Firearms, ammunition, and certain accessories: You may not use Shopify's Services to sell, purchase, or facilitate the sale of firearms, firearm parts, ammunition, or weapons that are illegal in the buyer's or seller's jurisdiction. This includes undetectable firearms, ghost guns, and conversion kits that enable a semi-automatic weapon to fire automatically.
Violations of this provision can result in immediate store termination and potential referral to law enforcement, creating both business and legal risk for merchants who inadvertently list prohibited items.
Shopify's AUP primarily affects merchants who build businesses on the platform, as prohibited product categories and enforcement provisions can result in sudden store suspension that disrupts both merchant operations and end-customer shopping experiences. Consumers who shop at Shopify-powered stores benefit from the platform's prohibitions on deceptive practices, counterfeit goods, and fraud-facilitating tools, though the policy does not itself create enforceable consumer rights against merchants. You can protect your business by maintaining independent backups of your customer data, product listings, and order history outside of Shopify's platform.