Getting to Know Walmart’s Referral Fee

Learn about:

• How Walmart pays its Marketplace sellers
• What the costs are for sellers on Marketplace
• The referral fees associated with each product category

In contrast to other marketplaces, to be a seller on Walmart, you do not require an account subscription fee. Nevertheless, similar to a few other marketplaces, Walmart requires a referral fee somewhere between 6% to 20% of the selling price of your product, based on its category.

How Walmart pays its online sellers

Among the advantages of selling on Walmart Marketplace is the retail giant does not charge initial configuration or monthly maintenance fees. In contrast to its rivals, who charge a variety of fees outside of referrals, this fee structure makes selling on Walmart a much more lucrative, low-cost alternative for many brands.

There are three things regarding payment you should consider when determining whether you wish to sell on Walmart’s Marketplace.

1. Sellers must give their consent to the payment conditions and schedule in the Marketplace Retailer Agreement, even though in general they receive their payments every week, for orders taking place within the specific period.
2. Sellers receive the total amount of their payment from the sale of their merchandise after deducting Walmart’s referral fees.
3. Periods conclude on Mondays at midnight Pacific Standard Time (PST). This means sellers can normally expect to receive the funds by noon PST the following Wednesday.

Once a customer places an order, Walmart activates an authorization hold on the order. This hold persists until it receives a confirmation that the seller has dispatched the product.

After completion of this step, Walmart.com will charge the amount from the customer’s account. In other words, Walmart reports sales on the date the seller ships the order and not on the order’s creation date.

Related Reading: The Ultimate Guide to Walmart Marketplace Promotions

What are the costs of selling on Walmart Marketplace?

When you sell on the Walmart Marketplace, Walmart requires you to pay a referral fee per sale. This differs depending on the product category. There are no hidden or additional charges.

Here are the referral fees for each category:

• Apparel & Accessories 15%
• Automotive & Powersports 12%
• Baby 15%
• Beauty 15%
• Books 15%
• Camera & Photo 8%
• Cell Phones 8%
• Consumer Electronics 8%
• Electronics Accessories 15%
• Furniture & Decor 15%
• Gourmet Food 15%
• Grocery 15%
• Health & Personal Care 15%
• Home & Garden 15%
• Industrial & Scientific 12%
• Jewelry 
  • 20% on the first $250
  • 5% on amounts over $250
• Kitchen 15%
• Luggage & Travel Accessories 15%
• Major Appliances 8%
• Music 15%
• Musical Instruments 12%
• Office Products 15%
• Outdoors 15%
• Personal Computers 6%
• Pet Supplies 15%
• Shoes, Handbags & Sunglasses 15%
• Software & Computer Video Games 15%
• Sporting Goods 15%
• Tires & Wheels 10%
• Tools & Home Improvement 12%
• Toys & Games 15%
• Video & DVD 15%
• Video Game Consoles 8%
• Video Games 15%
• Watches 
  • 15% on the first $1,500
  • 3% on amounts over $1,500
• All the rest 15%

Related Reading: Three Pros and Cons of Selling on Walmart Marketplace

Conclusion

At Walmart Marketplace, you can kiss your worries about a stack of fees goodbye. All that Walmart charges you is a referral fee. In contrast to its rivals, the retail giant does not require you to pay any regular maintenance charges to have a seller account, which is common practice with other online marketplaces.

The amount of the referral fee that you need to pay is as per the product category you are selling. The average referral fee for products is 15%.