Question About Products Prohibited from Sale on Shopify

Topic summary

A developer is seeking clarity on Shopify’s product restrictions after experiencing multiple store issues despite selling items not explicitly listed as prohibited.

Past incidents include:

  • Store termination during development for lactation products (breastfeeding teas, baby bottles). After months without explanation, removing certain products allowed reopening.
  • Shopify Payments denial for a store selling makeup brushes and facial masks due to “health-related issues,” requiring third-party payment gateway use.

Current concern:
Commissioned to build a new store selling cosmetics, health supplements, regional specialties, and raw meat. Worried about potential suspension despite these products not appearing on Shopify’s official Prohibited Products list.

Key question:
What additional undocumented product restrictions exist beyond the official policy? The developer is considering alternative platforms if suspension risk is high but cannot find sufficient information to make an informed decision.

Status: Unanswered - seeking community guidance on hidden restrictions and risk assessment.

Summarized with AI on November 2. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.

Hello,

I plan to set up a new store and have some questions I want to ask.

In the past, while creating a Shopify store, the store was taken down during the development process. The products were related to lactation, specifically teas that aid breastfeeding and baby bottles. At that time, Shopify informed me that the store was terminated for violating the Shopify Acceptable Use Policy. I inquired about which products or website content were in violation and waited for several months, but ultimately, I did not receive a response. Eventually, I removed some products and reopened the store, which worked without issues, suggesting that one of the products I delisted was the problematic one.

There was a similar case in the past. The store dealt with makeup brushes and facial masks. Although the store was not terminated, I was unilaterally notified that I could not use Shopify Payments due to health-related issues. Instead, I continued operating the store using a third-party payment gateway.

None of the three cases above involve products prohibited from selling on Shopify. According to Shopify’s Prohibited Products page, I am curious about what additional products are prohibited from sale on Shopify beyond what is listed in this document. I have been commissioned to develop a new store that will handle cosmetics, health supplements, regional specialties, raw meat, etc., and I am concerned about potential store suspension by Shopify. If there is a possibility that Shopify might take down the store, I am considering either not handling these products from the start or looking into other platforms. However, there is insufficient information available on this matter. I have searched in various ways but could not find relevant information.

Please help me with this.

Thank you.