Shopee is now the biggest online marketplace in Malaysia.
Shopee’s popularity amongst buyers means one thing for sellers and potential sellers: a higher opportunity to make money on the platform compared to all other marketplaces.
Even for the smallest sellers on Shopee, you’ll have the best chance of getting more eyeballs on your product and store.
If you see the potential Shopee can offer you and would like to find out more about getting started, check out this comprehensive guide I’ve prepared for you.
What is Shopee?
Shopee is an e-commerce platform that connects buyers with sellers. For sellers, Shopee acts as the technology provider, enabling sellers to expose their products to Shopee’s large user base. On Shopee, sellers also get a multitude of features that help them with boosting sales, and customer service.
For buyers, Shopee as act the middle-man, holding their money and releasing it to sellers only after they have successfully received their orders.
While it is free for both buyers and sellers to create an account on Shopee, Shopee charges sellers a payment and sales commissions. In Malaysia, Shopee’s biggest competitor is Lazada.
Who can sell on Shopee Malaysia?
Anyone with a Malaysian IC or passport, and phone number can sell on Shopee in Malaysia. You don’t need to be a registered business to sell on Shopee.
What can you sell on Shopee Malaysia?
You can sell almost anything on Shopee. Whether it is a physical product, digital product or even workshop access, Shopee is flexible enough to accommodate a number of business models.
With that being said, there are still some restrictions on what you can sell.
How much does it cost to sell on Shopee?
It’s free to create an account and list products on Shopee. Shopee will, however, charge a commission fee on sales you make on the platform.
Fees charged depends on the seller type. For normal sellers, Shopee charges a 2.12% fee. Shopee mall sellers get a lower rate. To find out more about Shopee’s seller fees, check out this page.
How to start selling on Shopee Malaysia
Step 1: Download Shopee app from Apple App Store or Google Play Store
Download the app from your Apple App Store or Google Play Store:
Step 2: Register for free Shopee account
Once you have downloaded the app, go to your profile and register for a free account. You can do this using your phone number, Google, Facebook or Apple account:
You’ll be buying and selling using the same account. Also, you won’t be able to change your username later, so do choose one which you would like to sell with!
Step 3: Set up shipping
Setup your shipping – you can choose between DHL eCommerce and J&T Express.
Step 4: List your product
Once you have registered an account on Shopee, you can now start listing products for sale. Add a photo, input all your product details including shipping information and hit publish:
How to increase your sales on Shopee
Once you’ve signed up and uploaded your products to your Shopee store, your next question would be: How do I get more sales?
Here are some ways you can improve your sales:
Add discounts and vouchers to your store
Everybody loves a discount. Boost sales to your store by using the offers available in your Marketing Centre. You can choose from “Discount Promotions” and “Vouchers”:
Participate in campaigns
Like all marketplaces, Shopee sellers can participate campaigns Shopee runs on a periodical basis. These are usually heavily promoted to buyers, and sellers get a chance at exposing their product listing and stores to existing and new buyers.
These include campaigns like flash sales, 9.9, 10.10, 11.11, 12.12 and so on.
Buy sponsored ads
Shopee offers native ads you can buy based on keywords. When you buy ads on Shopee, you get the chance of having your listing(s) display first for the keywords you bid for.
As an example, when I search for the keywords, “Plastic bottle”, these listings show up first (notice the label “Ad” on the listings):
You can buy ads inside the “Shopee Ads” section of your seller store. You’ll need to top up before you can start bidding for keywords.
Become a Shopee Preferred Seller
Another way to get more exposure for your product listings and Shopee store is to become a Preferred Seller. Shopee Preferred Sellers get a boost in their search rankings, a Preferred Seller Badge (boosts credibility) and extra buyer rewards.
All you have to do is work hard to meet the criteria set by Shopee:
Broadcast on Shopee Live
An interesting and new way you can get more sales is by using Shopee Live. As I discussed in my previous article, livestreaming has become one of the hottest sales channels in Malaysia.
With Shopee Live, you can host your own livestream, and sell to new and existing customers. Convert your audience into buyers during the livestream by offering exclusive discounts, vouchers and bundle deals.
To find out more about how to get started with Shopee Live, check out this article.
Run Facebook Ads to your store
If you want to further boost your store exposure, consider running targeted Facebook Ads to your Shopee store.
Facebook Ads can help add an extra marketing channel for your Shopee store by bringing new customers who may not have heard about your store before.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Shopee sync with my web store (e.g. Shopify, EasyStore)?
Yes, you can sync your Shopee store products with Shopify and EasyStore.
If you are looking to sync your products with your webstore, make sure to check out Zetpy.
Does buyer or seller pay for shipping on Shopee?
You have the option to add a shipping fee or give free shipping to your customers. If you want the buyer to pay for shipping, you can indicate a shipping fee, and if not, you can remove it.
Can I add my staff to my Shopee account?
Unfortunately, you can’t right now. Everything will be controlled using your single Shopee account.
Conclusion
Shopee is undoubtedly the most popular online marketplace in Malaysia. The platform makes it easy for buyers to find products they want to buy, as well as discover new products they might interest them.
For sellers, Shopee provides an exciting opportunity to make money from their large user base of buyers. Other than that, the Shopee platform also comes with a large number of features to help sellers sell more!
85 Responses
Need to attend the course provide?
If you have no experience selling online, I recommend that you attend their course.
How many % does shopee take from the seller?
For now Shopee does not take any commission. But in the future, there will likely be a commission. Do take advantage of the no commissions situation now =)
Hi, where can I register for the course?
i want a business online can you help me i want sale my product in shopee can u guide me i need their course
thank u & best regard
MORNING LU
free shipping?
it depends. WM-WM, first 5kg free. Same goes to EM-EM, but WM-EM and vice versa, partial subsidized shipping.
Sir, I don’t understand about the shipping fee. Can you elaborate more?
Hi Adli,
For now, Shopee is giving free shipping for customers with orders over RM30. For delivery from West Msia to West Msia and East Msia to East Msia, it will be free for the first 5kg.
Excuse me.. is that means seller have to bear the shipping cost..if the order is over RM30..? Just to confirm..
No, it means Shopee will bear the shipping for the first 5kg if the order is above RM30. Seller don’t have to pay.
I wonder how Shopee can survive without charging sales commission, and even give free shipping?? I heard Shopee not even charge the payment gateway fee, is that true??
They have a lot of VC investment. Their investors agree with the management that it is more important to grow Shopee’s seller and customer base before making profits since Lazada already had a stronghold of the e-commerce market in Malaysia when Shopee started. Therefore they are willing to keep burning money until they achieve their growth goals. After that, they will definitely start charging.
how to know most search keyword in shopee malaysia
For now there is no sure way to know the exact search volume for keywords on Shopee, but you can make an informed guess by sorting items by ‘Top Sales’ and looking for the products with the most number of legitimate-looking reviews.
if we go to the shipping center . we can asked for excluded the shipping fee because shopee is paying ?
shopping center? I don’t understand your question. This applies mainly to online shopping.
Can I ship items from overseas to Malaysia? How is the shipping fee?
Can I know if I want to ship my product I can use any shipping company or must mention by Shopee only??
You should use the one that is already inside Shopee system as the ones that are not are not tracked.
Is Shopee allow pre-order products? Can I state estimate delivery date?
Can we post video on Shopee? Is there any quantity limit on photo for one product?
Yes. You can put preorder products for sale on shopee. The photo limit is more than enough. Videos no.
When the Zero Commisions will end? Where can know is still on going for zero commision?
Hi Tan,
Not sure really. It may or may not end. Depends on what business model Shopee decides on in the long term. You can check the latest status by registering as a seller. They will notify you of any changes. Currently it is still zero commissions.
once customer order the things how am going to send my product? can help me tell the process?
Pack your products and send out as usual. Key in tracking no. to Shopee system. If using Shopee logistics just print labels and use them for shipping.
Hi, how about if I want to sell fresh food that need to be kept cold until reaching the customer. The food can only last a few hours before getting spoilt. Also,will J&T pick up the items from my house?
how we can get the payment? need to give account number? help me to explain?
Once customer confirmed order shopee will release payment to your local bank account.
Can you explain more about this part?
1. If customer send out the products by their own, how Shopee bear the shipping fees?
2. How can a seller use the Shopee logistics to enjoy free shipping for customers with orders over RM30 for the first 5kg? Do seller need to keep their products in some sort of warehouse?
3. How Shopee calculate the first 5kg? Deduct from every customer order accumulatively?
Hi BH,
Thanks for dropping by.
1. After you key in your tracking number, Shopee will automatically check it to be a valid tracking number. If valid, upon order completion, Shopee will reimburse you. However, do note that this applies only for Poslaju shipments.
2. No, you don’t need to keep at own warehouse. You only need to use Shopee supplied consignment notes. However, there are conditions to be fulfilled before you can use this.
3. No. This is based on each order. Everytime the customer makes an order, the system will calculate using the seller supplied weight to see if they qualify for free shipping.
Hope this helps!
– Lu Wee
Thanks for the explanation Lu Wee!
Welcome 🙂
once customer order the things how am going to send my product? Should the seller pay for the shipping fee in advance? After that shopee will reimburse back for the seller? can you please clearly tell me how to do for the shipping part?
Yes, the shipping fee will be paid together with the product fee as a total sum. Once the order has confirmed been received by the buyer, then Shopee will release the payment to you together with your reimbursement.
Hope this helps.
– Lu Wee
Hi, may i know the course available for selling online? Is the course provided by Shopee?
You mean a paid course? Shopee does not have any course about selling online. Although, they do have help section to get you started.
Yes, is there any paid course for a beginner who intend to start online selling? Thanks
Hi YY,
Not that I’m aware of in Malaysia. Sorry!
– Lu Wee
Does Shopee also offers dropshipping services like other platform do?
Shopee is just a platform for you to list products for sale. Drop shipping is just a way for you to fulfill your orders. You can list any product on Shopee and find suppliers to help you dropship the products. But Shopee itself does not offer drop shipping as a service for its sellers. They have to make the arrangements externally themselves. Hope this clarifies. – Lu Wee
How do I find suppliers that do drop shipping ?
In Malaysia now Kumoten is one of the largest automatic dropship right now. But their prices are quite expensive. I recommend searching for suppliers manually. Just ask suppliers if they will be willing to do dropshipping.
Hope this helps.
– Lu Wee
Thank You
Hi, I would like to ask that whether there is a need to register SSM for business if selling at shopee? Please advise.
Hi Lee,
To register as seller on Shopee, no need SSM. You can use your normal buyer account to sell. But for your own tax and legal reasons, try to get yourself at least a sole prop to keep yourself out of trouble from the law.
Best,
Lu Wee
Thank you for your reply. Do u familiar with registration of sole pro? After registration, need to open business account and submit tax yearly even though no much profit?
hey Lee,
yeah, I’ve done sole props for some of my businesses. It’s not exactly compulsory to open a business bank account but I would recommend it. It’s not that hard for sole prop actually. But in any case, it will be speeded up if you have an introducer (i.e. someone who already has a current account at that bank).
Yes – you need to submit your annual tax – but tax is only chargeable above certain profit figures. So if you’re not earning money, you don’t pay tax, or if say your profits are below those brackets, you don’t pay tax.
Unfortunately, I’m not a lawyer or specialist in setting up companies so use anything I say as just reference. You can always go to SSM office to ask more questions, they are more qualified to answer most of your other queries.
Hope this helps though!
– Lu Wee
Hi Lu, Good day. Please advise where to attend the course to be a seller and other details such as contact person and venue and fees ?
Hey Ivan, Shopee occasionally conducts courses to help new sellers set up for free. Do email support@shopee.com.my for more info!
just created my store. any tips to have great sale??
Hi, Lu Wee, its regarding the shipping fees, i am now with the shopee shipping program, if i sell an item weight 15kg, how is the shipping fees calculated ?
Hi Nooy,
Thanks for dropping by. I don’t really understand your question. Can you rephrase?
Hi Lu,
I am malaysian , once I start selling on Shopee , the southeast asia will can also order my product ? include Taiwan and Singapore ?
Hey Christy,
No you can’t. Only Malaysia.
– Lu Wee
Hi Lu,
I am malaysian , once I start selling on Shopee , the southeast asia will can also order my product ? include Taiwan and Singapore ?
Good afternoon Lu, can I know the process after the buyer has ordered my products ? I mean how do shopee receive my products those keep in my store and send to the buyer ?
Hi Goh, You send the product to your customer yourself and update the tracking number.
Oh I see, thanks for answering. Is there any annual tax that we need to pay and how we pay it?
When the customer has paid the costs to Shopee, then how long we will received the payment and how ?
You must pay tax as long as you profit from a business. You need to consult an accountant on how you pay tax. That depends on your company type and business nature.
You will receive the payment once your customer receives the item.
So far Shopee still collect 0% from seller right ?
And what is the Shopee coins ?
Hi Goh,
That’s correct. Shopee coin is a loyalty reward system.
I’m sorry I think I’m only able to assist until here as your questions appear to come in one by one. If you’re able to compile all your questions at once, that will be a better use of our time.
– Lu Wee
Hi Lu,
As a seller, how to set the shipped item(s) are from oversea? As my shopee account don’t see that function,
Hi Jason,
Don’t think you can do that as local seller. Only overseas seller have that option.
Hope this helps!
– Lu Wee
Hi Miss,
may i ask about the free 5kg shipping part, does it mean shopee will pay for the first 5kg of the shipping fee and the rest will be pay by buyer right? And the first 5kg, does it have any amount limitation? For example, must be less than RM5 etc etc.
Hi Jonathan,
Sorry, a lot has changed on Shopee. The shipping program is different now. I’ll update this article to reflect that shortly.
– Lu Wee
Good day, may you kindly explain the process of products shipping from overseas? And how to estimate the deliver date?
Hi Yvonne,
Do you mean as a seller? For Malaysian sellers, you cannot ship from overseas. Your stocks need to be ready stock unless stated as pre-order. Only sellers from China have that option.
Hope this helps!
– Lu Wee
hi as a foreigner can i register in shoppee?? i just got saving account will i be able to open a account??pls help me out.
Hi, no, only Malaysians.
Hi Lu, I am Malaysian but I lived at taiwan. Can join shopee Malaysia and ship from Taiwan to Malaysia?
If can all the postage charges bare my me ?
Hi Dash,
Unfortunately, that won’t be possible. As Malaysian, you need to register as Malaysian seller, and ship from Malaysia only. So if you do intend to do this, it’s better to send your items from Taiwan to a fulfillment centre in Malaysia and have them help you with the distribution.
Hope this helps!
– Lu Wee
Great post. I have had great customer experience with Shopee myself.
Hi Ms.Lu,
I am planning to sell my Training Workshop in Shopee. Can I do it in Shopee.com ??? Thanks.
Hello Lu Wee,
Can Hong Kong people open an account in Shopee Malaysia and Indonesia?
Thank you!
hi. if there is no buyer, shopee does not request for commision isn it? and about the shipping, if the buyer using the voucher for free shipping. do we need to pay for their shipping?
Hi, yes – this is how commissions work whether on Shopee or in other sales channels. Commission implies a sale needs to be made first. Regarding your question on voucher – that depends who is providing the voucher. If you are providing the voucher, you bear the cost, and if Shopee is, then Shopee will bear the cost. Hope this clarifies.
Hi,
If we are Sdn Bhd company, how to sign up as shopee seller?
How much we need to pay for the shipping fee?
How much the total fee need to pay to Shopee for 1 total amount pay by buyer?
Thanks
Hi Yeap,
You can sign up with 1 director’s name, and link it to the company bank account for your Sdn Bhd company.
Shipping fee is calculated based on weight and delivery distance – this is dependent on your selected logistics partner.
Fees – it is calculated by %, depending on your store type. So I can’t tell you the amount, it will vary according to how you price your products, etc.
Hope this helps!
Kind regards,
Lu Wee
Hi Lu! How we can fulfill our orders to buyers? can you recommend 3PL services that can handle fulfillments on our part?
May I know what is the commission fees to be pay to Shopee upon confirmation of a closed sales? How do I arrange for shipping and what is the fees for shipping if it is arrange to be pick up from my shop? How do I put my brand into Shopee’ mall? What is the criteria?
hi i am selling my products in india if i want sell my products in malaysia and other countries so can i sell from india please confirm. and what is condition for sell out of india.