Skip to content 
(925) 293-3313
If you are selling on Walmart, eventually you will likely receive that dreaded notification: your listing has been unpublished due to an intellectual property claim, often labeled as counterfeit.
Whether this happens due to an AI flag or a direct report (which is more common), the way you react immediately determines if your account stays live. You need a multi-pronged, aggressive defense strategy. Learn more about what constitutes intellectual property to better understand the claim you are facing.
Here is the step-by-step process we use to defend your account, get listings reinstated, and potentially save you from suspension. For more information on why Walmart is so strict, review their Prohibited Products Policy: Intellectual Property.
Video Overview:
Step 1: Check Your Walmart Admin Email Immediately
Before you do anything else in your Seller Center, you need to check your main Walmart admin email address. Check your inbox, check your spam, and check everything in between.
If you received an email regarding the IP claim, this is where things get serious. This specific email requires a response to ensure your account itself stays live and avoids suspension.
Respond to the Email: When you respond, they will ask for documentation, such as an invoice, and a few simple questions (like, “Do you have all the items in hand for shipping?”).
Keep it Short and Sweet: Answer their questions directly. If they ask if you have the item, the answer is “Yes.” Do not over-explain. Provide the documentation they request.
Step 2: Optional But Highly Recommended: Retire or Delete the Listing
To prevent further escalation and help ensure you do not get suspended, it is highly recommended that you retire or delete the listing immediately. This step can often buy you precious time. You can go into your Walmart Seller Center and attempt to retire or delete the item.
The Backup Trick if Deletion Fails
If Walmart prevents you from retiring or deleting the listing, which happens often, you need to edit the listing and essentially “date it out.”
- Edit the Listing: Go into the listing details.
- Change the Start and End Dates: Change the start date and the end date to sometime in the past. For example, if today is October 17, 2025, change the start date to September 1, 2025, and the end date to September 20, 2025.
This small but clever maneuver makes the item appear retired in Walmart system, which gives you another layer of defense while you handle the core issue. This is an excellent tactic for problem solving when facing platform technicalities.
Step 3: Appeal the Violation Directly
Now you move into the Seller Center’s direct appeal process. This method of formal communication runs parallel to your email response.
- Navigate to the Unpublished Tab: Go to the section that shows the listing violation.
- Locate the Appeal Button: You will find an appeal button right there next to the violation. Many sellers overlook this crucial step.
- Appeal Right Away: Click that button and appeal the decision immediately.
This starts one avenue of communication with the Walmart teams while you are simultaneously dealing with the email response and the listing status change. Familiarize yourself with Walmart’s official IP Infringement Claims process for context.
Step 4: Open Multiple Support Cases
You need to hit this problem from every angle possible. We suggest opening multiple, simple support cases with Walmart Seller Support.
Keep the Case Simple: The goal is to get their attention and get the item ID reinstated. A simple case title and description works best: “I want item ID [343434] reinstated. It was randomly removed. Can you help?”
Open Cases Across Categories: Open a case in different relevant categories to ensure multiple teams see it:
- One case for Trust and Infringement.
- One case for Unpublished Error.
- One case for Compliance/Counterfeit.
This process ensures you reach out in multiple ways and do not rely on just one support channel.
Step 5: Follow Up Religiously (Except for the Email)
Once you have opened your appeal (Step 3) and your multiple support cases (Step 4), the key is consistency and follow-up. Keep the pressure on the platform.
Follow Up Every 24 Hours: Follow up on the open appeal and every single support case every 24 hours. This constant pressure helps move your case forward with the internal Walmart teams.
The Email Exception: Do NOT follow up on the response you sent to the initial Walmart admin email (Step 1). Once that email is sent, you must sit tight and wait for their response. This is why we are aggressively pursuing the other methods.
Why the silence on the email? Because sometimes they do not respond at all, and that is often a good sign. If they do respond, it can take two days, ten days, or sometimes they never respond. Historically, about 60% of the time they do not respond, and 40% of the time they do, but it can take up to ten days.
The Happy Ending
If you execute these steps successfully, you are hoping for this response: “Our team has reviewed the documentation and we have gone ahead and republished your listing.”
When this happens, you can celebrate. Then, make sure you go back and close all the other duplicate cases you opened as quickly as possible. Having a strong defense against IP claims is a critical part of running a successful e-commerce business.
A proactive strategy includes managing your brand reputation. Use tools to encourage positive customer experiences and reviews. Consider signing up for a review management platform like GetReviews to automate and manage this process efficiently.
Last Resort: The Backup Circumvention Trick (Use With Caution)
If you have tried everything, you are about to get suspended, and you have no other options, there is a last-resort circumvention trick.
You essentially change the listing entirely. If you were selling a Nike shoe, you would attempt to edit the listing and change it to something generic and completely different, like a plastic cup. This tactic is a radical form of creative problem-solving.
If you do not have documentation, and you are facing imminent suspension, changing the entire listing sometimes works to remove the “bad” product history from your account. This is strictly a last resort method when all other defenses have failed, and you do so at your own risk. It is always best to understand the different types of IP you may be dealing with, such as patents and trademarks, as outlined by the USPTO.
If you need professional assistance implementing this strategy, or if you are already facing an account suspension due to counterfeit claims, you can contact us directly. We have been successful plenty of times in getting items and accounts reinstated. Review our testimonials and leadership team credentials to learn more.
Ready for expert help? Book a consultation call today.
Call us at (925) 293-3313 or email us at [email protected].