Key Takeaways:

• Avoid large price disparities between product variations (SKUs) in a single listing.
• Ensure prices advertised in videos or livestreams are accurate and not lower than the actual checkout price.
• Do not use placeholder SKUs (for example, “Do Not Buy”) to artificially lower a listing’s displayed price.

Fair and transparent pricing is fundamental to building trust with customers on TikTok Shop. As a seller, you are responsible for ensuring that your product prices are clear, accurate, and compliant with our policies. This guide explains the key requirements to help you price your products correctly and avoid common pitfalls. These guidelines apply to all sellers and creators who set or display prices for products in listings, videos, or livestreams.
In this guide, you will learn about:

• How to avoid misleading pricing practices
• How to set prices that are not considered abnormally low
• Understanding the policy against abnormally high pricing
• Best practices for setting fair and compliant shipping fees

For details on related policies, enforcements, and appeal requirements, please refer to:

• Product Listing Policy
• Fair Pricing Policy

Best Practices

To maintain a healthy and trustworthy marketplace, it is essential to follow best practices for pricing your products. Below are detailed explanations of prohibited pricing practices.

When Listing

Avoid Misleading Pricing

TikTok Shop prohibits any deceptive or misleading pricing practices. The price a customer sees should always be a genuine and accurate representation of the product for sale. Violations may lead to product deactivation or other account-level actions.
The primary price displayed to customers is the lowest price in a listing. It is your responsibility to ensure that all product variations (Stock Keeping Units, or SKUs) are reasonably and similarly priced so that the displayed price accurately represents the product being offered.
Prohibited practices include:

• Listing materially different product types under a single listing to display an artificially low starting price.
• Displaying reference prices or discounts that do not reflect a genuine and established selling price.
• Artificially inflating the list price to exaggerate a promotional discount.

Examples of Non-Compliant Listings:Listing Guideline:

• List different product types separately. A t-shirt and a sweatshirt are different products and require separate listings.
• Do not list SKUs that are not intended to be sold.
  • Examples include but are not limited to blank placeholder SKUs listed with phrases such as Do Not Buy or Test.
• Do not use SKUs as a notification tool (for example, "contact customer service before ordering").
• Avoid significantly increasing the price before applying a steep discount.

Avoid Abnormally Low Pricing

Product prices should reasonably reflect the value of the item and be consistent with comparable listings in the same category. An abnormally low price can be perceived as suspicious or fraudulent. Violations may result in product deactivation or other penalties.
To ensure your pricing is compliant, you should:

• List products under the correct category
• Ensure pricing reflects the product’s specifications, features, and overall value
• Set prices that are reasonably aligned with comparable listings within the same category

Best Practice:

• Regularly research the price range of similar products to avoid setting a price that is significantly below the industry standard.

What to Avoid:

• Listing a product at a price significantly below the market average (for example, listing a $100 item for $10)

Avoid Abnormally High Pricing

If a product's price is considered abnormally high, it may be removed at TikTok Shop's discretion.
What to Avoid:\n• Setting an excessively high price (for example, $9,999) to reserve a listing space and prevent purchases.\n\nBest Practice:\n• Use the pre-order function if you need to manage stock without deactivating a listing.

Avoid Price Gouging

TikTok Shop prohibits price gouging, which means listing products at prices higher than what is considered fair or reasonable. Violating products may be removed, and sellers may face account-level actions.\n\nWhat to Avoid:\n• Raising prices during periods of increased customer demand, such as holidays or emergencies. This practice is prohibited by law in many jurisdictions.

Setting Fair Shipping Fees

You are responsible for setting your own shipping fees, which can vary based on factors like distance, product weight, and delivery speed. However, all shipping fees must be fair, accurate, and aligned with reasonable delivery costs.
Key rules for shipping fees:

• No excessive or unconventional shipping fees. Shipping costs should not be significantly higher than the product price (for example, a $4.99 item with a $19.99 shipping fee)
• Do not use \"free shipping\" to mislead buyers. Offering free shipping while inflating the product price to compensate is not allowed

Always be transparent about your shipping costs. Ensure they reflect the actual cost of getting the product to the customer without any hidden or inflated charges.
Best Practice:

• Recommended Rate: We recommend setting a flat-rate shipping fee that aligns with customer expectations of reasonable costs. The recommended rate shown in the template reflects the optimal range suggested by TikTok Shop to help guide your pricing. Do not charge excessive shipping fees as it is in violation of TikTok Shop's Fair Pricing Policy
• Shipping Template Restrictions: If a shipping template violates the Fair Pricing Policy:
  • Consequence: Products linked to the template may be deactivated.
  • Justification: This is based on public carrier rates, reasonable handling costs, and shopper perception.
  • Appeal: If you believe your fee is justified, submit a ticket via Help Center > Create Ticket > New Ticket with supporting documentation.
• Detected Excessive Shipping Fee: If TikTok Shop determines your shipping fees are excessive:
  • Warning: You will receive a 7-day warning.
  • Consequence: If no action is taken, all products linked to the affected warehouse may be deactivated.
  • Appeal: To appeal, visit Help Center > Create Ticket > New Ticket and provide supporting documentation.

When creating content

Avoid Misleading Price

Creators must ensure all prices in videos and LIVE sessions are accurate. Advertising a price lower than what a customer actually pays is a violation of our fair pricing policy. For example, promoting a cup for $8 when its actual price is $8.99-$20.99 is a violation.
To avoid violations, content creators should take note when publishing videos:

• Promoted prices must be accurate and not lower than the actual price a customer pays
• Avoid using approximate prices that are lower than the actual price, such as promoting a $5.99 product as costing \"$5\"

Non-Compliant Examples:

Avoid Expired Price

Creators are encouraged to keep advertised pricing and discount information accurate and up to date.
When a promotion ends or a coupon expires, videos that still display the old promotional price may create confusion for viewers.
For example, if a creator posts a video during a Black Friday sale promoting a necklace for $10, and later the price returns to $15, the video may no longer reflect the current offer.
To avoid viewer confusion, creators are encouraged to regularly review videos containing time-sensitive pricing information and make updates when needed.
Note: If expired pricing remains in a video, the platform may remove the product anchor (the tappable link to the product page). This measure is intended to keep pricing information clear for viewers and is not a direct penalty.

Avoid Exaggerated Promises on Price

Creators should not make exaggerated claims about pricing, as these can be misleading and are difficult to verify. Content that violates this rule may have its product anchor removed or face other penalties.

What to Avoid:

• Using absolute superlatives like "lowest price" or "cheapest" to describe a product's price.