Takealot quietly added a Chinese language option to its backend: Although Chinese sellers account for less than 3% of the total, the platform has already paved the way. Here’s an analysis of the three-stage onboarding process, changes to Buy Box rules, and signs of tightening entry requirements—along with three actions you should take now.

On Thursday afternoon, the WeChat groups for South African sellers exploded almost simultaneously. “The ”Restock’ button in the admin panel is grayed out—I can’t click it.” &#822 […]

When reviewing Takealot statements, the three types of charges that are most easily confused are: **platform commissions** (calculated based on product category and transaction price), **fulfillment and shipping fees** (warehousing, order picking, delivery, and return processing), and **VAT withholding for cross-border stores**. These three categories are calculated differently and occur at different stages of the process; if viewed together, it becomes impossible to determine the actual gross profit. For specific rates, please refer to the platform’s current announcements and the contract in the seller’s dashboard. The ranges commonly cited in the industry should only be used as a rough reference and should not be treated as

The Personal Information Protection Act (POPIA) applies to entities that process personal information in South Africa, regardless of whether the entity is established within South Africa. The names, phone numbers, shipping addresses, payment information, and browsing behavior data collected by cross-border e-commerce businesses during order placement, delivery, after-sales service, and marketing all fall within the scope of personal information. As long as a business sells goods to South African consumers, it must establish a legal basis for processing and implement security measures in accordance with POPIA. This is independent of the company’s place of registration or the location of its servers; the determining factor is

South Africa previously had a VAT exemption arrangement for low-value imported goods (under the old criteria, this applied to imports valued at 500 rand or less and certain low-value books). According to an analysis by tax information agencies, this exemption has been discontinued in practice since September 2024, and the Taxation Laws Amendment Act 2026 has formally enshrined this change into law, bringing administrative practices into alignment with the legislative framework.