For as long as I can remember, I’ve done most of my shopping in Thailand on Lazada. Great prices, good savings when compared to retail stores, no need to run around malls or markets looking for things, plenty of coupons and vouchers to knock a bit more off the total, some very decent extra discounts on larger electronic items too, and usually a good supply of free shipping coupons, often several every week.

 

But over the last week or two, I haven’t been able to find some of the things I wanted on Lazada, so I popped over to have a look at Shopee instead. I do make the occasional purchase there anyway, but normally it’s for things I can't find on Lazada and works out to less than 10 percent of what I buy on Lazada.

 

The main reason I’ve stuck with Lazada is that I can use my overseas debit card, which means I don’t have to physically bring money into Thailand first just to make an online purchase. With Shopee, none of my overseas debit card payments ever go through. It always looks like the transaction is approved, then I get a pop-up saying it was blocked at the last minute for security reasons. So with Shopee, I eventually have to pay by QR code through PromptPay using my local bank. It’s not a big deal, but it adds a few extra steps: generate the code on Shopee, download it, then open the banking app, upload the saved QR code, preview the payment, then approve the payment, then go back to Shopee to confirm it. Plus I have to use up local Baht reserves I already have in Thailand to buy things on Shopee, which I rather keep on hand for other things I am forced to pay for in Baht locally. Lazada’s one-click checkout with my saved overseas card in the account is also just simpler and faster.

 

That said, because Lazada hasn’t had what I’ve been looking for lately, I’ve been searching and purchasing things on Shopee more often as of late. I’ve also noticed Shopee is offering better discounts and more free shipping at the moment. Over the past week or two, most of my purchases have been on Shopee and hardly any on Lazada.

 

In the past, I’ve never checked Shopee first when wanting to purchase an item; I normally just go straight to Lazada and buy what I need. But now I check both sites before buying anything, and I’m starting to wonder if I could have been saving more money all along by purchasing on Shopee. A good example was yesterday with some paper products from Scott. Kitchen towels and facial tissues. Lazada has the Lotus’s store, but some items like this aren’t so competitively priced in their store on Lazada, so I usually would buy the Scott towels from smaller vendors on Lazada. Yesterday, the same items on the Lotus's store on Shopee were lower priced than anyone on Lazada and came with free shipping too. Items I order once a month, now cheaper on Shopee. It makes me think some of these big local retail chains might offer better prices through Shopee than Lazada in general?

 

One thing I’ve always disliked about Lazada is the search results. You get a few relevant items at the top, then a bunch of half-related suggestions. It feels like they’re trying to tempt you with other products to cross sell you something slightly different instead of showing everything that actually matches your search up front. Usually, I have to click one item that matches on Lazada and then scroll down to the “similar items” they are showing below that item to find a good selection of what I actually was searching for. So it's there and they have it, but you need to dig deeper. Shopee, on the other hand, seems to give more accurate results up front, from the start, which saves me time searching and comparing. 

 

At the moment, nearly all my shopping is on Shopee. I don’t know if this will be permanent, but for now it’s easier to find what I want and at the right price. Delivery times also seem a bit faster on Shopee these days, though that probably depends more on the vendor than the site. Also, anything automotive part related is much easier to find on Shopee. 

 

I'm curious if anyone else is noticing the same thing or experiencing something different. 

I use both, haven't noticed any changes, I don't save my credit card because a good chance they'll be hacked one day. I prefer paying by QR, it's quick for me, true money wallet would be quickest, but I'd have to keep topping that up, i use both to compare price and free delivery

I'll have to start using Shoppee. Lazada is getting worse and worse, especially for the bait and switch. There are a few trusted vendors on there, usually food vendors, that I regularly order from. Apart from that it's becoming a lottery.

57 minutes ago, scubascuba3 said:

I use both, haven't noticed any changes, I don't save my credit card because a good chance they'll be hacked one day. I prefer paying by QR, it's quick for me, true money wallet would be quickest, but I'd have to keep topping that up, i use both to compare price and free delivery

Yes, data hacking is a risk everywhere online. For all online purchases I use a digital debit card. And I lock the card in the app when not being used. This way if sites get hacked the hackers can't use my card data. And also prevents vendors from charging you again later for something you don't want. I also cancel my existing digital card and replace it every so often for added security. 

Yes, I've also noted Shopee has had better discounts the last few weeks.  Shopee Food (restaurant delivery) has also been blowing Grab Food out of the water.

 

Still, Lazada offers better English and that goes a long way.

 

 

To each his own, but I don't want to pay upfront.

Lazada delivers > I pay. COD.

 

But I get that the OP doesn't want to pay in THB , from money here.

A clever way to spend without bringing in money and getting taxed.

 

And yes search results on lazada irritate often.

So do the bait and switch.

 

 

Thanks for mentioning this. I have been using only Lazada for years, but after you mentioned it, I just signed up for a Shopee account. Let's see if this enhances my shopping experience.

32 minutes ago, Lee65 said:

Still, Lazada offers better English and that goes a long way.

Regrettably, I have to say my experience has been quite the opposite on this point. When I search for something in English on Lazada, the results are usually mixed. However, when I search in English on Shopee, I get much better and more relevant results.
 

What I often do with Lazada is use Google Translate to convert my search terms into Thai and then search using the Thai written language. It’s an extra step, but it tends to produce better results on Lazada. The bigger issue for me though is that Lazada often seems to intentionally manipulate or even game the search results, as I mentioned in my original post, while Shopee doesn’t seem to do that.

10 minutes ago, BangkokHank said:

Thanks for mentioning this. I have been using only Lazada for years, but after you mentioned it, I just signed up for a Shopee account. Let's see if this enhances my shopping experience.

You’re welcome, and I hope it does help. It often depends on the item, but I’ve generally gotten better search results and sometimes better prices on Shopee. What’s kept me using Lazada more often has been the payment convenience with my overseas debit card. For smaller, low-cost items though, I’m leaning toward buying mainly from Shopee for now. For larger purchases like home appliances or electronics, I’ll be doing a much more careful comparison between the two going forward. It takes a little more effort to search on two sites and comparing before making a purchase, but in the end I think the financial benefit helps make it worth it.

Ive switched over the years. The best thing about Lazada is that it allows free shipping and other vouchers to be used at the same time. It also has a translate function on the app. Recently I look at the official sellers on both apps and choose the cheapest. I bought  a Philips massager from Shopee at 300 baht cheaper. Today I ordered a Jisulife fan on Lazada that was over 500 baht cheaper. Some unusual items like fresh lotus seeds I can only find on Shopee. 

9 minutes ago, alien365 said:

Ive switched over the years. The best thing about Lazada is that it allows free shipping and other vouchers to be used at the same time. It also has a translate function on the app. Recently I look at the official sellers on both apps and choose the cheapest. I bought  a Philips massager from Shopee at 300 baht cheaper. Today I ordered a Jisulife fan on Lazada that was over 500 baht cheaper. Some unusual items like fresh lotus seeds I can only find on Shopee. 

 

You can now use multiple vouchers at the same time on Shopee as well. It didn’t work before, but now I often see at checkout that I’m automatically getting free shipping from one voucher and a discount from another at the same time. So it’s pretty much the same now across the board.

 

For me, it’s reached the point where I use these two sites, along with Tops, Makro, and a meal delivery service to purchase so many of my everyday essentials that they’re no longer just places for occasional purchases or a bit of window shopping like they used to be. Online shopping in Thailand has now become how I get most of my food, water, household supplies, and pretty much anything else I need delivered to my door, adding convenience and improving lifestyle while also saving both time and money. It really makes sense to put in a bit more effort to cross check things on both of those portal sites now to find the best option, something I didn’t really do before. At the moment, Shopee seems to be winning for me though. 

One small point to keep in mind is that on iPhone, you cannot download the Shopee app onto your iPhone in Thailand unless you are logged into the Thai App Store. Lazada, on the other hand, is more international. If you are logged into a different App Store, you will usually be able to find the Thai Lazada app, as it is not limited to the Thai App Store. So if you are using an iPhone connected to the App Store in a Western country like the UK, Canada, the US, or elsewhere, you may not be able to find the Thai Shopee app. The Thai Shopee app may be available on some of the other regional App Stores like Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam, but I'm not sure. Perhaps it's a bit different downloading the Shopee app on Android though, but I can't say for sure about that either.

23 minutes ago, Harry Tuchas said:

 

You can now use multiple vouchers at the same time on Shopee as well. 

 

For me, it’s reached the point where I use these two sites, along with Tops, Makro, and a meal delivery service to purchase so many of my everyday essentials that they’re no longer just places for occasional purchases or a bit of window shopping like they used to be. Online shopping in Thailand has now become how I get most of my food, water, household supplies, and pretty much anything else I need delivered to my door, adding convenience and improving lifestyle while also saving both time and money. It really makes sense to put in a bit more effort to cross check things on both of those portal sites now to find the best option, something I didn’t really do before. At the moment, Shopee seems to be winning for me though. 

I couldn't do so on my previous three purchases in the last ten days. Maybe I need to update the app, or else it's just that free shipping may not be available on all items. 

 

Regarding buying most things online, I was like that a year or so ago, but I just got fed up of searching for so many best priced items, as the sellers can be cheeky or deceptive, and then there's voucher applicability. The filter options are also appalling.

 

Like you though, I do find I'm using Shopee more. For tops and makro I like shopping in person. I prefer to choose my own food. 

2 hours ago, alien365 said:

I couldn't do so on my previous three purchases in the last ten days. Maybe I need to update the app, or else it's just that free shipping may not be available on all items. 

 

It is hard to say what might be the issue there. I just realized I was not running the latest version of the app either. I am updating it now, but I do not think that is necessarily the issue, unless you are using a very old version. One thing I always do before making a purchase is go to the Home tab at the bottom of the app. Then, at the top, I click the icon that says “Free Shipping + All Vouchers” and claim everything in the first four or five groups. I do not even read the details, I just click “claim all” for each group. Maybe you are not getting all the free shipping vouchers that are available? I could be wrong though of course. 
 

You could also create a second account on Shopee and purchase from that other account when you run out of vouchers for free shipping on your main account. The Shopee app allows you to have at least two different accounts connected to the app at all times and there's an area in the app settings where you can easily switch between two accounts with a click of a button.
 

2 hours ago, alien365 said:

Regarding buying most things online, I was like that a year or so ago, but I just got fed up of searching for so many best priced items, as the sellers can be cheeky or deceptive, and then there's voucher applicability. The filter options are also appalling.

 

I cannot say I have had many problems getting what I need online. Occasionally, I bought some small inexpensive items that I was not satisfied with, so I just threw them away and ordered from a different vendor. It does not really bother me. These instances are rare, and it is still far more of a time saver to lose a little money online on rare occasion than to run around trying to find things in stores. In general, I am always way ahead of the game with cost saving by buying online anyway. So even with a few occasional dud online purchases, you are probably still way ahead of the game on cost. 
 

2 hours ago, alien365 said:

For tops and makro I like shopping in person. I prefer to choose my own food. 

I agree, I do not really buy fresh food online except from the small company that delivers prepared meals to me twice a month, which covers much of my food. But that is different. For fresh items like fruits and vegetables, I always go to the supermarket or Big-C. What I mainly buy online from Tops or Makro are things like water, chocolate, or other packaged items that I prefer to have delivered rather than spend the time going out to buy somewhere and have to carry home myself.

I use Google to search for items and add the word "Lazada" at the end of the search field. Much better results.

i must admit that I haven't used Shopee for a while. The biggest drawback for me was the lack of a decent English version of the website. i found it difficult to set up payment by bank, so always ended up printing QR codes to pay at 7-11. Lazada is a much smoother experience via mobile banking

 

But I have had a lot of unsatisfactory purchases on Lazada lately. Often sending the wrong items. Last one was yesterday. I ordered a 15L bin and received an 8 litre one, for the second time.

Also many sellers are either drop shippers, or seem to be based in China, so orders can take over two weeks to arrive from there..

It might be time to give Shopee another go. Or at least compare items between there and Lazada before buying.

 

I use Shopee and Lazada quite a lot but I am very close to dropping them both.

 

I have nearly given up on Lazada because their customer service now stinks.

Their customer service is now run from a call center in the Philippines, so if you have a delivery problem, they do not have a direct link with the courier company and even if they did, the call center and the courier company do not speak the same language.

 

Now Shopee is going down the pan.

I ordered a keyboard and mouse on 26th September with next day delivery.

It took until 3 October before I got the message 'There was a problem with today's delivery attempt - The recipient has rejected the parcel', followed by the message of 'Courier attempted to deliver the parcel to you but was unsuccessful, the parcel will be returned to the sender'.

At no time did the courier even attempt to contact me.

For the last week I have been trying to contact Shopee's customer service but I get the message saying 'Sorry, we do not have an English speaking agent available.

My order is now being held (not returned to sender), I have paid for it by credit card and there is no way for me to contact Shopee to sort this out.

Currently, there is no customer service for Farangs.

 

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Bert got kinky said:

It took until 3 October before I got the message 'There was a problem with today's delivery attempt - The recipient has rejected the parcel', followed by the message of 'Courier attempted to deliver the parcel to you but was unsuccessful, the parcel will be returned to the sender'.

That happened to me years ago. Did you pin your location on Shopee? No pin was reason in my case.

59 minutes ago, Digitalbanana said:

That happened to me years ago. Did you pin your location on Shopee? No pin was reason in my case.

Did you pin your location on Shopee?

Yes.

I receive about 3 or 4 orders a week (minimum) from Shopee to my address, so there should be no excuse for not delivering.

 

Please note that it is not just the delivery address that is the problem.

On a 'quick' delivery item, the parcel was received by my local distribution center on 27 October and they did not make any attempt to deliver it until 3 October, 6 days later.

 

Honestly, what drives my decision to use one or the other is product availability and product price.  Other than that I find both platforms useful for online shopping.  My overall satisfaction for each platform is about the same.  I use them both.

@Harry Tuchas r u working for Shopee? Just asking.. (19 posts on AN).

I'm in my 14th year living in Thailand and 8 years at my current address but have never signed up for either Shopee or Lazada, but that doesn't mean I haven't tried.

 

What I will not do is add my Bank details to my account as I only wish to pay cash-on-delivery. I do understand why some guys would prefer to pay via their Thai or Foreign bank accounts etc., but for me it would only be for buying relatively low-priced items, such as Air-Fryer liners or other small kitchen or DIY items which cannot easily be sourced locally and therefor aren't worth the hacking risk. I would only use the web-based versions, not the phone apps.

 

Is it actually possible to sign-up to either Lazada or Shopee via their websites without entering bank details? .. I always seem to get stuck when trying and have no Thai partner on hand to hold mine through the sign-up process.

I used yo ise it. COD seems like a big PITA to me. 

 

I just load my Lazada wallet from my bank account every month or two and be done with it. Easy-peasy 

Question about Shoppee.

I use Lazada exclusively and alot.

I appreciate the COD option but that's inconvenient for me so i use it selectively.

I usually pay by bank transfer but have recently switched to QR code.

My big issue is refunds when the merchant cancels the order usually because of no stock.

Lazada puts that into Lazada wallet. Easy if you have Lazada wallet. A pain if you don't -- you have to beg customer service to convert to a voucher.

Recently I did that and the voucher didn't even go through so need to bother with them.

again.

Their AI help says not possible so you always have to get out of AI to a person.

Foreigners are allowed to get Lazada wallet but I can't for personal account history with them over an original account that I don't use.

I understand Shoppee doesn't have COD and also doesn't allow foreigners to use their wallet.

SO -- when a merchant cancels your order on Shopee and you've already paid and you don't have wallet -- how do they refund your money?

 

39 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

SO -- when a merchant cancels your order on Shopee and you've already paid and you don't have wallet -- how do they refund your money?

 

If possible I recommend using a credit card. Lazada & their vendors do NOT want to play around with them so refunds are always promptly and completely returned (at least that's my experience to date).

4 minutes ago, HappyExpat57 said:

If possible I recommend using a credit card. Lazada & their vendors do NOT want to play around with them so refunds are always promptly and completely returned (at least that's my experience to date).

Yeah. Makes sense.

Unfortunately I don't have a Thai credit card and don't want to use my US card for Lazada

 

1 minute ago, Jingthing said:

Yeah. Makes sense.

Unfortunately I don't have a Thai credit card and don't want to use my US card for Lazada

 

Does the US card carry that foreign transaction fee?

51 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

 

I understand Shoppee doesn't have COD and also doesn't allow foreigners to use their wallet.

SO -- when a merchant cancels your order on Shopee and you've already paid and you don't have wallet -- how do they refund your money?

 

My latest order on Shoppee CoD

6 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

My latest order on Shoppee CoD

 

How can a Kindle paperwhite be only 93 Bht?

57 minutes ago, Jingthing said:

I understand Shoppee doesn't have COD and also doesn't allow foreigners to use their wallet.

 

 

I was just about to say that I have a wallet with Shopee, so I checked and I now have this... I've generally payed by QR as I didn't see the advantage of moving money into the Shopee wallet.