Shopee is an e-commerce juggernaut in the Philippines, commanding a respectable lead over the pioneering e-commerce platform Lazada with over 76 million monthly web visits over the latter’s 39 million.
But there have been incidences where sellers have abused their privileges on Shopee, failing to fulfil orders, being abusive to customers, or selling counterfeit products, among others. Such seller behaviour often led to problems for Shopee itself as many customers associate their sellers’ services with them.
These incidents are not tolerated, and Shopee has taken steps to make sure their sellers comply with guidelines aimed at curbing bad behaviour, as well as keeping their platform a safe environment for both sellers and buyers.
But don’t let that discourage you from selling on Shopee! With the right strategies and mindset, you can be a successful seller on this popular ecommerce platform.
In this article, we’ll share some tips to help you avoid penalties and account suspension on Shopee, so you can focus on growing your business and reaching more customers in Southeast Asia. So let’s dive in!
Understand Shopee’s Policies and Guidelines for Seller Account Suspension
As a Shopee seller, it’s important to read and understand the platform’s policies and guidelines before you start selling. This will help you avoid unintentional violations and ensure that you’re providing a positive shopping experience for your customers. Here are some key policies and guidelines that you should pay attention to:
- Prohibited items: Shopee has a list of prohibited items that sellers are not allowed to sell on the platform. These include weapons, drugs, counterfeit goods, and items that are illegal in your country or region. Make sure you familiarize yourself with this list and do not list any prohibited items.
- Mediocre product descriptions: Shopee requires sellers to provide accurate and detailed product descriptions, including information about the product’s features, condition, and any relevant specifications. Make sure you take the time to provide clear and concise descriptions for your products.
- Poor customer service: Shopee values customer service highly and expects sellers to provide prompt and professional service to their customers. This includes responding to customer inquiries and complaints within a reasonable timeframe and providing updates on shipping and delivery.
By understanding and following these policies and guidelines, you can ensure that you’re providing a positive shopping experience for your customers and avoiding penalties and account suspension on Shopee.
How Shopee Suspends Seller Accounts: Understanding the Shopee Seller Penalty Points System
Shopee Seller Penalty Points System, is designed to track your performance and highlight areas for improvement.
Shopee created the Point Penalty to help sellers track their performance and point out areas that need improving. The end goal is to ensure that the seller operates optimally and to avoid straying from the platform’s original guidelines and policies.
By maintaining a clean record and staying on target, you can avoid penalties and account suspension. Here’s how the system works:
- Accumulating Penalty Points
If you fail to meet minimum performance targets, you may receive penalty points, which can accumulate over time.
The Seller Penalty Point is found in the seller’s account in the Seller Centre section under the Account Health menu (more on this section later).
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
Remember that NFR means “non-fulfillment rate” or the percentage of orders from the shop’s total orders that were either canceled or returned in the past 7 days. On the other hand, LSR, or “late shipment rate”, means the percentage of orders from the total orders that were shipped late in the past 7 days.
Part of Shopee’s guide on maintaining a good account with them is to avoid penalty points by ensuring to do the following:
- Avoiding Listing Violations
- Fulfillment of Orders
- Customer Service
- Customer Satisfaction
To learn more about how each one of the above is calculated, keep reading.
- Non-Fulfilment Rate (NFR)
The NFR is calculated by dividing the number of cancelled or rejected orders by the total number of orders received by the seller within a certain time period.
The time period for calculating the NFR may vary depending on the seller’s location and the category of items they are selling. The acceptable NFR may also vary by location and category.
Sellers with a high NFR may face penalties such as account suspension, demotion of search rankings, or a reduction in visibility in the marketplace.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Late Shipment Rate (LSR)
The LSR is calculated by dividing the number of orders that were shipped after the expected ship-by date by the total number of orders received by the seller within a certain time period.
The time period for calculating the LSR may vary depending on the seller’s location and the category of items they are selling. The acceptable LSR may also vary by location and category.
Sellers with a high LSR may face penalties such as account suspension, demotion of search rankings, or a reduction in visibility in the marketplace.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Prohibited Listings
Prohibited listings refer to any listings that violate Shopee’s terms and policies, including local laws and regulations.
Examples of prohibited listings include counterfeit items, items that are banned for sale in a certain location, and listings that contain false or misleading information.
Listings that violate these policies will be removed.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Intellectual Property Rights Infringement or Counterfeit Listings
Intellectual property rights infringement or counterfeit listings refer to any listings that violate the rights of intellectual property owners or contain counterfeit items.
Sellers with such listings may have their listings removed, their account suspended or terminated, or face other penalties.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Spam Listings
Sellers should not spam or post duplicate listings as it creates confusion. Listings are deemed to be spam if they contain the same content as other listings or are listed in multiple categories. All spam listings will be removed.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Customer Service Violations
Customer service violations refer to any behavior that is abusive, harassing, or in violation of Shopee’s policies.
Examples of customer service violations include asking a shopper to cancel an order instead of initiating the cancellation process themselves, or providing false or misleading information to a shopper.
Shopee has a zero tolerance policy on abuse and harassment. Violations of this policy may result in the issuance of penalty points or account termination.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- False Transactions
Sellers and staff who manage a shop should not buy or attempt to buy from their own shop.
Examples of false transactions that may result in penalty points include trying to replicate issues with voucher codes or checkout, or intentionally buying irrelevant items instead of the actual item ordered by the buyer.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Fake Return Address
Sellers should ensure that their return address is valid and where they would like the buyer to return the parcel to. Entering a fake or invalid return address will incur 2 penalty points.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Shipping Fraud
Shipping Fraud occurs when a seller intentionally sends an empty parcel or a parcel containing an item that is irrelevant and of a lower value than the actual item ordered by the buyer. Examples of Shipping Fraud include sending an empty box or sending a cheap item instead of the item that was ordered.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Social Selling Policy
To maintain a friendly and safe environment for buyers and sellers, Shopee issues penalty points for inappropriate content on the Shopee Feed and Shopee Live platforms. Inappropriate content includes explicit/sensitive content, harassment of others, or the promotion of prohibited items.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Shop Name Policy
Shop name violations include using vulgar, prohibited, offensive, or sensitive words, using platform names such as “Shopee,” and using brand name/flagship/official keywords for non-official shops.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
We hope this helps you understand each policy and how they are calculated on Shopee. If you have any more questions, head over to Shopee’s article to learn more!
21 Top-Selling Products & Categories on Shopee Philippines 2024
Find out what sells well on Shopee Philippines through this list…
- Penalty Point Levels
Depending on the number of penalty points accumulated, your seller privileges may be suspended. A temporary listing limit may also be applied on top of any existing penalties if a high number of penalty points are accumulated from listing violations.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Duration of Penalties
If you accumulate a high number of penalty points, your seller privileges may be temporarily withdrawn. The more penalty points you accumulate, the fewer privileges you will enjoy. Penalties last for 28 days, after which you will regain your privileges as long as you take steps to improve and stay on target.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
- Resetting Penalty Points
Penalty points are reset to zero at the start of each quarter (first Monday of January, April, July, and October), so all sellers can start anew.
How to Check Your Shopee Penalty Points?
To keep track of your penalty points, you can review My Penalty under the Account Health page on Seller Centre. This will allow you to view your points received and ongoing penalties, if any. By regularly monitoring your penalty points, you can take steps to improve your performance and avoid penalties and account suspension.
Source: Shopee Seller Education Hub
Penalties for Accumulating High Penalty Points
If a seller accumulates a high number of penalty points, their seller privileges may be temporarily withdrawn according to a table set by Shopee. The more penalty points accumulated, the fewer privileges the seller will enjoy. A temporary listing limit will also be applied on top of any existing penalties if a high number of penalty points are accumulated from listing violations.
Sellers who received penalty points due to repeated violations for listing counterfeit items or IP rights infringements within a quarter may have their accounts frozen.
So what happens if you abused Shopee’s policies? Shopee can do two things:
- Account freeze – You cannot conduct transactions, but will still be able to access your frozen accounts and send chat messages.
- Account ban – You are unable to access any of your banned accounts.
Whether your account is banned or frozen depends on the severity of the violation. Even with the 28-day suspension rule, Shopee may decide to extend it indefinitely if you have made more violations.
If you’ve gained a high number of penalty points, you will also be given a limit on your listings, sometimes going as low as 50 items. And if you’re a repeat offender, your accounts could be frozen and you cannot access anything.
The penalty points you gained will be kept by Shopee within a quarter of the year. Good thing they reset the penalty points back to zero at the start of the next quarter.
To learn more about Shopee’s penalty points and punishments click here.
21 Top-Selling Products & Categories on Shopee Philippines 2024
Find out what sells well on Shopee Philippines through this list…
Submitting an Appeal for Shopee Penalty Points Received
When a seller receives a penalty, they are given a certain number of points based on the severity of the violation. The number of points assigned can vary depending on the specific violation, but they usually range from 1 to 10 points.
Now, if you have received penalty points that you believe were issued in error, you can submit an appeal through your Account Health on Seller Centre.
To appeal againt Shopee penalty point, simply go to:
Seller Centre > Account Health > My Penalty [More] > Click [View Violation] > Click [Appeal Here] > Input detail for appeal > Select Orders/Items related to the penalty point > [Confirm].
It’s important to note that you can only appeal penalty points that were issued within 14 days of the penalty issue date. Also, keep in mind that Shopee will review each appeal and if your appeal is successful, the relevant penalty points will be removed. However, the points will not be removed immediately after submitting the appeal. You will be notified via Push Notification if your appeal is successful.
It’s also important to submit relevant and accurate information or supporting documents when submitting your appeal. If you provide wrong or irrelevant information, your appeal may be rejected.
If you’re unsure whether your penalty points can be appealed or not, you can always reach out to our Customer Service Team for clarification. They will be happy to help you out.
Bonus: Know What to Avoid Before Your Shopee Seller Account is Suspended
There are actions on Shopee that you most definitely need to avoid if you want to continue operating your shop on this big platform. Every one of these activities, as listed by Shopee, may result in your seller account being suspended. Beware:
- Repeated violations on Shopee Feed and/or Shopee Live – This alone can be on a separate list. Shopee Feed rules identify violations such as duplicated and junk feeds, promoting your contact details on social media platforms, promoting your external website, promoting illegal or counterfeit products, and promoting nude or pornographic material.
- Empty parcel fraud – It’s definitely a no-no to send a buyer a parcel that does not have the expected item. Whether this is done as a joke or by accident, repeated violations can get the erring shop banned from the platform.
- Brushing fraud – This is when sellers create fake orders to boost their own ratings. This technique is commonplace, but Shopee has been cracking down on these violations.
- Promotional abuse – While promo abuse is more for buyers who abuse the availability of promos, some sellers may participate in the abuse just to generate more ratings and purchases in their shops. It’s also possible that companies would try to ruin competitors by abusing their promos.
- Scam behaviour – Other forms of deceitful activities as a seller are largely prohibited on Shopee.
By being mindful of the above, you can avoid penalties and account suspension and build a positive reputation as a seller on the platform.
TL;DR: Shopee Seller Tips to Avoid Penalties and Account Suspension
Remember these four areas that Shopee has laid out if you want to keep your seller account healthy:
- Avoid Listing Violations – Follow Shopee’s guidelines and prohibited listings, counterfeit, and IP infringement listings, and spam listings
- Fulfillment of Orders – Ship your orders on time and in good condition to avoid order cancellations and returns
- Customer Service – Respond promptly while treating every shopper with respect and care
- Customer Satisfaction – Provide your buyers with an ideal shopping experience for high ratings
And lastly, use an efficient inventory management system like Locad to avoid stockouts and overstocking, which can result in penalties and account suspension.
Wrapping Up
In conclusion, as a Shopee seller, it’s crucial to understand the penalties and account suspension policies to avoid any negative impact on your business. By following the tips and guidelines mentioned above, you can maintain a healthy account status and enjoy the benefits of being a Shopee seller.
And if you need any additional support, Locad is always here to help you manage your inventory and logistics efficiently, so you can focus on growing your business.
Happy selling!
Experience fulfillment by Locad today!
FAQs
How Long Do the Penalties Last?
Penalties for accumulating high penalty points last for 28 days. Penalized sellers will regain their privileges after 28 days as long as they take steps to improve and stay on target. However, any penalty points accumulated will remain on record until the end of the quarter.
What are some common reasons for account suspension on Shopee?
Account suspension on Shopee can occur for several reasons, such as selling prohibited items, repeatedly violating Shopee’s policies, or engaging in fraudulent activities.
How can I avoid penalties as a Shopee seller?
To avoid penalties as a Shopee seller, it’s important to carefully read and follow Shopee’s policies, promptly address customer complaints and inquiries, and maintain high standards for product quality and customer service.
What should I do if I receive a penalty as a Shopee seller?
If you receive a penalty as a Shopee seller, review the reason for the penalty and take corrective action as needed. You may also submit an appeal with valid evidence to remove the penalty points issued to you if you were not at fault.
How long does it take for Shopee to review a penalty appeal?
Shopee will review each appeal accordingly, and if your appeal is successful, the relevant penalty points will be removed. You will be notified via push notification if your appeal is successful. However, the duration of the review process may vary depending on the complexity of the case.
Can I reactivate my Shopee account after it has been suspended?
If your Shopee account has been suspended, you may appeal the suspension and take corrective action as needed to resolve the issue. If your appeal is successful, your account will be reactivated. However, if your account has been permanently suspended, it cannot be reactivated.
