What is the trick with Shopee?

[Susco]

I read often on this forum, when a thread about Lazada comes up, that Shopee is so much better.

 

I have always avoided them for some reason, but I decided to give them another try, and now I know why I avoided them

 

8 Panasonic AA batteries price 105 Baht, and FREE shipping when the order is over 99 Baht.

 

To my knowledge 105 is more than 99, please correct me if I'm wrong

 

 

So what am I missing here?

 

 

[KhaoNiaw]

Click on the question mark next to the Free shipping truck and there'll be some conditions on it. 

I use Shopee and Lazada - don't find one consistently better or worse than the other.  

[jackdd]

The "free shipping" on Shopee is always tied to some further conditions, and even if you fulfill these conditions it often means just a 30THB discount on the shipping cost, and not actually free. Quite annoying if you don't know this yet, but for me it's ok now, i just never count on free shipping.

 

Returns on Shopee are easier, which is why i prefer Shopee, but if the item i want is cheaper on Lazada i still order it there.

[Susco]

5 minutes ago, jackdd said:

The "free shipping" on Shopee is always tied to some further conditions, and even if you fulfill these conditions it often means just a 30THB discount on the shipping cost, and not actually free.

If you look at the first screenshot, the condition is that the order is over 99 Baht, which applies in this case.

 

I don't like when customers get tricked into a purchase with false promises, and that is probably also why I avoided Shopee in the past, AND in the future.

[jackdd]

4 minutes ago, Susco said:

If you look at the first screenshot, the condition is that the order is over 99 Baht, which applies in this case.

 

I don't like when customers get tricked into a purchase with false promises, and that is probably also why I avoided Shopee in the past, AND in the future.

And as i said, there are further conditions tied to it. I just had a look at it, to get the free shipping with this article you need to do the following:

1) Use the Shopee app on a mobile device

2) Pay using Airpay wallet

3) On checkout activate the free shipping voucher (i have two for this month, i guess everybody gets 2 times free shipping per month)

-> You will get a 40 THB discount on the shipping cost (shipping cost is 39THB, so in this case it would be free shipping)

[Susco]

20 minutes ago, jackdd said:

And as i said, there are further conditions tied to it. I just had a look at it, to get the free shipping with this article you need to do the following:

1) Use the Shopee app on a mobile device

2) Pay using Airpay wallet

3) On checkout activate the free shipping voucher (i have two for this month, i guess everybody gets 2 times free shipping per month)

-> You will get a 40 THB discount on the shipping cost (shipping cost is 39THB, so in this case it would be free shipping)

It doesn't show me about the using the app

 

 

[croftrobin]

I think it depends where you live.

 

Are you in Bangkok? If not it might be a charge per province.

 

I have noticed the same on Lazada, advertises free shipping but once I log in with Buriram address on goes the shipping charge

[uncleP]

Shopee and lazada are basically the same company.  Both owned by alibaba

[Susco]

3 hours ago, uncleP said:

Shopee and lazada are basically the same company.  Both owned by alibaba

Thanks for sharing your knowledge\

 

Shopee is a Singaporean e-commerce platform headquartered under Sea Group (previously known as Garena), which is a global consumer internet company founded in 2015 by Forrest Li.^[1

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shopee

[Susco]

5 hours ago, croftrobin said:

I think it depends where you live.

 

Are you in Bangkok? If not it might be a charge per province.

 

I have noticed the same on Lazada, advertises free shipping but once I log in with Buriram address on goes the shipping charge

Lazada sometimes shows different shipping price when logged in, compared to anonymous user.

 

When I look up the listing in Shopee, I'm logged in already, so they know where it will be shipped.

 

 

[Susco]

10 hours ago, jackdd said:

1) Use the Shopee app on a mobile device

 

Scanning the QR code on the shopee webpage takes me to Playstore with the message, this app is not available in your country.

 

Yes, soooooo much better than Lazada

Edited July 22, 2020 by Susco

[lopburi3]

18 minutes ago, Susco said:

Yes, soooooo much better than Lazada

Perhaps not soooo but at times it can be better -

Have found cheaper prices for same item from same seller.  Often sells items that are not available on Lazada. 

Can pay by easy bank transfer (Lazada ended that option months ago AFAIK so for me a card fee or COD). 

A search that often is better than Lazada (which is really bad unless you have a specific model number). 

They do not bug me on every access second screen to pull icon to right due unusual activity (and then go back to my previous search page). 

They maintain English in Chrome better (at least for my computer).  

[Susco]

10 minutes ago, lopburi3 said:

Perhaps not soooo but at times it can be better -

Have found cheaper prices for same item from same seller.  Often sells items that are not available on Lazada. 

Can pay by easy bank transfer (Lazada ended that option months ago AFAIK so for me a card fee or COD). 

A search that often is better than Lazada (which is really bad unless you have a specific model number). 

They do not bug me on every access second screen to pull icon to right due unusual activity (and then go back to my previous search page). 

They maintain English in Chrome better (at least for my computer).  

Glad you have a positive experience.

 

I tried several months ago, and I tried it once again now, and you can see from my posts what hoops i'm expected to jump through, so definitely not worth my time

[putochingon]

Both good and bad

Sometimes useful, sometimes just waste of time

Overall, Shopee seems to be getting a bit better than Lazda for price wise in general, yet both are tricky as hell

So it might be helpful to check prices elsewhere (such as homepro, tesco or on streets) first, make sure to read reviews (if possible) mainly at negative ones and then finally decide whether the item is worth purchasing or not

[blorg]

Shopee often has stuff that Lazada doesn't, and it is usually cheaper.

 

The free shipping thing drives me up the wall though, it's only "free" if you collect a free shipping voucher and they make that really really complicated. You need to go click on the free shipping voucher button on the home page and see if there is something there. Sometimes there is, sometimes not, sometimes it's connected to using a particular bank credit card or Airpay, or "special shops". But then even when they do have a voucher there that you apparently qualify for- most of the time you click and it then loads another page which just has the voucher greyed out. It drives me up the wall.

 

Sometimes I get it, sometimes not. It's easier to get it if you have Airpay but I don't think non-Thais can sign up for that. I may dig into that a bit more, if it is possible for non-Thais to get it, that would mean much more free shipping.

 

It does actively irritate me, that there is this stupid tiny discount that they wave in front of you but you don't get until you jump through hoops, it being unclear exactly whether you are going to get it or not. It's a tiny amount so it shouldn't matter, it doesn't matter, but it just irritates me. Either give me the discount or don't.

 

Even without the free shipping though it is still usually cheaper than Lazada. And often has stuff that simply isn't on Lazada. I presume they charge the sellers less, as often if I compare the exact same seller who is selling on both platforms, they'll often have the product for a bit less on Shopee than they list it on Lazada.

 

As Susco pointed out, it's a different company to Lazada and is not owned by AliBaba, it's Sea Ltd (SE on the NYSE). Lazada is AliBaba (BABA). If you'd put $10,000 into Shopee in January 2019 you'd have $175,000 now, their stock has skyrocketed. +400% in 2020 alone.

 

https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&timePeriod=4&startYear=2019&firstMonth=1&endYear=2020&lastMonth=12&calendarAligned=true&includeYTD=false&initialAmount=10000&annualOperation=0&annualAdjustment=0&inflationAdjusted=true&annualPercentage=0.0&frequency=4&rebalanceType=1&absoluteDeviation=5.0&relativeDeviation=25.0&showYield=false&reinvestDividends=true&benchmark=VFINX&portfolioNames=false&portfolioName1=Portfolio+1&portfolioName2=Portfolio+2&portfolioName3=Portfolio+3&symbol1=SE&allocation1_1=100&symbol2=BABA&allocation2_2=100

[lopburi3]

I don't even try to figure out free shipping as most items are less than a one-way taxi fare to nearest store.  But have had second thoughts with what a few sellers want for shipping and just go elsewhere.  Agree often a good price available and items that are not on Lazada (even from same sellers).  They also do not have the dozens of same double or triple priced items that Lazada is full of (same seller using many names hoping someone will land on him and buy without checking for lower price (as his dozens of adds at the same price often fills search page).  Almost always no sales.  For Lazada have to find item and then search on model number most of the time.

 

Another negative recently is that many sellers are listing as domestic. so you expect fast shipment, when they are selling foreign sourced items with a blurb as "advanced order - ships in 10-15 days".  Was caught out on that once.

 

[blorg]

Yeah you have to watch out for the pre-orders. The plus with them though is they are often extremely cheap, like can be near half the regular Thai price. Some of them, I was questioning whether I would get the item at all, it was so cheap (I did). And in my experience with them, they tend to ship faster than the estimate anyway. It's usually closer to 5 than 10-15. They are reasonably clearly marked as well once you know to look for the "Pre-Order".

[Susco]

33 minutes ago, blorg said:

 

It does actively irritate me, that there is this stupid tiny discount that they wave in front of you but you don't get until you jump through hoops, it being unclear exactly whether you are going to get it or not. It's a tiny amount so it shouldn't matter, it doesn't matter, but it just irritates me. Either give me the discount or don't.

 

Even without the free shipping though it is still usually cheaper than Lazada.

 

It also drives me up the wall, but I have to disagree that it is usually cheaper than Lazada.

 

For my last 10+ orders I searched on Shopee and Lazada, all of them were significantly cheaper on Lazada.

 

On top of that I was not able to get a single free shipping coupon during that time on Shopee, while with Lazada I had free shipping each and every time, and in most cases also a platform discount applied.

 

I disagree with another poster that searching on Shopee is better, because you get the same erroneous results as on Lazada. In fact I recently bought solar lights, and I had the model number, but was even then unable to get any result on Shopee. Entering the same search term in Google, took me to another website, which had 3 different Shopee listings for that item.

 

Another positive from Lazada over Shopee, is the description as well as reviews of the goods, which is much more comprehensive on Lazada

 

I have now completely given up on Shopee, even removed the app from my phone, as it seemed to be data hungry as well.

[Thomas J]

I use both but on average Shopee prices tend to be a touch lower and often include free shipping while Lazada for the most part never offers free shipping.  The free shipping coupons on Shopee come in several varieties.  Some are good only "at selected shops"  So it you try to use it at a shop that does not qualify it will not allow you to apply it.  Even if the item posted says "free shipping" it may only apply if you use a coupon that does not restrict its use to only specific items or stores.  Finally, all of the coupons have to be used with your phone or tablet.  None will work using your computer. 

[nrasmussen]

1 hour ago, blorg said:

Shopee often has stuff that Lazada doesn't, and it is usually cheaper.

 

The free shipping thing drives me up the wall though, it's only "free" if you collect a free shipping voucher and they make that really really complicated. You need to go click on the free shipping voucher button on the home page and see if there is something there. Sometimes there is, sometimes not, sometimes it's connected to using a particular bank credit card or Airpay, or "special shops". But then even when they do have a voucher there that you apparently qualify for- most of the time you click and it then loads another page which just has the voucher greyed out. It drives me up the wall.

 

Sometimes I get it, sometimes not. It's easier to get it if you have Airpay but I don't think non-Thais can sign up for that. I may dig into that a bit more, if it is possible for non-Thais to get it, that would mean much more free shipping.

 

It does actively irritate me, that there is this stupid tiny discount that they wave in front of you but you don't get until you jump through hoops, it being unclear exactly whether you are going to get it or not. It's a tiny amount so it shouldn't matter, it doesn't matter, but it just irritates me. Either give me the discount or don't.

 

Even without the free shipping though it is still usually cheaper than Lazada. And often has stuff that simply isn't on Lazada. I presume they charge the sellers less, as often if I compare the exact same seller who is selling on both platforms, they'll often have the product for a bit less on Shopee than they list it on Lazada.

 

As Susco pointed out, it's a different company to Lazada and is not owned by AliBaba, it's Sea Ltd (SE on the NYSE). Lazada is AliBaba (BABA). If you'd put $10,000 into Shopee in January 2019 you'd have $175,000 now, their stock has skyrocketed. +400% in 2020 alone.

 

https://www.portfoliovisualizer.com/backtest-portfolio?s=y&timePeriod=4&startYear=2019&firstMonth=1&endYear=2020&lastMonth=12&calendarAligned=true&includeYTD=false&initialAmount=10000&annualOperation=0&annualAdjustment=0&inflationAdjusted=true&annualPercentage=0.0&frequency=4&rebalanceType=1&absoluteDeviation=5.0&relativeDeviation=25.0&showYield=false&reinvestDividends=true&benchmark=VFINX&portfolioNames=false&portfolioName1=Portfolio+1&portfolioName2=Portfolio+2&portfolioName3=Portfolio+3&symbol1=SE&allocation1_1=100&symbol2=BABA&allocation2_2=100

 

Regarding AirPay: I have been using it for several years paying my utility bills and Shopee orders.

[worgeordie]

I came across something strange on Shopee last night,

I wanted to order some Aquarium Plants I could not find locally,

so add a 50 Baht plant to cart ,check it and says 100 Baht,others

25 Baht on cart 50 Baht,also some came out less ,a plant listed

at 50 Baht click on it for more info price changes to to 25 Baht.

don't know if only the one seller,but check everything.

 

The free shipping is a bait and switch thing, my daughter

knows how to do it, you have to get the voucher early in

the morning or late at night, or pay Airpay, she gets packages

everyday, with some mostly <deleted> stuff she paid 1 or 5 Thb

for with free shipping.

The other night there was to be a special offer for cat food

pouches, 9 thb, usual price 13 thb, so i waited up til midnight,

i wanted to buy 50 pouches, but was only allowed to buy 3

at 9 thb, ...F$#K,waste of time.

regards worgeordie

[blorg]

It's true, Lazada is often cheaper, it depends on the item. But frequently, Shopee has stuff that Lazada just doesn't, and it is sometimes quite a bit cheaper. Particularly for smaller items, but sometimes larger items too. On average, I do use Lazada a lot more. But usually check Shopee, and there are certain specific things that are reliably cheaper there.

 

Examples:

 

Baratza Encore coffee grinder.

 

Shopee 5,140

https://shopee.co.th/เครื่องบดกาแฟ-Baratza-Encore-i.33915250.3162288367 

 

Lazada 8,673

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/baratza-encore-i1902242876-s5984532345.html

 

Specific replacement SpinFit CP360 eartips, 1 pair, local sellers:

 

Lazada 290 + 27B shipping

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/spinfit-cp360-true-wireless-i365216988-s713658057.html 

 

Shopee 195 + 18B shipping

https://shopee.co.th/product/17739082/3601219323

 

Specific balanced headphone cable:

Lazada 510 + 27B shipping:

https://www.lazada.co.th/products/nicehck-c16-4-16-plug-mmcx-core-silver-plated-cable-352544mm-plug-mmcx2pinqdcnx7-pin-for-qdc-c12-zsx-v90-tfz-nx7-prodb3-earphone-i1937500664-s6131980969.html

 

Shopee 459 (and I actually got free shipping on this one, as 1 Jan was "free shipping day")

https://shopee.co.th/product/174318034/5360720354

 

I do check both, and the sales/vouchers on Lazada do tend to be better, and certainly easier to understand and use. But there are certain things Shopee is reliably cheaper.

[blorg]

7 minutes ago, nrasmussen said:

Regarding AirPay: I have been using it for several years paying my utility bills and Shopee orders.

 

Did you just need to give them a photo of your passport and it was easy enough to sign up for? I will give it a go, I know some of the other wallets it's not possible for foreigners to sign up for. I believe as well that this restriction came in relatively recently and is related to government regulations, so I wonder if you were able to get it a few years ago but I won't be now. I'll try and see anyway, as I would really appreciate the free shipping vouchers.

 

That's another thing to look out for, the occasional "free shipping days", you can get literally everything on the site free shipping on a free shipping day. My lowest order is for a single 11B item, and it was 11B with free shipping. That can't make any financial sense for the seller, but that's what it cost.

[Susco]

1 minute ago, blorg said:

Did you just need to give them a photo of your passport and it was easy enough to sign up for? I will give it a go, I know some of the other wallets it's not possible for foreigners to sign up for. I believe as well that this restriction came in relatively recently and is related to government regulations, so I wonder if you were able to get it a few years ago but I won't be now. I'll try and see anyway, as I would really appreciate the free shipping vouchers.

 

 

I tried to register with airpay recently.

 

From what I remember, you had to give picture of passport, then a picture of you holding your passport next to your face, then select what visa you had, but there was no option for retirement visa.

 

Anyway, I only buy COD on all those sites, as I don't want to go trough the hassle of getting a refund if not delivered

[Pravda]

I prefer buying from lazada because I can use my foreign credit card unlike shopee. 

 

Shopee is indeed cheaper even from the same sellers. There are some good deals with Airpay if you know how to use it with coin cash backs, 1 baht vouchers worth 30 baht, etc etc. Best to use both. 

 

[blorg]

@Susco I wouldn't worry about the refunds, I have got several refunds from both Shopee and Lazada and they go straight back to my card automatically. Both with stuff that was cancelled (either seller end or my end) or stuff I returned.

 

I tried COD on a few orders years ago but you have to wait in for the delivery then and they won't let you open the box before you pay for it. That makes it pointless IMO as the issue is never that the seller claims to send it but you don't get the item, it's that you get a box but it's the wrong item. In that scenario it's actually easier to get a refund if you paid by card.

[nrasmussen]

1 minute ago, blorg said:

 

Did you just need to give them a photo of your passport and it was easy enough to sign up for? I will give it a go, I know some of the other wallets it's not possible for foreigners to sign up for. I believe as well that this restriction came in relatively recently and is related to government regulations, so I wonder if you were able to get it a few years ago but I won't be now. I'll try and see anyway, as I would really appreciate the free shipping vouchers.

 

That's another thing to look out for, the occasional "free shipping days", you can get literally everything on the site free shipping on a free shipping day. My lowest order is for a single 11B item, and it was 11B with free shipping. That can't make any financial sense for the seller, but that's what it cost.

 

I'm very sorry, but it's too long ago; I really don't remember what the sign-up process was. But give it a try - it's definitely worth it for the Shopee free shipping vouchers. Also they sometimes give rebates on bill payments.

[blorg]

4 minutes ago, Pravda said:

1 baht vouchers worth 30 baht 

 

How does that one work? I see as well that they sell a 9B voucher pack that seems to include vouchers (including free shipping vouchers) that would more than pay for themselves on the first voucher. Maybe you need AirPay though. They do make it remarkably complicated. 

Edited January 3, 2021 by blorg

[stubuzz]

On 7/22/2020 at 6:55 AM, Susco said:

On 7/21/2020 at 8:24 PM, jackdd said:

1) Use the Shopee app on a mobile device

 

Scanning the QR code on the shopee webpage takes me to Playstore with the message, this app is not available in your country.

 

Yes, soooooo much better than Lazada

Edited July 22, 2020 by Susco

Log into google play on a computer. (I don't think i used a VPN when i did this)

Select the device you want to install the app on. It will install even if you are out of the country.

[BritManToo]

On 7/21/2020 at 10:54 PM, Susco said:

So what am I missing here?

Free shipping is normally only when you use 'airpay wallet'