Many of the sellers who list on Shopee are traditional merchants or individuals who do not understand the intricacies of e-commerce. Consequently, the platform is launching online tutorial videos to guide them through the listing process.

The tutorials are launched in collaboration with FPX, the platform’s official online payment partner. Topics include how to get started on Shopee, an FPX step-by-step guide to setting up payments for online transactions, how to maximise online marketing and ways to fulfil and deliver orders through the platform’s third-party logistics partners.

“A lot of our sellers are actually doing it part-time to gain extra income. In fact, one of our top sellers in 2017 was a housewife who earned almost RM1 million in revenue,” says Shopee head of operations Esten Mok.

“That is how Shopee is changing the lives of people. Our aim is to help people who want to gain more income by selling goods online.”

Shopee has been offering workshops under Shopee University since 2016. According to Mok, it has trained about 5,000 sellers over the years.

The platform has launched online tutorials so potential business owners can learn on the go. “The content covered in the online tutorials will be similar to that of the workshops,” says Mok.

“Our goal is to reach a wider base because our offline classes can only cater for a limited number of sellers. We divide the content into three categories — basic, intermediate and advanced.”

The basic classes will cover topics such as how sellers can sign up on Shopee, how to sell and list products as well as an introduction to the features available on Shopee. The intermediate class will teach how to become a preferred seller on Shopee and how to achieve higher sales, among others.

The advanced classes will be taught by certified external trainers. For instance, someone from Facebook could come and teach sellers how to use the social media platform to reach a wider audience.

The online tutorials will be available on Shopee’s website, under its Seller Centre, from this week. There will be a total of 10 videos, with one uploaded each week. Some of the videos will cover information on how to set up payment gateways, provided by FPX.

FPX is operated by Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet), which has Bank Negara Malaysia as its largest shareholder and 11 major financial institutions as its joint shareholders. FPX is a secure online payment solution that allows real-time debiting of a customer’s internet banking account of multiple banks.

According to Tay Gim Soon, group chief operating officer of PayNet, FPX is used by more than 18,000 merchants in the country. It processes 8.3 million transactions a month and Shopee is one of the larger contributors.

FPX is a significantly more cost-effective method of payment than online credit or debit card payments. “We typically charge a flat rate, unlike credit cards charges, which are essentially a percentage of the value transacted. On average, we should be at least 50% cheaper than credit card payments,” says Tay.

Shopee is one of the largest e-commerce players in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. According to Mok, it has more than 400,000 active sellers on its platform. It also works with logistics partners such as Pos Laju, DHL eCommerce and AirAsia’s logistics arm, RedBox.

One of the reasons sellers are attracted to Shopee is its low upfront cost as it does not charge sellers any commissions or registration/listing fees.