Selling toys online: choking warnings, ages and the images that change both

A toy listing is judged on two things most sellers never think of as rules. The first is whether the warning printed on the box also appears on the web page. The second is who your images show playing with the toy. Get either wrong and a listing can come down, or a toy you meant for 5-year-olds can be treated as a baby toy, with stricter rules than it was made for.

This page walks through what US law asks of every toy listing, what Amazon, Walmart, Etsy and eBay add on top, and what changes when you sell to Canada or the EU. Each rule has a number beside it that leads to the page we read it on.

What this page covers: toys and games for children 12 and under, baby toys, plush, puzzles, ride-on toys, and magnets and water beads sold as toys.

The short version

• If the package needs a choking warning, the listing needs the same warning, on the page or right beside it, in type that stands out.
• An image of a toddler with a 3+ toy can make it a toy for under-3s, and those may not have small parts.
• A child shown using an everyday product can make it a children's product, with testing and a certificate to match.
• Walmart asks for a Children's Product Certificate and a lab report, and unpublishes the item without them.
• Magnets, water beads and small balls have extra rules on Etsy and eBay.

Does a toy's choking warning have to be on the listing?

Yes. US law asks for more than a warning on the package. When a toy needs a choking warning there (small parts for ages 3 to under 6, latex balloons, small balls and marbles), any internet listing that lets a buyer order it must carry the same cautionary statement. It goes on the product page or right next to it, and it must stand out from the words around it. This applies wherever a US shopper can buy: every marketplace, and your Shopify store.

The marketplaces then ask for it in their fields:

• Amazon has a cautionary statement attribute (cpsia_cautionary_statement). Choose the statement there. A photo of your box's warning does not replace it.
• Etsy asks for the small parts warning in the listing for toys for ages 3 to 6, with the age range in the description.

An image of the warning panel helps the buyer, but treat it as extra. The words in the listing are what the rule asks for.

Can images change who a toy is for?

Yes. Under US law, toys with small parts are banned for children under 3, and when the authorities decide who a toy is meant for, they look at how it is advertised: its images and its words included. This is the rule that surprises sellers most. A building set marked 3+ that is photographed in a toddler's hands is now being presented to a toddler.

The same reasoning reaches beyond toys. Whether a product counts as a children's product at all depends partly on how its advertising presents it. Show a child using a general product, such as a water bottle or a backpack, and you can bring in children's product testing and a Children's Product Certificate it did not need before.

What every toy listing should do:

• Show the age mark on the package clearly, in at least one image.
• Show every piece in the box, so the buyer knows what arrives.
• Use your real package photo, with its warning panel readable.
• If a child appears in any image, they should look the package age or older.

Which products cannot be sold as toys?

Small toys for babies, some magnets and water beads are barred outright or kept out of toy categories:

• Small toys for babies. Toys with small parts intended for children under 3 are banned under US law. Etsy also prohibits items for under-3s with loose small parts and toy balls under 1.75 inches.
• Magnets. Toy magnets that fit the small parts cylinder must meet the federal magnet safety standard. Etsy prohibits small high-powered magnets, and eBay does not allow toy magnets with small pieces that can be swallowed.
• Water beads. Etsy prohibits them. eBay keeps them out of its Toys category, bars advertising them for children, and asks for a disclaimer that starts "Water beads should be kept away from children under 5 years of age".

Which documents do toy sellers need?

On Walmart, children's products need a valid Children's Product Certificate and a third-party test report from a CPSC-accepted lab, and Walmart is the strictest marketplace about documents. Walmart asks for them when it chooses to, and an item without them is unpublished.

Even where a marketplace does not ask, the certificate is a US requirement for children's products, so keep it on file before you list.

How do the marketplaces' toy rules compare?

Amazon's, Walmart's, Etsy's and eBay's toy rules, side by side:

What do toys need in Canada?

Toys sold in Canada must meet the Toys Regulations, including the small parts rules for children under 3, and their warning labels must be in English and French. If your package was printed for the US only, check it before you list on Amazon.ca.

What do toys need in the EU?

Toys sold to the EU need CE marking and warnings in the buyer's language. Online listings must show the manufacturer, an image of the product, its identifiers and its warnings before the buyer pays.

A new EU Toy Safety Regulation (2025/2509) adds a digital product passport and asks marketplaces to show the CE mark, the warnings and a link to the passport before purchase. Most of it applies from 1 August 2030, so there is time, but new packaging designed now should allow for it.

How Commicorn helps

• A note when it matters. When your product is a toy, the listing steps show a one-line note with Read more, which opens this page.
• Your box, as printed. On the Untouched product route your photo's pixels are never redrawn, so the age mark and warning panel on your package stay exactly as printed.
• Every piece shown. What's in the set lays out the pieces cut from your photo, so the buyer sees what arrives.
• You check the people. If a lifestyle scene shows a child, compare their age with your package before you export, and make another scene if it does not match.

Questions sellers ask

Does a choking hazard warning have to be in the online listing?

Yes. When a toy's package needs a choking warning, any US internet listing that lets a buyer order it must carry the same cautionary statement, on the product page or right next to it.

Which toys need a choking hazard warning?

Toys with small parts for ages 3 to under 6, latex balloons, small balls and marbles.

Where does the choking warning go on Amazon?

In Amazon's cautionary statement attribute (cpsia_cautionary_statement). A photo of the box's warning does not replace it.

Can a toy image show a toddler?

Not with a toy that has small parts. Authorities look at how a toy is advertised, images included, when deciding who it is for, and toys with small parts are banned for children under 3.

When does the new EU Toy Safety Regulation apply?

Most of the EU Toy Safety Regulation (2025/2509) applies from 1 August 2030. It adds a digital product passport, and asks marketplaces to show the CE mark, the warnings and a link to the passport before purchase.

Before you list

Have the choking warning wording from your package, an age mark your images agree with, and your Children's Product Certificate and lab report ready before the listing goes live. On a borderline toy, the age it is intended for decides the rules, and the US rule on toys for children under 3 settles that by how the toy is advertised, images and words included. For Canada, the Toys Regulations and bilingual labels decide it; for the EU, the CE marking and the warnings in the buyer's language.