Opening a Shopee shop on day one: the steps you can do on your phone, and the settings beginners often skip

You’ve been selling in Facebook groups or on LINE for a while, and then suddenly a customer asks, “Are you on Shopee? Then I can use a free shipping code.” That’s your sign it’s time to open a shop. And you don’t even need a computer. One phone is enough to get started, and you can get through several steps during a single nap.

But what trips up beginners usually isn’t the sign-up process. It’s the things you can’t see when you open the shop: the fees deducted when you sell, a shipping option you forgot to turn on, or a bank account with a name that doesn’t match. Let’s go through the whole process, and the settings you should get right from day one.

Does it cost money to open a Shopee shop?

Quick Answer: Opening a shop and listing products is free. But when you make a sale, Shopee deducts fees from the sale amount before transferring the money to your account.

So the question you really need to ask is, “If I sell something for 100 baht, how much ends up in my pocket?” That’s covered in the fees section below. Read it all before you price your first product.

What do you need to prepare before you open your shop?

Quick Answer: Your Thai ID card, a working mobile number, an email, a bank account in the same name as the ID card holder, and an address where couriers can pick up parcels.

Get these ready first:

• Thai ID card (บัตรประชาชน): take a clear photo, not blurry, with no glare
• Mobile number: used to receive OTP codes. Use a number you’ll keep long term
• Email: for notifications and account recovery
• Bank account: the account name must match the ID card holder’s name. If you use your husband’s or your mom’s account instead, you’ll usually get stuck when withdrawing money
• Pickup address that couriers can reach. If you live in a condo or a housing estate, check whether someone can receive parcels for you
• Shop name: have 2 to 3 names ready, in case your first choice is taken

If you’re opening the shop as a company, you also need the company certificate, the ID card of the authorized signatory, and a bank account in the company’s name.

Which steps do you follow to open a shop on your phone?

Quick Answer: Sign up for a Shopee account with your phone number, verify your identity, set up your shop details, set up shipping and your address, link your bank account, then list your first product.

1. Sign up: in the Shopee app, go to “Me” > Sign up > enter your phone number > slide the jigsaw to verify > enter the OTP code > set a password (or sign up with Google, Facebook, Apple or LINE)
2. Start selling: from the “Me” tab, tap the seller menu to go to your shop. The menu name may differ slightly depending on the app version
3. Verify your identity: upload your ID card, and you may need to do a face scan (Liveness Check). Do it somewhere with enough light, without sunglasses or a mask
4. Set up shop details: shop name, profile picture and shop description
5. Set up shipping: enter your pickup address, then turn on the couriers you want
6. Link your bank account to receive payment for your products
7. List your first product: add the name, category, photos, price, stock quantity, weight and box size

For tasks with a lot of typing, like listing many products at once or checking sales reports, the web-based Seller Centre at seller.shopee.co.th is much faster. If you want to know which time of day suits this kind of work, try reading Time management for business moms, using your energy windows.

Which settings do beginners often skip and regret later?

Quick Answer: Couriers not turned on, wrong product weights and sizes, a bank account name that doesn’t match, a preparation time that’s set too short, and no auto-reply message.

Setting	What happens if you skip it	What to do
Turning on couriers	Customers can’t order, or have few shipping options	Turn on at least 2 couriers in case one has problems
Weight and box size	Shipping is calculated wrong, so customers pay too much and don’t order, or you pay the difference	Weigh the real item including the box, and measure the real box
Bank account	You can’t withdraw money if the name doesn’t match the shop owner	Use an account in the same name as the ID card you verified with
Preparation time	You ship later than you promised and your shop loses points	Set it to what you can really manage on a day your child is sick, not on a day when everything goes smoothly
Auto-reply message	A customer messages, hears nothing, and buys from another shop	Set a greeting that says when you reply and when you ship
Shop and product descriptions	Customers ask the same questions over and over, and you waste time on chat	Clearly state size, material, how to use it, and your return and exchange terms

One more thing that few people know: Shopee has an account maintenance fee of 20 baht per month for shops with no activity under its stated conditions. If you’re thinking of opening a shop and leaving it idle before you start selling, read the conditions on the fee policy page first.

What are Shopee’s fees, and how much is left from a 100 baht sale?

Quick Answer: There are 3 main parts: a selling fee based on product category, a 3% payment transaction fee, and an infrastructure fee of 1 baht per order (the last two don’t include 7% VAT). Rates change often, so always check Seller Centre.

According to Shopee’s fee policy page for regular shops (not Shopee Mall):

• Selling fee: a percentage that varies by product category (VAT included). Shopee last updated this table on 4 August 2026. Data from PEAK in mid-2026 says many categories are around 7.5 to 15%
• Payment transaction fee: 3% (excluding VAT), calculated on the amount the customer pays including shipping
• Infrastructure fee: 1 baht per completed order (excluding VAT)
• Installments by credit card or SPayLater have separate rates, which go up with the number of installments
• Optional programs, such as free shipping or cashback programs, are extra service fees. Shops can choose whether to join

A rough example (assuming the product category has a 12% selling fee and you haven’t joined any optional programs): you sell a 100 baht product and the customer pays 30 baht shipping themselves.

• Selling fee: about 12 baht
• Transaction fee of 3% + VAT on 130 baht: about 4.17 baht
• Infrastructure fee of 1 baht + VAT: about 1.07 baht
• In total, about 17 baht is deducted from a 100 baht product

These numbers are just to give you the idea. The actual calculation (such as the base used for the selling fee) is on the fee policy page and in Seller Centre. But what we want you to remember is: set your prices with the fees built in. If you use the same price you sell at on LINE, your profit could almost disappear.

Good news for small shops: Shopee says that eligible sellers with sales of no more than 10,000 baht per month may get a fee reduction of 0.5 to 1.5%. But the conditions can change at any time, so double-check.

Once your shop is open, do you need a commercial registration and to pay tax?

Quick Answer: Yes. Online sellers must get a commercial registration within 30 days from the day they start selling, and income from the shop must be declared for personal income tax.

These are two separate things:

• Commercial registration: file at your district office, municipality or Subdistrict Administrative Organization (อบต.). The fee is 50 baht. The detailed steps are in Do online sellers need a commercial registration?
• Tax: income from selling goods is income type 40(8), and large platforms like Shopee must send sellers’ income data to the Revenue Department. Read more in Do online sellers in Thailand have to pay tax?

Save the summary of fees Shopee deducted from Seller Centre every month. If you choose to deduct actual expenses when you file your taxes, you’ll have complete evidence.

What should you sell, and which products need extra care?

Quick Answer: Start with products you really know and that are easy to ship. Food, cosmetics, supplements and some kinds of baby products have specific laws that require a permit or a notification before you can sell them.

Good products for a first shop are usually ones that don’t break easily, are light, don’t expire, and that you can answer customers’ questions about yourself. If you’re still not sure what to sell, try our business idea finder first.

Your first shop doesn’t have to be perfect. List 5 products, finish your settings, then adjust based on questions from real customers. The best shop is the one you were brave enough to open.