You will find that some Amazon categories are restricted for sellers and will need ungating. Sellers need to get approval from Amazon to sell products in gated categories.
There are many benefits to getting categories and brands ungated. If you want to expand your Amazon FBA business, you should consider starting the category approval process.
The harsh reality is that a majority of the most profitable categories and brands are gated for new Amazon sellers.
In our guide, we explain what ungated on Amazon means, and how to get ungated on Amazon for retail arbitrage, wholesale, or private label. We will also look at the best Amazon ungating services available if you need some more help.
So, letβs dive into it…
- What Does Ungated on Amazon Mean?
- What Are the Advantages of Getting Ungated on Amazon?
- Amazon Restricted Categories That Require Approval
- Requirements for Getting Amazon Category Approval in Restricted Categories
- How to Get Ungated on Amazon in Restricted Categories
- 15 Top Tips for Getting Ungated on Amazon!
- Amazon Ungating Services
- Conclusion
- How to Get Ungated on Amazon FAQs
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Want to take a shortcut?
We use BuyBotPro to quickly find products we are allowed to sell and get auto-ungated. It is also our favorite tool for product sourcing and analysis.
You can now test out BuyBotPro with their 14-day free trial.
Here are just a few of the awesome features included with BuyBotPro:
β AUTO-UNGATING: Want to get ungated? BuyBotPro will apply for auto-ungatings for you and display the result in just SECONDS!
β ELIGIBILITY CHECKER: Tells you if YOU can sell the product on your account at a glance!
β IP RADAR: Checks for the likelihood of a product causing an Intellectual Property violation on your Amazon account.
β PRIVATE LABEL ALERT: These are often the highest risk brands and you can be alerted to the ones to avoid.
What Does Ungated on Amazon Mean?
Amazon restricts sellers from listing products in certain categories, sub-categories, and from selling some brands. Getting ‘Ungated on Amazon’ refers to the process of getting approval from Amazon to be able to sell in these restricted categories or to sell the restricted brands.
What Are the Advantages of Getting Ungated on Amazon?
There will be LESS competition in the gated categories and therefore MORE opportunities for sourcing GREAT DEALS.
Getting ungated now will also mean you avoid any new rules and regulations as Amazon continues to make ungating more difficult.
In gated categories, you tend to get more experienced sellers. This means there will be fewer inexperienced penny pinchers constantly undercutting prices in a race to the bottom.
Amazon sellers usually find their ROI (return on investment) is much higher once they are selling in gated categories.
Amazon are adding more rules and regulations all the time so we recommend you get ungated now before Amazon tightens up the rules further.
Amazon Restricted Categories That Require Approval
The restricted categories that may require you to get approval from Amazon include:
- Alcohol
- Animals & Animal-Related Products
- Art – Fine Art/ Home Decor
- Automotive and Powersports
- Composite Wood Products
- Cosmetics & Skin/Hair Care
- CPAP Cleaning and Disinfecting Devices
- Currency, Coins, Cash Equivalents, and Gift Cards
- Dietary Supplements
- Drugs & drug paraphernalia
- Electronics
- Explosives, weapons, and related items
- Export Controls
- Food & Beverage
- Gambling & Lottery
- Hazardous and prohibited items
- Human Parts & Burial Artifacts
- Jewelry & Precious Gems
- Laser products
- Lighting
- Lock Picking & Theft Devices
- Medical devices and accessories
- Offensive and Controversial Materials
- Other restricted products
- Pesticides and pesticide devices
- Plant and Seed Products
- Postage meters and stamps
- Recalled products
- Recycling electronics
- Refrigerants: Ozone-Depleting Substances and Substitutes
- Strike anywhere matches
- Subscriptions and Periodicals
- Surveillance Equipment
- Tobacco & Tobacco-Related Products
- Warranties, Service Plans, Contracts, and Guarantees
- Upholstered Furniture, Bedding, & Other Quilted Products
Amazon usually adds stricter rules to categories that contain potentially harmful products, or products that are more likely to be counterfeit or fake.
Categories, or brands, that need ungating can change over time and can also depend on how old your seller account is. The categories you are already approved for can also affect which are now gated – so keep checking regularly.
Requirements for Getting Amazon Category Approval in Restricted Categories
Before you start your ungating journey and get approved in Amazon categories, you need to ensure your seller account meets some of Amazon’s minimum requirements.
β A Professional Amazon Seller Account
β
Authorized Wholesalers
Find genuine authorized wholesalers based in your country. Avoid clearance or liquidation sites.
We have a guide here – Finding Wholesale Suppliers and Distributors for Amazon FBA ππΌ
β
Original Invoices
Invoices correctly addressed to your Seller Account name and registered address and dated within the last 90 days.
Our recommendation is to use very recent invoices. The invoices must not be doctored or altered in any way.
β
Local Returns Address and Language Support
You must be able to provide a return delivery address in the local country (Amazon provide this if youβre doing FBA).
You must be able to provide local language support for customer service in the country in which you wish to sell (got to love Google Translate π).
β
Good Seller Metrics
You need to make sure you have low defect rates, late shipment rates, and pre-fulfillment cancel rates.
For Amazon category approval, you should aim to beat these metrics:
- < 4% = Late Shipment Rate (LSR) β
- < 2.5% = Pre-Fulfillment Cancel Rate (PFCR) β
- < 1% = Order Defect Rate (ODR) β
How to Get Ungated on Amazon in Restricted Categories
Follow these 7 steps to check if you need approval to sell any product on Amazon. If approval is required, we show you how to get ungated in any restricted categories or for particular brands.
Step 1: Sign up for an Amazon Professional Seller account, which costs $39.99 per month.
Step 2: In the main dashboard of your Seller Central Account click on the Inventory tab.
Step 3: Select ‘Add a product‘ from the drop-down menu and enter the ASIN or UPC for the product you want to sell.
Step 4: If there are restrictions, it should say ‘Listing Limitations Apply‘. Click on this to see more details.
Step 5: You can now click on ‘Apply to Sell‘ to begin the ungating process. Some applications may be auto-approved depending on how old your seller account is.
Step 6: If you are not auto-approved, then you will need to buy products from an authorized wholesaler. Find a wholesaler who can provide invoices that include a name and address that matches those for your Amazon seller account.
Step 7: Once you have purchased the number of products requested by Amazon, then scan the wholesaler invoices and upload them along with your selling application. π
15 Top Tips for Getting Ungated on Amazon!
1. Use an authorized, official wholesaler and not a cash and carry, clearance, or liquidation site.
2. Look at getting ungated as a totally separate process to selling in a gated category. Getting ungated is essentially a tick box exercise, so make sure you tick all the boxes.
3. Donβt use your own Private Label products for the ungating application β buy brand-name products from official wholesalers instead. Once ungated, you can then sell your Private Label product in the ungated category.
4. Always ensure your chosen wholesaler’s product has a matching ASIN on Amazon, which is available to purchase.
5. Always ensure your chosen ungating products are categorized correctly and are only listed in the restricted category you are trying to ungate.
Make sure they donβt also appear in a non-gated category or your application is more likely to fail.
6. Choose products for the ungating process that you can either use at home, or easily sell on eBay or Amazon.
You are not trying to make any profit on these items. The items are purely for the ungating process and to unlock Amazon restricted products.
7. Find a wholesaler with a range of products that will allow you to ungate more than one restricted Amazon category so you can save on delivery charges.
8. Donβt try and do it βon the cheapβ β do it properly to give yourself the best chance of success. The benefits of getting Amazon category approval are huge, so it is worth doing it right.
9. Make it as EASY as possible for the Amazon representative rather than as EASY as possible for YOU! Make your application FANTASTIC and give them every reason to say YES!
10. Ensure your invoices are dated within 90 days. The more recent, the better.
11. Do not use handwritten invoices and make sure the details match the exact name and address on your Seller Account.
12. Buy enough products to satisfy the requirements for your chosen category. If anything, you should get more than required.
13. Once youβve found your wholesaler, contact Amazon and check the wholesaler is accepted for ungating before you buy any products. Amazon wonβt give you a list of wholesalers to use, but they will usually say YES or NO to a particular wholesaler if asked.
14. Getting ungated on Amazon can be a GAME CHANGER for your business and the process can be either SUPER EASY, REALLY CHALLENGING, or anything in between.
Ungating can take multiple attempts, so donβt give up and just keep jumping through whatever hoops Amazon puts in your wayβ¦
15. Check subcategories every month by going to ‘Inventory> Add a Product’ then entering the title or an ASIN from that category.
As your seller account gets more established, you might find you can get more subcategories auto-approved.
Amazon Ungating Services
If time is in short supply, you may prefer to have all the information given to you so you can focus on selling products and making money. Most sellers are keen to get ungated as EASILY and QUICKLY as possible.
There are several third-party Amazon ungating services and courses available for sellers to speed up the process and avoid all the headaches.
We recommend being extremely wary of these services, as lots of them will use fake invoices to help you get ungated. This could lead to your Amazon seller account being suspended for forged or manipulated documents.
You should stick to services which will help you with the process, but the invoices you are using are based on real purchases you have made from suppliers.
Want to take a shortcut?
We use BuyBotPro to quickly find products we are allowed to sell and get auto-ungated. It is also our favorite tool for product sourcing and analysis.
You can now test out BuyBotPro with their 14-day free trial.
Here are just a few of the awesome features included with BuyBotPro:
β AUTO-UNGATING: Want to get ungated? BuyBotPro will apply for auto-ungatings for you and display the result in just SECONDS!
β ELIGIBILITY CHECKER: Tells you if YOU can sell the product on your account at a glance!
β IP RADAR: Checks for the likelihood of a product causing an Intellectual Property violation on your Amazon account.
β PRIVATE LABEL ALERT: These are often the highest risk brands and you can be alerted to the ones to avoid.
Conclusion
We wish you every SUCCESS in getting yourself ungated on Amazon and unlocking all the possibilities available to FBA Sellers.
Amazon is a GREAT platform for selling and the more products you can SELL, the more MONEY you can make!
Any questions about Amazon ungating? Please drop them in the comments below and we will do our best to help.
Good luck and best wishes with your Amazon ungating projects.
James π¨
How to Get Ungated on Amazon FAQs
Please Share This Page π
James is an ecommerce entrepreneur with over 15 years of experience selling online. He has a wealth of knowledge in selling on Amazon FBA, eBay, and building ecommerce websites.
Despite running a successful business, James has decided to share his expertise with others by offering guidance through his website, βThe Selling Guys,β "The Selling Guys Facebook Page," and his βAmazon Selling for Beginnersβ Facebook Group.
James now has three children, two dogs, and a cat. π¨
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Hi Karen,
Quick question. I noticed your point about apparel having ungated approval in the UK. Does that mean that I could sell US gated brands like Calvin Klein if I buy from retail suppliers, not authorized wholesale suppliers, without running any risk of being suspended or shutdown?
Great article by the way!
Ian
Hi Ian – in theory – but even though you have category approval a lot of brands will still require ‘brand approval’ Calvin Klien and other designer brands will most certainly need this. This would involve 1 purchase invoice for products from a manufacturer or distributor with at least 10 units. This will be difficult to get.