5 Best Alternatives for Shopify Restricted Products

Shopify generated $1.578 billion in revenue for the entire year 2019. As a result, it’s no surprise that Shopify has risen to fifth place among online businesses and consumer services websites. In contrast, it has an astounding 645 position in terms of international traffic.

As a result of all of this data, you might conclude that Shopify is one of the greatest eCommerce platforms available. It is an outstanding platform, but it is not suitable for selling things that are prohibited by the platform. If this is the case, you should begin exploring for Shopify alternatives right once.

What Products Can’t You Sell on Shopify?

Here are 8 products that are prohibited to be sold in Shopify:

Related: How to Start an Online Business?

Alcohol 

There are 8,386 breweries in the United States, of which 8,275 are craft breweries (98.67 percent). Know that if you’re one of these firms, Shopify will not allow you to sell your goods. Among the (many) things on the Shopify forbidden items list is this one.

E-cigarettes and Tobacco

Shopify will not approve you as a merchant if your business sells anything related to smoking. There are no tobacco, cigarette, e-cigarette, or e-juice products for sale at the company. Neither pipes, bongs, or vaporizers can be sold on this online marketplace.

Cannabis

The cannabidiol (CBD) market is expected to grow into a $2.5 billion+ sector by 2022, according to specialists in the field. CBD products are permitted to sell in the United States and Canada if they contain less than 0.3 percent THC. It is the cannabinoid known as THC, or tetrahydrocannabinol, that possesses psychoactive properties.

Shopify, on the other hand, restricts the selling of CBD-related products to a great extent. “Attestation for the Sale of Hemp and Hemp-Derived Products.” is the first step. In order to be able to sell on the site, all CBD vendors in the United States must fill out this form.

It’s important to note that this is only available to retailers in the United States. If you’re a Canadian entrepreneur, you’ll need a cannabis license to sell on Shopify. A “Shopify Plus” subscription is also required. Shopify prohibits a wide range of things, and these are one of them. You won’t be able to utilize Shopify’s Payment Services even if fireworks are permitted in your location.

Weapons and Arms

There are no exceptions to Shopify’s ban on weapons, including guns and knives. Sales of ammunition, gunpowder and other explosives are also prohibited under the law. No crossbows, air guns or targets are allowed to be sold.

There is a good deal of reason for these prohibitions, given the comprehensive state laws that prohibit them. The problem is that Shopify doesn’t simply enforce them on specific areas, but on all users.

Soluble Substances or Solvents

Over 350 common solvents are in general usage in the United States, such as alcohol, benzene, and gasoline. Butane is also used in lighter fluid and portable camping stoves. Does this sound like your e-commerce site? If this is the case, your store falls under Shopify’s list of forbidden companies.

Pharmaceuticals 

Even if an online pharmacy is a legal entity in their nation, they are not allowed to conduct business on Shopify. Nutraceuticals, peptides, research compounds, and pseudo-pharmaceuticals are also prohibited from being sold. Any product that claims to provide health or therapeutic advantages is the same

Specific Gaming Things

Video game cash and online game credits are all outlawed on Shopify. The only people allowed to sell gaming currency are those who run the game.. Your location may also limit your ability to offer age-restricted products.

Overly High Demand Items

Personal protective gear has recently been added to the list of restricted items on Shopify. Masks, sanitizers, isopropyl alcohol, and disinfectant sprays are just a few of the items included in this category. Thousands of stores were suspended as a result of this decision. 

Even legal merchants were affected by this policy change. According to several users, even if they didn’t sell masks, Shopify shut down their store. Moreover, many business owners were forced to close their doors for days at a time, rather than just a few hours.

Related: How to Start an Online Business?

5 Best Shopify Alternatives for High-Risk Products

Here are 5 alternatives that you can have since Shopify is restrictive of it. 

Shift4Shop

In need of a user-friendly eCommerce platform with the power of Magento but with the ease of use of Shopify? Then Shift4Shop may be exactly what you need. The best thing is that it will allow you to build gorgeous websites where you can sell items that are disallowed by Shopify.

Shift4Shop is compatible with a number of high-risk payment processors, including PayPal and Stripe. A high-risk merchant is a person who sells regulated products. Such products include CBD, e-cigarettes, alcoholic beverages, and supplements.

You can sell things that you can’t on Shopify with these payment choices. Shift4Shop, for example, provides the tools you need to ensure that all online wine sales are legal and proper. You’ll be able to do so thanks to new age verification capabilities in your store.

Additionally, you can market and sell e-cigarettes, vape juice, and other electronic smoking devices. A $4.2 billion industry in the United States in 2018 demonstrates the profitability of this sector. Experts predict that by 2025, it will have grown by an additional 24.1%.

The Wix

Free and premium options are available at the website builder Wix, headquartered in Israel. An easy-to-use drag and drop feature makes it simple to build a beautiful online store. The paid plans are ad-free, however the free one features a lot of Wix-branded components and advertisements.

Tobacco, e-cigarettes, and alcoholic beverages are all prohibited. For some products, Wix has stricter rules than Shopify, such as CBD. The answer is yes, as long as you have a physical storefront in the United States.

Wix may also allow you to sell fake medications or nutraceuticals. Cosmetic goods that promise “extreme results.” are no different. If you’re going to do so, you’ll first need to get permission in writing.

WooCommerce.

Unlike Shopify, WooCommerce is an open-source plug-in for WordPress, a free website builder. As a result, the eCommerce platform does not impose any limitations on its use.

Only if you’re using other Automattic services will you be subjected to any limitations. WooCommerce is a product of Automattic, a startup based in San Francisco. WooCommerce, on the other hand, can be used to sell regulated products like CBD or wine. As a virtual storefront, you may also put it to use for things like electronic cigarette vending machines and virtual fireworks displays. Use WooCommerce if your payment service providers permit it.

WooCommerce Payments, on the other hand, prevents you from selling specific products. E-cig tokens, nutraceuticals and pseudo pharmaceutical products are a few examples.

WooCommerce, on the other hand, does allow for the selling of CBD products. In order to use Automattic’s services, you must use Square as your payment processor.

Magento

Known for its all-in-one solution, Magento is a top eCommerce platform worldwide. In the case of Magento Commerce, for example, cloud hosting and deployment are already included. Your entire site, including everything you’re selling, is under your control.

Many things that Shopify doesn’t allow its users to sell can be sold on Magento. Alcoholic beverages, cosmetics, dietary supplements, and nutraceuticals all fall under this category. Even anti-snoring gadgets are permitted. ​

BigCommerce

One of the best Shopify alternatives, BigCommerce allows you to sell much of what you can’t sell on Shopify. In spite of the fact that BigCommerce is a subscription business rather than an open-source platform, they have a considerably broader range of products that you can sell. Alcoholic beverages, gaming, paintball, publishing, education, cosmetics, and nutrients are just some of the products that can be sold on the site.

CBD and supplement merchants can now take advantage of BigCommerce’s high-risk services. Vaporizers and vaping accessories are also benefiting from the eCommerce platform.

BigCommerce prices start at $29.95 per month, which is 95 cents more expensive than Shopify’s cheapest package. PayPal credit card costs range from 2.2 percent to 2.9 percent, plus 30 cents for each transaction, much like Shopify does. There’s a two-week free trial period if you’d want to give it a whirl.

You may be interested: What is an ecommerce platform?

Can Ginee ERP Help in Selling Restricted Products?

The process of beginning and maintaining an online business can be a major hassle for even the most experienced of internet entrepreneurs, and this is especially true for those who are just getting their feet wet in this industry. There is no reason for you to be concerned because Ginee will be on hand to support you in any way they are able.

Many of the Ginee Omnichannel company optimization solutions, in addition to being available in a variety of configurations, will not only relieve you of some of your responsibilities, but they will also enable you to conduct your company more efficiently than you could have imagined previously. Ginee Omnichannel is a leading provider of solutions for corporate improvement in the e-commerce market, with a presence in over 100 countries. Register for Ginee’s services right away.