Guides · Malaysia seller fees
How to Calculate Your Real Profit Per Order on Shopee Malaysia
How to Calculate Your Real Profit Per Order on Shopee Malaysia
Most Shopee sellers know their commission rate. Far fewer can tell you what a single order actually earns after every cost is counted. This guide walks the full calculation by hand on one product — a phone case — so you can see exactly where the money goes, then reproduce it for your own SKUs.
The order we'll use: a phone case selling at RM15.00, weighing 80 g, procured for ¥8, sold on Shopee MY as a cross-border marketplace seller (not in the Cashback Programme, so no SCP discount).
The six layers
Every order carries six cost layers. Two of them (commission, fees) are platform charges; two are tax; two are the ones that only cross-border sellers face (first-mile and FX).
Worked example: a RM15 phone case
| # | Layer | Calculation | Cost (RM) |
|---|---|---|---|
| — | Procurement (cost of goods) | ¥8 × 0.585 | 4.68 |
| ① | Commission (11% + 8% SST) | 15.00 × 11% × 1.08 | 1.78 |
| ② | Payment fee (3.78%) | 15.00 × 3.78% | 0.57 |
| ③ | Platform Support Fee | flat per completed order | 0.54 |
| ④ | Sales tax — LVG (10%) | 15.00 × 10% | 1.50 |
| ⑤ | First-mile logistics | 0.08 kg × RM3.50/kg → min applies | 2.00 |
| ⑥ | FX loss (~1%) | 1% × RM4.68 | 0.05 |
| Total costs | 11.12 | ||
| Selling price | 15.00 | ||
| Net profit | 15.00 − 11.12 | 3.88 (25.9%) |
(The 0.585 CNY→RM figure is an example snapshot, not a live rate — plug in your own.)
Now the walkthrough:
① Commission. Shopee charges commission by category, scaled to the seller tier. A phone case sits in the Electronics cluster; the table for a non-SCP marketplace seller runs 11%–16%, and we use the floor, 11%. Shopee's commission rates are quoted before tax, so add 8% SST: 15.00 × 11% = 1.65, × 1.08 = RM1.78. Your exact sub-category rate may be higher — check it in your seller centre.
② Payment fee. Always 3.78% (3.5% + 8% SST) on the amount the buyer pays. Here, RM15.00 × 3.78% = RM0.57.
③ Platform Support Fee. A flat RM0.54 per completed order (RM0.50 + 8% SST). It does not scale — which is why it hurts small orders most.
④ Sales tax (LVG). Imported goods priced ≤ RM500 sold online into Malaysia carry the 10% Low Value Goods sales tax, collected by the platform. RM15.00 × 10% = RM1.50. Local sellers don't face this; cross-border sellers do.
⑤ First-mile. The phone case weighs 80 g. At ~RM3.50/kg: 0.08 × 3.50 = RM0.28 — but the light-packet minimum is RM2.00, so that's what you pay. See China to Malaysia Shipping Costs for E-commerce Sellers for the full rate logic.
⑥ FX loss. You buy in CNY, sell in MYR. Between pricing and settlement, the exchange rate drifts. Budget ~1% of your procurement cost: 1% × RM4.68 = RM0.05.
Result: RM3.88 net on a RM15 sale — a 25.9% margin. Put differently: of the RM15 the buyer pays, RM6.44 (43%) goes to platform fees, tax and first-mile shipping, and RM4.68 goes to the goods themselves — only RM3.88 is yours.
The three costs sellers almost always forget
Across seller forums and invoice audits, these three are the most commonly dropped — and all three are cross-border-only:
- First-mile logistics (⑤). Sellers often count the domestic last-mile fee and forget the inbound line-haul. For light SKUs this is a flat RM2.00+ per unit — a full 13% of a RM15 order.
- FX loss (⑥). Because it's small per order, it gets ignored. It isn't small in aggregate: at 1% on every order, it quietly erodes a point of margin across your whole catalogue.
- LVG tax (④). Many sellers assume "no import duty means no tax." The 10% LVG applies at the sale, not at the border, so a RM15 item still carries RM1.50.
What changes the result
Four things move these numbers the most, and all four are worth modelling before you commit to a price:
- New-seller waiver. A new Shopee seller pays no commission for their first 120 days or 200 orders (and no support fee for the first 60). Apply both waivers to our example and the net jumps to about RM6.21 — the commission line (RM1.78) and the support fee (RM0.54) both disappear.
- Cashback Programme (SCP). Joining SCP lowers your commission rate but adds a separate service fee (5.5% off-campaign, 7.5% on campaign days), so whether it helps depends on your volume.
- Price above RM500. LVG stops applying once an imported item is priced over RM500 — a different import regime applies instead, not a free pass.
- TikTok Shop instead of Shopee. The payment fee (3.78%) and support fee (RM0.54) are identical, but TikTok's commission rates are quoted SST-inclusive, so you don't multiply by 1.08 a second time.
Do it properly, per SKU
Hand-computing six layers for every product doesn't scale. The free SEA Profit Calculator does it in one pass: enter cost, weight and price, pick your platform and category, and it returns net profit, margin, and a per-layer breakdown — plus a live price band of similar TikTok Shop MY listings so you can check your price.
Next in the cluster: Can Foreigners Sell on Shopee Malaysia? covers what changes if you sell cross-border, and How Marketplace Sellers in Malaysia Get Paid covers when the money actually reaches you. For the full commission tables behind layer ①, see Shopee MY Commission Rates by Category and Shopee Malaysia Seller Fees 2026.
Run the numbers on your own product. Six fee layers, live market price band, no sign-up.
Open the calculatorSources
- Shopee MY — Marketplace Commission Fees — https://seller.shopee.com.my/edu/article/6799
- Shopee MY — Transaction Fee — https://seller.shopee.com.my/edu/article/16038
- Shopee MY — Platform Support Fee — https://seller.shopee.com.my/edu/article/25269
- Malaysia Customs — MyLVG (LVG sales tax) — https://mylvg.customs.gov.my/FAQ
- SEA Profit Calculator — https://sea-profit-calculator.pages.dev
Rates verified 2026-10-09 — always confirm in your seller centre.