If you are a regular shopper at Walmart, you may be curious about the age-restricted items that are sold there. What is age restricted at Walmart, and why are they restricted?
These are all common questions, especially for people who often get asked for their ID. This is a common issue at Walmart as some pretty strange items can end up being age restricted without you knowing or understanding why.
Keep reading to find out what items at Walmart are age restricted and how you can go about buying them without issues.
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What Are Walmart’s Age-Restricted Items?
Walmart is a store mostly known for its grocery section, though it sells a huge variety of other merchandise options. It also sells a selection of age-restricted items in stores, such as alcohol, some types of medications, and cough syrups.
Though there is no list out there that shows exactly what is age restricted at Walmart, we do have some clues to follow. This often includes items like:
- Spray paint
- Cough syrup
- Some medications
- Cigarettes
- Alcohol
- Guns
- Knifes
- Some glues
- Moves
- Games
- Electronics
This is a vague list of age-restricted items, but it can vary quite a lot. Such as some medications being age restricted while others aren’t depending on the list of ingredients.
Some types of glue are perfectly fine for anyone to buy, while some may require that you be 21 or older. It is really here or there, and you will only know if an item is age-restricted once asked for your ID.
Many age-restricted items could also come as a surprise to people as they have strange reasons for being restricted. Spray paint, for instance, can be used to create graffiti, which is why it can often be age restricted.
Can Age-Restricted Items be Bought at Walmart’s Self-Checkout?
You can go ahead to purchase any age-restricted items with a self-checkout machine at Walmart. This is a huge plus if you are in a hurry and don’t want to have to wait in line or wait for a cashier.
This gives you the ability to check out your items yourself without any delay. Though you will be asked to identify your age for age-restricted merchandise.
Age-restricted items set off an alarm within the self-checkout machine and send a pop-up message. You will have to get assistance before continuing to buy your items.
A Walmart employee should be able to scan your ID so that the machine will register your age. This should only take a few seconds if someone is easily available, allowing you to quickly checkout.
If you have several age-restricted items, you may have to scan your ID multiple times. This is a frustrating part of self-checkout systems that is still not very up to date.
If you have multiple age-restricted items, it may be best to simply go through a cashier. It could end up being easier and faster in the end.
What is Walmart’s Age-Restricted Items Policy?
Walmart’s age-restricted policy mostly states that employees have to check IDs at all times. Though most people have said that Walmart managers merely encourage this for people who look younger than 40 years old.
Some Walmart locations will have an age-restricted system in place that will not allow the transaction to go through until an ID is scanned. In this instance, the cashier has to ask for ID whether you look 20 or 80.
For the most part, most places allow staff to simply judge based on looks if the system does require an ID. Though some employees recommend not doing this just in case you are wrong and sell to a minor by mistake.
What Age-Restricted Items Does Walmart Have?
Walmart has a long list of age-restricted items, from spray paint to alcohol to R-rated movies. It has a huge variety of restricted items, but it can be hard to know what is restricted as it varies quite a lot.
If something is age restricted, you may end up being asked to show your ID. Sometimes this has to be scanned through the machine, or the cashier just has to check your age.
It depends on how up-to-date the system is and how old you look to the cashier. It is going to be a little bit different at every Walmart location.