How Walmart's third-party marketplace works, who sells on it, and what it means for shoppers and resellers.
Updated October 27, 2026 · By the Margenos team
Walmart Marketplace is the part of Walmart.com where independent businesses, not Walmart itself, sell their products. When you shop on Walmart.com, some items are sold by Walmart and many are sold by these third-party sellers, all in the same search results and the same checkout. For sellers, Walmart Marketplace is a way to reach Walmart's online shoppers without a monthly fee: you apply, get approved, list products and pay a referral fee when something sells.
Think of Walmart.com as two stores in one. One is Walmart's own inventory, bought from suppliers and sold as "sold and shipped by Walmart.com." The other is the marketplace: thousands of outside companies that list products on Walmart.com and ship them (or let Walmart ship them). Shoppers get more choice. Walmart earns a fee on each marketplace sale without buying the inventory.
Walmart's online marketplace launched in 2009 and grew slowly at first. It has grown fast in recent years. Marketplace Pulse, which tracks marketplaces, reported in September 2024 that Walmart had reached about 150,000 active sellers, up from around 50,000 in 2022, with roughly a third of them based outside the U.S., mostly in China.
"Walmart seller" covers a wide mix of businesses:
Every one of them had to apply and be approved, and all of them are held to the same performance standards and return policy. Shoppers worried about trust can read our guide to Walmart third-party sellers.
For shoppers, the marketplace mostly shows up as more choice: more brands, more sizes and more sellers to compare on the same item. A few things work differently from buying from Walmart directly. The product page names the seller, return rules can vary a little by seller (within Walmart's minimum policy), and delivery times depend on where the seller ships from. Items marked as fulfilled by Walmart ship from Walmart's own warehouses even though a third-party seller owns them. If you want extra confidence, look for the Pro Seller badge, explained in what is a Walmart Pro Seller.
Almost every category that Walmart.com carries has marketplace sellers, from home and kitchen to toys, beauty, grocery and electronics. Some categories and brands need extra approval, and some products are prohibited. Resellers tend to do best with everyday brand-name items that sell steadily and don't have a crowd of sellers or Walmart itself on the listing. Our list of the best items to sell on Walmart covers what to look for.
Walmart Marketplace isn't open to everyone. Sellers generally need:
The full process is in how to sell on Walmart.
Walmart says there are no setup or monthly fees. Sellers pay a referral fee on each sale, a percentage set by category. Many categories, including Home, Toys and "Everything Else," are 15%, and a few categories are tiered by price. If Walmart ships your orders through WFS, you also pay fulfillment and storage fees. Our Walmart seller fees page lists the rates.
| Walmart Marketplace | Amazon | |
|---|---|---|
| Getting in | Application and approval | Open sign-up for most sellers |
| Monthly fee | None | $39.99 for a Professional account |
| Referral fees | By category, 15% in many | By category, 15% in many |
| Fulfillment program | WFS | FBA |
| Sellers | Far fewer | Many more |
| Public sales rank | No | Yes |
The short version: Walmart is harder to get into and has less traffic, but fewer sellers compete on each listing. The full comparison is in Walmart vs Amazon for sellers.
Fewer sellers per listing means a better shot at the Buy Box. The tradeoff is research. Walmart doesn't show a public sales rank, so it's harder to know how fast something sells, and you have to account for Walmart's fees, which are different from Amazon's.
That's what Margenos is for. It's a Walmart reseller tool (not affiliated with Walmart) that shows, on any Walmart.com product page, the profit and ROI after referral and WFS fees, a sales estimate with its source, every competing seller with stock counts, whether Walmart itself is on the listing, and Buy Box history. Use the Chrome extension at your desk or the Android app to scan barcodes in stores. You don't need a seller account to use it.
Sources: Marketplace Pulse, Walmart Marketplace grows 50% in one year (Sept 2024) · Walmart Marketplace pricing · Sell on Walmart · Aura, Walmart seller application guide (2026). Walmart changes its rules; confirm in Seller Center.
It's the part of Walmart.com where approved third-party businesses sell their own products alongside Walmart's inventory, using Walmart's checkout.
It's part of Walmart.com. Some items are sold by Walmart itself and others by marketplace sellers; the product page shows who the seller is.
Walmart rarely discloses it. Marketplace Pulse reported about 150,000 active sellers in September 2024, and the number has kept growing.
No. You need a registered business with a U.S. EIN, and Walmart must approve your application. Individuals using a Social Security number aren't accepted.
There's no setup or monthly fee. Walmart takes a referral fee on each sale, plus WFS fees if Walmart fulfills your orders.
Neither is better for everyone. Amazon has more traffic and is easier to join; Walmart has fewer sellers per listing and no monthly fee. Many resellers sell on both.
Fees, profit, sales estimates and every competing seller, right on Walmart.com. Start your 14-day free trial.
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