Fees, safety paperwork, the holiday rush and how resellers check a toy before they buy it.
Updated November 1, 2026 · By the Margenos team
To sell toys on Walmart, you need an approved Walmart Marketplace seller account, a toy that's new in its retail packaging, and the safety paperwork Walmart requires for children's products: a Children's Product Certificate (CPC) and a third-party lab test report. Walmart charges a 15% referral fee on Toys & Games. Margenos is a Walmart reseller tool (Chrome extension and Android app) that shows whether a product is worth selling on Walmart Marketplace: fees, profit, ROI, sales estimates, every competing seller with stock, the Buy Box winner and the product's price and Buy Box history. For toys, it shows whether Walmart itself is on the listing and how much stock each seller holds.
Walmart's published schedule lists Toys & Games at 15% of the total sales price, with no price tiers. The total sales price includes the item price plus any shipping, gift wrap and other charges, and the fee is only charged after a sale. There's no setup or monthly fee for Marketplace sellers.
Hypothetical example: a building set sells for $29.99 with free shipping. The referral fee is 15% × $29.99 = $4.50. If you charged $5.99 shipping instead, the fee would be 15% × $35.98 = $5.40. WFS fulfillment fees, if you use WFS, come on top. See all Walmart seller fees for how this fits with other costs.
Toys aren't on Walmart's general pre-approval list, but children's products carry their own requirements. Walmart's children's products policy covers items designed or intended primarily for children 12 and under, and says each one must be accompanied by a valid CPC and a test report from a CPSC-accepted third-party lab, both in English. Walmart can ask you to upload them through the Item compliance widget on the Health and Compliance page in Seller Center, and failing to provide them when asked is prohibited.
That matters for resellers. A retail receipt doesn't come with a CPC. Big-brand toys usually have one from the manufacturer, but you may need to get it from the brand or distributor if Walmart asks. Two more rules to know:
Toys are one of the most seasonal categories on any marketplace. Demand builds from October through December, and many shoppers buy toys as gifts, so the fourth quarter is when most toy resellers make their year. Outside Q4, birthdays and summer outdoor play keep steady sellers moving: building sets, card and board games, plush, arts and crafts, and outdoor toys like water blasters in spring.
The flip side is January. Prices on hot holiday toys often fall after the season as sellers dump stock. Watch a listing's price and Buy Box history (Margenos keeps its own daily snapshots, since Walmart.com doesn't publish history) to see how a toy behaved last year.
Retail and clearance. Post-holiday and end-of-season toy clearance is a classic reseller source; see Walmart clearance reselling.
Online arbitrage. Retailer sales on popular sets can work, but margins are thin at 15%. See online arbitrage on Walmart.
Wholesale. Buying from distributors gives you invoices and an easier path to CPCs; see Walmart wholesale.
Category-specific risks:
The full process is in how to know if a product will sell on Walmart.
Walmart Fulfillment Services can help in Q4 because Walmart stores, picks and ships the orders during the busiest weeks. Plan inbound shipments early, because late holiday stock that doesn't sell turns into storage fees. Packaging rules matter: WFS requires fragile items in a six-sided rigid box, and packaged batteries must be separated to prevent short circuits. Check costs on Walmart WFS fees.
Sources: Walmart Marketplace referral fees · Walmart referral fee schedule for contract categories (updated Mar 9, 2026) · Walmart Marketplace (no setup or monthly fees) · Walmart children's products policy (updated Dec 11, 2025) · Walmart prohibited products policy: overview (updated Jun 5, 2026) · Walmart hazardous items policy (updated Dec 11, 2025) · WFS: prepare and pack shipments (updated Jul 24, 2026). Walmart changes its rules; confirm in Seller Center.
Walmart's published schedule lists Toys & Games at 15% of the total sales price, which includes shipping and other charges. It's only charged when the item sells.
Toys aren't on Walmart's general pre-approval list, but children's products need a valid Children's Product Certificate and a third-party lab test report. Halloween and select seasonal products do need pre-approval.
Yes, if they're new in retail packaging and not from a brand that restricts resellers. You still need to be able to provide a CPC and test report if Walmart asks, which can be hard to get without a distributor relationship.
Demand peaks in the fourth quarter around the holidays. Many toys drop in price after the season, so check the price history before buying to hold.
Check the profit after the 15% fee and fulfillment, the sales estimate, how many sellers and how much stock are on the listing, and whether Walmart sells it. Margenos shows those numbers on the Walmart.com listing.
Margenos shows fees, profit, sales estimates, sellers and price history on any Walmart.com toy listing, in Chrome or on Android. Start your 14-day free trial.
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