List your products and start getting orders? Sellers are flocking to SHEIN

SHEIN attracts sellers to list products and receive orders

A group of sensitive sellers have already started rushing.

Last week, SHEIN officially announced the launch of its platform mode. After the Brazilian market, the platform mode was officially launched in the United States and will be further promoted to the global market. This news has been forwarded by many media outlets, and SHEIN, as always, is low-key and currently only recruiting in a small range.

In fact, before this official announcement, a few cross-border sellers had learned about SHEIN’s launch of the platform mode and rushed to contact the official business manager and complete the settlement as soon as possible. However, most sellers still do not know that SHEIN has opened an entrance for recruiting third-party sellers for all categories, aiming to become a comprehensive e-commerce platform.

It is understood that SHEIN’s current settlement is still directional invitation, and will gradually open up in the future. These directional invitation targets have a single-store annual GMV of over 2.2 million US dollars on other cross-border platforms, and the enthusiasm of other sellers who actively apply is also high. The reason is simple. SHEIN has long been ranked among the top overseas shopping app downloads, with high visibility, a huge user base and surging traffic. Although the platform mode has just started, the starting point is very high, and the probability of high returns is high.

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The feedback from the settled sellers is more convincing. Some sellers stated that “once the product is launched, orders are generated”, and high-priced products are also very popular, which has given sellers who are desperately looking for new channels an opportunity.

SHEIN launched its platform mode in the United States, and new sellers have already generated orders.

On May 6th, SHEIN announced the official launch of its platform mode in the United States, and it will be promoted globally. In the future, local brands, merchants, and global third-party sellers from more markets will settle on the SHEIN platform. In simple terms, SHEIN’s third-party platform is now open.

So, are the sellers interested in this new platform? The editor asked some sellers, some of whom were still unaware of SHEIN’s recruitment changes, while the sellers who were ahead of the game had already tasted the sweetness.

– “It’s been three weeks, and I’ve sold $5,000 with zero commissions. It’s great.”

– “The first order came out in a week, $219, not a bad start.”

– “Someone around me has also joined, and the natural single is not bad, but the threshold is too high.”

One seller introduced that after joining the SHEIN platform, they focused on the home category, uploaded 9 products, and the customer unit price was around $40. They received orders right after uploading, and the traffic and order volume were much better than Walmart. After the order was received, it was sent through multiple channels using FBA.

Not long ago, the SHEIN recruitment manager extended an olive branch to the seller “Ailin Mingyue” (hereinafter referred to as “Ailin”), but due to a shortage of staff, she temporarily refused the invitation to join. After mentioning this in the seller group chat, Ailin received a large number of friend requests.

“A bunch of people added me to ask for the recruitment manager’s WeChat. I have already informed them that the targeted invitation this time requires the single-store annual GMV to reach 2-4 million dollars, and they all have noted that their sales have reached that level. It seems that there are still many profitable sellers.”

Another seller, “Potato Cross-border Diary,” contacted the SHEIN recruitment manager through a friend. After a phone call, she planned to complete the store opening within a week and hoped to have another channel for distribution.

“The new SHEIN stores are commission-free for the first three months, and then 10% afterwards. The backend is simple. The recruitment manager said that the products must be shipped from the United States, so when the order volume is low in the early stage, you can directly create multi-channel delivery orders from Amazon FBA warehouses, and later when the volume picks up, you can ship to SHEIN’s US overseas warehouse.” she said.

The seller speculates that there may be different types of cross-border sellers, including those who ship locally from overseas and those who ship from within China. Different types of sellers may be gradually allowed to join in the future, with targeted invitations being the main approach in the early stages.

The seller introduction indicates that different categories have different entry thresholds. Currently supported shipping methods include Amazon FBA or third-party overseas warehouses. Additionally, SHEIN’s backend experience is similar to Walmart’s, but with much better traffic.

“The business manager said they are working hard on the backend and aiming to catch up with Jeff and Andy,” said Erin. After reading the business documents, she also wanted to try, but considering that her products are more suitable for Amazon and she is short-staffed and does not want to expand, she had to decline. However, now she plans to reconsider joining.

SHEIN remains low-key. However, business managers have been releasing business information through social channels such as WeChat Moments, Weibo, and Little Red Book. After their appearance, they generally receive inquiries about “how to join.”

Multi-category business, SHEIN has become a new channel for sellers

From a fast fashion giant to a platform transformation, SHEIN’s transformation is not small.

Seller “Cross-border Lao Zhang” analyzed: “SHEIN started with fast fashion and previously told the DTC story in the capital market, always benchmarking Zara. If it is now doing multi-category business, such as selling home furnishings and electronic products, and expanding the platform on the basis of self-operation, the genes and positioning of the platform need to be redefined.”

According to reports, SHEIN provides a series of preferential measures for new sellers, including three months of commission-free sales, platform-covered return shipping costs, and a 10% commission on total sales for all categories, with sellers responsible for return shipping costs.

The SHEIN platform model may have multiple considerations, but sellers will vote with their feet. Like many peers, Lao Zhang will also consider joining SHEIN to expand his sales channels.

“We specialize in one category. If SHEIN opens up this category, we will also consider it, just like we opened a Temu account at the same time. Without increasing too much extra inventory, having one more channel will mean one more source of traffic.”

So, what are the categories that SHEIN is recruiting for? Its website currently displays categories such as home, beauty, small appliances, electronics, shoes and bags, jewelry, and clothing.

In the category navigation bar, there are also many subcategories such as sports and outdoor (sports clothing, sports accessories, etc.), office and school supplies, watches and accessories, electronics, and more.

One recruitment message posted by a business development manager shows that the product categories he is responsible for include home appliances (kitchen appliances, household appliances, personal care appliances), home decor (cabinets and accessories, LED lighting, chandeliers & fans), as well as furniture & outdoor garden furniture (manual tools, plumbing engineering, hardware accessories, bathroom fittings, etc.). It can be foreseen that the categories on the platform will soon become more diverse, and will better meet consumers’ one-stop shopping needs.

Another point worth noting is that SHEIN mentions that through its platform, sellers can see real-time performance and sales of their products, and continuously improve their comprehensive competitiveness by leveraging SHEIN’s advantages in on-demand supply and demand trend forecasting. Sellers will also benefit further from SHEIN’s large consumer base, one-stop delivery and fulfillment system, as well as SHEIN’s brand influence, market marketing experience, and social media channel resources in the global market.

In 2022, SHEIN, with over 170 million downloads, firmly holds the top spot in the overseas e-commerce download rankings. However, in addition to being a third-party platform with a large customer base and strong brand power, SHEIN can also provide sellers with some supply chain experience and social media channel resources. For sellers who are struggling with how to refine their operations, there may be unexpected gains.

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