Temu and Shein's Semi-managed vs. Fully-managed: A Guide to Rraise Review Accounts

In 2024, the market trend of cross-border e-commerce has changed again! On January 4, AliExpress, a subsidiary of Alibaba, launched a semi-managed model to attract sellers through commission-free and cash subsidies; in the same month, Temu also launched semi-managed services in the United States, followed by TikTok Shop and SHEIN. This has added a lot of pressure to the merchants of the fully-managed model, which has only become popular recently . Although the fully-managed model can provide comprehensive operational support, it also faces many challenges in the highly competitive market. In order to improve the effect of fully-managed and fight against the increasingly fierce competition in semi-managed, raising evaluation accounts has become a key strategy. Next, the editor summarizes the methods of using evaluation accounts to improve the effect of fully-managed , hoping to help cross-border people who have seen this article increase store traffic and enhance market competitiveness.

Semi-managed vs. fully-managed: Each has its own advantages

( 1 ) Semi-managed:

l The service provider is responsible for specific operational tasks, such as advertising and data analysis, while the seller manages product listing, customer service, etc. This model is suitable for sellers who have a certain understanding of e-commerce operations and want to maintain a certain degree of control.

l The platforms that currently support semi-hosting include: AliExpress, TikTok , SHEIN , Temu , Alibaba International Station, etc.

( 2 ) Fully managed:

l The service provider is fully responsible for all store operations, including product listing, marketing promotion, customer service, etc. This service is suitable for sellers who want to outsource all operational tasks, saving time and energy and focusing on business strategy and product development.

l The platforms that currently support full hosting include : AliExpress, TikTok, SHEIN, Lazada, Ozon, Temu, Shopee, Alibaba International Station, etc.

How to choose a hosting model that suits you?

l Time and energy: If you don’t have enough time and energy to manage a store, or lack relevant experience, fully managed may be more suitable for you.

l Budget: Fully managed services are usually more expensive, so you need to decide based on your budget.

l Business size : Small businesses may be more suitable for semi-managed services to save costs, while large businesses may benefit more from fully managed professional services.

Challenges of the fully-managed model and strategies for maintaining evaluation accounts

1. Market challenges​

Recently, Temu 's price verification requirements for semi-managed sellers have also affected fully managed sellers. Some fully managed sellers found that the low-price strategy of semi-managed products caused their sales to decline, exposing the challenges of fully managed services. The fully managed model lacks operational flexibility, making it difficult for sellers to quickly adjust product strategies. Platform traffic depends on sales and reviews, and products with more sales and good reviews will get more traffic. Fully managed sellers can make up for this shortcoming by raising evaluation accounts to increase sales and traffic.

2. The role of raising an evaluation account

Maintaining a review account is an effective strategy that helps sellers indirectly increase product traffic by increasing product sales, positive reviews, and Q&A. The main strategies include:

l Increase store exposure: Improve product exposure on the platform through positive reviews and feedback from evaluation accounts.

l Improve product credibility: Authentic reviews can improve product credibility and increase customers’ willingness to buy.

l Optimize search rankings: Good reviews can help improve your product’s search rankings on the platform and increase organic traffic.

3. Conditions for building an evaluation number system

Before conducting a self-support account evaluation, you need to meet the following conditions , which determine the weight and survival rate of the buyer account you support:

l The local Internet environment abroad: including IP address, hardware equipment and network environment. It is very important to choose a reliable IP proxy here. Many friends asked me in the background why their accounts are always blocked as soon as they are set up. Basically, it is because of the proxy IP used by themselves, either a free IP from unknown sources , which is generally of low quality and easy to fly around; or the supplier is unreliable, giving you a low-quality IP type or sharing an IP with multiple people . Choose static residential IP in IPFoxy and configure an independent and clean IP for each account to avoid being blocked.

l Foreign information required to register an account: such as foreign email address, phone number and address.

l Skilled registration, ordering and review process skills: Master these skills to improve the effectiveness and authenticity of the review number.

l Payment method: Use foreign credit cards or gift cards to pay.

Summarize

In the fully-managed model of cross-border e-commerce, facing the competitive pressure of the semi-managed model, it is crucial to choose the right hosting method and strategy. Although the fully-managed model can provide comprehensive operational support, it may also face the problem of insufficient flexibility. Increasing the sales and traffic of the store by raising an evaluation account can effectively make up for this deficiency. Meeting the requirements of the evaluation account can help fully-managed sellers succeed in the fiercely competitive market.