Blog > Marketplace News > Shopee and TikTok Shop Are Accused By Sellers of Arbitrarily Increasing Service Fees
Shopee and TikTok Shop Are Accused By Sellers of Arbitrarily Increasing Service Fees
Jayson 07 Oct 2023 11:47
According to foreign media reports, as Shopee and TikTok Shop continue to increase service fees, more and more Vietnamese sellers are beginning to express their dissatisfaction and seek to protect their rights and interests.
At an event held last Friday, Ms. Ho Hoai Thu, a representative of Rebaca, a company that specializes in selling cosmetics on TikTok Shop, said that her company has been selling cosmetics on TikTok Shop for two years, and payment fees have continued to grow rapidly since joining the platform.
Initially, TikTok Shop's payment fee was only 1.5%, later increased to 3.5%, continued to increase to 4.5%, then increased to 7.5%, and is currently 10.8%, which means that the platform payment fee is nearly ten times higher than the original.
Ms. Thu said that based on the popularity of live streaming e-commerce, almost 90% of sellers will choose to open a store on TikTok Shop, but the increase in costs will have a great impact on sellers.
"And despite the (service fees) increasing, the platform has not upgraded or improved service improvements," Ms Thu added.
On the other hand, Ms. Le Thi Phuong Diem, deputy director of Coconut Fruit Company Limited (Region 11), said Shopee has raised its payment fees twice since the beginning of the year, from 2.5% to 3% at the beginning of the year and then from 3% to 4% in early September.
"From the perspective of the increase ratio, it seems insignificant. However, if a company wants to operate, it means that it must spend more fixed costs and advertising fees to make the product appear in a priority position and generate revenue. Currently, the total cost accounts for as much as revenue 22-23%, which is very high, and it is worth mentioning that they only increased the service fee but did not improve the service quality,” Ms. Diem said.
She added that sellers often only receive a few days' notice from Shopee but have no other choice.
In this regard, Mr. Nguyen Huu Tuan, Director of the E-Commerce Operations Management Department of the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, said that regarding the current increase in platform payment fees, this is a matter between the two parties.
However, according to him, in the initial agreement between the two parties, the possible increase in payment fees must be announced many days in advance, the platform must clearly explain how to calculate the service price, and the supplier has the right to choose to participate or not.
Mr. Tuan also added that when platforms increase prices and payment fees, suppliers have the right to complain by regulations if they believe the increase is suspected of unfair competition, and suppliers can submit applications, complaint requests, and reports to the National Competition Commission.
Many e-commerce platform sellers believe that the rights of platform sellers should be protected just like the rights of consumers.
At an event held last Friday, Ms. Ho Hoai Thu, a representative of Rebaca, a company that specializes in selling cosmetics on TikTok Shop, said that her company has been selling cosmetics on TikTok Shop for two years, and payment fees have continued to grow rapidly since joining the platform.
Initially, TikTok Shop's payment fee was only 1.5%, later increased to 3.5%, continued to increase to 4.5%, then increased to 7.5%, and is currently 10.8%, which means that the platform payment fee is nearly ten times higher than the original.
Ms. Thu said that based on the popularity of live streaming e-commerce, almost 90% of sellers will choose to open a store on TikTok Shop, but the increase in costs will have a great impact on sellers.
"And despite the (service fees) increasing, the platform has not upgraded or improved service improvements," Ms Thu added.
On the other hand, Ms. Le Thi Phuong Diem, deputy director of Coconut Fruit Company Limited (Region 11), said Shopee has raised its payment fees twice since the beginning of the year, from 2.5% to 3% at the beginning of the year and then from 3% to 4% in early September.
"From the perspective of the increase ratio, it seems insignificant. However, if a company wants to operate, it means that it must spend more fixed costs and advertising fees to make the product appear in a priority position and generate revenue. Currently, the total cost accounts for as much as revenue 22-23%, which is very high, and it is worth mentioning that they only increased the service fee but did not improve the service quality,” Ms. Diem said.
She added that sellers often only receive a few days' notice from Shopee but have no other choice.
In this regard, Mr. Nguyen Huu Tuan, Director of the E-Commerce Operations Management Department of the Department of E-Commerce and Digital Economy of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Vietnam, said that regarding the current increase in platform payment fees, this is a matter between the two parties.
However, according to him, in the initial agreement between the two parties, the possible increase in payment fees must be announced many days in advance, the platform must clearly explain how to calculate the service price, and the supplier has the right to choose to participate or not.
Mr. Tuan also added that when platforms increase prices and payment fees, suppliers have the right to complain by regulations if they believe the increase is suspected of unfair competition, and suppliers can submit applications, complaint requests, and reports to the National Competition Commission.
Many e-commerce platform sellers believe that the rights of platform sellers should be protected just like the rights of consumers.
