How to Sell in Shopee: Beginner’s Guide

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Online selling has become a very popular side hustle and the business of choice for many Filipino entrepreneurs.

Many sellers opt to use Shopee since the platform really caters to small and beginner sellers.

If you want to become an online seller and use Shopee to sell your products, this article will teach you all there is to know. 

Shopee seller requirements

Compared to other platforms, Shopee does not have as many requirements for their sellers. The only requirements are the following:

1. Verified phone number

You need to register and verify a phone number for your Shopee store. This is one way they verify your identity.

2. Pickup Address

You will also need a pickup address where your orders will be collected by couriers. Adding multiple addresses is possible, so your default address can be different from the pickup address.

For example, the default address would be your home or your physical store while the pickup address would be your warehouse.

How to create a Shopee seller account

Creating a Shopee seller account will only take a few minutes out of your day. Follow these steps:

Step 1: Open the Shopee app on your phone or go to the Shopee website on a laptop or computer.

Step 2: Click on “Sign Up” to create an account.

Step 3: Select phone number, email, Facebook, Google, or Apple account to create your account.

Step 4: Input your email address and a working phone number.

Step 5: Complete your Seller Centre profile.

Step 6: Choose a name for your shop, ensuring it complies with Shopee’s shop naming guidelines.

Step 7: Upload a shop icon and other photos and videos.

Step 8: Create a short description of your shop with details such as the products you sell and your shop’s history.

Step 9: Create your first few product listings and start selling!

Fees you need to about when selling on Shopee

There are several fees that you should be aware of before setting up your store. This way, you won’t be blindsided by the deductions on your income from orders.

1. Commission fee

Shopee charges a 2% commission fee including value-added tax (VAT) for Marketplace sellers. Mall sellers and official shops are charged a different rate.

This is also higher than before since they only used to charge a 1% commission fee per order.

You don’t have to worry about this too much since you’ll be charged commission fees six months after you publish your first listing.

2. Transaction fee

In addition to commission fees, there are also transaction fees which cover the cost of payment transactions.

Shopee has partnerships with various payment channels like banks, credit cards, and e-wallets. It costs them money to maintain these relationships so that buyers can have multiple payment options.

The transaction fee is also 2% of the buyer’s total amount spent.

3. Free shipping and coins cashback

Shopee has a free shipping and coins cashback program that sellers can join to attract more buyers to their shop.

This is separate from free shipping vouchers and coins cashback offered by the platform itself. In this case, sellers will shoulder the costs of free shipping and coins cashback for their buyers.

If you do not want to pay these additional fees, you may opt out of the program by contacting Shopee’s customer service or your Shopee account manager if you have one.

Logistics providers on Shopee

When you become a seller on Shopee, you may choose to enable any of these couriers to service your orders.

  • Shopee Xpress
  • J&T Express
  • GoGo Xpress
  • XDE Logistics
  • Flash Express

Certain items and sellers may be allowed to ship their orders using self-arranged logistics. If you are not an eligible seller, you may receive penalties if you try to arrange deliveries through outside logistics such as Lalamove or Grab Express.

How to ship your Shopee orders

Using Shopee as an online seller is extremely convenient since you don’t have to worry about choosing a courier and coordinating with them for pickup. Shopee’s integrated system will take care of all of that.

Here is all that you need to do:

Step 1: Go to Seller Centre, tap on “My Sales”, and then select “To Book” to see your pending orders that have not been arranged for pick up.

Step 2: Select the orders that are already packed or ready to be packed and arrange pick up.

Step 3: Print out the waybills and pack the orders.

Step 4: Go to Seller Centre again, and go to “To Ship” this time.

Step 5: Take note of the orders that are scheduled for pick up and their dates.

Step 6: Wait for the assigned courier to arrive at your warehouse or assigned pick up address.

Step 7: Hand over your parcels to the courier.

How to become a preferred seller on Shopee

Shopee has a Preferred Seller program for excellent and trusted sellers on their platform. They get a “Preferred Seller” badge on their items and their listings are also pushed to the top.

The criteria to become a preferred seller are as follows:

  1. Shop rating of at least 4.5
  2. Chat response rate of 75% or higher
  3. Less than 10% pre-order listings
  4. Zero penalty points
  5. At least 50 monthly net orders
  6. At least 30 unique buyers

Achieving preferred seller status is challenging, but once you get there, you will be able to increase your sales even more.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What can I sell on Shopee?

You can sell almost anything on Shopee including cosmetics, electronics, furniture, clothing, and more. Just make sure you are following their seller guidelines and that you do not list any prohibited or restricted items to avoid getting banned.

Do I need to provide my buyers with official receipts?

Shopee does not require its sellers to provide official receipts for orders. However, some buyers may request one especially if they need it for reimbursement purposes.

Do I need to register with DTI and BIR to start selling on Shopee?

While Shopee does not require sellers to submit DTI and BIR registrations, it is still good practice to do so and obtain all documents necessary to run your business.

Can you lose your Preferred Seller badge?

It is possible to lose your preferred seller status if you do not follow Shopee’s rules or no longer meet their Preferred Seller criteria.

Conclusion

You can become a Shopee seller and start earning additional income today. Following the guides in this article will help you as you begin your Shopee journey.

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Jerico
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