Age restrictions and warnings in your webshop: what your customer needs to see before ordering
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by Verpakkingdeals.nl
6 min reading time
Toys with an age rating, tobacco products that are strictly prohibited online, and an 18+ assortment that requires a specific policy. What you, as a small webshop or store, should put on your product page and why it saves returns.
A customer orders a toy set for a children's party and calls two days later: it contained small parts and his daughter is eighteen months old. Your product page said nothing about an age. The box did — but he only saw that after unpacking.
That's not a disaster, but it is precisely the kind of hassle you could have avoided with five lines of text. Age limits and warnings are not bureaucracy for a small webshop or store: they are the questions your customer already has, and which you'd better answer yourself than by email afterwards. Below is a practical overview of the categories where it plays a role.
Toys: the age indication is not advice
For toys, the indication on the packaging is related to safety requirements, not to how much a child likes something. The NVWA explains that toys must carry a warning if they are not suitable for children under the age of three, for example because small parts can detach (choking hazard), there are long cords attached, or there are sharp edges, pinch points, magnets or openings. The NVWA notes that this warning is sometimes also used on toys that are actually intended for that age group, and advises to adhere to the indication on the packaging in any case (source: NVWA, Toys for children under 3 years old).
What this means for your product page: adopt the age indication stated on the packaging, and place it at the top of the specifications instead of at the bottom of a long description. Some items already carry this information in their name — the Transformers Stickerbox with 36 stickers on 3 rolls (€1.95) is an example of this. For building sets such as the LEGO Jurassic World Dinosaur Market 30390 (€9.95) and the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes 30443 (€9.95), the indication is on the packaging itself; literally copy it and don't add anything to it.
Tobacco products: online, it's simply not allowed
This is the category where most entrepreneurs misjudge. According to the NVWA, you may only sell tobacco and tobacco products to persons aged 18 and older, and remote sales are not permitted — so not via a website or social media. Furthermore, since July 1, 2026, sales points must register with the NVWA (source: NVWA, Selling tobacco and tobacco products).
Important to distinguish: these rules apply to tobacco and tobacco products themselves. Lighters and matches are not tobacco products and do not fall under that page. In practice, they are simply sold as general items, also in display packaging for the counter — think of the Lighters with Muscular Men Print, 25 pieces (€10.00), the MAXX Turbo Lighters Devil Print, 30 pieces (€5.00) or the Zwaluw Matches, 5 packs (€4.00). If you also sell actual tobacco products in a physical store, check with the NVWA which obligations apply to your sales point; that is too specific to address here in one sentence.
18+ items: policy, not just a checkbox
For the erotica assortment, almost every webshop uses an age threshold of 18 years. This is partly legally mandated and partly just good business practice: you don't want explicit product images to appear on a minor's screen just like that. What you set up for this is less a legal issue than a design issue:
A confirmation before the assortment. One screen where the visitor confirms to be 18 or older, before the category becomes visible.
Restrained thumbnails. In overviews and advertising channels, preferably use the packaged product or a neutral cutout. This saves complaints and rejections.
No 18+ images in newsletters or on your homepage. You don't have an age check there.
Discrete delivery. A neutral box without a brand name, and a packing slip that is not legible through the window.
Cutting tools are a category about which your customers often have questions themselves. For ordinary warehouse tools such as the Kinzo Warehouse Blades, 3 pieces (€1.95) or the Warehouse Knife Set 8 pieces Yellow (€4.95), many stores, as a precaution, apply their own age limit and do not deliver to children. This is not a legal obligation that we can confirm here, but it is a sensible house policy — and it is certainly wise to mention on the product page that it is a tool and not a toy.
What to put on your product page specifically
A workable checklist, per item:
The age indication from the packaging, literally copied, under the specifications.
A brief reason if there is one: small parts, long cord, sharp parts. One sentence suffices.
The content of the set: how many pieces, what sizes, what is not included.
The category the item falls into: toy, tool, party item, 18+.
A reference to your general terms and conditions for the age threshold of your shop.
And one practical tip: also include this in your packing slip or confirmation email. A customer who orders the package for someone else often only reads the product page once.
Why this also simply saves money
Returns resulting from "I didn't know it was for 3+" or "I didn't expect this in the box" cost you double shipping costs and one retagging. Five lines of text and a well-chosen age indication are cheaper than that. Moreover, it saves customer inquiries during the busiest weeks of the year — precisely when you don't have that time.
In short: copy what the manufacturer puts on the packaging, don't add anything to it, and ensure that the information is visible before the order button rather than after. When in doubt about a specific category, check with the NVWA; those pages are shorter than you think.
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