TikTok Shop: marketplace guide
About this guide
This is a ChannelEngine guide on the Beijing-based marketplace TikTok Shop. Here you can find information on how to request a TikTok Shop account, how to configure this marketplace on ChannelEngine, what the specific requirements are, and more.
Table of contents
Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions
Commercial information
| Founded | 2016 |
| Founder | Zhang Yiming |
| Headquarters | Beijing, China |
| Area served (orders) | Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, United Kingdom, United States, Vietnam |
| Number of monthly visits | circa 2 billion (November 2022) |
| Website | TikTok Shop |
| Setup cost | none |
| Commission | 5% |
| Other costs | none |
| Payment | 14 days after delivery |
| Product categories | almost anything |
| Input language | English |
| Input currency | GBP, MYR, PHP, SGD, THB, USD, VND |
| Content creation | yes |
| Minimum number of SKUs | no |
| Advertisement options | no |
| Profile on ChannelEngine | TikTok Shop |
How to request an account
To start selling on TikTok Shop, go to the TikTok Shop welcome page and create a seller account.
Associated costs
TikTok Shop does not charge a setup or monthly fee. However, it does charge a commission fee of 5%.
Marketplace features
| Supported | Not supported |
| Product content | Marketplace fulfillment services |
| Product offers | Repricing |
| Orders* | Refurbished products |
| Shipments | Split orders |
| HTML formatting | Multiple stock locations |
| Cancelations (marketplace) | |
| Cancelations (merchant) | Sales channels** |
| Carrier mapping | |
| Returns (marketplace) | |
| Returns (merchant) |
* Both orders made directly via the store page and orders made via 'creators'.
** A marketplace that supports sales channels allows merchants to list and sell products across multiple markets (e.g.: countries, regions, and states), all from the same connection.
Settings and configuration
Setting up each marketplace on ChannelEngine follows the same flow, though not every marketplace includes the steps listed below.
- Go through the Setup.
- Create a Product selection.
- Complete the Categorization.
- Set up the Mappings: content, offers, and carriers.
- Configure the Pricing: rules and currency conversion.
- Finish the Activation.
- Check the Listed products overview.
Marketplace-specific requirements and exceptions
Setup
On ChannelEngine
- Using the incognito mode of your browser, log into ChannelEngine and open your TikTok Shop channel.
- Go to the Setup page and scroll down to the Authorize ChannelEngine section.
- Click Authorize. A popup opens, prompting you to select the account type. E.g.: Asia, Europe, etc.
- Log into TikTok Shop's Seller Central using your credentials.
- Authorize ChannelEngine to connect with your TikTok Shop account.
On TikTok Shop Seller Center
- Go to Shipping, Shipping options and disable the Express shipping and Standard shipping settings.
- Enable the Shipped from seller setting. If you fail to enable this setting, all customer information attached to incoming orders is anonymized. Note that customers’ email addresses are always anonymized.
Categorization
Categorization is mandatory if you want to create or update existing product information on TikTok Shop. Both categorizations and mappings only result in updates if the content connection is enabled and the relevant credentials have been entered (see the Setup section).
Note that the categories change according to the sales channel you are using. E.g.: the categories in the United Kingdom channel are different from the categories in the Vietnam channel.
Invite-only categories
Some categories on TikTok Shop are invite-only. You can only sell products in these categories if you have prior approval from TikTok Shop. For more information, see the TikTok Shop documentation on invite-only categories for the United States and the United Kingdom.
Mappings
Content
There are no category-specific attributes on TikTok Shop.
All products (required)
- Brand - the product's brand, which you are only allowed to use if you are authorized to sell it. Make sure to spell the brand name correctly.
- Package dimension unit - the packaged product’s dimension measurement unit.
- Package height - the package's height.
- Package length - the package's length.
- Package weight - the package's weight.
- Package weight unit - the packaged product’s weight measurement unit. The options are kilograms and pounds, with the latter valid only in the US.
- Package width - the package's width.
-
Product description - the product's description. HTML formatting is supported. The requirements are:
- The maximum number of characters is 1,000.
- Organize your selling points into separate paragraphs, each no longer than 250 characters.
- Product identifier - the product's GTIN, which must be unique per variation.
- Product identifier type - the kind of unique code provided in the Product identifier attribute. E.g.: EAN, UPC, ISBN.
-
Product image URL 1 - the parent product's image. The image requirements are:
- The file formats supported are JPG, JPEG, or PNG.
- The maximum file size is 5.2 MB.
- The recommended aspect ratio is 1:1.
-
Product name - the product's title. The requirements are:
- The maximum number of characters is 188.
- Capitalize the first letter of each word except conjunctions, articles, and prepositions.
- Format - [Product Brand] [Product Details] [Application Scope] [Product Type] [Main Features/Functions/Advantages].
All products (optional)
- Product image URL 2-9 - the product's additional images. The requirements are the same as for Product image URL 1.
- SKU - the product's SKU. The maximum number of characters is 50.
- SKU Image URL - the child product's image URL.
- Warranty period - the product's warranty period. Select a value from the dropdown menu. E.g.: 1 week, 6 months, 5 years, etc.
- Warranty policy - the product's warranty policy.
Offer
Required
- Original price - the product's price.
- Warehouse - the warehouse where the product is stored. Only one option is available, based on your setup in the TikTok Shop back-end.
Carrier
Depending on the sales channel you are connected with, the list of carriers available for mapping varies.
Note that TikTok Shop does not support split or multiple order lines. Every order contains a single order line.
Pricing
Depending on the sales channel you are connected with, the default currency varies. If you do not have pricing attributes in the default currency, you need to set up a currency conversion.
Listed products
If you have problems with products not appearing on TikTok Shop, check the Listed products page for more information.
You can either filter based on the Channel status (e.g.: Invalid for all products that ChannelEngine has not exported, such as products with an empty EAN) or check the Validation and feedback tab to see all known validation/feedback errors for specific products.
Additional information
Order extra data items
When an order is imported to ChannelEngine, ChannelEngine also fetches extra data items related to the order itself – or to order lines. This extra data is specific to this marketplace. An explanation of each can be found below:
Order extra data
| Keys | Conditional* | Description |
package_id |
No | The ID of the package. E.g.: the first value of PackageList in the order details.
|
* Conditional fields are only displayed if the marketplace provided a value.
FAQs
I cannot see the buyer's address on Thai orders. What is wrong?
As in most other Southeast Asian sales channels, the full order details are hidden from merchants on TikTok Thailand. However, the carrier selected to fulfill each shipment does receive all required details to deliver the order.
What does the error 'Product status invalid' mean?
The 'Product status invalid' error indicates that TikTok Shop has frozen your product due to a potential violation of their policies. These policies differ per region.
To see if your product is indeed frozen, check its status in your TikTok Shop back-end. If your product has the status Freeze, you can appeal the decision through TikTok Shop's Seller Support.
How often does each task run on TikTok Shop?
Tasks run according to the following schedule on TikTok Shop:
| Export product data to channel | every 60 minutes |
| Export product offers to channel | every 15 minutes |
| Import product offers from channel | every 15 minutes |
| Import orders from channel | every 20 minutes |
| Import returns from channel | every 60 minutes |
| Export order shipments to channel | every 60 minutes |
| Export returns to channel | every 60 minutes |
| Export product images | every 60 minutes |
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