Selling bar, smoking and vape accessories online: what each marketplace allows

A grinder is a kitchen tool or drug paraphernalia, depending on how it is sold. Under US federal law, selling drug paraphernalia is illegal, and the way a product is marketed is part of deciding which one it is. That makes the listing, its words and its images, the deciding document for pipes, grinders, papers and much of what sits beside them on a marketplace.

This page covers the paraphernalia line, the PACT Act for vapes and tobacco, what Walmart, eBay, Amazon and Etsy allow, and Canada.

What this page covers: vapes and e-liquids, tobacco and pipes, hookahs, rolling papers and grinders, lighters, alcohol and home brewing.

The short version

• Selling drug paraphernalia is illegal federally, and marketing decides whether a pipe or grinder is paraphernalia.
• Delivery sales of vapes and tobacco fall under the PACT Act: registration, age checks at delivery and state taxes.
• Walmart prohibits tobacco, vapes and their accessories, rolling papers, hookahs and pipes for tobacco.
• eBay bars e-cigarettes and tobacco, and images with a marijuana leaf or drug symbol.
• Etsy prohibits alcohol, tobacco and drugs; Amazon restricts or prohibits them.

When is a pipe or grinder drug paraphernalia?

A pipe or grinder can be drug paraphernalia under US federal law depending on how it is marketed, and federal law makes selling drug paraphernalia illegal. The same grinder can be a spice grinder or something else, depending on the words and images beside it.

eBay draws the line in images: tobacco pipes not intended for drug use are allowed, but images with a marijuana leaf or a drug symbol are not. Walmart bars grinders outside the home section, or when they are marketed for anything other than food.

Does the PACT Act apply to selling vapes online?

Yes. Delivery sales of cigarettes, smokeless tobacco and vapes fall under the PACT Act, which brings registration, age verification at delivery and state taxes.

What do Walmart, eBay, Amazon and Etsy allow for tobacco and vapes?

Walmart, eBay and Etsy prohibit tobacco and vapes, and Amazon restricts or prohibits them:

What should smoking and vape accessory listings leave out?

Smoking and vape accessory listings should leave out any sign of drug use, in words and images:

• Any drug name, slang or symbol, in words or images.
• Marijuana leaf imagery, on the product or in a scene.
• For a grinder, any use other than food, if you sell on Walmart.

What rules apply to vaping products in Canada?

Vaping products sold in Canada follow the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act, which limits how they may be promoted.

How Commicorn helps

• Your product, as photographed. On the Untouched product route your photo's pixels are never redrawn.
• Scenes you choose. Type the scene you want, such as a kitchen counter for a spice grinder, and look at every scene before you export.
• Keywords checked against the bans. The keyword step keeps out a keyword a marketplace bans and says why.

Questions sellers ask

Can I sell grinders on Walmart?

Only in the home section, marketed for food. Walmart bars grinders outside the home section, or when they are marketed for anything other than food.

Can I sell vapes on eBay?

No. eBay prohibits e-cigarettes, their accessories and items containing tobacco.

Can I sell tobacco pipes on eBay?

Yes, tobacco pipes not intended for drug use. eBay bars images with a marijuana leaf or a drug symbol.

Does Etsy allow alcohol or tobacco?

No. Etsy prohibits alcohol, tobacco and drugs.

Does Amazon's fulfilment service take alcohol?

No. Amazon restricts or prohibits alcohol, and its fulfilment service does not take alcoholic beverages.

Before you list

Clear every word and image of drug names, slang, symbols and marijuana leaf imagery before the listing goes live, and for vapes and tobacco have your PACT Act registration, age verification at delivery and state taxes in place. On a borderline accessory, two things settle it: how the product is marketed, which is what federal paraphernalia law, 21 U.S.C. 863, turns on, and the marketplace's policy, which on Walmart, eBay and Etsy bars much of this category outright, both linked below.