TikTok Shop has announced a significant policy update that will triple the financial barrier to entry for many international merchants. Effective December 15, 2025, the platform is raising the required security deposit for US cross-border self-operated (POP) sellers from $500 to $1,500. This move acts as a direct effort to "weed out" low-quality merchants, reduce fraud, and stabilize the marketplace ecosystem by ensuring only committed, financially viable sellers remain on the platform.
The core of this policy is a 300% increase in the deposit requirement, specifically targeting US cross-border POP (Platform Open Plan) sellers. For any new merchant registering on or after December 15, 2025, the full $1,500 must be paid upfront to activate their shop. Existing sellers are being granted a short grace period; those registered before the effective date have until January 14, 2026, to top up their deposit balance to the new $1,500 threshold.
The sharp increase serves as a strategic filter designed to improve the overall quality of the TikTok Shop ecosystem. By raising the stakes, TikTok aims to deter bad actors who use "burn-and-churn" accounts to sell counterfeit goods or exploit aggressive dropshipping tactics. The higher deposit also acts as insurance for the platform, covering liabilities such as refunds for empty packages, logistics fee deficits, or coupon abuse. Ultimately, by reducing the number of low-quality sellers, TikTok hopes to repair consumer trust, which has been tested by inconsistent product quality and shipping delays associated with unvetted cross-border merchants.
Consequences of Non-Compliance
TikTok Shop is taking a hard line on this new requirement. Sellers who fail to pay the full $1,500 deposit by the deadline will face severe operational restrictions. These penalties include the inability to publish new products, caps on the number of daily orders the shop can receive, and the suspension of earnings withdrawals until the deposit is fully funded.
Much like Amazon, which maintains strict performance metrics and gatekeeping costs, TikTok is maturing into a platform that prioritizes quality over quantity. For legitimate brands and sellers, this is ultimately good news. A higher barrier to entry means less competition from low-quality spam accounts that drive down prices and consumer trust, though it also means that cash flow management is now more critical than ever for cross-border businesses.
How to Register for TikTok Shop (Mainland China and Hong Kong, China)
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10 Dec, 2025
