How to open a store on Shopee without a business license? What qualifications are required?

Domestic e-commerce is relatively saturated, but cross-border e-commerce still has opportunities. Some veteran sellers engaged in cross-border e-commerce have shared their achievements and attracted many friends to start cross-border e-commerce. So the question is, how to open a Shopee store without a business license?

1. You need to prepare a business license (branch business license and self-employed business license)

Company business license: You can choose to open a Taiwan site or a Malaysian site first.

Self-employed business license: The first site can only be opened in Taiwan.

2. You need to have three months of e-commerce business turnover

(The transaction flow here does not have to be cross-border, domestic trade transaction flow is also acceptable. But it must be at least the last 3 months)

3. The platform you are working on needs to have more than or equal to 50 SKUs (some e-commerce platforms have fewer SKUs and can just distribute them with one click)

4. Starting from August 2021, a deposit of RMB 3,000 will be required for each business license to register for official activities.

Shopee store opening process:

1. Register independently through the official website or green channel; if you choose a service provider, be sure to review its qualifications to avoid being deceived.

2. After submitting the information, there will generally be a reply within 3-5 days. Please pay attention to the email information (including the spam folder). The review results and store opening link will be sent via email.

3. After clicking the link to complete the store opening, immediately complete the basic settings such as payment information (choose one of Lianlian, Payoneer or Pingpong), logistics channel (mainly SLS) and return address.

Frequently asked questions about opening a store on Shopee

1. Does Shopee allow individual sellers to open stores?

Individual sellers are not accepted. Sellers must have a company business license to enter.

2. How to transfer money through Shopee?

The platform supports two payment methods, P card and pingpong. The payment cycle is usually at the beginning and middle of the month, twice a month.

3. How can I pass Shopee’s entry review?

The seller's store rating is very important to the audit result. The second is the types of goods sold by the seller. Some goods are not allowed to be sold on Shopee. There are also the average price of the goods sold by the seller and the seller's business performance on other platforms. These factors will affect the store's application for entry.

4. Do the store categories need to be consistent with the categories on the business license?

No. However, if you are a seller who has joined the Merchant Manager Category Seller Program and wish to change your main category, you need to communicate with the corresponding Merchant Manager.

5. Which sites can be opened with a business license?

For individual business licenses, you can only choose "domestic trade", and the default first station is Taiwan; for corporate business licenses, the first station can be Malaysia or the Philippines.

6. After opening a store with a corporate business license, can I register again with an individual business license?

No. If the seller wants to open multiple stores, he can contact his operations manager to assist in the application. Whether it is a corporate business license or a self-employed business license, you cannot apply for different business licenses repeatedly, which will affect the success rate of entry.

7. Do the legal person on the business license and the store owner need to be the same person?

It doesn’t have to be the same person, but it is not recommended to use someone else’s business license to register to avoid duplicate applications.

If a company employee registers Shopee as a contact person, the person in charge of the company needs to control the risks. If a business license of a friend or relative is used, the ownership of the Shopee store must be communicated in advance to avoid subsequent disputes.

8. Is it necessary to take the original photo of the business license held in hand?

Yes, this can ensure the authenticity of the entry materials. You can hold the original or copy of the paper version of the business license, but not the electronic or printed version.

The last point is that official regulations require you to have e-commerce experience. Providing store turnover is also to prove that you have worked in e-commerce. If you have no experience, you may not be able to successfully open a store on Shopee, and it will be more difficult to pass the review!

Recommended reading:

How to do cross-border e-commerce? Is it easy to do e-commerce in Japan?

What products are good for cross-border e-commerce? Any good recommendations?

What are the cross-border e-commerce platforms? Who are they suitable for?