Is it possible to start a sex toy online store in a region with unclear laws?

[Ossie05]

Hello, 

I'm contemplating the idea of starting a sex toy online store, I checked shopify guidelines and it turns out they're okay with it. But one of their requirements is that the merchandise that you intend to sell must be legal in your region and in the country  where you sell it, which brings me to my problem. 

In my country, there's no ban on sex toy but there's also no protection in the law that says it's legal. The law in this area is obscure, so I don't know how to proceed. Will shopify accept my store in such case? 

[Elias]

Hello, @Ossie05.

This is Elias with Shopify Support. Thank you for reaching out.

While we're unable to confirm what you can sell in your region. However, in theory, you can sell anything that is legal in your country. We recommend speaking with a legal advisor in your area and getting the most accurate information for starting your business. We also encourage you to review our Terms of Service and Acceptable Use Policy with the advisor, that way you can plan for your new business venture. 

Though it may be legal to sell your products, you will need to use a third-party payment gateway to process payments. Shopify Payments is only available in certain countries and regions at the moment and, though we are always looking to expand to other regions, Shopify Payments is also unable to support the sale of adult content and services. Although this does prohibit the sale of adults toys through our payment gateway, which is indicated in section B.5 of Shopify Payments Terms of Service; however, it doesn't prohibit the use of our platform. 

That being said, I'd be happy to help check for a supported payment gateway in your country. May I ask which country or region you're in?

[Ossie05]

Thank you so much, it was helpful so far. I'm from Morocco, and from what I've seen, my payment gateway options are quite limited, only PayPal is supposed aside from other unpopular gateways. But I guess the region requirement is applicable to where my company is registered, or the region in which I operate, not in where I actually reside. Because, I don't plan to sell or ship to my country or anywhere where the merchandise could be illegal.

[Elias]

Hey, @Ossie05.

Thank you for following up!

That's correct, the regional requirement usually applies to where your company is registered and operated from. While the supported payment gateways in Morocco is somewhat limited, there is a few notable gateways available. I'd recommend taking a look at 2Checkout, Paysera, and Paymentwall. You can also integrate your store with PayPal, PUT IT ON LAY-BUY, cryptocurrency, and manual payment methods to give more payment options for your customers. 

I hope this helps! If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to let me know!

[Ossie05]

Thank you, I got all my questions answered for now. As long the regional requirements applies to where the company is registered then I don't seem to have any problem. Only to figure out other payment gateways that will be available. Thanks !