How to sell on Shopee – A complete guide for cross-border sellers

The eCommerce landscape is witnessing a gradual paradigm shift, both regionally and across the globe. And, this paradigm shift can be attributed to technological advancements, breakthrough innovations, ever-evolving consumer buying behavior.

With the massive adoption of IoT and smartphones acquiring a huge share of peoples’ online screen time, the global eCommerce ecosystem will go through some major shifts in the forthcoming years.

Among others, the Southeast Asian eCommerce landscape has witnessed rapid changes and it is anticipated to grow above and beyond in the coming decade.

While Lazada has been the top-notch eCommerce giants in the past, recent years have witnessed the eventual budding of some of the smart competitors.

Shopee is one of such smart competitors that is set to have a head-to-head competition with Lazada. In fact, Shopee has even surpassed Lazada in terms of active users and mobile app downloads in some of the key Southeast Asian nations.

Curious to learn more about Shopee? Well, we have you covered!

Shopee Overview

Shopee owned by Sea Group and headquartered in Singapore came into existence in 2015. And, within a period of 5 years, it has experienced exponential growth, both in terms of market share as well as popularity.

Lately, it is regarded as one of the biggest eCommerce marketplaces in Southeast Asia. Though initially launched as a C2C website, Shopee soon evolved into a B2C model. Often, it acts on a C2C and B2C hybrid approach when it comes to eCommerce sales, and fulfillment.

Despite being in its early existence, Shopee is competing with Lazada to be on the top. Lazada is owned by the Alibaba Group and is headquartered in China. It has beyond essential financial backing and brand affinity.

Yet, Shoppe with its robust, seller-centric approach and strategies such as commission and listing fees exclusions for sellers is all set to gain ground in the realm of eCommerce as well as cross-border selling.

Though with a humble beginning, Shopee has established its presence across most southeast ASEAN countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan, and Korea.

By selling on Shopee, businesses will have access to some of the most developed and rapidly growing ASEAN nations.

Why Sell on Shopee

When it comes to eCommerce marketplaces, businesses are faced with a string of options depending on the country to which they are planning to establish cross-border selling relations.

If a business is planning to sell products to China, Lazada owned by the Alibaba Group that is headquartered in China will be an absolute option.

On the other hand, if a business is willing to explore the less-explored territory such as Indonesia, Tokopedia, Indonesia’s eCommerce giant will be the best suit.

• Much alike Lazada and Tokopedia and a host of other eCommerce marketplaces, Shopee is gaining ground quite rapidly. And, the no-commission and no-listing fee features offer Shopee the much-needed competitive edge against its counterparts.
• Shopee has a broad presence across key Southeast ASEAN countries. Thus, by selling on Shopee, businesses can enjoy hassle-free access to some of the fastest-growing ASEAN nations.
• Shopee is predicted to remain a top player in the coming decade. So, businesses can put their apprehensions to rest and start making the most of this eCommerce marketplace.
• With Shopee, the sellers and buyers enjoy free shipping though it may differ by countries and their regulations.
• Selling on Shopee will involve a transaction fee of 1.5% that is way less compared to the commission of 2% to 8% charged on Lazada.

Fulfillment Management on Shopee

Cross-border selling may paint a lucrative picture when it comes to brand reach and growth potential. However, its success relies on an efficient fulfillment solution.

With Shopee, sellers have two fulfillment options at their disposal i.e. Fulfillment by Shopee (FBS)and leveraging a third-party fulfillment center.

Fulfillment by Shopee (FBS)

Several brands, top or not struggle to ensure optimal fulfillment. And, what better way than to have someone take care of the entire hassle? Here comes the role of Fulfillment by Shopee (FBS).

It is one of the most preferred choices among the sellers as the entire gamut of fulfillment is taken care of by Shopee. When we say entire gamut, it starts with order inbound to quality check, storage, packaging, shipping and encompasses returns and refunds as well.

FBS is only available to some of the top brands, distributors, and top-notch sellers who usually deal with a high sales volume. FBS is not open to all and brands/sellers are accepted by invitation only. Thus, till a seller gets accepted by FBS, the seller has to take care of the fulfillment on its own.

Leveraging a Third-party Fulfillment Center

Till the sellers get accepted by FBS, they can opt to leverage a third-party fulfillment center to take care of their entire fulfillment need.

And, considering the surge in demand in cross-border selling, there is a host of third-party fulfillment centers and service providers for the Southeast ASEAN marketplaces. The fulfillment center can be chosen based on the requirement at hand.

Payment Process on Shopee

Safe, secure, and hassle-free payment is critical to eCommerce success and it’s even of utmost importance in the case of cross-border selling.

Shopee offers robust yet flexible payment options for the buyers depending on the country they belong to. For instance, buyers from Singapore, and Thailand can only pay by debit or credit card or may resort to bank transfer while buying on Shopee. Cash on Delivery (COD) option is not available for buyers from Singapore, and Thailand.

The payment options are rather vast for buyers from the Philippines and Taiwan. Some of them are

• Bank transfer
• ATM transfer
• Debit and Credit card payment
• Over-the-counter (OTC) payment
• Cash on Delivery (COD)

When it comes to sellers, Shopee makes it equally easy and efficient for them too. Sellers can withdraw money either through bank transfer or by integrating the Shopee store with Payoneer. Payments are usually made in the beginning and middle of the month as well as on a bi-weekly basis.

How to be a Top Seller on Shopee

Here are some of the essential criteria for becoming a top seller on Shopee.

• The seller must have 75 new orders monthly
• The seller must have 35 unique buyers per month
• The seller must have a cumulative 70% chat response rate
• Minimum 4.6 shop rating
• Only authentic, high-quality products are to be featured on Shopee
• The seller must have a ready stock of 95%

Got queries on selling on Shopee? Speak to the experts at Vinculum today!