TikTok Shop has strict guidelines on gambling, sweepstakes, and surprise-based product guidelines. This article gives a brief overview of these guidelines.
Overview
TikTok Shop has very strict guidelines on gambling, sweepstakes, and surprise-based/mystery products. These guidelines have been put in place to ensure user protection and to comply with local regulations (as many states do not allow gambling). Surprise-based items can only be sold with explicit invitation from TikTok Shop. If you do not have an invitation from TikTok Shop to sell these types of items, you cannot. Failure to comply with this will result in a ban of your TikTok Shop account.
🚨 Caution: Surprise-based products must never offer a consequential upside or downside in the form of 'lost' or 'gained' items of monetary or collectible value.
🚨🚨 Warning: SKU IQ is not responsible if you choose to sell surprise-based products or any of the prohibited products listed above. If your account with TikTok Shop is terminated or banned during your billing period, you will not receive a refund from SKU IQ for that billing period. You can, however, cancel your account for the next billing period if you are unable to appeal the banning decision in your favor.
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🔴 Prohibited Content 🔴 Surprised-Based Products 🔴 Sweepstakes 🔴
🔴Purchase-Based Incentives 🔴 How These Policies are Enforced 🔴
Prohibited Content
- Gambling is strictly prohibited on TikTok Shop. This includes the promotion of gambling activities on Livestreams and Videos. Gambling related products, services, and paraphernalia are not allowed to be sold on TikTok Shop either. These include the following (but are not limited to just these): roulette and roulette game entries, lottery tickets, raffle tickets, sweepstakes, claw machine and claw machine entries, and oyster opening entries.
- Gamification is also strictly prohibited on TikTok Shop. This is the activity of a user paying money for item(s) and a game or element of chance determines which items the user receives. Gamification services and entries are not allowed to be listed for purchase on TikTok shop. You are also not allowed to use gamification or games of chance on Livestreams or videos. Examples of gamification include (but are not limited to): Lucky spin, Lucky wheel, Sweepstakes entry, Lucky scoop, Lucky Draw
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Surprise-Based Products
As mentioned in the overview, in order to sell surprise-based products, you must be explicitly invited by TikTok Shop to do so.
There are several restrictions that TikTok Shop has as well if you are approved to sell these items.
Product Requirements
- The product must be manufactured in a factory and cannot be assembled by brands, sellers, or creators
- They must be purchased and then resold in the manufacture's original packaging and content without alterations
- All products sold must be sealed
- Surprise-based products cannot be opened, packaged, or assembled during a Livestream
- Surprise-based products must not contain any prohibited or unsupported items
- Participation in surprise-based product sales are limited to products priced at $100 or less
Product Listing Requirements
- Sellers and creators must include this information in their product listing descriptions:
- Any visual images showing the possible products the customer may receive in the surprise-based product listing
- The quantity, category, and variation of products that the customer may in the surprise-based product listing
- The odds of probability that the customer may receive any specific products with a purchase
- The value of any products that the customer will receive if they choose to purchase from the surprise based product listing. The difference in value of any product received during the purchase of a surprise-based product should be as minimal as possible.
- The Category of the product must be CLEARLY defined.
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Sweepstakes
Sweepstakes are only allowed if there is no purchase necessary. The items that would be "won" must be free. Sweepstakes are not allowed to be listed as products on TikTok Shop. They may only be done in the following ways:
- Join to Win - which allows users to be eligible for sweepstakes upon joining a livestream and interacting via sending emojis or raising hands
- Comment to Win - which allows users to become eligible for the sweepstakes by leaving a comment in a live chat during a livestream. This can be a directive given by the creator as a requirement to enter the sweepstakes
All sweepstakes must meet these criteria:
- Entries must be entirely free and must not require the customer to take any action beyond entering the sweepstakes
- Sweepstakes item's maximum value is $20 and cannot be cash or gift cards
- Sweepstakes terms must be explicitly stated within the content
Purchase-Based Incentives
These are instances where the buyers are eligible for free gifts as a consequence of purchasing a product - where no gamification is involved. These include buy one, get one free (same item) incentives and buy one, get one or several item(s) free (different items).
The incentives above are only allowed if they meet all of the following criteria:
- The incentive must be listed in the product title at the listing stage
- The maximum value of the free item is $20 or less and cannot be cash, gift cards, or gift certificates
- The incentive terms must be explicitly stated within the content (e.g. listing, related videos)
How These Policies are Enforced
Sellers who are deemed to have violated any of these guidelines and rules will have enforcement actions taken against them in accordance to the TikTok Shop Seller Performance Evaluation Policy and Merchant Terms of Service (both links require you to be logged in to your TikTok Shop Seller account to view). Repeated offenses will result in more stringent enforcement actions.
These actions include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Removal of the product from the platform
- Removal and blocking of content
- Formal warning messages
- Suspension of the creator or selling permissions
- Temporary or permanent withdrawal of creator or seller benefits (banning)
- Reporting the creator or seller to the relevant regulatory authorities for prosecution as necessary
If a merchant believes that these actions were taken against them in error, they may file an appeal by raising a ticket within the Seller Center on TikTok. TikTok Shop will investigate the case and take corrective actions as applicable. Sellers and creators should note that they are responsible for collecting and preparing any and all supporting documentation that may be required during a case investigation of this nature.
🚨🚨 Warning: SKU IQ is not responsible if you choose to sell surprise-based products or any of the prohibited products listed above. If your account with TikTok Shop is terminated or banned during your billing period, you will not receive a refund from SKU IQ for that billing period. You can, however, cancel your account for the next billing period if you are unable to appeal the banning decision in your favor.
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