How can I request a UPC exemption from Walmart?
UPC (or universal product code) is a type of barcode used in retail and e-commerce to identify a particular product or product variant.
While most products will have a UPC, it won’t apply to your Printify products, because they are printed on demand. You will need to request UPC exemption from Walmart to publish Printify products to Walmart.
Note
We recommend connecting your Printify store to Walmart before requesting the UPC/Lag Time exemptions, so that Walmart can see Printify as your Solution Provider and you can reference us as your POD provider. Please note that exemptions can take several business days to be processed.
How to request a UPC exemption from Walmart
- To request a UPC exemption, open a case by contacting Walmart Partner Support. Click Items and Inventory → Request exemption → UPC exemptions.
Alternatively, you can start a chat with Walmart Partner Support and request a UPC exemption. - We recommend starting with your most important/top seller categories and applying for 1-2 categories per case (but no more than 4), to make sure they’re processed by Walmart as quickly as possible. Keep in mind that you need both UPC exemption and Lag Time exemption for the same product categories. If you attempt to publish a product belonging to a category that does not have a UPC exemption yet, publishing will fail. These are the categories that are applicable to Printify products:
- Animal accessories (Animal)
- Baby diapering, care & other (Baby)
- Baby toys (baby)
- Carriers & accessories (carriers & accessories)
- Cases & bags (carriers & accessories)
- Clothing (clothing)
- Electronics accessories (Electronics)
- Footwear (Footwear)
- Health & beauty (Health & Beauty)
- Bedding (Home)
- Home decor, kitchen, & other (Home)
- Jewelry (jewelry)
- Gift supply & awards (Occasion & Seasonal)
- Office (office)
- Puzzles (toys)
- Vehicle parts & accessories (vehicle)
- As a part of the exemption request procedure, the Walmart team may ask you one or more of the following questions:
- Reason for requesting the exemption.
All products designed with Printify are custom and unique and hence do not contain any global product identifiers (GTIN, UPC, EAN or JAN). - Are you a brand/manufacturer, retailer/reseller, or both of the items without UPCs?
Both. - Which brand(s) will require UPC exemptions?
We require exemption for all products we publish in the specified categories. - Do you expect to have UPCs/GTINs for these items in the future?
No. - What percentage of your catalog do these SKUs represent?
100% of all Printify products. - What percentage of your total sales on Walmart Marketplace do these SKUs account for?100% of all Printify products.
- Please send links for your website(s) and 5-10 items (per subcategory) that you are proposing to list without UPCs.
You can provide links to your existing stores and listings from another marketplace (note: Amazon FBA links are not accepted) or online store. If you don’t have any links you can provide, you can add links of the Printify catalog products. - Where do the SKUs ship from?
From the United States. - If we reject your exemption, how will it impact your business on Walmart Marketplace?
I/We will not be able to sell any Print on Demand products fulfilled by Printify on Walmart. - If granted, what is the expected annual sales on Walmart that will be generated by the items with the UPC exemptions?
It is expected to be $50,000 or more.
Can I use my own product IDs when publishing products to Walmart?
Our integration currently requires you to have a UPC exemption in order to publish products to Walmart. If you want to request us to support the option to use your own product IDs, please reach out to our team and let us know.
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