PETALING JAYA: Shopee has announced via its Seller Education Hub that it will raise the SPayLater seller fee from 3.5% to 4.5% for all completed orders starting on May 8.
The fee applies to all SPayLater payment plans, which range from one month to two years. SPayLater is automatically enabled by default for eligible sellers on the platform, with no option to opt out.
It is also subject to 8% Sales and Service Tax (SST).
According to Shopee, "SPayLater has been proven to help sellers drive store traffic, improve conversions and increase basket size and help sellers grow monthly GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) by >20%".
A power tool seller, who asked to be quoted only as Loh, said that compounding costs, such as the increased SPayLater fee, are a key reason his business has shifted away from the platform.
“My business has to contend with more and more extra fees, and I’d need to hire someone just to operate and manage the sales channel. That’s pushed my business away from focusing too much effort towards selling on Shopee,” he said.
The e-commerce platform previously revised seller transaction fees from 2.0% to 3.5% last August, which was similarly met with a negative reaction from sellers online.
Others have responded similarly to the fee change, with members of a Facebook group for Shopee sellers questioning why sellers are charged when it is buyers who choose to use the SPayLater payment method.
Some sellers even suggested raising product prices to offset the increased fee.
LifestyleTech has reached out to Shopee for a media statement on the fee increase, but has not received a response as of publication time.
