What are Surprise-Based Products & LIVE Breaks?

Surprise-Based Products refers to products where the buyer knows the possible items but cannot know the exact item(s) they will receive until the product is opened (e.g., Mystery Boxes, Golden Eggs, Advent Calendars, Blind Boxes, and Trading Card Packs).
“LIVE breaks” (also called blind box breaks / card breaks) are livestreams where a seller/creator opens sealed surprise-based products on camera—like trading card packs/boxes/cases or blind boxes—and then allocates and ships the pulled items to buyers based on the break rules.
All Surprise-Based Products and LIVE breaks must meet the requirements below.You must also ensure you comply with all applicable local laws with respect to Surprise-Based Products and LIVE breaks.

Requirements for Surprise-Based Products

Surprised-Based Product Listings must follow the following guidelines:

• The product must be manufactured in a factory and cannot be assembled by brands, sellers or creators. They should be purchased and resold in the manufacturer's original packaging and content without any alterations. Randomised bundles self-assembled by brands/sellers/creators are strictly prohibited.
• The surprise-based products must not be, or contain any prohibited or unsupported items.
• Include the following information clearly in the product listing description:
  • Images showing the possible products (and their respective values based on their Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP), if applicable) the customer may receive in the surprise-based product listing.
  • The quantity, category, and variation of products the customer may receive.
  • The value of the product(s) that the customer will receive.
• The total value of the Surprise-Based Product must be less than USD$100.
• You must select the appropriate product category for your products. Click here to learn more.

Requirements for LIVE Card/Blind Box Breaks

LIVE Card/Blind Box breaks are permitted. However, sellers & creators must ensure that they meet certain conditions. In summary, you should be aware of the following:

1. List products under the permitted categories
2. Avoid prohibited break formats
3. Be aware of buyer protection measures that may impact sales

Permitted Product Categories

If you intend for your products to be used for LIVE card breaks/blind-box opening, you must select the categories as follows.
Note: Not all of these categories may be enabled for your market. Do not list/sell your products until the category is made available to you.If you carry out LIVE breaks without correctly categorising your product, you may receive enforcement actions.

LIVE Break Methods

Avoid any break format where the buyer’s outcome is random or unclear—buyers should know exactly what they may receive (e.g. products and their respective values) and how it’s determined.

Customer Protections

These products are subject to purchase restrictions. These protections are progressively being rolled out to users.
Age restriction

• Buyers must be 18+ to purchase.

Daily transaction cap

• Buyers under 25 are limited to 8 transactions per day.

Cool-off period

• After 20 transactions, buyers must wait 15 minutes before making another purchase.
• This cooldown applies across all TikTok Shop stores (e.g., 10 transactions in Store A + 10 in Store B triggers the cooldown).

What happens if I breach these guidelines?

If you are found to violate these guidelines, you may have enforcement actions taken against your account. You should note that repeated offenses will result in more significant penalties.
Sellers: Please see our Seller Performance Evaluation Policy and Seller Terms of Service for more information. If you think an enforcement action has been taken against you in error, appeal via the Seller Center. Please read our Seller Appeal Guidelines article for more information.
Creators: Please see our Creator Enforcement Policy and Creator Terms of Use for more information. If you think an enforcement action has been taken against you in error, appeal via the TikTok App. Please read our Creator Appeal Guidelines article for more information.
Please click here to read our TikTok Shop Product Listing Policy.