KUALA LUMPUR – Traders conducting activities under Shopee’s “Priority Seller” programme are free to opt out of the programme at any time without repercussions, said a spokesman for the online trading platform.
The spokesman said the programme is implemented on a voluntary basis and sellers can choose to opt in or otherwise.
“There are allegations concerning the Priority Seller Programme offered by Shopee. The Priority Seller Programme is offered by Shopee to traders who have a strong record with our platform, in an effort to help expand their business,” the spokesman said.
He added that Shopee would not act against traders that refuse to join the programme, and they are also allowed to opt out anytime without penalties.
The statement refutes allegations on social media that a trader was given a warning not to operate his business on the online platform.
It was recently reported that a trader claimed to have been given a penalty warning by Shopee after he was known to have also conducted business on a different online trading platform.
Among the allegations in the article include that the individual who posted the article, Sen Lim, was the one who received a WhatsApp message from an individual lodging the complaint.
It also stated that Sen Lim has been conducting his business as a Preferred Seller all along but instead received a message from Shopee saying that he is a Priority Seller.
In refuting the report, Shopee explained that the individual known as Sen Lim has indicated in his Facebook post that he came across the complaint and shared the screenshot from online forum Lowyat, and was not the one who received the WhatsApp message.
Sen Lim had posed a query, asking whether or not the allegations made in the screenshot were true.
“In Sen Lim’s Facebook post, the timestamp for the forum post was clear and evident that the post was from five months ago (April 2021). There was no indication of who the WhatsApp message was from, nor who it was sent to.
“Sen Lim did not say whether he was a Preferred Seller or Priority Seller. He indicated that he was confused between preferred and priority seller programmes and was wondering what the difference is between the two,” said the Shopee spokesman.
Preferred Sellers, the spokesman clarified, have to meet high product and service standards to achieve such a status.
The status acts as an incentive to traders to offer quality service to obtain the special online badge, which can be seen by users.
Meanwhile, the spokesman said Shopee would continue to support all traders regardless of the programmes they have joined, and they would have access to all services offered.
Emphasising Shopee’s commitment to supporting local SME development, the spokesman pointed to the platform’s #ShopeeSapotLokal campaign.
Additionally, Shopee's 9.9 sales recently saw the participation of 70,000 new local traders, the spokesman said.
Established in Singapore in 2015, Shopee is a multinational tech company with a focus on the provision of online trading platform services with a network ranging across Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines, Taiwan, Mexico, Chile, and Colombia. – The Vibes, September 29, 2021
