Old Chen, who runs a cross-border e-commerce business in Shenzhen, applied for Hong Kong residency under the High-Talent Pass (Category A) program at the end of last year; his annual salary was exactly at the 2.5 million threshold. When he renewed his application early this year, the Immigration Department required him to submit additional documentation in three separate rounds—including personal tax payment certificates, company audit reports, and bank statements—and he couldn’t afford to leave out a single item.

📌 Sellers with annual sales exceeding 10 million—you need to give this some serious thought.

If your annual sales have already exceeded 10 million and you operate multiple stores across various platforms, you’ve surely been bombarded with all kinds of opinions lately—

“Following Route 9810 is the most compliant way!”

“0110 is outdated and non-compliant!”

“Amazon sellers must use Form 9810, or the tax authorities will investigate you!”

Some of the people who say these things sell courses, while others sell services, but very few have actually helped you run the numbers: Given your business scale, number of stores, team structure, and cash flow, which path is truly right for you?

I’ve seen too many sellers with annual sales in the tens of millions who, after hearing that ”9810 is the most compliant,” went back and completely overhauled their entire structure—only to find that tax refunds didn’t go through, the financial workload exploded, and they had to keep separate books for each of their dozens of store companies. The business didn’t go under—compliance killed them first.

In recent years, the e-commerce markets in Europe and the United States have become increasingly saturated: Amazon sellers are trapped in a vicious cycle of soaring advertising costs, while Temu has squeezed gross profit margins for cross-border sellers to the absolute limit with its ultra-low prices. As competition in mature markets intensifies, where exactly can new growth be found? The answer lies in Africa—more specifically, South Africa. South Africa is Africa’s largest and most mature digital economy, with rapidly growing internet penetration, a young population, and a middle class accounting for nearly 35% of the population. Real demand exists, yet supply from Chinese sellers remains severely insufficient.

As South Africa’s largest domestic e-commerce platform, Takealot plays a pivotal role: with a market share exceeding 50% in 2025 and over 21 million monthly visitors, and it was the top choice among 61% of South African online shoppers during the Christmas season, far surpassing SHEIN (29%) and Temu (19%).

Backed by capital from Naspers/Prosus, the platform boasts some of the highest levels of stability and fulfillment capability in Africa—making it an essential hub for any seller looking to expand into the African market.

However, for Chinese sellers new to the South African market, Takealot’s complex store types can often be confusing. The three models—”Cross-Border Direct Shipping Stores,” ”Cross-Border Official Warehouses,” and ”Local Stores”—differ significantly in terms of entry requirements, shipping times, platform traffic, operating costs, and compliance requirements. Choosing the right one pays off, but choosing the wrong one can be a pitfall.

As a professional one-stop business service platform, Qicaiying is committed to providing clients with company registration services in mainland cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou, cross-border e-commerce services, Hong Kong company registration, […]

In 2024, Amazon launched its South African marketplace.