Should you sell on Shopee, Lazada or your own website?
Shopee and Lazada give you something a new website cannot: a large audience of shoppers already searching, a trusted checkout and built-in delivery options. Your own website gives you what marketplaces hold back: higher margin per order, the customer relationship and data, and a brand that is not sitting next to ten cheaper copies of your product.
So the practical answer for most Thai sellers is both, in a sensible order. If you are just starting and testing products, a marketplace store is the fastest way to find out what sells. Once you have steady orders, repeat customers and a brand worth protecting, your own website becomes the place where loyal buyers come back, where you control prices and promotions, and where each sale costs less in fees.
We should be honest about one thing: a new website does not come with traffic. Marketplace shoppers arrive on their own; website visitors come from your social accounts, LINE, search, packaging inserts and repeat buyers. If you are not ready to send people to your site, wait. If you are, this page shows how the two channels compare and how to run them together. For the wider platform picture, see our overview of e-commerce platforms in Thailand.
How do you set up a Shopee store?
Shopee Thailand runs seller registration through Shopee Seller Centre. The steps change from time to time, so follow the current guidance there, but the outline is usually this:
- Create a seller account with a Thai phone number and email, and choose whether you sell as an individual or a registered business.
- Verify your identity and bank account so Shopee can pay out your sales. Business sellers add company documents.
- Set up shipping by enabling the couriers Shopee offers in your area and setting your pickup or drop-off preference.
- List products with clear photos, Thai titles buyers actually search for, variants, stock and weight for shipping.
- Join campaigns selectively, such as the big monthly sale days, once you understand how discounts and fees affect margin.
Lazada in brief
Lazada Seller Center Thailand follows a similar path: register, verify identity and bank details, complete any onboarding training it requires, then list products. Lazada also runs brand store programmes for official brands. Many sellers open both and list the same range, which is where stock sync becomes important (see below).
Whichever you open, write product titles and descriptions in natural Thai, answer chat quickly, and keep stock accurate; marketplace search tends to favour sellers with good ratings and reliable fulfilment.
Marketplaces and your own website compared
The table sums up the trade-offs. Neither column wins every row, which is why most sellers who grow end up using both.
| Point | Shopee or Lazada store | Your own website |
|---|---|---|
| Upfront cost | Low: free or cheap to open a shop | A one-time build cost plus hosting and apps |
| Cost per sale | Commission, transaction and service fees on each order | Payment gateway fee; no marketplace commission |
| Traffic | Shoppers already on the platform | You bring visitors through social, LINE, search and repeat buyers |
| Customer data | Held by the marketplace; limited contact | Your own customer list, with PDPA consent |
| Brand | Standard shop layout next to competitors | Your design, story and full product range |
| Pricing and promotions | Shaped by campaigns and competing listings | Set freely: bundles, member prices, codes |
| Rules | Platform policies can change at any time | Your own policies, within Thai law |
| Payments | Handled by the platform | PromptPay, cards and wallets via your gateway, plus COD through your courier |
Fees and margins
Marketplace fees are the main reason sellers build their own site, but compare them properly. We do not quote rates here because both platforms adjust them by category and seller type; check the current fee pages in Shopee Seller Centre and Lazada Seller Center.
What you pay on a marketplace
- a commission on each sale, often varying by category and by whether you are a mall or regular seller;
- a transaction or payment processing fee;
- optional programme fees, for example for free-shipping or voucher schemes;
- ads inside the platform if you want visibility in competitive categories.
What you pay on your own site
A one-time build, then platform or hosting costs, apps, and a payment gateway fee per order. Our guide comparing Omise, 2C2P and SCB explains how those fees are structured. There is no commission, but you pay to attract visitors instead, in time or advertising.
A simple way to compare
Take one typical order. Add up every marketplace fee on it. Then estimate the gateway fee on the same order from your own site. The difference is what each website order is worth to you. Multiply by the repeat orders you could move to your site each month, and you have a rough payback figure for a website build.
Customer data and brand
On a marketplace, the buyer is the platform's customer first and yours second. You see what you need to ship the order, and platform rules limit how you can contact buyers outside it. When they want to reorder, they search the marketplace again, where a competitor's listing may sit right beside yours.
On your own website, you can build a customer list: people who bought, people who asked to hear about new products, members who get a discount. That list is the most valuable asset an online seller has, and it has to be built lawfully. Thailand's Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019), fully in force since 1 June 2022 and overseen by the PDPC, requires a clear privacy notice, consent where the law requires it (for example for marketing messages), and secure handling of personal data.
Brand and repeat buyers
Your own site tells your story, shows the whole range, and lets you run bundles, member pricing and gift options that marketplace layouts do not support well. A simple habit helps move buyers across: a card in every marketplace parcel with a reason to visit your site, such as a refill programme or a loyalty offer, within marketplace rules. Also give buyers the payment methods they already use; some shoppers prefer an e-wallet, so read our note on adding TrueMoney Wallet to a store.
Running marketplaces and a website together
Stock
Selling the same item in three places means one stock count must update everywhere, or you will oversell during a campaign. Use a stock or order management tool that connects Shopee, Lazada and your store, or keep a separate stock allocation per channel while volumes are small.
Pricing
Decide your price logic up front. Some sellers keep the same list price everywhere and offer members extra value on their own site; others price slightly lower on the website because there is no commission. Avoid undercutting yourself so heavily that marketplace ratings or campaign eligibility suffer.
Shipping
Marketplaces arrange courier pickup for you. On your own site you choose couriers such as Thailand Post, KEX Express (formerly Kerry Express), Flash Express or J&T and set rates yourself. Our guide to shipping integration for Thai online stores covers labels, tracking and COD.
Trust on your own site
Marketplace buyers are used to a protected checkout. Earn the same trust with clear return terms, PromptPay and card payments, visible contact details, and DBD registration and the trustmark for Thai e-commerce websites. Keep the checkout short; our article on checkout optimization for Thai online stores lists the common leaks.
Building your own store
If the numbers say a website is worth it, start small and focused: your best-selling range, strong product photos, PromptPay and cards, one or two couriers, and a clear reason for marketplace buyers to come over. Our step by step guide on how to start an e-commerce website in Thailand covers the groundwork.
When you want it built properly, our e-commerce website development service sets up a Shopify store or a WooCommerce store with PromptPay, cards, COD, Thai couriers, product import, e-Tax invoice setup, staff training and a launch checklist. The E-commerce package starts from THB 50,000 as an indicative one-time price, and a typical project takes about 15 days; big catalogues take longer. See how much an e-commerce website costs with us, or WhatsApp or call +66 93 004 4098 to talk it through.
