To sell online in Thailand without a big marketplace, set up your own store website with proper product pages, accept payment via PromptPay and cards, and drive customers to it through LINE, social media and Google. You keep the full margin instead of a marketplace's cut, you own your customer data, and you build a brand — rather than competing on price as one anonymous listing inside someone else's platform. Shopee and Lazada bring traffic, no question, but they take a slice of every sale, hide your customers from you, and push you into a race to the bottom on price. Your own store fixes all three.
Why sell off-marketplace at all?
Three reasons that compound. First, margin: you keep the commission a marketplace would take on every order. Second, ownership: you get the customer's contact details, so you can sell to them again for free instead of paying to reach them each time. Third, brand: on your own store you're a business with a name and a story, not listing #4,187 judged solely on being a few baht cheaper than the seller above you. Marketplaces are built to serve the marketplace; your store is built to serve you.
What do I actually need to start?
Less than you'd think. A store website with clear product pages and prices, an online payment method that covers Thai buyers (PromptPay and cards), and a simple way to handle orders and enquiries. That's a working shop. You don't need a huge platform or a big upfront build — you need the ability to show products, take money, and fulfil orders reliably. Everything else is refinement you can add once sales are coming in.
How do customers find my store if it's not on a marketplace?
You drive them there from where they already are. Your store is the destination; LINE, Facebook, Instagram and Google are the traffic. Post products and links on social, share your store in LINE with existing customers, and build a few search-friendly pages so Google sends you buyers over time. The big unlock is repeat business: a customer you can message directly on LINE costs nothing to bring back, whereas on a marketplace you'd pay again to reach the very same person. Own the audience once and you sell to it forever.
What payment methods do I need in Thailand?
PromptPay and cards, at minimum. A large share of Thai customers reach for PromptPay's QR/bank-transfer flow by habit, so a checkout that only takes foreign cards will lose them. A processor like Stripe supports both cards and PromptPay, so you can capture the widest audience without abandoned carts from "I can't pay the way I want to." Making payment feel local and familiar is often the difference between a completed order and a lost one.
Doesn't a marketplace make everything easier?
It makes discovery easier and everything else harder. Yes, Shopee and Lazada have built-in traffic — that's their genuine value. But you pay for it in commission, in price competition, and in never owning the customer. The pragmatic answer for most sellers isn't to quit the marketplaces cold; it's to use them for discovery and run your own store for repeat, higher-margin sales, then move loyal customers over to your store where both of you are better off. Let the marketplace introduce you; keep the relationship yourself.
How do I move marketplace buyers to my own store?
Give them a reason and a way. Include a friendly note or a small returning-customer offer that points to your store and your LINE, so a happy first-time buyer knows where to find you directly next time. Over months, that steadily builds a base of customers who buy straight from you — full margin, no middleman, and a direct line to reorder. The marketplace got its introduction fee; the ongoing relationship becomes yours.
How do I handle shipping and delivery?
Keep it simple and honest, and build it into checkout. Decide your delivery method — a courier like Kerry, Flash or Thailand Post, or your own delivery for local orders — and set clear shipping costs and timeframes so customers know exactly what they're paying and when it arrives. Show tracking where you can; a simple "here's your tracking number" message reassures buyers and cuts "where's my order?" enquiries. For a small shop, you don't need warehouse logistics — you need reliable, predictable fulfilment and clear communication. Getting orders out promptly and keeping customers informed is also what earns the repeat purchases and word-of-mouth that make selling from your own store pay off over time.
Krubly builds your online store with clear product pages, PromptPay and card payments through Stripe, and a built-in CRM that turns one-time buyers into repeat customers — so you sell on your own terms, keep the full margin, and own the audience you work so hard to win.
