Thousands of Malaysian tudung sellers start on Shopee and TikTok Shop, and that makes sense: the buyers are already there. But once you have regular customers, the fees on every single order add up fast. Here is the maths, and what a website of your own does differently.
What Shopee takes from each order
Shopee charges more than one fee on every order: a commission, a transaction (payment) fee, and often a service or programme fee if you join Free Shipping or cashback programmes. Seller guides in 2026 put the total at roughly 15% to 20% of the order for many sellers, plus about RM0.54 per order. Your exact rate depends on your category and the programmes you join.
Here is one RM39 tudung, using 18% as an example:
| One RM39 tudung | On Shopee | On your own website |
|---|---|---|
| Price the buyer pays | RM39.00 | RM39.00 |
| Platform fees (about 18%) | – RM7.02 | None |
| Fixed fee per order | – RM0.54 | None |
| Online payment (FPX) | In the fee above | ~ – RM1.00 |
| You keep about | RM31.44 | RM38.00 |
That is about RM6.50 more per tudung. At 100 orders a month it is around RM650 a month, or RM7,800 a year, that stays with you instead of the platform.
These are estimates from 2026 seller guides, not Shopee's official rate card, and Shopee changes its fees from time to time. Open your Seller Centre income report to see what you really paid last month, then do the same sum with your own numbers.
What your own website costs instead
A website is not free, but it does not charge you on every sale:
- No commission on any order, however much you sell.
- No programme fees to stay visible in someone else's search.
- A small payment fee, paid straight to a payment gateway such as Billplz, toyyibPay or CHIP. For FPX it is usually around RM1 per payment, depending on the gateway.
- Hosting and domain, paid once a year, not per order.
What a tudung shop website needs
A tudung shop is not a generic online shop. These are the things buyers look for:
- Every colour on one product page, each with its own photo. Not 12 separate listings.
- A size guide: bawal sizes like 45, 50 and 55 inches, or shawl length, so buyers order the right one.
- Stock per colour, so a sold-out shade shows as sold out instead of disappointing someone after they pay.
- Collections for new drops and the raya season.
- A WhatsApp button for buyers who want to ask before they buy.
- Your own customer list, so you can tell repeat buyers about the next drop.
To be fair: Shopee still has a job
Your own website does not bring new buyers by itself. On Shopee, people find you through search. On your website, you bring them: from Instagram, TikTok, WhatsApp and your past customers. That is why most growing sellers use both. We explain this in Shopee or your own online shop.
The simple rule: find new buyers on Shopee, keep repeat buyers on your website. Every second order that comes through your own shop is an order with no platform fee.
A good sign it is time: your regular buyers already message you on WhatsApp to order again, or your monthly fee total on Shopee makes you wince.
Selling tudung and tired of the fees?
Tell us what you sell and where you sell now. We reply with a fixed price and a free preview of your own shop.
