Certain products and services may be sold on Shopify only with prior written approval, including but not limited to: tobacco and e-cigarettes, certain firearms and accessories that are otherwise legal, adult content and services, certain financial services and money transmission, and pharmaceuticals. Selling these products without prior approval may result in immediate account suspension.
The prior approval requirement shifts enforcement risk entirely onto the merchant, as there is no defined application process, approval timeline, or appealable denial standard disclosed in the AUP itself.
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.