Comparison: WFS vs. 3PL Fulfillment

👉 Best practice: Use WFS for fast movers (to grab the 2-day badge) and a 3PL for slow movers, oversized products, or long-term storage.

Marketing Tools: How to Actually Get Seen

Even with sharp pricing and fast shipping, products don’t always move without visibility. Walmart gives you three main levers to push your listings higher:

1. Sponsored Products (ads).

This is Walmart’s version of Amazon PPC. You bid on keywords, and your listings show up in search results or on competitor pages. The platform is smaller than Amazon’s, which means cheaper clicks, but also less traffic overall. The upside? Because fewer sellers advertise, you can still win impressions without insane budgets.

2. Promotions and discounts.

Rolling back prices or running seasonal discounts taps into Walmart’s customer psychology—shoppers are trained to look for deals. Walmart also gives your promos extra visibility with “strike-through” pricing and badges, which can lift click-through rates.

3. Walmart Connect.

This is Walmart’s broader ad network. It extends your ads beyond Walmart.com into display, in-app, and even connected TV. For most small sellers, it’s overkill. But for brands scaling up, it’s a way to get in front of millions of Walmart shoppers across channels, not just on the site.

The key is to layer these tools on top of a strong base. Ads won’t save a listing with poor content or slow shipping. But if your fundamentals are right, even a small Sponsored Products budget can accelerate sales, which in turn boosts your organic rankings.

Compliance: Walmart’s Scorecard Never Sleeps

Getting approved and listing products is only half the battle. Walmart constantly grades your performance, and slipping below their thresholds can get you penalized or suspended.

The main levers are simple but strict:

• On-time delivery: At least 95% of your orders must arrive by the promised date.
• Order defect rate: Cancellations should stay under 1.5%.
• Customer responsiveness: You’re expected to respond to buyer messages within 48 hours, with a 95%+ response rate.

Walmart also tracks price competitiveness and content quality, feeding into whether you qualify for the Pro Seller Badge. That badge isn’t just decoration—it boosts trust and can lift conversion rates.

Returns are another hidden compliance test. By default, Walmart allows customers to return Marketplace purchases in-store. That means you’re responsible for handling items that come back through Walmart’s physical locations. You can also enable “Keep-It” rules, where low-value items are refunded without being shipped back, saving you money and hassle.

Here’s the blunt truth: most seller suspensions come down to shipping delays, high cancellations, or ignored customer messages. If you can stay disciplined on those three, you’ll avoid 90% of the headaches.

Scaling Up: Plugging Into Systems That Can Handle the Weight

Selling a few SKUs on Walmart Marketplace is one thing. Scaling into hundreds or thousands of orders a week is another. That’s where integrations and infrastructure matter.

ERP and inventory tools. Once you’re moving real volume, spreadsheets stop working. An ERP or inventory platform helps you sync stock across Walmart, Amazon, Shopify, and anywhere else you sell. It prevents overselling (a common cause of order cancellations) and keeps your books in order.

Tip: Don’t know anything about ERPs? I highly recommend you read this ERP guide.

3PL partnerships. If you don’t use Walmart Fulfillment Services for everything, you’ll need a 3PL that can meet Walmart’s shipping standards. Many international sellers rely on U.S.-based 3PLs not just for delivery, but also for having a valid U.S. return address.

EDI integration. Walmart’s retail side still runs on EDI (electronic data interchange). Even though Marketplace doesn’t require it, sellers who plan to pitch Walmart’s in-store buyers often prepare for EDI early. It’s the bridge between Marketplace success and becoming a full Walmart vendor.

• Don’t know anything about EDI? Check out our EDI Guide for beginners.
• We've also written an extensive article on Walmart EDI.

Omnichannel strategy. Walmart likes sellers who can think beyond a single channel. Marketplace data—your sales velocity, customer reviews, and ability to meet SLAs—becomes proof you can handle bigger opportunities. For some, that means expanding into Amazon or Target in parallel. For others, it’s using Marketplace as a launchpad to Walmart’s physical stores.

The big picture? Marketplace isn’t just a sales channel. Done right, it’s your resume for the broader retail world. Treat it like training ground for bigger things.

Ready to Skip the Learning Curve?

Selling on Walmart Marketplace can open real doors, but it also comes with a long list of rules, approvals, and operational details that most brands underestimate. That’s where we step in.

At CrossBridge, we handle the entire process for you — from company setup and compliance to Walmart account approval, listings, fulfillment, and ongoing performance management. We don’t just get you into the marketplace. We make sure your operations, logistics, and finances are built to scale in the U.S.

If you want to move faster and avoid the costly mistakes most sellers make, let’s talk.

👉 Schedule a strategy call and we’ll map out your Walmart growth plan together.

Walmart Marketplace FAQ

Q: Can international sellers join Walmart Marketplace?

Yes. Walmart accepts sellers from approved countries if they can provide local business registration, a W-8 tax form, and use an approved payment provider. All international sellers must also provide a U.S. return address and a U.S. customer service number, which usually means partnering with a 3PL.

Q: How long does approval take?

Anywhere from a few days to a few weeks. Some sellers get in fast if their paperwork is tight and their track record on other platforms is strong. Others wait longer if Walmart needs extra verification.

Q: What are the most common reasons applications are rejected?

The top reasons are mismatched business or tax documents, lack of e-commerce history, poor pricing compared to competitors, and listing restricted products.

Q: Does Walmart charge monthly fees to sell?

No. There is no subscription or setup fee. You only pay referral fees on each sale, typically between 8% and 15% depending on the category.

Q: When and how do sellers get paid?

Payments usually come every two weeks through Payoneer or Hyperwallet. New sellers may see their first payout delayed while Walmart confirms account health. Walmart recently announced faster payments for U.S. sellers through a JPMorgan partnership that is rolling out in 2025.

Q: Can I import my listings from Amazon or Shopify?

Yes. Walmart supports listing imports from Amazon, Shopify, and other platforms to speed up setup. You still need to check that the imported listings meet Walmart’s stricter content and attribute rules.

Q: What happens if Walmart unpublishes my product?

It usually means your price or content broke Walmart’s rules. For example, if Walmart’s system finds your product cheaper on Amazon, it may unpublish your listing until you match the reference price. You can fix the issue and then request relisting.

Q: How many products can I sell at first?

Walmart may set initial limits on how many products or categories you can list. As your account performance improves, you can request higher limits.

Q: Do I need a U.S. warehouse?

If you self-fulfill orders, yes. You must have a U.S. warehouse to meet shipping and returns requirements. If you use Walmart Fulfillment Services (WFS), you can ship inventory directly to Walmart’s centers instead.

Q: How do returns work?

Customers can return Marketplace orders by mail or directly to a Walmart store. If you self-fulfill, the returns flow back to your warehouse or 3PL. If you use WFS, Walmart manages the entire return process. Low-value items may qualify for Walmart’s “Keep-It” rules where customers are refunded without shipping the item back.

Q: Do reviews from other platforms carry over?

No. Reviews do not transfer. Your Walmart listings will start fresh. You can build reviews organically as customers buy, and you can respond publicly to reviews within Seller Center.

Q: What is the number one mistake new sellers make?

The biggest mistake is ignoring Walmart’s pricing rules. Listings are often unpublished because sellers price higher than competitors on Amazon or Shopify. Logistics delays and sloppy listing content are close seconds.

Q: Can success on Marketplace help me get into Walmart stores?

Yes. Strong Marketplace sellers with good sales velocity, reviews, and compliance sometimes get invited to pitch Walmart’s in-store buyers. Marketplace data becomes proof that you can handle Walmart’s scale.